September 2015 Newsletter

[Holnave (evan_loh)[TK]]

 

From the DL

In Memoriam

Legion News

Around the Detachment

Notable Troops

Just for Fun

Memoirs of a Stormtrooper
Advanced Tactics Awards
Follow FISD

 

 

 

Aloha kakou,

 

It has been far too long since you have heard from me in a newsletter. For that I aplogize. Darth Life has had me in an unending force choke of late. There is a lot going on around FISD in spite of my silence. Consider this newsletter entry my Gratitude Edition (possibly also the "I love you man" edition.) Read on to find out why. 

 

First Order Stormtrooper CRL

 

 

The biggest news of the month is the initial completion of the First Order Stormtrooper from the Force Awakens (TFA) Costume Reference Library (CRL.) The CRL is now green on the 501st Legion main site and now people who own the costume may be approved members of the Legion. New costume additions are rare in the Legion these days. It is also unusual to add a costume for a movie that has yet to be released. What is even more rare is that the CRL was created collaboratively with transparency right here on FISD. Anyone who cared to was able to provide input on every detail of the text. This is the very first pass at the CRL and there will be corrections and additions as more people are approved locally. Thank you FISD for your help realizing this CRL.

 

FISD Achievement Award

In First Order TK related news I am proud to announce that Clint Randall (Camprandall/TK-61281) is the most recent recipient of the FISD Achievment Award. It has been some time since we handed one of these out that you may not know what it is. The little gray ribbon next to some member's names is given to non staff members to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service to FISD. 

 

At some point during the development of the First Order Stormtrooper CRL I realized I did not have the wherewithal to finish what we had started. I contacted Clint and asked if he would lead the charge. And lead he did. If it were not for his diligence, dedication and perseverance the CRL would not be green today. 

As the first wave of TFA TKs were building their kits in secret a private forum was opened for everyone to post build photos and ask questions before Celebration 7. Clint was the binding force during the arduous and quick build. He pioneered building techniques, kept us organized, and cheered us on. While that all did not occur on FISD Clint embodied the true spirit of Troopers Helping Troopers. He continues his thankless work here on FISD with his build thread and helping other TFA troopers get up and running.

 

Please stop by Clint's TFA build thread and thank him for his dedication to FISD and to the Legion. 

 

 

Unsung Heros of FISD

 

In giving out an Achievment Award I began thinking about all the troopers that allow FISD to be community that it is. There is a lot that goes on without too many people knowing. Some are staff members and others are FISD addicts you know and love. All mostly go unnoticed. 

 

The first on my list is Bluehickey. Few know it but Ryan is the guy who photoshops nearly every single EIB action photo into the trading card style image on the EIB page. When an EIB is granted our DO posts the photo in a thread in the FISD PR area. Ryan quietly comes along and photoshops them to be uploaded to the server. He has been doing this off and on for years and has been a member of FISD since April of 2009. 

 

Next is NoVATie our Membership Officer. Here is another trooper who does his duty without much notereity or fuss. A.C. handles all incoming requests for accses to 501st or TK only areas of the forums. He also helps in keeping track of all of our Attaches around the world and answers emails from users having trouble logging in. The duties he performs are done tirelessly and happily with dedication beyond most. The guy seems to log in just about every day and does his thing and has for years. 

 

I have not done as many merchendise runs as I promised I would during my campaign but this summer two troopers have sucked up more personal time than they signed up for to do so. Both Clint (a different one)/cm325i and Tim/DarkCMF were both pulled into the merch vortex full force with patches and racing shirts repsectively. While Tim has yet to feel the full pain of a giant shirt order, Clint has been captain post office for patches. I will not be able to express my gratitude full until I meet both of them in person but I still give them my endless thanks for picking up my merch slack this year. 

 

The unoffical FISD welcoming committee needs a mention too. These are the troopers for years have posted in nearly every introduction thread and typically answer the same newbie quesion over and over again. I apologize if I leave anyone out but many thanks to Glen/gmrhodes13 (who has declined many staff postions because he is too humble and busy), Eric/Tolo, Tony/ukswrath, and Andrew/Sly11. No one asked them to be the welcome wagon but here they are every day doing it regardless. 

 

Our quiet helpful resident arbiter of accuracy is Germain/The5thHorseman who is ever helpful and vastly knowledgeable on all things TK. One of my favorite things about Germain beyond his dedication to Troopers Helping Troopers, is his willingness to admit he is wrong or does not know something. If you are in the midst of a TK build I guarantee Germain has read your build thread and likely commented on it.

 

Our New Web Server

 

As I am sure everyone is aware we moved our web server to a different host. Starting around the time of Celebration 7 all the way to now we have seen an increase in web traffic due to the impending release of The Force Awakens and related activity. It was time for more computing horsepower at a reasonable rate. 

 

The move of data went very well but I managed to forget one small step pertaining to domain name services. For about a week this caused two thirds of our users to not be able to reach the server. The site was up and chugging along but most people could not reach it. I consider that a ridiculous amount of time to have a site unreachable and I thank everyone for their patience and keeping their cool. I was surprised I did not get any hate email while it was occurring. 

The new server is much speedier and even the most casual of users will notice an improvement. While the forum search still cannot find it's butt plate with both hands, at least it returns the wrong results faster now. One of the nice things about the new server is that we are automatically backed up safely and securely. 

 

My thanks go to Mathias/Locitus for helping me with the server move. When he isn't being terse on FISD, he is (and has been for years) my unix helpdesk support, collaborator, troubleshooter, technical moral support and all around server nerd. I could not do this detachment web hosting thing without him. 

 

Very soon I will be passing the hat to help pay for this year's hosting cost. Please give whatever you can. Maybe this year I'll get around to giving out those supporter badges that I neglected to do last year. 

 

Cleaning up the Legacy Female TK CRL

 

On my todo list is tidying up the Legacy Female Stormtrooper CRL. There are a handful of wording problems that need to be addressed after the initial release of the CRL. Bzb/Bobby has been been amazingly helpful and insistent in the CRL cleanup. All the mods have been approved by the LMO. I only need to make the edits. Once I add the blasters and other details to the TFA TK CRL I will move on to the Legacy trooper CRL editing. 

