November 2013 Newsletter

[Kessel Run[TK]]

 

 


From the Detachment Leader
Around the Detachment
For the New Troopers
Tip of the Month
Troop of the Month



 
Aloha kakou,
 
It seems that we keep getting this newsletter out later and later every month. It is essentially my fault as our poor PRO is always waiting on the Detachment Leader to write my spiel. I apologize for its growing lateness. There have been some exciting doings around our detachment since the last newsletter. I hope you agree.
 
The 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment (FISD) has a new costume designation. The first Ralph McQuarrie Concept Stormtrooper or MQ was granted to Gary Hailes (TK-2739) the Commanding Officer of the United Kingdom Garrison. Others have followed quickly including the talented armor wizard Kevin Weir (TK-812) in Southern California and the concept saber building Stephen Weir (TK-7270). KW has the armor for sale and hopefully helmets will be widely available soon. Congratulations and big thank you to everyone involved with bringing this new costume to FISD and Legion. 
 
Here is Gary in his concept trooper armor as featured in the CRL:

 
FISD also made a few changes to the Expert Infantry and Centurion costume requirements based on voting performed earlier this year. None of the base requirements have changed. The biggest change is that Centurions will be required to assemble their armor with butt joints and cover strips for ANH derived costumes. The overlap method of construction is no longer approvable for Centurion. Another minor change is that ab buttons must be painted directly onto the ab button plate. The separate painted Chicago style screws are no longer allowed for Centurion. Please take a read through the CRL change section of this newsletter for more information. 
 
The FISD Achievement Award is something given out to non staff members of our forum who have made contributions to our community. Two such awards have been given out. First to Paul “Troopermaster†and the other is to Andy “Playfulwolfcub.†
 
Troopermaster’s award was suggested by Phil Gregory (Funkytrigger) our former Deployment Officer. Phil pointed out that Troopermaster’s ever present, unflappable, unbiased, and always accurate comments in people’s build and EIB/Centurion award threads have helped more troopers than is possible to count. His knowledge of the TK is unsurpassed in the world. I personally have learned all manner of stormtrooper related trivia from him. Thank you Paul for keeping us grounded and sticking with FISD through thick, thin, drama, ups and downs all these years. 
 
For those who have not followed one of my favorite threads on FISD Playfulwolfcub lead a mind boggling research journey exposing the mystery of the E-11 blaster’s power cylinders. The specifics behind this small detail have been a subject of much debate throughout the years. Now we know more about the various types of blaster power cylinders than we ever have. The outcome of all of Andy’s research is that he is selling highly accurate cylinders for your blaster build. Please give many thanks to Andy for his tenacity and attention to detail helping us tote around even more accurate E-11s. 
 

 
On a final note this month I wanted to thank Funkytrigger for his service as Deployment Officer. His knowledge of the TK and his dedication to accuracy is rarely surpassed. Thank you Phil for everything. While the search for a new DO goes on I will continue to serve in the role. Please be patient with me during this transition period. 
 
With Unquestioned Loyalty and Aloha....

Eric Brager
TK-9674 "Darth Aloha"
Detachment Leader



 
Expert Infantry and Centurion CRL Changes
 
Earlier this year the detachment voted on a ton of changes to the Centurion requirements, and a few for Expert Infantry. The stars aligned and it was finally time to make the changes we decided on oh so long ago. I feel so strongly about making these changes that at least three of them put me out of the running for Centurion. 
 
While the changes go in effect immediately I am willing to overlook some of these new requirements for people in the midst of their build. Please send me a PM if you have concerns and I'm happy to work it out. 
 
The biggest change that effects only a few people is that the overlap construction method is no longer allowed for Centurion unless you have a ROTJ style costume. We also made some changes to the wording around the side rivets for Centurion. Another thing of note is that ab buttons must be painted directly on the ab plate rather than use a Chicago style screw for Centurion. And lastly FX armor is no longer approvable for Centurion. 
 
