[Somers Scarecrow Festival Saturday Oct 23rd, 10am-4pm - 10/23/21 10:00 AM to 10/23/21 12:00 AM]

Super close to my place. Count me in!

[Make-A-Wish: Wishes on Wheels - 09/19/21 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM - 09/19/21 09:00 AM to 09/19/21 03:00 PM]

I'll be there! Going as TK.

[E-11 Blaster Seeking Approval (Rubies conversion)]

Hey all, I'm excited for the troop this Saturday!
I just finished my E-11 Blaster and was hoping to get it approved so I can bring it to the event. It is a heavily modified Rubies blaster. I followed along with Happytrooper's tutorial??https://youtu.be/LrSRk5IlSJY??and added a few extra details. I even printed extensions for the barrel and receiver to make it the proper length.
I'm just looking for basic approval. There are some missing details and I realize that I can only take a rubies mod so far.

[Pauldrons?]

Awesome and good to know. Thank you!

I have looked into the Heavy Weapons Trooper and I think that would be a lot of fun! As things stand now I'm still working on an E-11 blaster for my TK. Figure I'd better see how that goes first

[Pauldrons?]

I was given an orange one as a gift and was wondering what the rules are for the??CT garrison concerning pauldrons and wearing them to events. Same question for CTG trading cards.

My only costume is ANH Stunt TK.

Thanks!

[New England Air Museum SPACE EXPO 2021 - 08/21/21 08:30 AM to 08/21/21 03:00 PM]

I'll be there with boots on! Going as??ANH Stormtrooper.

[David Prowse Rest in Peace]

This picture was taken at a convention in Orlando, FL in 1999 or so.??It was a fantastic con with the likes of Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, Jeremy Bulloch, all signing autographs. (I believe Adam West was also there but he had a room all to himself lol.) I remember standing next to David as he signed my poster and we took a photo. He said "Lean on my shoulder like we're buddies." I did so timidly.??"No, come on and really lean into it."??He seemed like a really good guy who loved the fans. I remember seeing him at other conventions years later. I wish I had gotten another photo.

[What's keeping you busy?]

Sweet cab! That is such a great four??player setup.
I've been working on restori??ng this 1978 Space Invaders??cocktail cabinet. The glass table top is pretty scratched up. I need to figure out how to replace or resurface it.

[Congratulations to Mike Francisco DS-24289]

Congrats! The costume is great and I look forward to seeing it in person once things start to get back to normal.

[Please welcome our newest recruit! Stefan Ambrosch]

Welcome Stormy!

[Star Wars Squadrons]

I used to love playing X-wing vs TIE fighter back in the day so I'm super excited for this! I'm on PC with the Vive. From what little research I've done, it looks like this game will have cross play across all platforms.

[Attention CTG members!]

#9

TK-38240 Nicholas Damario

My favorite (and only) troop??was??Mystic Aquarium. Loved every minute of it.

Whatever troop comes up next is the one I'm most excited for! Hope we can all get back out there soon, and I hope??everyone is doing well and staying safe!

[Galaxy's Edge]

Attached are a few more pics of costumed characters. Wish I could have gotten??closeups but maybe someone here will find them interesting.

[Galaxy's Edge]

Hey all, I hope everyone is doing well! As some of you know I'm a snowbird and I escape to FL for the winter. I've heard things are starting to thaw out back north, which means my stay here is almost over. I should be back by the end of the month.

During my visit I had the chance to check out Galaxy's Edge! The rides were amazing??(except for having to get up at 4am to make sure I got a place in the queue. But it was worth it). The newest attraction, Rise of the Resistance, was an amazing??experience. Friends kept telling me it's more than just a ride and that I would just have to see it myself. They were right. It was hard to tell where the pre-show ends and the ride begins.

