Brattie's AP Build and Journey to The 501st

[Brattie[TK]]

I know.. I know.. horrible selfie but I was trying not to take up too much of their time!

 

Collectors Con - 2016

 

I caught up with the 501st Canadian Garrison today. My goodness I had a blast. These guys welcomed me in right away and were answering build questions. Showing me their Hyperfirm Blasters and wow are they light and gave me the chance to ask questions about bucket paint, comms, etc. I could go on for hours.

 

I met so many of the guys it was truly an honor and they really seem like a family. I can't wait to get my gear and join their ranks!

Edited January 24, 2016 by Brattie

[TK 2759[501st]]

Awesome that you could meet some of us! Looking forward to your joining us soon!<br><br>

Glad you could get some answers first hand as well, as well as taking a look at everything first hand (not just in pictures).

Edited January 24, 2016 by TK 2759

[Brattie[TK]]

Hey Dan,

 

It was GREAT! You guys really are a family which is exactly the kind of group I would enjoy being a part of!

Thank you so much for the heads up about today! Right from the get go I bumped into some of the 501st and introduced myself.. One of the troopers even recognized my name from FISD when I said I was Brattie. He said I thought you looked familiar from the picture on FISD.. hahahaha.. was so funny.

 

It took a lot of strength to not start fondling the Troopers to get a good look at the armor.. chuckles.. a few of them let me hold their Blasters.. LOL  - remove mind from gutter people!!

 

What a difference to get the chance to talk to people and see the armor. Especially the Teeth and how people screen them. I had a very good discussion on lens color and darkness and Comms. Like I said, I could go on for hours. I was only there from like 10:20 AM to just after noon, but the information I came away with is priceless.

 

Also.. some of the worries I had about the build, spending all this money, etc.. through talking to a few of the Troopers and Fett - chuckles - although some speech was muffled and I had to listen closely, I really was able to get past some of my worries and anxiety over joining the 501st and the spending of all this money to build my gear. It  made a huge difference!

 

I'm trying to remember all the names of the guys.. Lobo was one of them.I spoke to him briefly before I had to leave.

My mind was racing through questions and with the buckets on all their heads it was hard to get a good grasp on some of the names. Appologies in advance if I met ya and haven't mentioned you here.

 

I got a good front row understanding of how the Anker system is helpful! .. I must note as well about having a front row seat to what happens when you tip your head forward and too close to the anker speaker.. it was a loud squawk!

Edited January 24, 2016 by Brattie

[Pyrates[TK]]

Sounds like my first armor party - and I concur about everyone feeling like family.

[Brattie[TK]]

Hiya Aaron,

 

Yeah, a few of the guys mentioned about watching for the armor parties which usually start up more-so in the spring than in the winter from what I gathered.. good time for a TK BBQ!

 

It sounds like there are loads of events and such to do as well as getting together for Garrison events and gatherings. This is just the thing I need to get me out and having some fun!

 

I swear though.. I wanted to poke at each of the troopers..

 

One lady came up to Fett and asked him if his helmet was metal and if she could knock on it. LAUGH

[Pyrates[TK]]

You should read the Trooper Horror Stories thread - it's hilarious and educational.

[TK 2759[501st]]

Brattie - Glad you could make it out there. I knew the information would be priceless. As to screens behind teeth, and painting inside bucket black... I kept mine pretty clean room all that. It worked for the actors in ''77 why not now? As for lenses, I use smoky ones.. . The Aker system is awesome, and you'll get feedback when putting your bucket on as well, as you have to hold the mic between your lips so it doesn't move. Wish I could've been trooping there too, but family comes first. I'm sure you've got a lot now to prepare yourself into this journey.<br><br>

Pirates - I posted in there too, but my more humorous stories are here... A lot of things happen in armour that you wouldn't expect otherwise. One thing you may wish to get used to though, the line, "these aren't the droids you're looking for" is often repeated...

