Woodwork

The project is coming along!
I have spent the last week meticulously measuring and cutting the boards for the framework on the boxes.

Next up is mounting the pieces together and adding a frame on top. A LOT of work is left, but it's coming along.


I'd like to thank my landlord, who works as a carpenter for helping me acquire the wood needed for this project, and lending me a jigsaw for cutting out all the holes.
And I also have to thank my buddy (who is getting one of the two finished pieces) who provides a workspace for this and a lot of different tools as well.

Original Volvo instrumentpanel is also aqcuired, and the centerpieces are on their way from the USA.
If I keep up this pace, a lot will be done before christmas, but as I have set a deadline for next may, I have an ocean of time...

Looking forward to continuing this build.

New Major Project In The Works

I have lately been planning and researching a new long-term project, and it is not a new costume (, I would like to do that too, but my funds don't allow that at this moment).

Although the project is not secret, and lots of people know about it already, I can start by adding a teaser: This part is to be used, an instrumentpanel from a Volvo 343 (1979):

And I am planning to try do make a mould of it and casting seven more out of resin, even though I haven't casted anything other than things in plaster before. It's going to be a steep learning process.

The main piece of the project is soon on its way in the mail, and I will begin assembly of the other main pieces this week or the next I assume.

Oh, and I am actually making two, so everything has to be done twice.

I have a goal of being finished at least before may next year, but I think it will be done some time before that.

Halloween at The Childrens Ward at St. Olavs Hospital

Every year for the past five years, The Nordic Garrison has made an appearance at the childrens ward at St. Olavs hospital, giving the children a memorable day and "magic experience" as our contact calls it.
And this year was no different, on 31st of october for halloween, we were there.

This was my first time attending, and we were cautioned that some of the children would be very weak, but nonetheless would enjoy our presence.

The attendance of troopers was numerous, and we were eleven people in costume perusing the halls, including a few supporters and our contact which had filled and old R2D2 pepsi-cooler with candy for the kids.

This kind of troop gives us a greater awareness of why we do this, and it is very rewarding bringing joy to children who are having a rough time. This can also be one of the hardest troops emotionally, as some of the kids are very sick, and have a bleak chance of recovery.

Our attendace was also covered in the local news, although only in norwegian.
Despite the article being in norwegian it was spread internationally by The 501st Legion itself with the subtext "no translation needed", which is very nice.

Link to the article

We will probably be stopping by again for christmas, delivering toys that were donated to us to give to the kids. Looking forward to it.

Saving Time aka Clock Makeover

We refurbished the bar where I work, and one of the managers (the one that likes Star Wars), stopped me as I was hanging an ugly clock back up, saying he didn't want anything hanging on that wall again, unless it had something to do with Star Wars, I quickly replied "I can arrange that", and took the clock back home with me.

It took me half an hour with a printer, an exacto knife, some glue and the clock was as spanking new! (Got a christmassy rhyming-feel from that sentence...)

My better half even helped out, painting the hour- and minutehands on the clock.

A huge improvement, and a great addition to our workplace!

Nidaros Roller Derby vs Lahti Bay City Rollers

October 27th saw two troops in one day, with the appearance at Sirkus Shopping first, then driving directly to Husebyhallen where the rollerderby match between Nidaros Roller Derby and Lahti Bay City Rollers would take place.

A chef at the place where I work is a rollerderby judge, and asked if we would join them as honorary guards at a match this summer. Sadly I was out of the country at that time, but I got another trooper to stay in touch with them and they made the appearance happen anyway.
They were so pleased with our collaboration that they wanted us back for this next match on their hometurf.

Lisa, BH-8224 had enjoyed the rollerderby so much first time around that she joined a local rollerderby team, and proceeded to take on the role as event coordinator at this event.

Due to the rollerderbymatch being later in the day, we had many more troopers join us, and even Darth Vader himself showed up.

I had worked till 04:00 the previous night, and after having trooped once already that day, I took it easy at this one, laying down a lot and even getting out of costume for a period of time. Saving my strength for going directly to work after the match at 21:30 and working till 04:00 again. WORK HARD, PLAY HARD.

