Brattie's AP Build and Journey to The 501st

[Brattie[TK]]

[Brattie[TK]]

All my gear is packed, I’m ready to go
I’m standing here outside my door
I’m afraid I forgot something, I don’t know why…
But the dawn is breaking, it’s early morn’
Squeaky is waiting he’s blown his horn.
Already I’m so excited I could die…

 

So Hug me and wave at me,
Ask me for pictures of me,
Pose like you have never posed before..
‘Cause I’m a Stormtrooper at Fan Expo,
don’t know when I’ll be back from the show,
Lord Vader needs me, I have to go…

 

There tons of time to see us troop,
Tons of time to take in the whole group,
I tell you now it will all mean something…
Every space I go, I’ll always be true,
Every picture I’m in will be for fun too,
When I come back, our success will make us sing!!

 

So Hug me and wave at me,
Ask me for pictures of me,
Pose like you have never posed before..
‘Cause I’m a Stormtrooper at Fan Expo,
don’t know when I’ll be back from the show,
Lord Vader needs me, I have to go…

 

Now the time has come to see you,
One more time I’ll take a selfie with you,
Then close your eyes and I’ll be on my way…
Dream about the days to come,
When we are all together and having fun,
About the times, we will have to say…

 

So Hug me and wave at me,
Ask me for pictures of me,
Pose like you have never posed before..

‘Cause I’m a Stormtrooper at Fan Expo,
don’t know when I’ll be back from the show,
Lord Vader needs me, I have to go…

 

‘Cause I’m a Stormtrooper at Fan Expo,
don’t know when I’ll be back from the show,
Lord Vader needs me, I have to go…

 

 

 

[Brattie[TK]]

Through my eyes....

 

So I did it.. I completed the longest 4 days of my life being with all my 501st brothers and sisters!!

 

So what was it like???

 

I am in horrific pain but I'd do it again in a minute.. My feet and legs may hurt but that is nothing i am sure to the pain of struggling with illness or having to watch a loved one struggle.

We did it for a great cause. All the funds we raised are going to Make-a-wish.

 

As for the event...

 

I had no idea what I was in for as I had never been involved in something so massive in my whole life nor had I gone to a show of this size before. Was I overwhelmed? A deer in the headlights probably doesn't even come close to covering it.

 

Preparation was key for much of it. Being sure I had what I needed and knowing where I needed to be and what I needed to do. Having someone that had experience helped with that as well! Thanks Steve (Squeaky) . Lists also helped! Lots of lists! Checking of lists and being sure I had it all.

 

The Garrison made sure I was prepared as well through threads and information about activities I'd be involved with during the Expo.

 

On top of that I had the help of some great friends and members of my local Garrison as well as others visiting from abroad. I met so many people and it will take me a while to remember all of their names or who belonged to which names. I have to admit it was funny that I could call out Chris or Christine and a few people would answer. Need to sort that out somehow some day! Laughs.

 

All of us were there doing such amazing things through the whole weekend. We were pushing ourselves and our bodies to the limits but always staying to the safe side of what our bodies could handle. Both physically and mentally. I understand over heating now completely!. I was dripping constantly!. Did I push hard.. yes.. here's basically what I did..

 

Day 1 - get settled and suit up into my Jawa. The show opener was a blast and I was involved with the show opener at the front door of the other building after a long march. It was fun, though crazy hot. I was having a blast with one of the universities and really getting into character. We even made the news! It was awesome!

After my first time doing some booth work I was truly settling in and felt content with all of my Garrison around for support. There were so many people!!

Each day the fans grew and grew.. I didn't know they could get that many people into one space! Was I tired.. definetly, but I was able to feed off the smiles and energy of all those around me. the Fans were great at cheering and their fun comments and reactions. I slowly learned how to best interact through Jawa-nese with them. It made it even more exciting and I would feel energized again. This I must warn you is addictive. Most of the time my body was ready to take a break but I was still going.. Laughs. Looking back I laugh at the fact that this was one of 2 days that I actually got to eat lunch.

 

Day 2 - I suited up early again and had some fun. We had the Denzie march which took a while but was a blast. I managed to get back to get a quick 15 minute watering and washroom break before heading back up for the Droid event we were doing. Again I was having fun and we made it on TV again! That lasted a few more hours and then I was hurrying back to the room to gear up into my TK.

 

By this time my body was starting to feel the use of muscles I had not used in a while. I was sore and stiff but troopered... laugh... through the fun of the blaster range and posing for pictures around the booth..

 

I have to say I was glad that I was washing my underarmor often and hoping that I'd return in the morning to a dry Jawa robe. It was getting funky so antibacterial lysol fabric mist truly saved my life! Gold bond took on the funk of my rubber jawa boots! Laugh.