Smuggler's run was great. The ride itself was fun but I was more impressed by the queue area! Parts of it felt like walking through the halls of the Falcon, and there was a room complete with Dejarik??table. Entering the cockpit and having a seat as navigator had me grinning ear to ear.????The life size Millennium Falcon out front was pretty cool,??too.

While the attractions were great, walking around the Galaxy's Edge area was a??bit of a letdown. There was??plenty of Star Wars-esque scenery and props, but it all felt very bland.??Droids would swivel their heads a bit and ship engines would idly hum, but it just wasn't a very engaging experience. It didn't feel alive.??There were no shows and few costumed characters walking around. The only "show" I noticed was Rey fueling up a starship. No commentary, no acknowledgement of the crowd gathered??watching her every mundane move. It was very odd.

Another thing I noticed immediately when entering Galaxy's edge was the absence of music. I get that Disney was??tying to go for an immersive/realistic??experience, but the place really needed a soundtrack to perk things up.

I also saw Captain Phasma. I have to say our Phasma looks a lot more shiny and chrome.

It's been a fun visit but I'm looking forward to being back north and seeing everyone again. Be it miles or light years away, there's no place like home.

[Congratulations to Quentin Salgado (TX-72679) and welcome to the 501st CTG!]

Congrats! It was great to see you out there.??Looked fantastic!

[Just checked my mail...]

And Wow! What a welcome package! The perks of being CT 501st!

[[Recruiting] Fire Team Vanilla - A for-fun group of squeaky clean stormtroopers]

Sign me up! I'm all about keepin' it classic.
https://www.501st.com/members/displaymember.php?userID=31414&costumeID=124
??

[Please welcome Robert Schneider - IC 37053 - to the 501st and CTG!]

Lookin' sharp! Welcome!

[Any console gamers here?]

Maybe if it comes out on the Virtual Boy. My hopes aren't too high though...??

[Please welcome Nick Damario - TK 38240 - to the 501st and CTG!]

TK38240 reporting for duty! Everyone I've meet and spoken with from the CT garrison has been super helpful, informative, and welcoming. I don't think I could find a better group of troopers!

[Congratulations to Joe Civitello SL-21407 - on his Emperor Palpatine approval!]

Congrats! That is super creepy. I can just picture lightning shooting out of those fingertips!??
Need a Royal Guard? I'm already looking into another costume

[Making it fit: Anovos ANH TK Stunt]

Hey all,
??I've seen pics of the troops from??over the summer and early fall??and I hope to join in soon! My summer was very busy and I didn't have much time to work on the armor. Here's where I'm at so far.
The torso, chest, kidney, and butt plate were too wide so I flexed them gently into shape with the help of a heat gun.??
??

The thighs were too large around and too tall. They were trimmed down and I think they fit well diameter-wise, but may still be too tall. This is especially noticeable on the back. not enough space between the thighs and butt plate.??

The kidney plate sits too high up and I'm not really sure what to do about this. I think I could afford some room if I brought the straps down a little further from the upper back plate but I don't want to reveal too much undersuit between the plates. I could also raise the abdominal plate by about 2cm but I'm not really sure what else to do about getting that kidney plate to sit lower, so any suggestions are welcome.

??

??

[Making it fit: Anovos ANH TK Stunt]

As some of you know I cheated and got my TK armor used instead of starting from a kit. The previous owner was??taller than I am. Tall enough to where I need to do some trimming down on a few pieces. Shouldn't be too hard but I figure I would post pictures as I go.

I Haven't had time to start??yet, but I did get my boots in! I feel like Cinderella!??

??

I noticed some TK's have this odd notch on top of the left thigh. It's hard to tell from movie reference shots if this is the same for all TK's because the drop box??often covers that area. Should this be made smooth or is it more accurate to keep the notch?

[New recruit! - Nicholas Damario]

Thanks everyone! I've known about the 501st for a long time but it wasn't until I encountered a few TKs in person that I was inspired to join.??
I should be able to make it to the armor party tomorrow and look forward to meeting everyone!