TK CRL Changes!

[Darth Aloha[Admin]]

Aloha all,

 

Based on voting done nearly a year ago the TK CRLs have been changed slightly.

 

Here is an overview of what is different:

 

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BELT

• ANH Stunt, ANH Hero, ESB, HWT, Deathtrooper: Vinyl or plastic belts are no longer allowable for basic 501st approval. The belt must be canvas. The width specification has been changed as well.
  
  • "The soft belt proper is made of canvas, or material with a canvas covering. Size must be 2.75” (70 mm) to 3.25”(83 mm) wide and not wider than the plastic portion of the belt. The color is be white to off-white."
    

  [*]ROTJ, INC, TKC, SKY: Vinyl or plastic belts are no longer allowable for basic 501st approval. The belt must be nylon. The width specification has been changed as well.

  • "The soft belt proper is tightly woven nylon/cordura like/style material or material with a tightly woven nylon/cordura like/style covering. Size must be 2.25" (57mm) to 2.5" (64mm) wide. The color is to be white to off-white."
    

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HOLSTER

• ESB: New basic level wording specifies that the holster must be on the right side and looped on belt.
  
  • "Holster is worn on right side of belt. Holster will be made of completely black leather or leather-like material and be worn on the right and affixed via two black loops over the belt (no fasteners)."
    

  [*]INC, TKC, SKY, HWT: Holsters are no longer allowed at the base level for these costumes.

  • "Holster must be omitted from this costume."
    

  [*]Deathtrooper: Added wording to match ANH belt specifications but still kept as an optional accessory.

  • "Holster may be omitted from the costume. If a holster is worn, it will be made of black leather or leather-like material. Worn on the left side of belt and be attached from behind, with no loops covering the outside of the belt. The holster will be affixed with two fasteners at the bottom of the belt instead of none or four. The fasteners may be rivets, snaps, or Chicago screws."
    

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KIDNEY & BUTT PLATE

• ANH Stunt, ANH Hero, ESB, HWT, Deathtrooper: A one piece kidney/butt is no longer allowable at the base level.
  
  • "A separate kidney plate shall be present, split from the butt plate."
    

  [*]ROTJ, INC, TKC, SKY: These costumes must have a one piece kidney/butt.

  • "A separate kidney/butt plate is not allowed - the kidney and butt plate shall be combined/fused to a single plate/one piece."
    

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WHITE U-TRIM

• ROTJ, INC, TKC, SKY: The white U-trim requirement has been moved from EIB to the base level for torso parts.
  
  • "A white flexible U shaped gasket or molded lip shall be present around all edges."
    

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AB PLATE BUTTONS

• ROTJ, INC, TKC, SKY: The inverted ab bottons have been moved from EIB to base level approval.
  
  • "The ab plate has a button area that matches the color pattern shown (3 dark blue + 6 charcoal grey or black); buttons are approximately 7/16" (11mm) in diameter. The three dark blue buttons will be the three buttons closest to the belt. Ab plate button detail shall be inverted compared to ANH/ESB."
    

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THERMAL DETONATOR

• ANH Stunt, ANH Hero, ESB: Metal clips are now part of the base requirement. The size of the detonator and orientation of the control panel are now specified.
  
  • "(A.K.A. O2 canister) attaches to the center back of the belt. This is an all gray cylinder without silver stickers or silver paint. The cylinder is between 2” (50mm) and 2.68"(68mm) in diameter with white end caps on each end. The white control panel pad faces upwards, with controls/round washer style detail closest to the right end cap. The total length should be approximately 7.50" (190.5mm). The thermal detonator shall be attached via metal or metallic-appearing clips approximately 1" (25mm) wide."
    

  [*]ROTJ: Metal clips are now part of the base requirement. The size of the detonator and orientation of the control panel are now specified.

