U-Mass Hockey Night at Lowell, aka: Storm Troopers on Ice

My most recent troop was this past weekend at Lowell Mass. for one of their hockey games. I have a couple relatives in Lowell, and they were kind enough to drive me in to the stadium, because I wasn't totally sure on how to get there myself.
I arrived just in time - several people were already there, and we got changed and into armor. We were told, when invited to the event, that there would be other people in costume there, but it turned out that we were the only group there. In all, there were ten of us - 4 Stormtroopers, a scout trooper, three officers, Boba Fett and our Republic Commando, Sev - A good turnout for the event.



We were a hit. We started out in the lobby, where we posed for photos and walked around a little. When the game began, we went up to the top walkway and walked a number of laps around, stopping for pictures. The U-Mass pep band played a rendition of Imperial March while we marched down the stairs into the spotlight. Later on in the game, we walked out on the ice during their halftime show, announced as the 501st New England Garrison. We got a lot of people waving and clapping, which was nice. After that, a further two more revolutions around the areana, before heading back down and packing up.
This was the first event that I've been to with my armor upgraded. Since Arisia, I'd made the following modifications to my armor:

* Padded the helmet with foam so that it fits better to my head
* Reinforced the seams with Superglue under the velcro
* New TK Shoes
* Flightsuit

The shoes and flightsuit were nice - I didn't need to try and tape up my sneakers again, which was a plus, and it looks better, while the flight suit just made getting dressed quicker and easier. The reinforced seams were nice, although I need to find a better way to attach the shoulder bells to the shoulders, as I had them coming off a couple times, a general nuisance.
The event helped illustrate a couple problems with the helmet. A) I need fans and some small holes to be drilled, to help with air circulation. I got a little light headed from the duct tape. B) Put something over the tape, because as I sweated, my forhead stuck to the tape, which was a little uncomfortable. Maybe a light hat or something next time.
Oh, and I need to remember to bring my sidearm and holster. I felt very out of place without it.

Several other things to do in the near future:

* Microphone. It's hard to hear in the helmet, and it's difficult to be heard.
* Drop Boxes - I need to find mine. I can't remember where they've gone off to, but it'll be a good thing to get again.
* Left Knee triangle. Need to find a better way to attach wiithout it falling off all the time.

Overall, a really fun troop. Can't wait for St. Patrick's Day!


Full Album of Pictures:
http://www.501neg.com/photos/thumbnails.php?album=849