 

Here is a short, incomplete and off the top of my head list of pending changes:

• Clarify the number range of tube stripes.
• Remove the need for belt boxes to be functional and attached with clips.
• Add the word "approximately" to any measurement. 
• Remove some of the OT thermal detonator wording.
• Remove the seamless requirements on parts for later use in L2. 

Blaster Reference Madness

 

 

 

Are you building an accurate E-11 blaster? If so please head right to the FISD E-11 Blaster Reference thread.

 

Months ago I was approached by a handful of blaster nutballs about setting aside a corner of FISD to cover all things E-11. I agreed and they worked off the forum for a while and I had even forgotten about the request. Then one day they said they were ready to start posting. The group created their own FISD user and image hosting so no one user owned the content. I gave them a private area on FISD to start posting the content. My eyes literally went wide when I saw what they had done. Five members from around the world came together and defined the word collaboration to produce the most detailed series of HOWTOs complete with linked table of contents in the first post...33 chapters of blaster building madness. Even if you do not care about blasters please look at the level of care and detail these dudes created.

 

This effort is a model for many things that include how to write and format tutorials, what real collaboration looks like, and Troopers Helping Troopers. 

 

Congrats Bulldog44 (Brian), Dark CMF (Tim), Sith Lord (Ian), T-Jay (Tino), Usaeatt2 (Aaron) on job well done. 

 

Changes to the Legion Operating Protocols

 

A small but important change to the Legion's Operating Protocols have been made recently. It concerns how CRLs are changed and effects every detachment in the Legion. Does anyone remember my FISD CRL Change Policy I was so proud of? While still relevant it is slightly made irrelevant by this change that our current LMO wrote and proposed.

Here is the section:

 

Quote

CRL Development

Costuming standards are developed by the detachments under the supervision of the LMO. In cases where there is no detachment affiliation, the LMO shall work directly with the member(s) to develop a standard.

 

By default, the Detachment Leader shall act as the CRL liaison to the LMO. The Detachment Leader may choose to designate one or more detachment members to act as CRL liaisons, if necessary.

• The detachment CRL liaison(s) shall solicit feedback from the membership and use that feedback to develop a standard that is fair and achievable while still maintaining the level of quality expected of the Legion.
• The detachment CRL liaison(s) may publish the content as a work in progress directly to 501st.com or submit changes to the LMO team.
• The LMO will review the CRL entry to ensure that it is accurate and represents an acceptable level of guidance.
• Completed CRLs will be marked as approved in the Legion membership database by the LMO and locked to prevent further editing. (see "CRL Revisions" below)

 

 

What does this mean for the detachments? We are in charge of our own CRLs not the LMO. It also means that the LMO is the approver for the changes we propose and cannot just make changes to our CRL arbitrarily. This also states that the members of each detachment should ask their members about the changes to be made. The most fun of all is that DLs may edit the work in progress CRLs directly on the 501st site once the LMO approves of the changes. The DL - LMO relationship has finally been defined with neither party having full autonomy to do as they please. I am pleased by these changes as it means that we have a framework to get along with every LMO that comes along. 

 

FISD Gets a New XO

 

After some discussion with our current XO, Squeaky, we have decided to swap him out for another Canadian Garrison TK. Like me, Squeaky has been wrapped up in life outside of the forums this year. His heart is always in the right place and has made his mark as XO. What FISD needs right now is at least one of the officers to be fully engaged in the goings ons. I think of the XO as more of a Chief Operating Officer of a corporation who deals with the day to day runnings of the company. That leaves the CEO or DL to deal with higher level stuff or to spend too much time traveling internationally for his work. With both Squeaky and I off living our non FISD lives I felt we needed someone to dive in with enthusiasm. Squeaky thankfully will remain on staff and help out as he can. 

 

Meet Mechapumpkin our new XO. Danny has the time, skills, and talents for the job. He is an active member of the Canadian Garrison and is deeply passionate about the Legion. Danny has hosted many armor parties at his house to get new recruits as much help as possible. To get to know Danny and his style check out his AP build thread. 

 

Danny and I are just now starting to work on a list of his tasks and goals. I have no doubt that you will know his intentions to effect change around our forums sooner than later. 

 

 

Danny and Darth Aloha, your FISD XO and DL.

 

With Unquestioned Loyalty and Aloha,

 

Eric Brager
TK-9674 "Darth Aloha"
Detachment Leader

 

 

 

Hiroyuki Hayashida TK-2006 of the Japanese Garrison

 

 

A Japanese Garrison member by name of Takefumi Tenshima wrote this about the sudden passing of Hiroyuki Hayashida:

I've heard a sudden news that old retired JG member Hiroyuki Hayashida (TK2006) passed away yesterday(Aug 3). He had been a well known 3DCG artist, he participated a lot of works of TVCMs, movies and video games. The most popular work is Final Fantasy the movie. 11 years passed since he retired 501st activity, now only a few people know about he was the 501st. But still I remember he enjoyed building TK armor and trooping. I wish I could see him until the eternal separation...
Hiroyuki-san, enjoy trooping in heaven, your TKID is eternal. I won't forget you.

 

- Takefumi Tenshima

 

 

Dianna Ronald of the Canadian Garrison was sick for a few years and recently passed away.

 

 

 

The IPM contacted Dianna's son James to write about her:

 

I know the 501st is a tight and ever growing family which is powered by the never ending kindness of all of its members. So I know a great number of you were hit really hard with the passing of my mother.
When she first discovered the 501 she was an enthusiastic participant and loved going to the different events and connecting with the Star Wars fans.
There was one little boy who followed her, who would insist his parents take him to see her at different events, and would wait however long it took just to talk with her. She made people feel special.

Dianna was a very kind and light hearted person. Always jumping at the opportunity to make jokes and be herself. One of the places she could most be herself was the 501st. It was very important to her. She had a place to express her passions with other people. It was most important to her over the past few years when she couldn't get out and socialize in person. This collective experience changed her life and was a beacon in her final days.

 

When you are as sick as she was for as long as she was the world can seem super small and by being able to still connect with you all through the internet made it seem a bit bigger. She was always proud to tell people about the wonderful charitable work the 501st does.

So I'd like to thank all of you for being so important in her life and making her an important part of yours.

You all do amazing work never stop doing it.