Again, this was a fun troop, and it was nice to see our new trooper Hans Petter be enthusiastic about getting to finally troop (he had been looking very much forward to this), and also having a new supporter (and future TK) come hang out with us.

We have establihed a good relationship with Nidaros Roller Derby now, and will probably be a regular fixture at their home-games.

Appearance at Sirkus Shoppingcentre

In february, while on vacation in Sweden I recieved an sms asking if I was the gentleman with the Stormtrooper-costume (I guess they saw me on adressa.no), and if I would be interested in making an appearance at the opening of the new Sirkus shoppingcentre in Trondheim, the 27th of OCTOBER, eight months from that point.

You could say that they were planning well ahead.

I kept contact with them on mail, and although they initially wanted only me to appear, I got them to realize it would be more fun with more troopers, so I tried to gather as many troopers as I could.

This event was coordinated by me, and we went out to do what we do best: mingle with people, take pictures and create a good mood, spreading excitement and joy.

This was also the first troop of our newest member: TK-50157, Hans Petter Larsen, which I had helped build a TM-Stormtrooper over the course of the previous weeks.

An excited kid, dressed for the occasion!

Troopertransport anyone?

Obligatory group photo:

This day also held another troop, where we would be honorary guards for Nidaros RollerDerby when they played a team from Lahti in Finland, so we went directly there after this troop.

Screening of Original Trilogy at Studentersamfundet in Trondheim

We got wind that "Filmklubben" (The Movie Club) were screening the Original Trilogy the 1st of september (if you don't know what trilogy I'm talking about, you're in the wrong place), and we asked if they wanted a few troopers to spruce things up a bit, and they were happy to oblige.

We met up two hours before the screening was about to start, got stationed in our changingarea which was directly behind the screen on the main stage at Studentersamfundet, chatted and caught up a bit before changing into costume and going out to mingle with passers by and draw attention to the screening.

Right before the films were about to start we gather on stage in front of the screen to recieve applause and Søren, one of the supporters at this event proceeded (impromptu) to tell the audience a little bit about who we were, what we do and how we can be contacted.

Maybe the coolest thing we did was the last thing we did; as the movie had started and the Tantive IV was about to be boarded by the Stormtroopers and Darth Vader, me and Lars Erik got ready to storm the stage along with the troopers on screen, and just as they boarded the ship on screen we bolted out from the side and blasted our way across the stage, exiting on the other side, giving the audience a great laugh and a memorable experience.

Afterwards we toyed with the idea of having appearances of different characters in costume on stage during key scenes of the film, something that would be cool to do in the future.

On a costume related note: This was the first time I got to use my new helmet with the TM armour, and the colourmatch is spot on, I think it looks very correct!

New Helmet from RS Propmasters

I wrote early in the summer, while finishing the helmet from AuthenticProps (AP) that I really wanted a helmet from RS Propmasters, and true to my word, I ordered it early june, got it after we got home from our roadtrip and tinkered with it during the summer.

RS are the only ones that can provide a first generation cast from an original screen used helmet, preserving all the inaccurasies and charming bumps from the original helmets.
Some of the original hemlets looked pretty rough up close, with paint runs and the paint chipping after a while.
The original "stunt" helmets were made out of khaki coloured HPDE plastic, which is a kind of greasy plastic that didn't hold the paint all that well.

StarWarsHelmets.com has a really good collection of reference pictures of screen-used helmets, and some interesting history on them.

Here is a picture of the "Dave M"-helmet, showing the paint chipping, but being well preserved with everything else intact.

I wanted to make my helmet a "replica"-helmet, in that I wanted it to look like the ones that was used in the films, with the white paint chipping a tiny bit here and there, exposing the khaki colour underneath.

Here is how it looked when it arrived, this is 1,5mm ABS and you can really see the details in the helmet:

Here it is assembled and sat next the AP (which has now gone to a new home) and TM. the RS on the far right:

I took extra care in finding a good colourmatch to the original khaki (ordered it specifically from a local paintshop, which cost a little extra...) and sprayed the whole helmet (minus the ears, the originals had white ABS ears) with that as a base, before masking off where I wanted the paint chipping to be with liquid masking fluid.

