October 2015 Newsletter - Road to 500 Expert Infantry Badge

[Holnave (evan_loh)[TK]]

 

 

 

Founder's Corner - Road to 500

From the XO

Around the Detachment

Just for Fun

Notable Troops

Advanced Tactics Awards

Follow FISD

 

 

Back when I started trooping in 2005 nearly every stormtrooper in the Legion wore out of the box FX armor, most of it bought off of Ebay.

Everyone once in a while, you’d run across someone who had AP or TE armor, but these were relatively hard to find. The Legion had just moved off of a Yahoo! group (remember those?) on to the phpBB forum we have today. And, like everyone else I bought an FX kit and put it together.

When I went to MEPD to research sandtroopers however, I noticed they had a program called “deployed”. It was a set of optional requirements that one could achieve to make their sandtrooper more movie accurate, such as getting rid of the drop boxes, having a diamond sniper plate, and having 8 teeth in the frown. It meant cutting in to the ab plate to get rid of the TK one too. Your reward? Your picture on a web page and a “kudo” on the forum. Well, that and the satisfaction of knowing you had gone beyond the minimums, and get that much closer to being accurate. For stormtroopers, you ask? Well, there was no FISD…

When I started FISD I wanted the same thing for TK’s that TD’s had, information and a path to do more that out of the box FX. The Expert Infantry program was baked in to the detachment charter from the start for that reason. The goal, like the MEPD deployed program, wasn’t strict movie accuracy, but a step in that direction that someone could achieve for a reasonable investment in time and money.

The initial requirements seem pretty tame now, things like getting a split butt piece, correct ab plate buttons, and fabric (instead of plastic) belts. Something you could do with $50 and a few hours of work seemed good enough to get rid of the most visible inaccuracies. Again, the Legion was still mainly FX at the time. Little by little the program got going and it was fun for troopers to dial in their costumes bit by bit. Then we hit 100. Then 200. Then 300. Where would it end?

We are at 500 Expert Infantry stormtroopers now. Think about that. There are only 456 snowtroopers in the entire Legion. Heck, there are only 700 sandtroopers in the Legion. If all the EI were in one place, it would be the 10th largest costume category on its own. Pretty neat eh?

In those 500 are some remarkable troopers, such as the first EI of every TK type which set the tone for others to follow in, or the first female EI, the first EI in the UK, or Australia. The milestones achieved could fill a book, or a calendar (which we did not too long ago).

But…let’s look at the numbers once more. There are 3245 TK’s in the Legion. That means that even with 500 EI, they represent only 16% or 1 out of 6 of all Legion TK’s. Compare that to MEPD where 36% are deployed. To match MEPD’s success, we’d have to get to 1000 EI, basically doubling our numbers.

The first 500 took nearly 10 years to achieve, but will it really take 10 years for the next 500? What if every EI helped just one other trooper get there? Why, that’s easy is it not? Most kits today are EI ready out of the box, it’s just building them that way. Upgrades have never been as easy or as inexpensive to buy.

A dream for sure, but one I think we can all get to. Thank you to everyone who helped make the goal of 500 EI possible, and let’s look forward to the next 500!

 

With Unquestioned Loyalty,

 

Paul Hoeffer
TK-8020 "Daetrin"

FISD Founder

 

 

 

Hi everyone!  There are a lot of great changes coming up to the forums, so check-in and check often!

 

In the meantime I just wanted to take a moment, say hello (Hi!), and share a couple tips.

 

Firstly, I want to talk about troop reports (located here). We are troopers and troopers troop. If you don’t love trooping, you’re probably not reading this newsletter, or even a member of the forum. Trooping is the part where we engage the public, strut our Imperial stuff, and shake our credit-makers. It’s where we, the “bad guys“, raise money for charity, put smiles on faces, and “do some good”. I don’t know about you, but I love seeing photos and hearing stories from all your adventures.  So this is me, encouraging you, to head over to the Field Training Exercises area and show us what you’re up to! We’re one big family, and damn it, I want to see some family photos! (YOU NEVER CALL!!!)

 

Now, I know some aspects of posting a troop report can be difficult if you've never done it. Most notable of these is how to place images in your threads.  So I went ahead and created a tutorial on how to use one of the most popular (and free) image hosting services available, photobucket.com.  You can find that tutorial here. Although the tutorial only addresses this one service, many of the principles explained, can be used with most hosting services. If you have any questions, message me.

 

Secondly, I wanted to talk about searching the forum.  Lots of people find it rather frustrating, and they’re right.  The search function is worthless poodoo.  While you patiently wait for the forum upgrades, I have a solution for you. Prepare to have your minds blown . . .