Here are the highlights for ANH Stunt, ANH Hero, Death, HWT and ESB. Blue is EIB and Red is Centurion.

• Thermal detonator belt clips must be positioned near the end caps with a approximate 1/8" (3 mm) gap.
   
• Sniper knee plate must not have visible rivets or fasteners attaching it to the shin.
   
• Sniper knee plate must be aligned with the ridges on the shin.
   
• Ear bars shall have only one bump painted in black (rank stripes). (not ESB)
   
• Ab plate buttons must be integrated and painted directly on the plate, no separate buttons are allowed.
   
• Rivets on the left side of the ab plate: a total of three fasteners, the heads should be rounded or domed, solid, approximately 5/16" (8mm) diameter and equally spaced out along the depth of the armor and about 10mm from the edge. They may be painted white, or not. Paperclip brads are not considered to have a domed head. Note: For the original TK armor the type of rivets used were bifurcated rivets or split rivets.
   
• Three rivets shall be present on the left side of the kidney plate, the heads should be rounded or domed, solid, approximately 5/16"(8mm) diameter and equally spaced out along the depth of the armor and about 10mm from the edge. They may be painted white, or not. Paperclip brads are not considered to have a domed head. Note: For the original TK armor the type of rivets used were bifurcated rivets or split rivets.
   
• AM chest plate must be replaced with a more screen accurate version.
   
• AM back plate must be replaced with a more screen accurate version.
   
• Drop boxes are vertically aligned with the end of the ammo belt with minimal gap between belt and box.
   
• Drop boxes must have full inner drop boxes to close the back. Flat covers are not allowed.
   
• Thigh ammo belt must be attached to thigh with a solid head rivet or fastener in the upper corner and fastened to the lower thigh ridge. Standard pop rivets are not allowed
   
• Thighs must be constructed using the butt joint and cover strip method. Overlap construction is not allowed.
   
• Lower legs must be constructed using the butt joint and cover strip method. Overlap construction is not allowed.
   
• Biceps must be constructed using the butt joint and cover strip method. Overlap construction is not allowed.
   
• Forearms must be constructed using the butt joint and cover strip method. Overlap construction is not allowed.

For ROTJ, INC, TKC, SKY:

• Thighs must use the overlap construction method. Using the butt joint and cover strips is not allowed.
• Biceps must use the overlap construction method. Using the butt joint and cover strips is not allowed.
• Lower legs must be constructed using the overlap construction method. Using the butt joint and cover strips is not allowed.

Please read this thread for the specifics on each change or check out the FISD CRLs. 
 

         
Current Tallies:

• Centurion Awards: 106
• Expert Infantry Awards: 350
• Fire Teams: 15
• Attachés: 2 new
• Twitter Followers: 1171
• Facebook Followers: 2171      <-- okay that is just weird... 1171 and 2171? 

New Attachés 
Artie "Artstar" Schipper, TK-10251, Dutch Garrison (Netherlands)
Kyle "kylebeagle" Beagle, TK-91305, Golden Gate Garrison (California)
 
Keep up the good work, Troopers! 
 
With Unquestioned Loyalty,

Ingrid Moon
TK-6818 "LadyInWhite"
Executive Officer
 


 
For The New Troopers
 
RESEARCH, you can never do too much research, apart from the deciding to purchase armor this is the next most important step. Read, read and read again and when you think you know it all read it once more.
 
Look through the How To's and Tutorials , most of the Information you need for your build is there, If you can't find something in particular, then use the search button. This feature is one of your most valuable tools on the forum. Here are a few tips to increase your change of finding the information you need on our forum.
 
Build threads can also be a great help, and most of the problems you may encounter have probably already been addressed and dealt with in one of these threads. If you want to be really sure you are heading in the right direction, then look at some of the EIB and Centurion threads, these people have gone the extra distance with their builds, and there is no reason you cannot as well.
 
If you still can't find what you are looking for then ask, there is always a friendly TK or two standing by to help.
 