 

- James

 

 

Dan Bergeron SL-3967 of the Wisconsin Garrison

 

On the 21st of August, 2015 Dan Bergeron (SL 3967) of the 501st Wisconsin Garrison passed away. Ever since his first convention, Dan wanted to become a Stormtrooper. That dream was realized with the support of his friends in the 501st Legion. Dan delighted most in having his family join in him in costuming and helping others realize their costume goals. Dan is survived by his beloved children Paige and Brandon. To his wife and soulmate Julia, Dan will forever be her “Sith in Shining Armor.”

 

 

It is with great pride that we enter them into the Hall of Eternal Legionaries.

 

Buckets off troopers.

 

 

 

Kevin Doyle's wife Eileen had two battles with cancer and after losing to the second one Kevin decided to honor Eileen by walking the West Coast of California from San Francisco to San Diego on June 6th 2015 in Stormtrooper armor to raise the funds to create a nonprofit foundation Eileen's Little Angels that will help children battling cancer.

 

The following was taken from Kevin's 501 Mile Walk Facebook Page (https://www.facebook...o?tab=page_info):

 

My name is Kevin and this is a story about my wife Eileen. Eileen Shige Doyle was so full of life and energy and she always had things to do and places to go and people to see...she was always putting her family and friends first. In High School she was so passionate about gymnastics and drumline and boy did she love to dance. At the end of the day it was all about her relationships...the kind of friendships that stay with you for a lifetime. After high school it was her new born son Jaymes and he put the wind into her sails and at times it was not an easy life but for Eileen it remained a fairytale life...she had such a strong spirit. And it was this strength that carried her through her battle with cancer, a battle that robber her of a year of her life. For twelve months she called Abbott Northwestern Hospital her home, suffering through days of treatment that nearly killed her only to repeat it over and over until she had finally beat it. Eileen continued on with hope, and family as she lived each day never looking back, living in the moment with a new life in front of her. Moving forward several years...Jaymes now a young man and on his own, Eileen and I were introduced by mutual friends and in 2010 on a beautiful October afternoon we were married in our back yard garden in East Bethel, Minnesota but our fairytale life was torn apart in October of 2011 when Eileen was diagnosed with cancer once again, so for thirteen months our hope and faith was challenged but on November 7th of 2012 Eileen lost her battle with cancer. From that day forward the sun does not rise for me, everyday is November the 7th, my candle has burned out. Eileen was the most amazing person I ever knew, she was so beautiful, so thoughtful and she was loved by everyone who knew her. Eileen was the center of so many lives just as she was in my life but while our time together here on earth was so very short my devotion to her is life long and I can't imagine my life without her. So I honor her with every breath I take and I keep her spirit close to my heart as I continue on. One of the things that Eileen and I loved to do each and every day was to draw, we would sit side by side and draw for hours on end, she was such a talented and wonderfully creative person, drawing so many adorable characters and each reflecting her unique personality. Eileen was so popular at the Comic Book Shows...appearing as a guest artists, her fans were of all ages and would surround her table with smiles on their face and full of conversation. But most importantly...they were all her friends. And now, with Eileen no longer with us to share her inspiration and kindness I still attend the comic book shows, but not so much for myself but rather more to honor Eileen and the art she created and to keep her presence at the shows. Her fans still stop by to enjoy her artwork but because I do not have her original work available...I have recreated her characters in new artwork. It is in her spirit that I have created several items featuring her artwork which I will share with children battling cancer and it is for this reason I am walking the West Coast of California from San Francisco to San Diego come June 6th in my Stormtrooper armor to raise the funds needed to not only create these things but to also create a nonprofit foundation in her honor...Eileen's Little Angels. My walk will begin from the world famous Star Wars museum...Rancho Obi-Wan in Petaluma, California just north of San Francisco and finish up in San Diego at Comic Con on July 9th. Eileen and I both shared a passion for Star Wars and are members of the world wide costuming organization the 501st Legion and as a member I regularly participate in charitable events, fund raising and various walks. This time I will be walking in Eileen's memory. With the money raised I will be able to create such things as a coloring book, bandana's, a blanket and plush toys...all featuring Eileen's artwork. It is my hope that this walk will help me to heal and give my life purpose by sharing Eileen's spirit through her artwork with children battling cancer and put a little sunshine into their lives. Thank you so much for taking the time to read Eileen's story and for helping me to keep her spirit alive. To donate please use this link. https://www.crowdris...ser/kevindoyle2

 

All my best,

~Kevin Doyle

 

Tune in to the 93X Half-Assed Morning Show (93.7 FM KXXR) on Friday, September 18, 2015 at 8:30am to hear Kevin live for his Minnesota-exclusive post-walk interview!

 

Please give him all your support troopers!

 

 

 

 

Toronto FanExpo 2015

Another FanExpo has come and gone for Toronto and as always, it leaves us with fantastic memories and new friendships. Sorry, I had to do a sappy line. The incredible 4-day event takes place at the Metro Toronto Convention Center. The MTCC consists of 2 buildings, North and South, with a combined floorspace of over 600,000 sq ft. And that floorspace gets utterly packed to the tits with people. As you'll see in the photo below there are a significant amount of escalators, "eleventeen" as our DL once put it.



I have not yet found the event attendance for this year. Last year we reached 127,995 attendees. This year, we had almost 100 members attend between the 501st, Rebel Legion, and Droid Builders. The Canadian Garrison happily hosted multiple Garrisons: Garrison Excelsior, Capital City Garrison, Forteresse Impériale Squad (Canadian Garrison), Old Line Garrison, and New England Garrison. Each one of these Garrisons were represented last year and most returned from previous years. It’s exciting that that these nerds keep coming back for more.

Booth Sections
This year our booth footprint was 20’x50’. We may or may not have extended a little further :| We built on last year’s successful design, reusing existing sets and props. The idea behind our booth build is that it is made up of modular (10’x10’ sections) which allows us to swap entire sections or single panels in and out for near-endless set-up possibilities and the ability to conform to the different spaces we get at events.


The Tantive/Death Star/Red Control Room were built last year over approximately 2 months. The Garrison pooled together funds and mad-skills to make it happen. The Emperor’s throne was built last year but given a facelift this year with new upholstery and a modular 10’x10’ window (with a great view into utter blackness). The window took about 2 weeks to complete and was built by our master builder, Ken.