Why would I paint the entire helmet khaki before painting it white and only having tiny bits of  the khaki showing you might ask? Yes why indeed. It would almost be like wearing a shirt with a collar under a sweater, having only the collar from the shirt visible. But not quite. If this helmet is to be worn, and maybe some paint is to chip off, it will show the khaki underneath, naturally, as the original helmets did. And I personally am very fond of that.

With ears attached, and I hate to say this, I almost like the look of this unfinished Khaki helmet more than the white finished one:

Then I did some tests with the masking fluid on a spare piece of plastic:

Took care in finding a white which was not COMPLETELY white, but with a hint of creaminess, something that turned out to be a waste of time and money, because the helmet turned out WAY to creamy, and I had to just buy a regular white called "radiatorwhite" and spray the whole thing again.

Here it is painted "radiatorwhite" and with other hand painted details:

And a final comparison with the TM on the left and RS on the right, I suppose the untrained eye can't tell the difference:

Some differences are noticeable, specifically the shape of the cap'n'back and the cheektubes, and not to mention all the small bumps and irregularities on the RS.

This was an enjoyable project, and I learned a few things along the way.
The new helmet is now my preferred one, but I'll keep them both.

RS Propmasters has since started making replica helmetkits in a material very similar to the original HPDE, that captures the minutest detail and are super sharp, although they are pretty expensive. Maybe someday I'll "upgrade" to that, it never ends...

Opening of new Outland-store in Trondheim

21st of july, we were asked to attend the opening of a new Outland-store at the Mercur shoppingcenter in Trondheim. We have a good relationship with the shop, one of the employees is a 501st member, and another has a TK in the works.

The new shop was bigger than the previous one (they moved from their old location to this one), and looked very nice, and I hope they do well.

We walked around the shoppingcenter, taking pics with guests, stood outside drawing people in and making a ruckus.

I even did the old "mannequin-trick", standing completely still inside the shop as if I was a statue, and then suddenly moving or speaking, freaking people out, which is fun.

We got a few people joining the Nordic Garrison forums and wanting to join us after this event, so it was a nice occasion for recruitment as well.
An enjoyable troop!

Desucon 2012 in Oslo

In Oslo Kongressenter, Desucon was to be held and this was my first real "convention" with all that entails.
This was a smaller event than Legoland, and a lot more intense with fans and different people in costume EVERYWHERE.

At desucon we had our own stand with information about the 501st Legion, photostand with backdrop and Soot-A-Trooper, where guests could shoot at troopers with foam darts.

This was a fun and eventful troop that also lasted for two days, where each day ended with us parading up to a stage and recieving massive applause

On the second day I took the role as a representative from the Nordic Garrison during the annual auction, where people in the audience can bid on different items, and choosing wether they want to keep them, or if they should be destroyed by an elderly powerful guy with grey long hear, kimono, samuraiswords and axes. Needless to say, there was a lot of destruction.
My role was standing on the side of the stage dressed as a Stormtrooper, collectiong the money from the winners and cheering on the audience.
All the proceeds from the auction went to the charities Nordic Garrison donates to, which was a very nice thing.

Two great weekends of trooping and a super roadtrip we still haven't recovered from, day-to-day life wasn't the same for weeks.

Roadtrip! Legoland Billund, Denmark

This blogpost is way overdue (as well as most of the blogposts that will follow this one) much due to my laptop shutting down, but also due to the trip being so long and having so much happening, that I didn't know where to start and what to write. It would have been best to have written it immediately after it happened, but alas. Anyways, for archival purposes, here it comes:

We set out 15th of June from Trondheim to drive to Denmark and attend the Star Wars invasion of Legoland, Billund. We left in two cars, with me, TK-8505 and TD-6237 in one car, TB-3444 and spouse in the next.
We started early, filled the cars full of armour and provisions and headed for Oslo, where we would meet up with TI-2097 plus spouse and take the ferry to northern Denmark.

TD-6237 arranged for us to have walkie-talkies in the cars, so we could communicate and plan our stops, as well as keep eachother entertained.