If there is a wait time for your armor, you can still get ready for it's arrival, with all the extra's you will need, accessories, tools, elastic, snaps and so on.
 
Building armor is not as daunting as it first seems if you do the research.
 
Good luck on your TK journey
 
With Unquestioned Loyalty,

Glen Rhodes
TK-85421 "gmrhodes13" 
Imperial Attaché
 


 
Changing Battery in iComm
 
The battery in my iComm started to die, so I had to get a new one.
Changing the battery itself is no biggie, it just requires you buy the correct battery and open the iComm, which has only ONE screw holding it together.
One can order a new one from the same person that sells the iComm, but that turned out to be pretty expensive for just one battery (including international shipping, mind you), so I decided to do a little surgery and modify the iComm with a different solution: soldering on a batteryholder.

The battery contained inside the iComm is a pretty specific one in that it has two pins on the underside (+ and -) that attach in two holes on the circuit board something that is pretty uncommon for buttoncell batteries.
The battery is a Tadiran TL-2450 with 3.6 volts and 560mAh of capacity. They are pretty rare and a bit expensive considering the alternatives.
BUT, the good thing is that it should be possible to get a different battery with the same amount of current and the same voltage and swap them without problem, I chose to use a similar battery in the CR-2450. Many brands have these, and they are quite common.

So I went on ebay and bought five batteryholders for 2450-batteries from China (four extra so I can give out to others that have iComms).

I bought a Varta CR-2450 from a local store (Clas Ohlson for those living in Scandinavia) for 5.00USD. It has 3 volts and 560mAh of capacity.

Edit: After the first semester of an electrical engineering course, I thought I knew about batteries, turns out I don't. After speaking to Jim Sauter (the maker of the iComm), he tells me the iComm is very sensitive to differences in voltage, and after having used my 3V battery (instead of the required 3.6V) i found it loosing its juice after just one troop. So I have to recommend that you get a buttoncell battery that is 3.6V and the higher capacity the better (with the original Tadiran at 560mAh).

First the parts laid out:

I ended up having to use much longer wires as I had to solder them to the positive and negative pins on the underside because the box is really snug and there is no room to spare.


The Tadiran-battery removed, and you can see the holes where the pins for the positive and negative poles go. Notice that the positive pole in this case goes to the center hole, not the one at the edge with the square marking around it (usually dictating positive polarity on other circuit boards):


After a lot of fiddling and trial and error (space-wise) I managed to solder the wires from the correct poles to the terminals on the batteryholder:


The new battery in place, and it can now be easily changed with a common store-bought battery whenever the need should arise:

 
This should be a pretty easy modification for anyone with basic soldering-skills.
 
With Unquestioned Loyalty,

Martin Sivertsen
TK- 3664
 
 


 
In Another Galaxy/Star Wars Weekend, Strong National Museum of Play.
 
The Canadian Garrison had the honor and privilege of being invited by Garrison Excelsior to join them at the Strong National Museum of Play's "In Another Galaxy/Star Wars Weekend." This event draws a very large crowd over the weekend, bringing in DOUBLE the normal weekend attendance. There were 6,000 estimated visitors in attendance. The Canadian Garrison brought a large contingent of troopers (of all types) as well as a few large props (Death Star backdrop, AT-ST and an Emperor's throne). Congratulations to both garrisons for a job well done! 
 

 

 


Read all about it here!
 
With Unquestioned Loyalty,

Sam Kisselburg
TK-85254 "Kessel Run"
Public Relations Officer


 
Don't Forget We're on Facebook and Twitter!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/whitearmor
Now with "tip of the week" and other ongoing discussions. If you're on FB, stop by and say hi, ask questions, and share stories!

Twitter: www.twitter.com/FISD501st or @FISD501st
To find out what the Emperor's dancers are up to at any given moment, follow FISD on Twitter!

With Unquestioned Loyalty,

Sam Kisselburg
TK-85254 "Kessel Run"
Public Relations Officer

On behalf of the 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment Command Staff.

End Transmission.