  • (A.K.A. O2 canister) attaches to the center back of the belt. This is an all gray cylinder without silver stickers or silver paint. The cylinder is between 2” (50mm) and 2.68"(68mm) in diameter with white end caps on each end. The white control panel pad faces upwards, with controls/round washer style detail closest to the right end cap. The total length should be approximately 7.50" (190.5mm). The thermal detonator shall be attached via metal or metallic-appearing clips approximately 3/4" (19mm) wide
    

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Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

-Eric

[SolderMaster]

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!....ok there's not enough !!!!!!!! to go around!

 

Great news!

 

This just means more accurate TKs from now on! LOVE IT!

 

Yup, I'm an elitist....and PROUD of it!

[Clamps[TK]]

Thanks for the update boss. Sharing the info right away.

[LadyInWhite[TK]]

Yep, this is great. Calling all Attachés!

[TK1636[TK]]

My question is when do we finally get rid of the FX helmet?

[TK-42779[501st]]

Nothing real major. Thanks for the update!

[Darth Aloha[Admin]]

My question is when do we finally get rid of the FX helmet?

 

A fine question. There are talks in progress. It will be an uphill battle for sure.

 

Nothing real major. Thanks for the update!

 

Baby steps to the elevator Bob.

 

-Eric

[Solcar23[TK]]

Attache check in. All new changes noted!

 

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Nice work!

[Daetrin[Admin]]

The two major changes are for ANH the removal of allowing a single back/butt plate which is how the old FX kits came, and secondly changing how the O2 cylinder is able to be attached. In the past people would rivet them on or else just use - ack! - velcro.

 

Positive changes all around. Now, if we can just get rid of that FX helmet. They've not even been made in 3 years and the old folks are grandfathered in anyway - it's waaaaaaaay overdue!

[vecspeed12]

finally!

[FunkyTrigger[TK]]

It's a good start.

[Nicky]

It's too little. What kind of pressure do we get from the community, really?

 

Things like:

Shoulder Straps

For 501st approval:

These shall be securely mounted in front and may free float in back. They may be affixed with rivets, Velcro, or adhesive.

 

...are so easily to avoid, both on webpage, and a costume. Despite the "may" phrasing we're openly encouraging an assembly mistake.

 

Since it's not affecting the already-approved costumes (unless being up to date is required for Disney/LFL troops), and costumes sold do not retain their 501st status, it's merely a sentimental baggage that keeps us back.

[ObiHahn[TK]]

I approve of this information.

 

About time, though.

[Kurtzmann]

Thanks for the info, passing this along.

[Daetrin[Admin]]

It's too little. What kind of pressure do we get from the community, really?

 

Things like:

 

 

...are so easily to avoid, both on webpage, and a costume. Despite the "may" phrasing we're openly encouraging an assembly mistake.

 

Since it's not affecting the already-approved costumes (unless being up to date is required for Disney/LFL troops), and costumes sold do not retain their 501st status, it's merely a sentimental baggage that keeps us back.

 

Hi Nicky,

 

Please remember that when we created these CRL's, many troopers did (and still do) sport FX armor and even getting neck seals and blue ab plate buttons was a big deal.

 

While it's true that times have changed, it's also true that not much more than 10% of TK's are EI, unlike MEPD where 33% of sandtroopers are deployed. If we up the base standards to pretty much be what EI is, then what does that make for EI?

 

We still have a loooong way to go to get more of the Legion up to EI standards. What would you recommend we could do to get 800 EI in the Legion?

[Nicky]

I'm aware of that, but carrots and potatoes. I'm talking about ease of access to correct information, about the CRL as reference for new costumers. Not about troopers who are already set since years ago.

 

And I know what EI and C reflect, and it's not about putting troopers on a higher pedestal than others in practical terms of trooping, both should still look good only one went the extra mile: a rivet right in the middle of the shoulder bridge is not the same thing as, say, a neck trim that isn't the right letter in the alphabet should you remove the helmet and look at it from the edges.