Tantive IV Door - This section we use for Blast a Trooper which is always an enormous draw for fans. Watching the kids, young and old, get so much joy and satisfaction from covering our ever-patient troops with little foam darts is fantastic. Being the trooper on the range is one of my favorite booth duties because I love taunting and playing with the kids. It’s even better when we have double troopers on the range and you can play off each other, trying to convince the kids to hit your partner instead.


Tantive IV Hallway - This section is where we housed our raffle table to one side while the rest was open for droids and costume characters to interact and take photos with the public.


Red Control Room - This is our dedicated Information Center. Staffed with Legion members to answer questions (including where the washrooms are). We have multiple touch screen information kiosks containing information on the 501st, Rebel Legion, and Droid Builder groups and their costume CRLs.


Death Star Throne Room - Here we have the Emperor's throne prop for photo ops. People can make a donation and get a photo of their sith-wannabe selves. This area is staffed with a handler and costumers.


Endor - A full scale speeder bike prop, a ½ scale AT-ST, and an 18’ forest mural background. We used this section for people to donate and get a photo op on the bike. This was a huge hit. We also had a high powered floor fan in front of the bike. It looked extra-badass having people's hair blow in the wind. The bike was built by Ken in about 2 months. There was also a mounted video screen showing the proper way to mount the bike for people to watch as they waited in line.


This video was created by one of our members, Paul Jursa, and it captures some of the booth setup and goings on at the event. There are some really neat candid moments shown as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5vGm_6guOc

 

Money Raised for Make a Wish
So here’s the important part because aside from the comradery we nerd-folk get from dressing up together and having a blast at conventions, we also have a purpose. It is with a significant amount of pride in my 501st brothers and sisters hard work and dedication that I can announce our total funds raised over the 4 days for Make-a-Wish Canada. Well done troops!



Marches
The Saturday TK march has been a FanExpo tradition since 2011. Last year additional marches were formed on the other days of the event. I wasn’t present for the marches, except the TK march or the panels so I went with the difficult task of outsourcing people’s opinions. The authors of the following sections are as noted below.

Friday Tattoine March (by Michelle D - Canadian Garrison)
On day 2, the Denizens of the Empire invaded Fan Expo for a Tatooine March. As the Canadian Garrison’s roster of Tuskens and Sandtroopers has grown, this has become a Fan Expo Friday tradition — with our numbers made greater by friends from Garrison Excelsior, New England Garrison and Capital City Garrison. The march was a milestone for two Canadian Garrison members: our regular handler Glenna Williams (DZ 19722) notched her first-ever troop as a member, and Derek Wong (TB 1605) took his Tusken out for the first time.

This year’s march was the biggest yet. Four Sandtroopers (TD 7174, TK 9464, SL 3090, TD 10300), eight Tuskens (DZ 7436, DZ 9572, DZ 9215, TB 1605, DZ 19722, TK 17011, SL 9223, CC 3720) and Boba Fett (BH 6036) snaked their way through the crowd in single file, joined by five Jawas — children of Canadian Garrison XO TK 25267, and TD- 7174 and DZ-7436.



TK March (by Danny/MechaPumpkin - Canadian Garrison)
Saturday September 5th, FanExpo, high noon . . . A stirring begins in the area directly in front of the 501st booth. A TK emerges, then another, and another. 29 TKs in all assembled for the white march that afternoon, and boy was it shiny.

Just prior to this, Darth Slolee (Brian Slowleigh) had taken a small contingent of troopers along the planned route. Dominic Sinopoli, Lobo Morse, Ryan Casey and myself. We briefly walked the North building, where the 501st booth was located, and out the doors into the 30C/86F heat. Along Front Street we marched, down between the buildings of the convention and into an elevator. From there we went down 2 flights of escalators and into the South building. On this lap, we stopped at a few booths. Saying hello to friends of the Legion, and providing photo ops for their patrons and surrounding con goers. We harassed a few gamers playing the Battlefront demo. Standing behind them until they noticed. "Hey, are they?" "Yeah, they're shooting Stormtroopers!" "Bro! You shootin' troopers bro?!?!". Back through the food area we went, up the escalators and back to our booth where the assembly took place.

29 shiny Stormtroopers and handlers then marched that route at a steady clip. Darth Slolee’s shouts of, "MAKE WAY FOR THE EMPIRE!" could be heard through the hall and above the din of con chatter. Ken Stremlaw, along with other handlers in Imperial uniforms, helped keep the civilians in check, and the troopers on target. We filled the escalators from top to bottom. We filled the rows from end to end. A minority were put off, and vocal about it, but even they couldn’t hide their awe at our numbers. The sweet outweighed the sour and the march was a huge success. We stopped for a thorough inspection, which we passed with flying colours (FISD rules!) and then back to the North building we trooped!

Inspection Video

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usM-5tENm2o

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Out of armour, a day later, I was stopped and interviewed for a local TV station. When asked what my favourite part of the con was, I informed him (full disclosure) I was a member of the Legion, and that for me it was the march. The interviewer smiled and said, “That’s what a lot of people said”. I smiled back. It was a record setting march for the Canadian Garrison, and my humble privilege to have been among them.

Sunday Tie Pilot Fly-by (by Tom K - Garrison Excelsior)
Fan Expo Toronto , was the setting for Fan Expo's 1st ever Tie Pilot Fly-by. The Mission was to tour the North Building of the Toronto Metro Convention Center during the last day of the 4-day Fan Expo Comicon. A group of 9 Tie Pilots gathered in front of the magnificent expo booth created by members of the 501st Canadian Garrison.

This group consisted of: three 181st Pilots: Husband & Wife Pilots Luc (TI-18610), Teresa (TI-12787), and myself, Tom (TI-9767) Count Aztec. I took this opportunity to celebrate the premiere of my newly Legion approved 181st Pilot costume as well as my 300th troop as a tie pilot. There were also four standard tie pilots: Roy (TI-829) the Canadian Garrison CO, Charles (TI-25267) Clamps the Canadian Garrison XO, Ken (TI-9418) Ponyboy, and Paul (TI-34624) Butters. There were two reserve pilots: Husband & Wife Pilots David (TI-9215) and Kimberly (TI-9572) Ramsey.

Led by Brian (SL-4338), we departed the 501st booth at 12:30pm and proceeded through the North Building for approximately 30 minutes, making stops for photo-ops, and ending the fly-by back at the 501st Booth.