 

Day 3 - Chaos doesn't describe the amount of fans all around us!!!

 

Handlers were all over us and as long as you listened to their direction and guidence all went well. Things went a little off course for me this day. It started with me suiting up early to "work out the kinks" of my stormtrooper armor and making a few tweaks.. then heading up for a HUGE march through the streets and buildings. IT WAS SOOOOO MUCH FUN!!! We walked at a quick pace which was interesting as I tried to keep up. My legs were going as fast as they could in gear. People were taking pictures.. There were so many of us.. and wow.. how nice a little breeze feels in TK armor!! I never get that in my Jawa! I won't mention the morons that thought it was a good idea to try and cut through our ranks as we marched. Like people in white plastic can see and move fast.. .. shakes head.. The March paused at a "half way" point so to speak when we had an inspection. It was at this point that my Bucket fans decided they wanted to take a little vacation!!

 

Lets just say it was a rain storm inside my bucket. I advised a handler that I was fogging up, had no fans and was okay to continue with help and from that second onward I had one of them close by watching out for me and providing any extra help I required. This included extra help on escalators. I swear by the end of the 4 days I was almost a pro at it!

By the time the march was over I had a handler help me back to the room to change. He even warned people that I was pretty much blind as we were walking and the people around us were nice enough to stay out of my way. It was funny to me as I knew I was in good hands. I still have to trouble-shoot what the heck happened to the fans in my bucket.. it could have been moisture or a wiring short.

 

After that I changed for my daily duties and then switched into my Jawa for the group photo which included another fun long march and moving around the crowds. To say I was tired by the end of Saturday would not do Saturday justice!

 

Day 4 - This was suppose to be a slow day! There was a ladies picture and some fun around our booth, followed by some more trooping around the building. I spent the longest time in my gear this day and managed to join in yet another trek which took a few hours going to one of the other buildings and moving around with a good friend. With some switching of the schedules I managed to stay in character other than a couple breaks for almost the whole day. I did take a little break.. not much.. to get some pizza with friends then helped Vader back to our booth. Chuckles.

 

So what have I learned? I learned how great it is to work with an amazing group of people doing good things. You will be amazed at what you can accomplish when you push yourself and just how much fun it can be. That a little pain is nothing when looking at the big picture. Lastly, I learned how great it feels to see people smile, enjoy your presence, and forget about all the crap of life and just have fun.

Edited September 5, 2016 by Brattie

[Knockerbot[501st]]

When my feet work I can move amazingly fast in my armour. Now seeing everyone is a different story haha.<br><br>

You nearly went full Hunter today and stayed in costume all day. I regret trying to go full Hunter yesterday. I think thats what did my feet in for today.<br><br>

For non Canadians Hunter is an ARC Clone who goes all day everyday at cons in armour. Its amazing to see.

[Tolo[TK]]

When my feet work I can move amazingly fast in my armour. Now seeing everyone is a different story haha.<br><br>

You nearly went full Hunter today and stayed in costume all day. I regret trying to go full Hunter yesterday. I think thats what did my feet in for today.<br><br>

For non Canadians Hunter is an ARC Clone who goes all day everyday at cons in armour. Its amazing to see.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk

[Tolo[TK]]

Through my eyes....

 

So I did it.. I completed the longest 4 days of my life being with all my 501st brothers and sisters!!

 

So what was it like???

 

I am in horrific pain but I'd do it again in a minute.. My feet and legs may hurt but that is nothing i am sure to the pain of struggling with illness or having to watch a loved one struggle.

We did it for a great cause. All the funds we raised are going to Make-a-wish.

 

As for the event...

 

I had no idea what I was in for as I had never been involved in something so massive in my whole life nor had I gone to a show of this size before. Was I overwhelmed? A deer in the headlights probably doesn't even come close to covering it.

 

Preparation was key for much of it. Being sure I had what I needed and knowing where I needed to be and what I needed to do. Having someone that had experience helped with that as well! Thanks Steve (Squeaky) . Lists also helped! Lots of lists! Checking of lists and being sure I had it all.

 

The Garrison made sure I was prepared as well through threads and information about activities I'd be involved with during the Expo.

 

On top of that I had the help of some great friends and members of my local Garrison as well as others visiting from abroad. I met so many people and it will take me a while to remember all of their names or who belonged to which names. I have to admit it was funny that I could call out Chris or Christine and a few people would answer. Need to sort that out somehow some day! Laughs.

 

All of us were there doing such amazing things through the whole weekend. We were pushing ourselves and our bodies to the limits but always staying to the safe side of what our bodies could handle. Both physically and mentally. I understand over heating now completely!. I was dripping constantly!. Did I push hard.. yes.. here's basically what I did..