[Brattie[TK]]

To all the 501st peoples I met on Sunday at the Ontario Collectors Con 2016 (in Mississauga) - Could you please add me as a friend so I can keep in touch with you guys.

 

I have no idea what all your TK or nicknames are  on here so if ya met me.. please add me as a friend and post a little hello on my thread here too!!

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

--> Aaron - if you have a link to that thread I'd love to read it! Thanks!

Edited January 25, 2016 by Brattie

[TK 2759[501st]]

Link to the Horror Stories:<br><br>

<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/35020-trooper-horror-stories/?hl=%2Bhorror+%2Bstories'>http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/35020-trooper-horror-stories/?hl=%2Bhorror+%2Bstories</a>

[Brattie[TK]]

Thanks Aaron! Funny and scary at the same time!

 

One of the really good things I learned from my visit with the group was what you can see in your armor.

 

A little guy moved right up on the group I was speaking with and almost got bonked on the head. It was fun to watch the kids that were very young

nervously go up to these HUGE guys in gear for pictures. Laugh.

 

Ever try to get a chipmunk to take a peanut from your hand?

That's what it looked like as these big troopers tried to get the wee ones to move up beside them so their parent(s) could get pictures. Chuckles

 

I was glad to see that many of the people I saw at the convention were very polite and asked if they could take pictures. A few even asked the troopers to pose. Laugh.  

 

My biggest fear yesterday was taking up too much of their time with questions and such. I didn't want to be a bother, or distract them from everything.

I was reassured a few times that they were happy to chat with me.

 

Anyway.. on the other site there is an ongoing discussion about:

 

Painting the inside of your Bucket...

 

So along those lines I'm asking:

• What paint did you find worked best for covering the inside of your bucket?
• At the Col-Con a couple mentioned Tremclad flat black paint. 
• Any other Paint you would recommend?

Edited January 25, 2016 by Brattie

[TK 2759[501st]]

Thanks Aaron! Funny and scary at the same time!

 

One of the really good things I learned from my visit with the group was what you can see in your armor.

A little guy snuck right up on the group I was speaking with and almost got bonked on the head. It was fun to watch the kids that were very young nervously go up to these HUGE guys in gear for pictures. Laugh. Most of the people I saw there were very polite and asked for pictures and such. I was happy to offer to take the picture for them

 

My biggest fear in it all was taking up too much of their time with questions and such.

 

Anyway.. on the other site there is an ongoing discussion about

 

Painting the inside of your Bucket...

 

So along those lines I'm asking - What paint did you find worked best for covering the inside of your bucket?

 

At the Col-Con a couple mentioned Tremclad flat black paint.

 

Any others?

Little people will do that, as we can't see below our nose to about 3 feet in front of you... There's a lot of blind spots, but you get used to them... As far as pictures go, I haven't encountered any rude people ... One guy sticks out though, at one ComicCon a number of years ago, one guy asked to take a selfie with me... I figured, sure no problem... 25 selfies later... The guy finally moved off, and I could spend more time with others.

[Brattie[TK]]

Hahahha 25 Selfies!!! I took the one with Fett.. I was going to get some with the troopers but I was already taking up some of their time so I figured I'd have a zillion chances other times when I get troopin'

 

Thanks for sharing.. I love hearing stories!

[TK 2759[501st]]

Hahahha 25 Selfies!!! I took the one with Fett.. I was going to get some with the troopers but I was already taking up some of their time so I figured I'd have a zillion chances other times when I get troopin'

 

Thanks for sharing.. I love hearing stories!

Quite welcome, and 25 selfies gets quite annoying as you have to pose for each one...

[Brattie[TK]]

I can imagine, but it was fun to watch everyone getting pictures and some of the videos of the walk through the place.. and I was happy to help move a table and tend to a camera lens that was left behind until I caught back up to everyone.

 

I really appreciated the time everyone gave me when I was there. No one seemed to mind answering my questions.