Panels
Kids Hour (by Andrew M - Canadian Garrison)
The Star Wars Kid’s Hour is a panel that is run by the Canadian Base/Canadian Garrison/R2 Builders at Fan Expo Canada. This year, our goal was to make each session informative, interactive, and engaging for the kids in the audience. We ran three sessions this year, one per day on Friday/Saturday/Sunday.
In the first session, we taught the kids how to draw Jedi Master Yoda using techniques employed by artists and animators.


The second session focused on our droids and how we build them. The kids also participated in a craft in which they built their own droids.


The final session included some Star Wars trivia and a lightsaber building craft.


Costume, Mask, and Prop Panel (by David R/TrooperPX - Garrison Excelsior)
This panel had approximately 200-300 in attendance and included costumed Characters: Steve “Squeaky” - TK, Keith P - Biker Scout, and Kimberly Ramsay – Sand Trooper. The panel moderator was Roy (CG CO), and the Panelists were 501st members: Jordan, Doug “Bobafuss”, and David Ramsay.

After Roy welcomed the room and introduced the panelists, Jordan walked us through his recent Chewbacca project. He explained how for him, he wanted to build the head using the same construction techniques as the original. Having spent years gathering reference and behind the scenes images, the head was built in separate, serviceable and replicable elements. The skull understructure includes a movable jaw and upper lip, using casts coming from the film-used teeth. The “skin” and fur is removable so it gives an accurate look and feel to the persona.



Roy continued by fielding questions about sculpting and fabricating armor. Differences between plastics were explained, and the vacuform process to pull armor and helmet pieces. He briefly touched on how helmets such as the Clone and Boba Fett helmets are made from resin.



The discussion then went to Doug, who discussed the different fabrics used in various costumes. He explained the differences between the way fabric looks versus hangs. You can get fabric that may look correct but does not drape and wear the same way. He gave examples of how most of the costumes use natural fibers such as wool, linen, silk, etc. and how cotton/poly blends, while cheaper, will not look quite right. He continued about making accurate patterns, or correcting purchased patterns, to make garments from scratch, over modifying a store-bought item.



After another brief question and answer period, David discussed the use of found-objects in the Star Wars universe. He noted the origin of the term “greeblie” and produced several examples. He displayed a vibroaxe and pointed out the found-objects used. Using the Sand Trooper costumer, he pointed out the various Tupperware and other found-objects on the TD backpack. He concluded his exploration with the evolution of the bee-stinger part used on the Sand Trooper backpack. With each video format improvement (VHS to DVD to BluRay), the MEPD (Mos Eisley Police Department, Detachment for TDs) was able to improve the details over the years. Then how in 2014, the original part was finally identified, and the process for making their own version available to their members.
The panel concluded and the guests were welcomed up to have a closer look at the props that had been on display, and to ask the panelists questions one-on-one.



Toronto Star Wars Unboxing event and TFA Promos (by Krista C/KME1682 - New England Garrison)
In the star system that is the Toronto Fan Expo, our cadre of TFA troopers and assistants celebrated Force Friday through a TV spot and product unveiling. In many respects, the local TV spots were like any other troop. There was delight, awe and appreciation for life-size walking action figures. There were questions about costume tailoring, how to join the Legion and convivial discussion about Star Wars. I greatly enjoyed the theatrics of our weather newscaster, who creatively shared info about Star Wars merchandise, the 501st and Star Wars in general. I felt especially welcomed as one of the four TFA TKs. Local garrison members, Phil and Clamps made an extra effort to put together a TFA blaster so that I wouldn’t be an “odd one out” or excluded from the event if the TV station wanted symmetry. It was such a generous and kind effort.
The Legion excels at direct, interactive fan experiences, which the First Order quickly brought to those in line as Hasbro unveiled their Force Friday booth. We met and had pictures special guests such as Elsa, Wonder Woman, (Clone) Cody and a few Jedi all under 10 years old. We shared mutual appreciation for costuming fandom with exuberant adult attendees.



All in all this was one of my two favourite experiences regarding FanExpo Force Friday, which is engagement of diverse fandom who enjoy being a part of that galaxy far, far away. The second was the comradery with my fellow troopers and assistants. It was very similar to my experience working among the Alpha 75 builders, which became my favourite experience of Celebration. There was synergistic, collective energy to support a common goal. During FanExpo this common goal, to costume with excellence, echoed beyond Force Friday. As I reflect on my experience as a TFA (FO) TK, I think in many ways this reverberation continues on FISD as troopers help troopers to build to the best of their ability, to learn and hone skills to better their ability and to generally support this pursuit of collective excellence. I enjoy being a part of the supportive work on FISD, and was very glad to have trooped FanExpo with my TFA TK buddies in the Canadian Garrison!



Celebrity Visits to the 501st Booth
Our booth even attracts the eye of celebrities from time to time. Last year we had visits from Nathon FIllion, Garrick Hagon (Biggs), and LeAnna Vamp. This year we were visited by Steve Blum, the voice of Star Wars Rebels ‘Zeb’ and also Rick Mercer, a Canadian comedian, television personality, and political satirist.

Zeb Video:

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlVhQd3kGP8

 

There is a running joke in our Garrison with one of the members, Ponyboy, who makes the same face in all his pictures. We call this the "Pony-face". After having Steve visit our booth we now have the "Zeb-face".

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Time Out in a New Chewie (Sean S - Canadian Garrison)

Long time Vader (SL-8350) here, newly born Chewbacca (neither of which are white I know but Private Pickles asked for this write up).

 

After years of discussion with our wizard-like GML, a brief mention to him that I wasn't going to DragonCon this year because of the exchange rate (Thanks Obama) led to him declaring..."well, we have 4 weeks to FanExpo, lets go for it". 

Not thinking it was possible we dove in head first.... namely he cast my head. It should be noted that he works in the film business as a makeup artist so this stuff is second nature to him. 

 

After that it was a dizzy few weeks of after hour clandestine meetings, scotch, measurements in odd places, express mail orders, emptied bank accounts, hairs everywhere and a continual "we're not gonna make it" feeling in my gut. 

But, and as they've shown many a time before, our Garrison (and as I'm sure many of you have experienced with your Garrisons) has some really amazing members with a wide variety of skills, people with big hearts who were glad to help. Whether it was with electronics, scratch-building or sewing, they came through selflessly. To all of them, once again, thank you.

 

Chewie 1.0 debuted at Fan Expo.

 

Donning my sexy unitard (stay back ladies), strapping a big speaker to my chest for the bass-heavy wookiee roars, slathering my eyes in black makeup (which I could never really get rid of giving me a Jack Sparrow like look all weekend) and then finally getting into the fur, I made it out to the floor. 

 

Man, people F'n LOVE Chewbacca.

 

I couldn't go anywhere without high fives, people warbling wookiee roars at me (best part...roaring back...loudly) and constants yells of "CHEWIE". My only regret is that we never got to recreate the infamous ANH chase through the Deathstar. Namely, our resident Luke, Leia, Han and I were to run (ok..trot) a few minutes ahead of our famous Saturday TK march (30 strong this year), constantly looking behind us like we we're being pursued. It would have been a lovely "in-joke" for the fans.

 

Regardless, it was a good debut, and the best part as always, were the smiles on the kids (and many adults) faces. Even better though then all of that, our Garrison raised 21K this year for make-A-Wish Canada, a new record for us and one I was glad to be part of.

 

 

 

Group Photo
And finally the group photo. Again taken by our amazing photographer Slam (You may recognize his handiwork from the official C7 FISD photos or the fantastic C6 group photo).

 

With Unquestioned Loyalty,

 

Andrea Loar
TK-6093 "Pickles"
Imperial Attache & Canadian Garrison PR Minion

 

 

http://whitearmor.net/images/newsletter2015/notabletroops.png

 

Imperials and rebels from the Philippines, Japan, Thailand, China, Taiwan, Macau, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Indonesia all showed up at Hong Kong Disneyland to march at the Star Wars Fan Parade organized by Disney Asia.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=81&v=9fx3ZAAazT0

 

 

The Great Lakes Garrison, Great Lakes Base, and the Midwest R2 Builders attended Maker Faire Detroit held at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn Michigan.

 

This was a special troop for me because it was my first! After a year of building and waiting and then building some more I finally got to show my armor to someone other than my family.



The Maker Faire is a place where people can show what they are making, and share some of what they are learning. For the Faire we displayed some of the props and costumes we all make and manned the booth to explain to attendees how we created our costumes and weapons.



One of the more popular areas of the display was the Jawa Junk yard.



The turnout from the group was great with sixty members in attendance. We also had a nice contingent of TK's including fellow FISD members, R4ZORBL4DE, Devilmann, and TKed. It was awesome meeting these guys along with the rest of the garrison in person.



On Saturday we did a march around the Museum followed by a TK photo session.



The highlight of the weekend came on Saturday when we had a visit from a young boy who was blind. His father asked if he could feel one of the helmets because he was a huge Star Wars fan. We took the boy behind the tables and let him feel many of the items on display. He got a visit from R2 and loved the droid. We also asked him to wait a few minutes while we tried to find a special guest for him. After a little wait Darth Vader himself came out to pay the boy a visit. He was so happy to see the Dark lord and had a smile from ear to ear. It was that moment that made all the hard work and frustration I went through building my armor worth it.

I can't wait to get back out there again!

Posted by Zarlon (Kyle)

 

With Unquestioned Loyalty,

Glen Rhodes
TK-85421 "gmrhodes13"
Imperial Propaganda Department

 

 

 

We are one step closer to hyperspace travel!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evXqQjpQLjk

 

All Nippon Airways (ANA) in association with Disney is planning to release Star Wars themed flights. Regular service starts in mid-October and to celebrate the ANA STAR WARS Project they announced a Fan Appreciation Flight event on October 17th at Haneda Airport where passengers, which required to board wearing Star Wars costumes, will be the first to experience the R2-D2 ANA JET.

〈Event Details〉
Scheduled Date: October 17, 2015
Number of Guests: 89
Destination: From Haneda to Haneda
Flight Duration: Approximately 2~3 hours (tentative)
 

Guests will have the opportunity to enjoy a special photo session and exclusive experiences offered only on this flight. Want to be a lucky flight member? Follow the link below to find out how to join!

 

===========================================================================================

 

All Nippon Airways have also released two more flights with their routes as follows:

① BB-8™ ANA JET (Boeing 777-300 / International routes)
Here comes the new character "BB-8" from the latest "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" as the new aircraft's painting.
② STAR WARS™ ANA JET (Boeing 767-300 / Domestic routes)
A lovely combination to have both "BB-8" & "R2-D2" on both sides of the jet.
③ R2-D2™ ANA JET will start to fly around the world from October 18 on NH116 (Tokyo Haneda - Vancouver). Other destinations included USA (Seattle, San Jose etc), Europe (Munich, Paris, Brussels etc.), Australia (Sydney) & China (Beijing etc.) "

 

Look out for Stormtroopers in this commercial!

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1r_wl6QhTKE&feature=youtu.be

 

 

With Unquestioned Loyalty,

Evan Loh
TK-24127 "evan_loh"
FISD Public Relations Officer

 

 

This month's Memoir comes to us from Star Garrison member Steve Page (FISD name: YouCantBe Sidious).

As much as we may collectively hate to admit to adulting, when it comes down to it, Steve is the master. In short, he is a very, very busy guy. When I say busy, let me clue you in a little bit as I know he's also the type of guy that won't toot his own horn (although he may play his own guitar).

Steve works for a law firm in Dallas by day. He's also married to his lovely wife Cheri - by day and night. Steve and Cheri recently (August 24th) welcomed their first child, Jude, into their family. Oh, yeah... Jude is already an approved Galactic Academy Cadet (Kylo Ren) - so parenting done ever so right by Steve and Cheri. In addition to that full slate, by night, Steve serves as the singer/guitarist/keyboardist for Dallas area Rock/Metal band RIVETHEAD! (check them out at www.rivetheadonline.com - If you're into loud, fast, heavy music, you are in for a treat!) When Steve isn't taking care of law firm business, daddy or husband duties, rocking everyone in earshot, he's also a very active and involved member of the Star Garrison's North Texas Squad. Steve manages to squeeze in troops every month in either his TK, Death Trooper, a newly approved TB, or a very impressive Tarfful and at the same time serves as a mentor for new recruits and an ambassador for Star Wars in every possible way.

A few months back, Steve and a few other TKs from the Star Garrison had the opportunity to be cast in an LFL event here in Texas that may seem a bit familiar to you as you read through his "Memoir of a Stormtrooper."

