4Runner[TK] Posted June 7, 2020 Report Posted June 7, 2020 (edited) Hello, fellow troopers! I’m thrilled to be here. My hands still hurt from holding the Lexan scissors too tight and cutting through 2mm acrylic-capped ABS. Do you feel my pain? Ha ha! Anyway, I can’t wait to get out there and troop! If Only You Knew: Well, I thought I needed to buy everything under the sun to make this kit, and after buying way too much stuff, I realized, man, I only need glue, my dremel, some sandpaper, blue tape, and some magnets. A few clamps, too. But I just had way too much stuff lying around that I never, ever used. In that case, I made the job seem harder than it was because I thought I needed all this “stuff.” Top 5 things I learned: 1) Take your time. Accomplish only one “big” thing each day. Today I’m working on the right shin. That’s it. If you go too fast, you will screw up! 2) Don’t start without mentors. Make sure you have some guidance from experienced troopers and send them pictures as you build. 3) Listen to your mentors. If you ignore them, you will make mistakes! Stubbornness does not equal screen-accuracy! 4) Your family may not be as excited about you getting your thigh piece to fit as you are. Don’t be disappointed. Once they see you fully suited up, your appearance will blow them away. 5) When using the dremel and sanding roller, hold the piece tightly against your chest and use smooth, light strokes. Ignore the dog licking your leg no matter what. Oops!: My kit was a little big on me, and after fitting it, the entire torso was sitting too low and the thighs had no room to move. I had to redo my shoulder straps (tighten them up), and cut the neckline on the chest plate to give myself more room, and then take a full inch off the backs of my thighs to get them to fit properly. It was a pretty big challenge, especially when I thought I was nearing completion. Time to "embrace the suck" and take a risk! And so I did... Warnings I received were mostly about being too OCD versus screen-accuracy. Sometimes the screen-accurate way looked ugly to me, but in most cases I got over that and learned to love the asymmetric and wonky nature of these kits. A funny thing happened on my way to the Death Star: I decided to become a stormtrooper after teaching a Star Wars class at the University of Central Florida: https://news.cah.ucf.edu/news/star-wars-telep/ https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/637681 I invited the Makaze Squad to visit my classroom and talk about the 501 and about trooping in Central Florida. After hearing the fun and inspirational stories, I couldn’t help but want to be a part of this great community. That was last October, so it’s been an eventful eight months to say the least. My armor did take a long time to reach me (ABS plastic shortage when I ordered) so I was taking pictures of myself looking like a James Bond henchman from a 60s movie, LOL. I kept telling my friends, my armor will come soon! This is the best I can do for now: Shout Outs: I received great tips and advice from my armor builder, Troopermaster, who treated me like a good friend and answered all my questions as though he was standing by his phone, waiting for me to ask. This was a GREAT first experience with an armor builder, and that made it even more memorable. I also received incredible help from Gary Collins, Sr, his son Gary, Derek Zink, and Daniel Branton. All of these generous troops spent a lot of time answering my questions, sending me pictures and videos, and trying to put me at ease as things didn’t come together as I’d planned. Of course my family put up with me and with stormtrooper parts lying all over my kitchen and formal living room. The place looked like a plastic warehouse and smelled like E6000, ha ha. Finally, I’m really excited to be here, to start trooping, and to put some smiles back on people’s faces during a very challenging time in this world. In that way, I guess we are entertainers and should help make people forget about the cares of the world, at least for a little while. TK-33348, ready for duty! Edited June 8, 2020 by 4Runner 7
Chemi[Staff] Posted June 7, 2020 Report Posted June 7, 2020 Hello Peter... Excellent work and great advice ...Now we have to wait...Hopefully everything returns to normal as soon as possible.Soon you'll be trooping 1
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted June 8, 2020 Report Posted June 8, 2020 Well done, welcome to the ranks trooper 1
TKSpartan[Staff] Posted June 8, 2020 Report Posted June 8, 2020 Welcome to the ranks Trooper, congratulations!!! 1
TK20187[TK] Posted June 8, 2020 Report Posted June 8, 2020 Congratulations Trooper and welcome to the Legion Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk 1
Bulldog44[TK] Posted June 12, 2020 Report Posted June 12, 2020 Great story as to how you ended up here! Congratulations trooper! Happy trooping to you! 1
Mworm1974[TK] Posted June 13, 2020 Report Posted June 13, 2020 Good looking kit, now go and serve the empire! 1
TK-28046[TK] Posted June 19, 2020 Report Posted June 19, 2020 Welcome to the ranks, Trooper! now go and wait for your first mission.
jsilvius[Staff] Posted June 20, 2020 Report Posted June 20, 2020 Amazing job trooper! I wish I had a professor like you when i was in school. 1
giskard8[Staff] Posted June 20, 2020 Report Posted June 20, 2020 Congratulations Trooper! Welcome to the Legion. 1
magni[TK] Posted July 17, 2020 Report Posted July 17, 2020 Congratulations! Great story! Have Fun out there!!
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