Grappling Hook

One of the more iconic scenes from 1977's A New Hope is Luke and Leia's swing across the Death Star chasm. Ironcially, the basis of this scene is one of the least-realized Star Wars props---the Stormtrooper grappling hook.


I posted some early reproductions of this item under Accessories on my original site, but here's a new one from Andy (TD-6372).



Although there are no clear shots of the original prop (please don't use the Star Wars Visual Dictionary as a reference since the grappling hook featured in there is a modern redux), Andy has done a nice job with this one, creating versions in CNC milled aluminum as well as a less expensive resin model. You still need to build your own grappling hook holster though.

TK-899 Fan Art

TK-899 celebrated 37 revolutions around the sun today. A somewhat mild day for a Stormtrooper, playing with the little clones on the farm and doing some financial planning. However, I did receive a very cool piece of fan mail from a listener of the 501stCast who illustrated me as seen on my Florida Garrison rookie card from 2005. Thanks, John!

Dragon*Con 2008

Dragon*Con 2008 was a blast, as expected. Of all the cons that the 501st is known to attend regularly, D*C is the most laid-back in terms of 501st costuming. Honestly, aside from the Saturday morning parade down Peachtree Street, it's difficult to find a plain ol' Stormtrooper or otherwise canon Star Wars costume. On the other hand, if it's FemTroopers or Darth Hello Kitty that you want, you've come to the right place. After last year's virgin voyage to downtown Atlanta's version of Mardi Gras, DZ-4009 and I were amped for a return visit...in fact, we had our tickets and hotel room at the Marriott squared away well in advance (and, yes, the Marriott is now the hotel of choice for many reasons). We also had new costumes planned to debut at the con, but Darth Real-Life has been a real bugger lately, so we were just glad that we were able to attend and I wore my AT-ST Driver as seen in the above pic. I assisted with the 10th Anniversary at Dragon*Con Meet the 501st panel and helped out at the 501st booth when possible---always fun to interact with fans and prospective members. I also captured a lot of audio and conducted interviews for 501stCast episode 23, too. Despite the fact that this is a 4-day con, one really cannot see it all. Of all the panels, tracks and events on the convention schedule (aside from the 501st-related activities) I only participated in one true session which was a Star Wars prop challenge scratch-building prop contest. Scott TK-408 and I thought it might be fun since we've not only built hardware props for years as part of the 501st, but also hosted seminars at MegaCon in Orlando and even Star Wars Celebration. It was a packed house (albeit a small room) and we felt a little guilty for being so overqualified for the competition---something like Emeril Lagasse entering the neighborhood bake-off. Our joint creation, the DS-71 Sniper Rifle, ended up winning third place in the adult category but it was clear from the audience reactions that we were the fan favorite.

If you've never been to Dragon*Con, I highly recommend it. Just click here for some images from Flickr and you'll get a sample of the amazing quality, creativity and craziness that people put into their costumes.

YouTube is Timeless

YouTube is interesting. Since it's user-created content, things will appear at seemingly random times without any regard for when they actually happened. I just came across a video uploaded this week that shows the Disney Star Wars Weekends parade from back in June. Check me out at 3:21 with my homemade "Go 501st!" banner...make sure you watch in high quality mode. Also worth noting is the chanting of "501! 501!" at the start of the video. Sounds goofy (no pun intended), but that kind of love from the fans can make a Stormtrooper tear up in white-armored pride.

Oh, the Humanity!

Attention: Owners of TE, AP, RT-Mod, SDS or even FX armor proceed at your own risk. The following images of the Rubies Supreme Stormtrooper costume are graphic in nature. TK-899's White Armor Chronicles assumes no responsibility for involuntary regurgitation or gouged eyeballs.











If you are searching for Stormtrooper armor to join the 501st Legion, please do not purchase this costume. If you are searching for a Stormtrooper Halloween costume, are you really willing to spend $595-850 US for this?

Kanye Glows in the Dark

The reason for this seemingly random post will be revealed at a later time.

Fast Facts Display

I've been creating 501st PR material for some time now, on both the local and Legion level. I really enjoy creating flyers, advertisements, banners, posters, trading cards, the Legion PR kit, kid's activity book, the first official Legion typeface and more. I heard that the 501st booth at Dragon*Con was in need of some things, so I put together a 3-sided "Fast Facts" display using the trivia list I've compiled over the years for use on 501st.com's page headers. The 3-sided design is based upon a 7-inch-tall acrylic display that looks like sample A in this image. Each side features a different photo of a Legion member in costume with 4 factoids. I think something like this would work well in larger sizes as a series of ceiling-danglers (we've got plenty of facts to choose from). If this is a hit at D*C, I'll propose the idea on the Legion level.

Clone Wars Midnight Premiere

Star Wars: The Clone Wars premiered on Friday, August 15th, so many theaters around the world contributed to the hype by hosting midnight screenings for eager fans. I have to say that a lot of the fun surrounding new Star Wars films is the anticipation, the lining up, the going to the movies in costume, and the instant connection you feel with fellow fans at events like this. There wasn't a huge turnout at the AMC Concord 24 in Concord, NC, but those who did show up truly appreciated the interaction with the 501st Carolina Garrison as we took endless photos, did interviews for the local Fox television news crew and handed out flyers I designed for the following Saturday's big event. A couple of fun highlights were kids asking me to autograph their trading cards and also asking one guest to look up 501st.com on his iPhone right after he took my picture (low and behold my image randomly appeared on the home page!). This was also my first trooping event using the ROM/FX, and I have to say that using a voice amp makes a huge difference in the overall character presence and serves to intimidate the public (in a good way). I'll talk more about that particular electronics mod in another post. On a side note, I'm really starting to feel I need a Clone Wars-era costume! Click here for a gallery courtesy of the sister of TB-1345.

Clone Wars Press Screening

The 501st Carolina Garrison was asked by Warner Brothers to supply some characters for a Charlotte, NC, press screening of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Monday, August 11th, at Regal Phillips Place Stadium 10. Ironically, I didn't see anyone who really looked like press, but, as an extreme anti-bootlegging measure, WB supplied three very intimidating bodyguard types who wanded everyone entering theater number 8.



The small crowd seemed to enjoy the Clone Wars-era characters as they mingled with guests, but R2-KT was the real star of the evening as she gleefully accepted hugs from kids of all ages.


Now the meat of this post...my review of The Clone Wars.

(SPOILER ALERT!)

Likes: Nicely colored and textured marionette-like "Thunderbirds" style animation, some new Clone types, reasonable derivative design elements (as opposed to all new droids, ships or objects that don't look "Star Wars"), vintage newsreel-style introduction vs. the "opening crawl" that we're used to seeing, realistic ambient lighting from lightsabers (jeesh, did we have to wait until an animated film to get it right?), parts of the musical score, R2-KT guest appearance in the film

Dislikes: Battle Droid antics, Rotta the Huttlet (really?), Ziro the Hutt (seriously?) , no mention of the 501st Legion by name (although mentioned in the Karen Traviss novelization and on related toy packaging)

I can't really tag this blog entry as a "tour of duty" but it was a fun evening hanging out with the Carolina troops in and out of costume, and I got to operate R2-KT once again. I was talked into helping load her back into her chauffeur's vehicle after the screening, and that pink astromech really needs to lose some weight! Thanks to Cockroach for the photos.

Cheesegraters and Jawbones: The Hearing

I came across the full hearing document from propmaker Andrew Ainsworth's recent court loss to Lucasfilm regarding claims of intellectual property rights over various Star Wars helmets and armor including those of the classic Stormtrooper, Imperial Gunner, TIE Pilot, and others. Hardcore costuming enthusiasts may find a few gems within the lengthy court document. Although not directly mentioned by name, I was excited to see the 501st Legion get a tip of the hat in this passage:

85. In 2004 Mr Ainsworth set up a website (www.sdsprops.com) and started to sell products in a concerted manner. There is a significant market for such products amongst aficionados of the Star War (sic) films all over the world, some of whom organise themselves into "Garrisons".

Yeah, we crazy fans will actually pay money for this stuff. And on a related note, it seems that Ainsworth's invoice for Stormtrooper helmets in 1976 was about the same as one can expect to pay now for a Master Replicas Collectors Edition bucket ($98 US):

39. Mr Pemberton told Mr Ainsworth that he wanted 50 helmets and Mr Ainsworth quoted £20 per helmet. Mr Pemberton said he would have to get back to his customer about that and a couple of days later the price was approved.

And, believe it or not, the armor itself was also priced very similar to what a fan-made kit would go for today on ebay (~$755 US):

43. Mr Ainsworth agreed to attempt to produce armour. Over the following weeks he did so, both for the initial filming and for subsequent studio production. He also modified the armour in order to make it more wearable, based on the experience of actors on the Tunisia shoot, and produced modified tools to produce it. The armour that one sees in the 1977 film was all made by him. He made 50 sets. In relation to the armour, Mr Ainsworth contracted directly with Lucas. His invoices were drawn on the instructions of Mr Mollo. He did not have an order number before the Tunisia shoot, but he obtained one afterwards. His first invoice was for 50 sets of armour at £385 per set, and his invoice for new tools, including some for additions, apparently, was for 12 sets of tools at £200 per unit.