The ferryride (danskebåten) was very nice, we bought our quota of liquor, ate as much as we could at an expensive buffét, took a few drinks while watching "danseband" playing in their peach-coloured suits, and went to bed giggling like little schoolgirls.

Since denmark is a pretty small country, the drive down to Billund didn't take long, and we were quartered in small huts not far from Legoland. Many other troopers from Nordic garrison and other Garrisons in Europe would soon join in.

We had TK-7995, Morten from Denmark, and TK-2959, Mathias from Sweden join us on our porch, and we collected our weapons for a group photo:

TD-6237 doing some last minute fixes, fixating the weathering on his Sandtrooper:

Early the next morning we gathered in front of the back gates:

When inside we left our gear in the huge tent which was our basecamp and changingroom, and walked to the entrance of the park ( a ten minute walk) and inside the cafeteria for a morning briefing and a little breakfast. Afterwards we walkked back (another ten minutes) and changed into our gear, before walking back to the entrance again (ANOTHER ten minutes,) for the opening of the park, where we lined up in squads and Darth Maul walked back and forth in front of the gates, where hundreds of people were waiting outside. Eventually Darth Vader showed up and "forced" the gates open, and we marched behind him to a backstage area.

During the day the different squads (groups of five) were given assignments across the park, usually patrolling different areas mingling with the public. And we had two parades per day, one early and one right before closing.
Other than that we could do as we wanted to, and peruse the park at our own leisure.

With a park filled with guests, and over 100 troopers from 501st Legion, spirits were good, and we had a great time.

After the last parade, we lined up for a group photo:

In the afternoon we met up with some troopers back at the huts and walked to nearby Lalandia, an indoor city with restaurants, minigolf, arcades and the huge waterpark Aquadome including the awesome waterslide we took on the day of our departure. We ate at the restaurant, had some drinks and walked back to the huts where we continued to hang out.

Needless to say, the next day was a little more sluggish than the first, but we were up damned early (07:30 if I recall correctly), and we proceeded with the same procedure as the day before, meeting up at the back gate, changing into costumes and walking to the entrance. This time we arrived at the front gate just as the park had opened and just started to mingle with the guests and take photos with them.

This day though, during the first parade we made a stop at miniland for the Star Wars area, where Jake Loyd (young Anakin Skywalker from The Phantom Menace) was a special guest and they had a small ceremony for placing down a LEGOfigure of his character in one of the exhibits. A small interview with TV and some photos later, we marched on.

It was a bright sunny day, with occasional showers. Spirits were high and the mood was great, although people were a little sluggish from the night before.

After our chores in the park were done and the park had closed, we would all gather in the restaurant in the Castle for a debriefing, some speeches, exchanging of gifts and good times. Jake Loyd was a special guest during the dinner, and many took the opportunity to get things signed, I myself got the small LEGOfigure of him signed.

When the dinner was over and it was time to retreat back to the huts, we mingled around the huts and made some new friends.

A lot of people left that same night, but we stayed an extra day. We took the opportunity to explore Aquadome the next day, an experience we always will remember, what a great place! The Tornado waterslide was INTENSE! And the outside bubblebath was soothing in the rain.

After Aquadome, we drove on to Hamburg in Germany, where we would spend a few days, and I celebrated my birthday with a small group of five people at a bierstube eating schnitzel. Germany was nice, but we had another troop in Oslo, Norway awaiting us, so we slowly but surely drove back visiting Denmark on the way.

Minor Improvements

Before our departure to Legoland in Denmark, I decided to add screen accurate (but unnoticeable to the uninitiated) screws on the torso of the Stormtrooper armor.

In 1976 they made the armor so it was held together by brackets and elastics on the torso:

I only added the screws for show, and kept the elastics + snaps configuration I had from before, as I want to be able to disassemble the armor for transport.
I think it adds to the overall look. The devil is in the details.

I also got a hold of proper Detachment patches and fastened it to my helmet-bag:

And although it is jumping around a little in the timeliine, I got a small package containing several gorillapods (flexible camera tripods), that I am going to use for a project to update my mannequin:

Which will end up looking something like this: