Kilometers 4 Katie

Just donated to a great (and fun) cause. On November 22nd, 501st member Joe Schonberger (TK-3699) will run the Philadelphia Marathon in Stormtrooper armor to help raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in memory of the late Katie Johnson (daughter of 501st Founder Albin Johnson). Yes, it's crazy. Yes, it's even crazier because he'll be wearing a kilt (Joe is also a member of the Kilted Trooper Brigade). And, yes, we think Katie would have loved the silliness of it all. Please visit km4kt.com for more details.

To Theaters, It Will Come

Card Number 5

I just received a great note from a fellow trooper...

I was going through some old boxes yesterday and I found my son's first wallet which he lost about a year or so ago. It's a vinyl Darth Vader wallet I got for him at CIV. Inside was a single dollar bill and a single 501st trading card with a trooper holding a paper ewok target. :wink:
Happy New Year
-Brack

The trading card referenced is my own 501st rookie card. My armor and blaster have changed and I'm not producing the Ewok shooting targets anymore, but I've still got plenty of cards available for free...there were 2,500 of them produced, so just e-mail me. Just don't put them on e-bay; they're meant to put smiles on faces, not profit in pockets.

Hasbro Spacetrooper Arrives

Thanks to JediInsider.com, here's a peek at the soon-to-be-released Spacetrooper figure from Hasbro. You might recall my previous posts about the zero-G backpack, an original trilogy "Holy Grail" prop that has not yet been identified in full. Click the image above for an enlargement and I think you'll agree that this action figure interpretation probably isn't as accurate as we prop-builders might hope. And what's with the T-21 blaster?

Inspired Cannister Mod

Over the years, I've fielded many inquiries regarding armor-building. In fact, finding a distinct lack of helpful feedback from existing armor owners was one of the main reasons why I launched this website six years ago. While I enjoy the dispensing advice about all things armor, it's enormously satisfying when I receive thanks from fans who have completed their own costume. And it's even sweeter when said fans have gone that extra mile to share one of their own modifications. Such is the case with this thermal detonator/O2 cannister mod sent to me by Rick:

Your sites have been an invaluable resource for my first experience at building armor. I thought I would share a mod of my own that I’m really thrilled with.

Basically, it is a thermal detonator with threaded caps, perfect for storing keys, cash etc.

PARTS:
FX Armor Thermal Detonator Caps and Control Panel
Two 2” Threaded female to pipe fittings
Two 2” Threaded male to pipe fittings
2” PVC pipe cut to exactly 2.5”
Aluminum Tape
Two keychain belt clasps
Four rivets
Gorilla Glue

Glue the 2.5” section of 2” PVC in between the two male threaded fittings to join together. The threaded ends will face outwards. The 2” PVC makes a nice flush tube through the center.

Wrap the Aluminum Tape around the smooth end of each female threaded fitting.

Glue the FX armor cap over the open aluminum end of each female threaded fitting.

Bend open and flatten one end of each belt clasp. Leave the other end in its bent shape to attach to your belt. Drill two holes approx 1.5” apart on the flat end and then bend it into a curve to fit around the canister.

Attach the belt clips to the center portion of the canister by drilling the holes and securing with rivets.

Attach the control pad to the center section with industrial strength velcro.

Hope you guys can share this with other troopers out there. If I get some free time, I’ll build another one and take more detailed photos of the assembly.

I just completed my first set of armor and have had a great time building it.

Feel free to contact Rick for more details on this mod.

Imperial Cadet Training Manual

In 2005, with Star Wars Celebration 3 quickly approaching, I saw the need for something to hand out to young fans at troopin' events. During this time, the 501st typically had stickers, temporary tattoos, buttons and such, but those were consumables and supplies often ran low, or the event organizer simply didn't have enough lead time to have them produced. Inspired by an early Legion coloring book produced by Dallas "Dustin Crops Boy" Poague (an ex-501st member who now runs Monkey In A Dryer screen-printing business in Minnesota), I decided that a black and white printable pdf file filled with Imperial-style games, puzzles and activities would be an economical turnkey solution for 501st events around the world...well, at least the English-speaking world! Presented as a 12-page "Top Secret" Imperial Cadet Training Manual, the activity book proved to be quite popular over the years, making itself useful as a giveaway at events both large and small. In September 2008, however, I was thrilled to hear that my design was selected to be used by 78 Pottery Barn Kids stores as part of their classic Star Wars decor product launch in North America. (On a side note, PBK donated $15,600 US to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital on behalf of our participation.) In the photo below, you can see some of the activity books in the hands of an employee as BH-3384 takes a break at a Florida event.

I recently added a few pages to the book and, after finding out it was being sold by scalpers on ebay, made it a free download via 501st.com. I have to also give thanks to TK-742 of the German Garrison for a lot of the initial artwork used in the book.

TRIVIA: The back page of the Imperial Cadet Training Manual is a mostly-blank page labeled "Imperial Endorsements" which is used for fans to collect autographs from their favorite characters. While proving quite popular at the Pottery Barn Kids events, this page was really just filler when I originally ran out of ideas for additional content!

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.