 

Day 1 - get settled and suit up into my Jawa. The show opener was a blast and I was involved with the show opener at the front door of the other building after a long march. It was fun, though crazy hot. I was having a blast with one of the universities and really getting into character. We even made the news! It was awesome!

After my first time doing some booth work I was truly settling in and felt content with all of my Garrison around for support. There were so many people!!

Each day the fans grew and grew.. I didn't know they could get that many people into one space! Was I tired.. definetly, but I was able to feed off the smiles and energy of all those around me. the Fans were great at cheering and their fun comments and reactions. I slowly learned how to best interact through Jawa-nese with them. It made it even more exciting and I would feel energized again. This I must warn you is addictive. Most of the time my body was ready to take a break but I was still going.. Laughs. Looking back I laugh at the fact that this was one of 2 days that I actually got to eat lunch.

 

Day 2 - I suited up early again and had some fun. We had the Denzie march which took a while but was a blast. I managed to get back to get a quick 15 minute watering and washroom break before heading back up for the Droid event we were doing. Again I was having fun and we made it on TV again! That lasted a few more hours and then I was hurrying back to the room to gear up into my TK.

 

By this time my body was starting to feel the use of muscles I had not used in a while. I was sore and stiff but troopered... laugh... through the fun of the blaster range and posing for pictures around the booth..

 

I have to say I was glad that I was washing my underarmor often and hoping that I'd return in the morning to a dry Jawa robe. It was getting funky so antibacterial lysol fabric mist truly saved my life! Gold bond took on the funk of my rubber jawa boots! Laugh.

 

Day 3 - Chaos doesn't describe the amount of fans all around us!!!

 

Handlers were all over us and as long as you listened to their direction and guidence all went well. Things went a little off course for me this day. It started with me suiting up early to "work out the kinks" of my stormtrooper armor and making a few tweaks.. then heading up for a HUGE march through the streets and buildings. IT WAS SOOOOO MUCH FUN!!! We walked at a quick pace which was interesting as I tried to keep up. My legs were going as fast as they could in gear. People were taking pictures.. There were so many of us.. and wow.. how nice a little breeze feels in TK armor!! I never get that in my Jawa! I won't mention the morons that thought it was a good idea to try and cut through our ranks as we marched. Like people in white plastic can see and move fast.. .. shakes head.. The March paused at a "half way" point so to speak when we had an inspection. It was at this point that my Bucket fans decided they wanted to take a little vacation!!

 

Lets just say it was a rain storm inside my bucket. I advised a handler that I was fogging up, had no fans and was okay to continue with help and from that second onward I had one of them close by watching out for me and providing any extra help I required. This included extra help on escalators. I swear by the end of the 4 days I was almost a pro at it!

By the time the march was over I had a handler help me back to the room to change. He even warned people that I was pretty much blind as we were walking and the people around us were nice enough to stay out of my way. It was funny to me as I knew I was in good hands. I still have to trouble-shoot what the heck happened to the fans in my bucket.. it could have been moisture or a wiring short.

 

After that I changed for my daily duties and then switched into my Jawa for the group photo which included another fun long march and moving around the crowds. To say I was tired by the end of Saturday would not do Saturday justice!

 

Day 4 - This was suppose to be a slow day! There was a ladies picture and some fun around our booth, followed by some more trooping around the building. I spent the longest time in my gear this day and managed to join in yet another trek which took a few hours going to one of the other buildings and moving around with a good friend. With some switching of the schedules I managed to stay in character other than a couple breaks for almost the whole day. I did take a little break.. not much.. to get some pizza with friends then helped Vader back to our booth. Chuckles.

 

So what have I learned? I learned how great it is to work with an amazing group of people doing good things. You will be amazed at what you can accomplish when you push yourself and just how much fun it can be. That a little pain is nothing when looking at the big picture. Lastly, I learned how great it feels to see people smile, enjoy your presence, and forget about all the crap of life and just have fun.

I have scars from last years TK march. I was bleeding behind my calves and thighs. I kept some blood on my armor as a reminder of it. That's why this year I had decided to put my officer on. And I regret it.

 

Saturday was so jam packed....we were not able to walk.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk

[Knockerbot[501st]]

Tolo! I saw you in the change room and went to say hi and you disappeared lol.

[Tolo[TK]]

Tolo! I saw you in the change room and went to say hi and you disappeared lol.

Really...craps

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk

[Tolo[TK]]

So many people. I don't remember who I talked to who i didn't.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk

[TK 2759[501st]]

I miss fanexpo! Hope to make it again next yr... <br><br>

On a side note, Halloween costumes are out, found a costume at value village with the one way mesh for the face ($13) for costume, but you'd need to cut out the face from the hood and install into your Jawa hood.., it'd be breezier than what you have now, my opinion (only real way to tell is to try it out). <br><br>

Just a heads up

[Brattie[TK]]

I have started and almost completed the Paint Ball Jawa Mask with fans. Just need to work out some padding.