 

Not everyone goes first to the 501st.com, detachment forum, and then Garrison forum. Some just go to the garrison, learn from people who haven't read the CRL for awhile, and then hop over to the CRL on the 501st.com only to see that it's ok to use rivets and velcro on all funny places. It's such a small detail to write "glue the thing".

[Kurtzmann]

These changes are for approvals going forward from this point correct?

[Daetrin[Admin]]

I'm aware of that, but carrots and potatoes. I'm talking about ease of access to correct information, about the CRL as reference for new costumers. Not about troopers who are already set since years ago.

 

And I know what EI and C reflect, and it's not about putting troopers on a higher pedestal than others in practical terms of trooping, both should still look good only one went the extra mile: a rivet right in the middle of the shoulder bridge is not the same thing as, say, a neck trim that isn't the right letter in the alphabet should you remove the helmet and look at it from the edges.

 

Not everyone goes first to the 501st.com, detachment forum, and then Garrison forum. Some just go to the garrison, learn from people who haven't read the CRL for awhile, and then hop over to the CRL on the 501st.com only to see that it's ok to use rivets and velcro on all funny places. It's such a small detail to write "glue the thing".

 

Understood. It's your last sentence that is most worrisome to me - why would people do that? Why aren't GML's doing their job? I ask as a GML myself the first thing I do with a new recruit is refer them to a detachment site.

[Nicky]

Personality contrasts and language barriers. I imagine some would like to be overconfident and affirm their supremacy by ignoring authority or 3rd party, rendering mistakes. Some will have an opinion against high standards placing more demands on newer costumers while seniors had to do less but had less available to work with, or because of the assumption that we're not quite sure how a stormtrooper looks like anyway - but all of that is a personal judgement thing and can be erreonous depending on how you look at it and from which perspective.

 

Some future TK's would rather ask normal garrison members than the GML thinking they'll have a more relaxed answer with their being non-staff, so it's not always at the GML's reach. One thing adding up to another, the list of things that could have easily been made better, below or above requirements, will be rounded up to the basic minimal text on the 501st.com's CRL, or even less if it's to avoid upsetting the applicant too much. It's unfortunate when you make mistakes out of misinformation, that's why we should do much more than slight changes to the most commonly used tool for costume reference in the 501st, that is also translated in other languages.

 

My GML made me do changes that weren't mandatory, and relayed enough TK-related information from her own experience, and referred to the FISD to backup many points, so it went beyond the CRL many times since it is far from enough to help troopers reach quality through minimum effort.

 

The answer to why some GML's aren't doing their job would be that it's really a lot of work when a garrison is actively promoting itself and people apply frequently, meanwhile we're probably hundreds of people in each detachment debating about what not to write in the CRL worrying about the negative impact.

[TK-7186[TK]]

Quick question. I want to update my ROTJ TK to have three blue buttons. The CRL states Dark Blue. If I had to choose between these two colors, which one is the correct blue that the CRL is referencing or are these two colors not correct?

 

http://www.testors.com/product/0/1972/_/Blue_Angel_Blue_%28G%29_FS15050_-_3_oz._Spray_Can

 

http://www.testors.com/product/0/2915/_/French_Blue_%28G%29_MM_-_3_oz._Spray

Thanks,

Gerrit

Tk-7186

[LadyInWhite[TK]]

Blue Angel Blue is the darker.

 

The closest I could find was Testors / Model Master 1151.

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

good work!

[isith[TK]]

Great news, thanks

 

Btw, there's still small hick-up in Incinerator CRL.

CRL says about the forearm unit markings: "Special unit details in red shall be present in the form of two vertical stripes, running the length of the forearm. One in the front and one in the back (cover strip area)."

Ref pics and even CRL pic clearly show three vertical stripes.

 

No big deal for me and this has been discussed earlier. But may cause some confusion for someone just starting.

 

Cheers,

Osku

[TK Keith[TK]]

Thanks for posting this in a clear format that is easy to read and understand, and thanks for everyone who put time and effort into getting this done!