 

I have to say the difference in weight between some of the blasters and WOW on some of the home-made larger rifles.. I saw an amazing rust job on one gun.. GAH I'm blabbering about the visit again! Laugh

Edited January 25, 2016 by Brattie

[Brattie[TK]]

Okay.. before anyone says it..   I know I don't "HAVE TO" paint the inside of my bucket.. but I WANT to. I think it looks kewl and as I get more stuff like fans etc to go into it.. I think Black will hide the cables better. I'm going to wear a  balaclava anyway.. so it's not about that.

 

I am interested to hear what kind of paint people have used in their helmets / buckets and what they recommend. I know some paints have horrific smells to them and I would like to avoid those.

Edited January 25, 2016 by Brattie

[TK 2759[501st]]

Okay.. before anyone says it.. I know I don't "HAVE TO" paint the inside of my bucket.. but I WANT to. I think it looks kewl and as I get more stuff like fans etc to go into it.. I think Black will hide the cables better. I'm going to wear a balaclava anyway.. so it's not about that.

 

I am interested to hear what kind of paint people have used in their helmets / buckets and what they recommend. I know some paints have horrific smells to them and I would like to avoid those.

Can't help you here... Sorry

 

Found this from another thread...

 

One popular option I've read is to use the black plasti-dip coating and brush it inside the helmet. Nice thick durable layer that bonds well (but can be peeled up if need be). Available in spray or brush on versions.

Edited January 25, 2016 by TK 2759

[Brattie[TK]]

BUILD UPDATE

 

oo Thanks Dan..

 

Update from me on my Armor... I am only one payment away from having my armor all paid up. Estimated delivery I am expecting mid to end of March which works for me as I have a zillion other things I want to work on and more research to do.

 

Also I noticed a few guys I saw with the larger Rifle. It might be fun to start to build one of them.. any ideas on the best way to start.. I think one of the guys said he used a PVC pipe?

Edited February 23, 2016 by Brattie

[Pyrates[TK]]

oo Thanks Dan..

 

Update from me on my Armor... I am only one payment away from having my armor all paid up. Estimated delivery I am expecting mid to end of March which works for me as I have a zillion other things I want to work on and more research to do.

 

Also I noticed a few guys I saw with the larger Rifle. It might be fun to start to build one of them.. any ideas on the best way to start.. I think one of the guys said he used a PVC pipe?

Congratulations on getting closer!

 

A blaster is a pretty big labor of love, not to discourage whatsoever. I'm still working on the molds for my E 1-1 blaster (been using that to help kill some wait time before my armor got here lol). It can be a lot of fun none the less!

[TK 2759[501st]]

I've also been thinking about building one... Been looking at the poor,an builds for it.

[ComradeDave[TK]]

oo Thanks Dan..

 

Update from me on my Armor... I am only one payment away from having my armor all paid up. Estimated delivery I am expecting mid to end of March which works for me as I have a zillion other things I want to work on and more research to do.

 

Also I noticed a few guys I saw with the larger Rifle. It might be fun to start to build one of them.. any ideas on the best way to start.. I think one of the guys said he used a PVC pipe?

 

 

I'm there with you with this Angie. I want to build my own DLT-19 I started a thread with the scaled blueprints if you need them. 

 

LINK

[Pyrates[TK]]

Me three lol

[ComradeDave[TK]]

There's quite a few prop making tutorials out there and on this forum if you look under the Blastech DLT-19 and the other BFG threads.

[Brattie[TK]]

Thanks  I am going to check those out.  I still have blaster work as well. 

My issue is finding space to work.

[Brattie[TK]]

Oo.. interesting.. probably won't go this route for a bit.. but love the idea that I could get something and then modify it more..

[TK 2759[501st]]

Oo.. interesting.. probably won't go this route for a bit.. but love the idea that I could get something and then modify it more..

That's one I was looking at, but cost and getting it over the boarder are concerns I have... Cost is ok, but the exchange sucks.