We’re not just Stormtroopers… We play them on TV!

So, you join the 501st. You’ve got some beautiful white shiny armor, and you troop, troop, and you troop. For those of us old enough to see the first movie when it came out (Uxbridge Odeon for me in England), getting to wear this armor is something I never thought could happen, but, it did.

Fast forward a few too many lights years… As members of the 501st, we get some call-ups from Lucas Film every now and then. If you are really lucky, like Eric Richardson, Luis Garibay, Scott Harrelson, and myself (Steve Page), you may get an opportunity to be in a TV spot or some featured advertising.

That chance came in April of 2015. We all submitted our approval photos, and by luck, our squad leaders and Rachel Bartlett (Lucas Film) chose us to participate in the shooting of a new TV spot for All Nipon Airways (ANA Airlines). After being selected, travel plans were put together very quickly by Lucas Film, ANA, and Mt. Melvil, LLC, the production company. Hotels rooms were booked, flights were booked, and we all had the time away from work approved.

On the 20th of April, 2015, Luis, Eric, and I were flown into El Paso to meet with our driver, Jennifer Lucero, a film student, who picked us up in a rental minivan. We began our road trip to Big Bend, Texas, where the filming would take place early the next morning. Scott was already in the area on a trip, so he met us later at the hotel.

If you had filmed the ride for a reality show, it would have been worthy of a watch. The conversation was great, we had lots of laughs, and it was a great chance to get to know some 501st TKs and our driver. Absolutely great people, all in all.




El Paso to Big Bend, TX is roughly a 4-5 hour drive. We arrived late (somewhere around 9PM, if I recall correctly) to the Lajitas Hotel in Big Bend, TX, and immediately met with Miki Murata (Mt. Melvin) and Rachel (LFL). We went over the times we would need to be ready, and a good bit of what we should expect. Then, it was off to bed. They were picking us up around 3AM for an hour drive or so to the location. I don’t know if anyone got any sleep. How could you? You were about to be a Stormtrooper in a television commercial!!!

My alarm went off around 2AM or so. I jumped up, took a quick shower, got in my compression gear and TK headed to the lobby of the hotel. Eric, Scott, Luis, Rachel, and I were picked up by a bigger van. We had an hour’s ride with a Lucas Film employee. Are you kidding? We asked her question after question. Poor Rachel. She was fantastic.

Our first stop, was at catering. There was a full crew, trailers for gear, trailers for toilets, and tons of food. This was an awesome setup. We were on a proper production set!



After food, we were taken a few blocks down the road. It was cold out. It was dark. The Texas skies were full of stars, like you never get to see in the city. It was beautiful. We had a tent to use to get into out TKs. We got our gear on, and walked past the crew, who you could tell were all huge Star Wars fans. Having four Stormtroopers walk out in the middle of nowhere in full gear must have looked wicked!

We were lined up in a staggered position for the shoot. First I was in front. “Woah! I’m in front!” Then, a hand on my shoulder walked me to 2nd place. “Nice, I’m 2nd!” Nope, then I got moved to 3rd, and then 4th. Haha! It didn’t matter. We were on camera. We were in our kits. We were shooting a TV spot as Stormtroopers!

We had our places. We had our directions from the Assistant Director. They would call out, “action” and we would all turn our heads and look up as if we saw a plane. Luis was in front. He actually had to take a step and look up, while the rest of us basically turned and looked up a bit. The ad was going to show a plane flying by, and we were looking up at it, but as allies to the plane, so no holding weapons or anything like that. We did this over and over and over. When we took a break, they even covered us with blankets. We had assistants! This was all done with a huge light on us, which was about 25 yards away, until the sun started coming up. The huge artificial light was taken down. It was time to shoot for real.


“Wait!”, said the Assistant Director, “Whose truck is that in the back of my shot?”. The catering truck was now in the back of the shot. We were starting to get daylight. The shot was about to be ruined. The bit we were filming was dependent on just the slightest of natural morning light to illuminate us against a wash of beautiful Big Bend, Texas stars.


Finally, they radioed the truck and got it to move. The roads around us were blocked off by state police for miles. We started back in on the repetition, but this time it was for real. “Action!” – there we were looking up, “OK, hold!” – we are still looking up. They were taking stills for the advertising campaign. “OK reset”…”Action”… You know, over and over again.

So there we are, standing there on camera. We are Stormtroopers. We are about to be on TV. This kept going through my head. THIS IS AWESOME!!!


As quick as it started. It was over. We walked back to our tent and dressed down to normal clothes. On the drive back, we again, had a great conversation with Rachel. We hit the hotel, had breakfast (again, ha), and then began our drive back to El Paso.

It was a whirlwind of a couple of days. Everyone was great to us. The TV spot is now up. The billboard style walls are up in Japan.
While the TFA’s have their Alpha 75, please say hello to the ANA 4! See you at a troop soon!
Steve Page, TK9727, TB9727 – TK, TB, Death Trooper, and sometimes a wookiee!



So this month’s Memoir was a bit picture heavy, but I felt that the pictures truly helped to illustrate a lot of the points that Steve was sharing in his write-up. It isn’t often that we get a peek behind the curtain for an event unless we’re a part of it, and since opportunities like this one are not everyday occurrences for us, I’d like to thank Steve for sharing it.

Speaking of sharing… Do you have an awesome story that you’d love to share with the Detachment? We’re always happy to accept submissions for Memoirs of a Stormtrooper, so if you’ve got a story that’s just begging to be told, send me a PM with the title “Memoir” or something like that, and we’ll talk. Thank you!