 

On the TK front.. I messed around with my gear a little during the Post Fan Expo plastic clean up process before packing it away again. I need to figure out a few things with the electrical in my bucket to ensure we don't have any failures again. overall the gear is working well, just need to continue to tweak it.

 

Also, now that I've lost a bit of weight due to the massive amount of trooping and sweating the pounds off I need to adjust my gear slightly.

[Brattie[TK]]

Brattie's log - Page 56 and counting.. still the largest building thread in all of FISD!!!

 

So I am planning some TK work again on my armor. So many little tweaks I'd like to make and I am going to start messing with the bucket.

 

I'm not a giraffe so I don't have a long neck.. this becomes a problem when my bucket sits on my chest armor and bridges. So I want to find a way through adjusting the padding if I can tilt the bucket forward slightly. I can't raise it as then I can't see.

 

I need to sort something out ... anyone have this problem in the past?

[Brattie[TK]]

Above: TK March at Fan Expo.. I'm the trooper leaning out talking to the Officer.. Fan Failure at TK Photo caused a rain storm of sweat in my bucket which fogged up my lenses creating visual loss.. I was almost blind.. funny experience.. the Handlers were awesome!

Above: One of MANY Harlies at Fan Expo

Above: With 2 handlers that were awesome I made my way over to see a friend at the EB Games booth at Fan Expo.. was a blast!

Edited September 13, 2016 by Brattie

[zv288bot[TK]]

That first pic is awesome and the video posted about putting the booth together for that fest was completely amazing. It must have been a blast, I couldn't have imagined anyone else having a greater presence there than the 501st. Congrats on being a part of that. Whoop whoop...

As far as your helmet sitting on your shoulder bridges goes, I got nothing. Sorry, hopefully someone chimes in soon. Thanks again.

 

sent from my phone

[Brattie[TK]]

you mean this one?

 

Edited September 13, 2016 by Brattie

[68Brick[TK]]

Nice Pics. In the first photo, I'm the next trooper in line, staring right at the camera.

 

For your bucket, moving your pads around sounds like a good plan. Maybe different thicknesses or locations of pads will help.

 

Another option would be moving to a hard hat liner instead of pads, or in combination with pads. Moving the pads around is probably the simplest solution though.

[Brattie[TK]]

Hey Brad! LTNS.. I miss Fan Expo because it was so great to see everyone every day!

[ComradeDave[TK]]

Lol nice Ange. Guess who those 2 troopers in the blaster ranger were  . Torok want to take a guess?

[Brattie[TK]]

Hey it's the Married Meshie one.. OMG you are so lucky we were going to crash your wedding!!! Congrats buddy!

[zv288bot[TK]]

you mean this one?

 

 

Yeeeeessssss!

 

The level of epicness is over the top. I love the imperial issued stanchions. I have so many questions... It's sensory overload. 

[ComradeDave[TK]]

Thanks Angie, I would have allowed it there were many many drunk people there that would have messed with your costumes lol

Hey it's the Married Meshie one.. OMG you are so lucky we were going to crash your wedding!!! Congrats buddy!

[sylverbard[TK]]

I'm trying to imagine how the helmet sits on your shoulders. The shoulder strips sit on your collarbone and shoulders, yes? Not sitting above them somehow?

 

Tilting it forward is just going to prevent looking left and right.

[Brattie[TK]]

I am considering figuring out another option for hanging my shoulder bells.. as they hang on the snap fabric which keeps the front and back together.. it tends to pull the strap out from under the bridges.. an elastic was placed across the back of the armor to pull these back in and counter-balance the weight of the bells.. this worked.. however it caused the upper armor to sit up slightly from my shoulders and only in a very small way. This makes my bucket sit on the armor very very VERY slightly.. which reduces further the ability to move my head even a little when standing straight up.. if I turn or bend I have no issue.

 

It's going to take some more fiddling with it to make everything fit right. I don't have a long neck like many of the guys.. and I'm not a giraffe like a couple I know.. lol.. so having a neck that I would say is average size leads to slight issues like this.

 

If my chest plate and back were wider.. and not as small as it's continually pointed out.. this would also prevent rubbing on the bridges.

 

I'll just have to play some more.. that's all.. and if that doesn't work.. I'll just go Sandy.

 

I'm also looking at a possible Biker Scout build in my future. Not sure where to get good build info, costing etc on that one.

Edited September 16, 2016 by Brattie

[68Brick[TK]]

http://www.bikerscout.net/ 

[Brattie[TK]]

hahha waiting for access approval for that one!