- Go to google.com
- Type in “site:whitearmor.net <search terms>”
example . . .
site:whitearmor.net Darth Aloha Genius

- Bam! Flood of relevant results.

Right?!?!?! Minds. Blown.

I will also create a post with this tip, in case some people aren't subscribed to this newsletter.
(psst . . . this is how you subscribe)
 

Lastly, with Halloween just around the corner I wanted to take a moment to touch on a more serious subject . . . bad armour . . .

 

All joking aside, imitation is the highest form of flattery, or so they say. So if you see someone in bad armour, let them know about whitearmor.net, and the good work we do in the 501^st. Star Wars belongs to everyone.  It’s a part of everyone’s culture. You can’t make friends with ridicule, so what’s the point?  Open comms and start a conversation.  No one likes a bad motivator.

 

Tolerance. Duty. Honour. Empire.

 

Okay, that's all for me folks. Enjoy the rest of the Newsletter and, as always, feel free to contact me. That's why I'm here.

 

With Unquestioned Loyalty,

 

Danny
TK-66668 "MechaPumpkin"
FISD Executive Officer

 

 

 

 

The First Order Stormtrooper's F-11D Blaster 3D Printing Files Now Available!

 

Here at the FISD we pride ourselves in being the quintessential go-to resource for Stormtrooper armor and blaster building. We also live by the motto "Troopers Helping Troopers".

 

Today these values have been full embodied by one of our troopers: Germain AKA The5thHorseman AKA Accuracy Hag.

 

Combine our values with today's technology of 3D printing and you get yourself a 3D printable The Force Awakens Stormtrooper's blaster rifle (or the F-11D Blaster). Germain has done just that and has altruistically released the 3D files so that we can print them and start assembling our new favorite blasters. Do note that while Germain has given use permisison to use these files, he does not give permission to recast or resell this design. Prints can only be distributed to friends and ONLY recasted for 501st garrisons. In other words: do not sell this blaster.

 

That being said, take a look at these 3D renders:

 

 

 

 

 

No detail spared...

 

 

 

 

And now the printed parts and complete product!

 

 

 

 

To view the full thread, get involved in the discussion, and download the 3D printable files click on the link below.

 

Free TFA F-11D 3D Printable Files Available Now.

 

With Unquestioned Loyalty,

 

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

 

 

 

 

This month’s Memoir of a Stormtrooper is a…

For the Memoir this month…

No.

No, I just cannot.

I am going to apologize to all of you right now. I am sorry.

Now all of you are reading this, and you are thinking, “What is he talking about? Why is he apologizing? What and where is the Memoir for October?”

I cannot give you one, because something has completely distracted me and has consumed all of my thoughts and it ate nearly my entire four-day long holiday weekend less than a week ago, and I’m just hijacking the Memoir this month to talk about it. What was this weekend eating thing?

For me, personally, this thing became a blinding reality back in March, when the photo above was taken.

You see, I appeared at an LFL event here in Fort Worth during which, for the first time, EA CEO Peter Moore revealed Battlefront footage to people that did not work for DICE/EA. At that time, myself and three other local troopers (Cory Parker TD-2372, David Carter BH-5835, and David Petty TI-1626) were privileged to see and hear the beauty of Battlefront on the large screens that can be seen to the sides of the picture. At that time, I was floored by the attention to detail they’d captured. The E-11, for instance, that was seen in the Endor footage was the correct one. It had greeblies and no counter. The sounds and visuals were just some of the finest that I’d ever seen in a game, and this was in early March.

Evan managed to capture several images from the Battlefront Open Beta that took place last weekend and they’re being shared here in case you’d been unaware of it somehow. If you didn’t have the opportunity to play it, let me offer my opinion of the gameplay that we had access to last weekend:

For me, the development team at DICE have managed to capture the “feel” of the Star Wars Universe nearly perfectly. Everything from the scattered sparkle of the snow on Hoth, to the sounds of the blasters, and the impact of the blaster bolts were spot-on. Playing as an Imperial Snow Trooper on Hoth, I will admit that hearing the Star Wars music, which announced the arrival of Luke Skywalker on the battlefield, did cause me to immediately find out where he was – because I wanted nothing to do with him. It never ended well if he and I got into a one-on-one engagement. The same can be said of Lord Vader’s appearance while playing as Rebel Scum. The vehicles felt right. The TIEs were insanely maneuverable (and had no shields), the A-wings worked wonderfully as strafing machines, making low passes and powering shields when enemy fire was incoming. The speeders felt slow and less maneuverable, and the X-Wings were fast, and maneuverable – but far less so than the TIE fighters. Running through Echo Base felt like I was in the movie. The look and feel of the game is (to me) just about perfect. What wasn’t perfect? Things like RoTJ Endor Luke being the one that appeared on Hoth is the biggest thing that comes to mind. Of course, if he had been dressed in his Hoth gear, it would have been very difficult to determine which character was him and which of the other 19 Rebels were simply regular Rebel Soldiers.