 

 

With Unquestioned Loyalty,

 

Tim
TK-51878 "DarkCMF"

FISD Amabassador

 

This month the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment would like to congratulate:

Expert Infantry Badge Award:
 

 

John Kenyon "Altair" TK-11157

Ryan Casey "Racasey06" TK-51978

Torben Rasmussen "Guffe10" TK-21271

Jordi Bastida "cuacpato" TK-24419

Phil Hogg  "Fidgell" TK-42174

Josh "Kredal"  TK-44678

Christoph Karn "K@nne" TK-31713

Dan Dalessio "LaserBrain99" TK-14421

Michael Martin "Skypig" TK-91101

David "Nacho" TK-46700

Johan Warden "yoshix" TK-42131

Sascha Raabe "Darth Raveen" TK-14469

José Gustavo "gusynet" TK-24976

Felix Premm "KaitoTrooper" TK-16084

Carlos Quezada "Carlos_Centurion_Tk" TK-52713

Pete "WhiteRoseSwampy" TK-17606

Jaydon "Teekay YYC" TK-74614

 

Centurion Award:
 

 

Stephane Verreault "Somatophylax" TK-15359

Kyle Fisher "Zarlon" TK-26113

John Kenyon "Altair" TK-11157

Phil Hogg  "Fidgell" TK-42174

Russell Rucker "russellr2d2" TK-20017

Jordi Bastida "cuacpato" TK-24419

Andres Gonzalez "anderche" TK-50541

Christoph Karn "K@nne" TK-31713

Tomas Martin "jariche" TK-61164

Oscar Suarez "0skar" TK-60571

Josh "Kredal"  TK-44678

Tim Magoolaghan "JoblessPunk" TK-31689

José Gustavo "gusynet" TK-24976

Carlos Quezada "Carlos_Centurion_Tk" TK-52713

Pete "WhiteRoseSwampy" TK-17606

Edwin Fabian "edwinfabian" TK-30000

 

 

Stand tall and be proud of what you have achieved troopers. You will now be deployed into the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment Advanced Tactics Roster. Make us proud troopers!

The FISD is always looking for new applicants for our Advanced Tactics program so please do not hesitate to apply if you meet the standards! Our Deployment Officer and armorers are here to help and guide you through to success!

Feel like your armor is up to standards and worth of recognition? Apply for the Expert Infantry Badge Program now!

Want to go the extra mile, raise the standards of Stormtrooper armor, and be the envy of your peers? Apply for the Centurion Program now!

Note: Applicants need to be EIB approved before applying for Centurion.

With Unquestioned Loyalty,

 

Evan Loh
TK-24127 "evan_loh"
FISD Public Relations Officer

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

Facebook: www.facebook.com/whitearmor
If you're on FB, stop by and say hi, ask questions, and share stories!

Twitter: www.twitter.com/FISD501st or @FISD501st
follow FISD on Twitter!

Instagram: www.instagram.com/501stfisd

With Unquestioned Loyalty,

 

Evan Loh
TK-24127 "evan_loh"
FISD Public Relations Officer

On behalf of the 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment Command Staff and the Imperial Propaganda Department,

<End Transmission>

[MinionTK[TK]]

Another great newsletter. Congrats on the promotion Danny! 

[YouCantBe Sidious[TK]]

Awesome! Well done everyone! Love it!

[Jackburton]

great one !! thanks great read !!!

[PGHtrooper21]

Great Read. Very informative. Excellent Job!!!!

 

Andy

[PiettLives[TK]]

Wow! That newsletter was no joke! Great job everyone and well worth the wait. Loaded with a ton of cool stuff.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Another great read, thanks all

[Pickles[TK]]

Super-awesome-FanEx-video didn't get copied to the NL post:

 

As well as the Steve Blum vid:

[Sly11[Admin]]

Now that was an EPIC news letter, thanks to all that put these together. Always a great read.

[MechaPumpkin[TK]]

I didn't get a chance to read it all until now. How awesome was that? Great effort from so many people! I'm talking about both the subject matter and the work put into the newsletter itself. Thanks for putting this together!

[Pickles[TK]]

Also, Congrats Danny/MechaPumpkin on FISD XO!

[sylverbard[TK]]

Nice read. I didn't get to bring my tk or tie or attend for the denizen March. Was nice to put faces to names around the booth.

Edited September 17, 2015 by sylverbard

[Holnave (evan_loh)[TK]]

Apologies all, the three videos that Pickles put up were meant to be in the Newsletter and somehow the videos got lost in the formatting. I've edited the Toronto FanExpo article to have the videos now. Or you could also watch it from Pickles' post! Enjoy!

[captsafe66[Admin]]

Excellent Edition!!

[Buttons[TK]]

Great read and very awesome pictures!

[TK-66929[TK]]

 I've always told My Daughter that adults curse because were not smart enough to think of something else to say and RIGHT NOW all I want to do is to use EVERY BAD WORD I know of to describe how I feel.   I've never read a newsletter like this.  On this forum or any other.  I was SO EXCITED to see all the images as well as the videos, but the two points to get me more than anything was the the Blind Boy who got to "see" what we do all the time.  And yes he saw it with his hands but this was just AWESOME !  (In a world where that word is used to much it SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO fits here)  

 

When they got to BE in a commercial, A BROADCAST COMMERCIAL, with production values that were REALLY out of this world, these guys surpassed "THE DREAM" for me or just wearing the Stormtrooper  Armor.   They were REAL STORMTROOPERS, and to me, as I WAS the child when I saw it at the movies, to the ME I am now, That is just plain and simple KICKASS !    (Sorry, there are no words for it that makes any sense to me)

 

 

WOW !

 

 

 

Dan

Edited September 17, 2015 by DoneByDan

[lindkvast]

GREAT newsletter once again. Thanks!

[Somatophylax[501st]]

Cool stuff! 

[Zarlon[TK]]

Another great newsletter and I'm so glad to have a little part in it. It's amazing to see how much is going on in the FISD and to see how much fun everyone is having while still making others smile.

[K@nne[TK]]

Great newsletter and I am a very small part of it, perfect reading for my lunch break.

 

 

BTW: My TK ID is wrong in the newsletter 

Edited September 17, 2015 by K@nne

[MinionTK[TK]]

Super-awesome-FanEx-video didn't get copied to the NL post:

 

As well as the Steve Blum vid:

That TK getting blasted looks really familar for some reason

[svache[501st]]

This was a great newsletter, loved every bit of it

[Snaps[TK]]

Great newsletter!

[Holnave (evan_loh)[TK]]

Great newsletter and I am a very small part of it, perfect reading for my lunch break.

 

 

BTW: My TK ID is wrong in the newsletter 

 

Thanks for notifying! Sorry about that. I was waiting for the day when I would slip up and make a typo error as there are so many Legion IDs! XD

 

I have edited that part to reflect your correct TK number.

[Tolo[TK]]

Thank you for the awesome newsletter people!

 

And that TK march at FanExpo was F'N amazing. I'm still bruised from it and it's well worth it.