 

[Kessel Run[TK]]

sorry for the delay folks we had a little trouble getting the images to upload but here you go. hope you enjoy. 

[captsafe66[Admin]]

Great issue!  Better late than never.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Another great read, thanks all

[sve5mh]

great information here!

[zoekoner[TK]]

Just read this news letter Lol better late then never... Unless your on a troop then dont be late

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited December 4, 2013 by zoekoner

[kylebeagle[TK]]

Excellent!! Thank you...

[jkno]

Great issue!!!

[deha]

great read, thanks!

[TrooperPX[TK]]

It was a great time.  I'll be in white armor soon enough! 

[Clamps[TK]]

Great job team!

[Holnave (evan_loh)[TK]]

Nice work!

[PlayfulWolfCub]

Thanks Eric, I appreciate the appreciation     I didn't know you were following the thread - glad you're enjoying it.

Is there any way of finding out the total number of people are following the Research thread? 

 

Cheers, Andy

 

PS - I often don't receive Newsletter notifications.  I'm subscribed but got nothing through this month again & I've checked Spam so it's not that.  Do any other people have similar problems?

Edited December 5, 2013 by PlayfulWolfCub

[Darth Aloha[Admin]]

Thanks Eric, I appreciate the appreciation     I didn't know you were following the thread - glad you're enjoying it.

Is there any way of finding out the total number of people are following the Research thread? 

 

Cheers, Andy

 

PS - I often don't receive Newsletter notifications.  I'm subscribed but got nothing through this month again & I've checked Spam so it's not that.  Do any other people have similar problems?

 

You're welcome Andy. I think a lot of folks have been following your research. If you look in the forum where your threads are located you'll see the number of views the thread has received. I'm not sure if that's exactly what you're looking for. If you compare it to other seemingly popular threads the number becomes more meaningful. 

 

Actually the staff has been so wrapped up that we're just getting the email notification out today. Expect it in your inbox some time in the next few hours.

 

Thanks!

 

-Eric

[MartinSivertsen[501st]]

Thanks for being included in the newsletter!

There's just two things: I edited the HOWTO on the iComm after it was posted, it would be nice if the edited version could be posted instead :-) And my TK-ID is 3664 ;-)

[zebrabuse]

Excellent read always! Thanks guys for the hard work.

[PlayfulWolfCub]

You're welcome Andy. I think a lot of folks have been following your research. If you look in the forum where your threads are located you'll see the number of views the thread has received. I'm not sure if that's exactly what you're looking for. If you compare it to other seemingly popular threads the number becomes more meaningful. 

 

Actually the staff has been so wrapped up that we're just getting the email notification out today. Expect it in your inbox some time in the next few hours.

 

Thanks!

 

-Eric

 

Thanks Eric, I just received my newsletter notification 

 

I was hoping to know how many people have clicked "Follow" on my research thread, rather than how many visits it's had (since some people have visited many times.)  Would the FISD webmaster know?   If so, who is it now?

 

Cheers, Andy

Edited December 9, 2013 by PlayfulWolfCub

[Ales]

The longer I shelve building of armor, the stricter requirements to the armor.

[Wheeljack]

It's still November is some parts of the galaxy.

[thesandwichlivz]

My current assembly method with RT-Mod is the overlap method, and even though it puts me out of the running for centurion, and I'm actually totally cool with it. I think the centurion title should reflect the hard work, dedication, and skill of those individuals who strive for perfection and screen accuracy. The overlap method for ANH derived, (as smexy as I think it looks) isn't screen accurate. This post is merely me showing my agreement, lol. Great newsletter and very informative!

Edited December 10, 2013 by thesandwichlivz

[Oztrooper[TK]]

Always look forward to this...Thanks

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Excellent work as always, your instincts serve you (and all of us) well....

[Lucky Jack[TK]]

Loved it - thanks to all for their hard work in creating these issues !!!

[PiettLives[TK]]

I see you are looking for pics of Wampas for next month's issue. Where do we send them too?