 

 

When all is said and done, the gameplay is a tremendous degree of fun, and I cannot wait to begin playing it again. It was just a tease (with only three modes available to players - one single player mission, and two multiplayer modes) of what we’ll be experiencing beginning in mid-November, as the game launches on November 17th on the PC, Playstation 4, and Xbox One. (If you happen to be an Xbox One player, you can gain early access to the game through the EA Access feature. I’d advise you to look into it if you aren’t a subscriber already.)

 

 

---------------------------------------------------------

 

Evan here. I thought that it would be nice to display some more pictures of a new trooper configuration the debuted in Battlefront's Beta Dropzone game mode. My first thoughts on released images (before the beta) were that this trooper was some scuba trooper of some sorts.

 

 

Turns out this trooper didn't go swimming but rather was on Sullust: a somewhat volcanic planet. Maybe the air is hazardous in Sullust thus the need for extra air supply/filters?

 

Despite the unique backpack seen above, this trooper also wears extra shin protection.

 

With Unquestioned Loyalty,

 

Tim
TK-51878 "DarkCMF"

FISD Amabassador

 

 

 

 

Holden Racing Star Wars Collaboration

September 21st 2015 Melbourne Australia

The force will be with three-time Bathurst 1000 champion Garth Tander at Mount Panorama this year with Holden Racing Team Commodore V8 Supercar to be decked out in Star Wars: The Force Awakens livery.

As part of a sponsorship deal between Holden and The Walt Disney Company, Tander's #2 HRT VF Commodore race car which he will share with co-driver Warren Luff will feature Kylo Ren wielding a lightsaber on one side and a Stormtrooper on the other.

Troopers from the Knightfall squad had been organised to attend the special announcement, all details had been kept quiet until the day.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-tXXnIeAZ8

Disney Australia announce it's partnership with GM Holden

August 26th 2015

Holden announced a multi-year agreement with The Walt Disney Company Australia and New Zealand, in anticipation of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens upcoming movie, attended by troopers of the Knightfall squad..


 

Holden's First Order car came in 3rd place followed by their Resistance car in 4th


With Unquestioned Loyalty,

Glen Rhodes (Q)
TK-85421 "gmrhodes13"
Imperial Propaganda Department

 

 

 

This month the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment would like to congratulate all Expert Infantry Badge achievers for contributing to a huge FISD milestone: 500 members!

 

Also announcing two new Deployment Officers. Please welcome ukswrath (Tony) and Sly11 (Andrew) and give them your support! The FISD staff would also like to thank Gaz for all his effort and stellar work as Deployment Officer and ever raising the bar of Stormtrooper greatness! 

Expert Infantry Badge Award:

 

500 and beyond!

Bradley Davies "68Brick" TK-21814

Shane Anglin "TK-61214"

Oscar Arellano "acetilacetato" TK-28272

 

Centurion Award:

 

Hans Donovan Cheong "HansDC" TK-88118

Christian Schießl "Saifai" TK-30514

Jaydon "Teekay YYC" TK-74614

 

 

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

 

 

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

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

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If you're on FB, stop by and say hi, ask questions, and share stories!

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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>

[PGHtrooper21]

Excellent Read!!! Congrats to the 500 EIB! A Special Congrats goes out to FISD 's Founder Paul Hoeffer. Without Paul's vision and dedication

in 2005, FISD would not be where it is today. At events the fans enjoy seeing and taking pictures with Stormtroopers!

 

 

Andy

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Great read and congrats to the new EIB and Centurion! I had no idea that MEPD was around longer than FISD. I'll be spending much of the winter playing Battlefront and Guitar Hero!

Edited October 19, 2015 by Airborne Trooper

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

Well, thanks for highlighting my work guys.

I don't post much in the newsletter threads so it almost unusual for me, but be sure I always read them thoroughly and with interest. So keep it up, and thank for doing that for us.

[Chills[TK]]

Congratulations Tony and Andrew!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Another great issue, great work everyone

[Tolo[TK]]

Thank you team, again, excellent news letter!

[Snaps[TK]]

Great newsletter. Thanks to everyone who works on it!

[Pickles[TK]]

Thanks for another great newsletter!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sly11[Admin]]

As always, superb work all involved.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[MinionTK[TK]]

Another great newsletter - well done everyone! Congrats on 500 EIB 

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Wow - phenomenal NL.  Man, you guys are the tops

[Zarlon[TK]]

Another fun newsletter. Thanks for putting it together!