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news FROM 2005
12.24.05
My BFG Has Arrived!
I have been looking for a very well done BFG (big f'n gun) ever since I
decided to become a sandtrooper, and my patience has paid off. I found one
that someone on eBay had made themselves, and at the low price of $56
(including shipping) I couldn't have passed up this great deal! The gun
that I purchased is most commonly known as the Lewis gun from World War
II, but in the Star Wars world it's known as the BlasTech T-21. Check out
the pictures of it here.
12.03.05
Helmet Modifications
I traveled up to Crystal Lake with the Walton family (Bob, Mary and
their two wonderful daughters) to have Duffy work on my helmet. He was
going to help install some cooling fans, a microphone and amplifier kit.
Unfortunately all the parts weren't in stock, so my helmet is still in
Duffy's possession. I'm not too concerned, as I know that it will get
done, and it will be done well. I have all the faith in the world with
Duffy. FULL STORY
11.27.05
NAPERVILLE "LITTLE FRIENDS" PARADE
Hey Troopers! Even though it was cold, windy and rainy in the western
suburbs of Chicago, it didn’t stop the members of the Midwest Garrison
from marching through downtown Naperville. I saddled up my dewback
yesterday morning, and traveled to Naperville to march in the “Friends of
Little Friends” parade. As described on the
Little Friends
Inc.’s website, “the parade is held in downtown Naperville on
Thanksgiving weekend, as part of the Hometown Holidays celebration. With
floats, costumed characters, the arrival of Santa and much more, it's a
colorful celebration for all ages.”
FULL STORY
11.25.05
cHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
I had my third assignment given to me, which involved crowd control at
the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. It was a freezing cold night with lots of
snowfall (at least during the drive from Aurora to Chicago), but I still
had a great time suiting up in armor and hanging out with members of the
Midwest Garrison. So why were members of the MWG present at the CSO? It
was because John Williams was directing the orchestra that evening, and of
course we all know about his involvement in the world of Star Wars.
FULL
STORY
11.16.05
HELPING MY BUCKET BREATHE
One of the first things I realized when I wore my helmet for the first
time, is how incredibly hot it gets in there. So, after giving it some
thought, I decided to do a little bit of customizing to my helmet. I first
drilled holes through the upside down frown, and then did the two spots in
the back of the helmet. The frown turned out really well, but the back
slots aren't all perfectly cut out. From afar you could never tell, but if
you're right up on top of me you might notice it. It feels so much better
inside when it's on my head (after the work I did on it), but the true
test will be when I wear it again for more than an hour. It has to be
better than what it used to be though. Check out the pics of my work
here.
11.12.05
RACINE HOLIDAY PARADE & STORE EVENT
Chris Spice and I attended a parade up in Racine, Wisconsin, and it
meant I would be wearing my sandtrooper armor for the very first time as a
member of the Midwest Garrison (and 501st Legion). No matter how small of
an event this might have turned out to be, this was going to be a most
memorable evening. And even with the weather being all crappy, I still had
a great time with everyone!
FULL STORY
11.08.05
TD1043.COM DOMAIN NAME PURCHASED
Since I have been designated with my official 501st ID, I felt it was
appropriate to acquire the TD1043.com domain name.
11.07.05
ACCEPTED INTO THE 501ST
It was brought to my attention today that I am now an official member
of the 501st Legion! I
have been assigned the identification number of TD1043. Being accepted
into the 501st is such incredible news, and all I can say is that I'm very
much looking forward to all the memories that are yet to come.
11.01.05
ADDING WEATHERING DETAIL TO MY ARMOR
It was Saturday morning, and I woke up so proud of the major
accomplishment of putting my armor together pretty much by myself (with
some help from Bob Walton). I decided to check out my armor, and knew
right away that I needed to add some weathering detail to it, so that it
looked more like a true sandtrooper. I must have spent almost four hours
in my basement adding acrylic paint to my armor, so that it looked like it
had been used for serving the Empire’s needs. It looks so much better now,
but it still needs more weathering added to it since it’s still a little
bit too clean for me.
10.30.05
HAVING FUN WITH THE KIDS
It was the day just before Halloween, and I spent most of my day with
my little cousin Jackson. We hung out at his house for the afternoon,
while he was a blue Power Ranger and I was of course a sandtrooper. For
all the pictures click here.
10.29.05
MY BROTHER'S HALLOWEEN PARTY
It was the second annual
Halloween party that my brother was throwing at his house (Saturday,
October 29), and what was I going to wear to his party? Of course I was
going to wear my sandtrooper armor that I just finished putting together.
Carrie, Lucas and I arrived early at my brother’s house, so that I had
plenty of time to get into my armor (which can take up to twenty minutes
to get into). Once we got there I headed up to their bedroom, so that I
could have a big area to get into my armor. I first laid all the pieces
out on the floor, and then started getting in them.
After I got all my gear on, it was time to head downstairs. I think I
blew everyone away, especially my parents, when they saw me wearing that
for the very first time. I had told them so many time before, that one day
I would have stormtrooper armor. Well, the time had finally come, and it
was my time to shine at the party. People were so incredibly excited to
see me in my armor, and my costume must have been pretty good since I won
the “Best Costume” award there.
MY ARMOR IS 100% COMPLETE
After working on my armor for almost an entire month, it was finally
finished on Friday (10/28). My friend, Bob Walton (aka Professor Chaos and
also TK1216), pretty much did all the work on my bucket (helmet) for me,
since that was going to be the hardest part to do. I did the majority of
all the other pieces with a little bit of guidance from Bob.
FULL STORY
10.24.05
CLOSE TO 80% COMPLETE
I've been keeping real busy lately on my sandtrooper armor. This past
Friday I went over to TK1216's house (aka Professor Chaos), and we worked
on my armor for more than five hours! It was a long night, but luckily we
were able to see a little bit of "Batman Begins," which I hadn't seen
before (great movie BTW!). I then worked on my armor a little bit over the
weekend, but the biggest amount of progress was made tonight. I am almost
80% complete with my armor. TK1216 is finishing up my bucket and thigh
pieces, and everything else is complete. I do have some questions though,
regarding how to wear the upper-arm pieces and shoulder plates (the
instruction book does a poor job at telling me what to do with these). It
should be a no brainer, but I'm going to need TK1216's advice once again.
I'm pretty happy with what I've done so far with it, and it should be
ready just in time for my brother's Halloween party (October 29th). Check
out the four pictures of me wearing most of my armor
here.
10.19.05
PAULDRONS, BOOTS AND BETTER GLOVES ACQUIRED
Yesterday my four pauldrons showed up on my front doorstep that I
purchased from eBay, and I really like the look of them! I can't wait to
put these on when my armor is complete (which is quite a ways off still).
My boots came in a few days ago, and they fit pretty well except their a
bit different then anything I've ever worn before. I think they'll take a
while getting used to, but I'm okay with that. And while I was up in Door
County this past weekend, I found much better gloves than what I purchased
a couple weeks ago. So, I'm going to return the first pair that I bought,
because this newer pair is so much better. They fit better and look much
more realistic to me. Check out the pictures of my pauldrons and shoes
here.
10.10.05
BOOTS, GLOVES AND BACKPACK ACCESSORIES ACQUIRED
Late last week I ordered my stormtrooper boots from
Caboots.com, and I am hoping that I get these sometime this week.
Today I picked up a pair of black gloves and a whole bunch of backpack
accessories (click here for
pictures). It will take me a while to build the backpack, but hopefully I
can have this done in time for my brother's Halloween party (October 29).
I still haven't finished putting together my armor yet, and I have a long
way to go still. The most difficult part will be putting together the
helmet, and I'm hoping that I can get one of my 501st buddies to put that
together for me.
10.02.05
UNDER SUIT ACQUIRED
From the recommendation of Professor Chaos, I went to a small scuba
diving store in Aurora called Below H2O. I went there to purchase my black
under suit, which will be worn under my armor. It only cost me about fifty
dollars (which includes tax), and it fits me perfectly! As you can see in
these photos, I thought I
would try sporting on a couple of the armor pieces, just so I could get a
feel for what is yet to come. I still have a long way to go though with
putting this set of armor together.
09.24.05
SLOWLY MAKING PROGRESS
I was able to glue a few more pieces together
this morning. Got the two
forearm pieces glued, and once the liquid nails dries all I have to do is
just clean up the pieces, and they should be pretty much complete. I'm not
sure if I'll need to put velcro on the inside of them, because if I don't
they might slide around a my forearm quite a bit. Also added the second of
two shoulder pieces to the front chest plate, so once that dries I'll be
able to attach the back plate to these shoulder straps. Looking good so
far!
This morning I ran out to Home Depot to pick up a few things for my
armor project. I picked up two rolls of black electrical tape (to be used
for repairs while in the field), six small vice clamps and two tubes of
liquid nails, so that I could continue working on this over the weekend.
There is so much work that needs to be done, but as long as it's complete
by Halloween I'll be a happy trooper!
09.23.05
THE BOX HAS BEEN OPENED
I started working on it tonight with a friend from the 501st, and he
goes by the alias of Professor Chaos. For only being at his house for a
few hours, we got a decent amount of work done. We got parts of the arms
and legs started, but there's a bunch of stuff I need to buy for this. I
have someone who offered their services in putting my helmet (or better
known as a "bucket") together, since that is one of the hardest pieces to
put together. I'm very much looking forward to working on this some more
over the weekend, and I'm hoping I can get this done before Halloween.
Check out the pictures of the progress I've made so far
here.
09.17.05
BEST GIFT EVER!
As most of you already know, my wife bought me stormtrooper armor for
our five-year wedding anniversary (end of October), and she surprised me
with it at the recent
Chicagoland Entertainment Collector's Expo.
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