Hasbro Mentions 501st Legion

This is a really neat mention, a disclaimer really. With the release of a special 501st toy, there is a special membership card for the 501st Legion. Not our 501st Legion, but the other one - the one from the films. Scott Will, our merchandising person, noted this to Hasbro, and they put up the following disclaimer:

*This figure does not confer membership in the 501st costuming club. If you are interested in learning more about the costuming club and the great philanthropic work they do, please visit www.501st.com.

It's a nice bit of recognition, especially with the work that we do, and with a company that's so big and well known.

Source

Spike TV Viral Commercials

Spike TV recently aired a couple of commercials featuring various Star Wars characters in very, very funny situations. The best thing is? The Fett and Tusken Raiders were 501st Legion Members:

Boba Fett:
.

.

Tusken Raiders
.

.

These aren't 501st people, but still funny:

Vader:
. .

Ewok:
.

.

501st Legion Patch Quilt

This is a really cool thing: the 501st Legion Patch Quilt. Sewn together by Terri Hodges, wife of Honorary Member Tom Hodges, it features numerous patches donated by members of the 501st Legion. It'll be on display at the San Diego Comic Con later this week, and is currently up for auction:

Bid for it here.

Proceeds of the sale will all go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. More pictures are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vmperella/tags/quilt/

Fallen Trooper: Nick Ring

It's with great sadness that I post this: TK/TC 5986, aka Nick Ring, from the Canadian Garrison, passed away the other day at the age of 22. From what I understand, he underwent jaw surgery, and while in recovery, suffered from cardiac arrest. Legion members are asked to respect the family's privacy at this time - further details should be available at the Canadian Garrison forums.

Gas Prices, The Economy and Trooping

In August of 2007, two major lenders in the American Subprime mortgage industry, American Home Mortgage and Countrywide Financial filed for bankruptcy or came close to doing so. This helped trigger a ripple effect that eventually led to the current economic recession in the United States. This ripple effect, augmented by rising fuel prices, has caused monetary problems throughout the world and the US. The American dollar has dropped, employment and domestic sales has dropped while the cost of oil breaks records almost everyday, contributing to a rise in global food prices.

This has several discrete effects on the activities of the members of the 501st Legion. With members in every state around the US and in numerous countries, the combined rising prices and fuel and goods is beginning to influence the activities of the members within the Legion.

The primary effect that this is having is in the ability of the members abilities to travel to and from events. Troopers have reported fuel prices anywhere from four to five dollars a gallon, which in some cases leads to an increased cost when it comes to attending events.

Some garrisons are harder hit than others. Some have members concentrated in a smaller area, such as the Neon City Garrison of Nevada, or the New England Garrison, which is mainly concentrated around Boston. Other garrisons, such as Excelsior and some of the California garrisons, cover a lot more ground, with troopers spread out much more. This in turn makes it much harder for members to make it out to events.

Carpooling seems to be the most common way in which people get to and from events. Numerous people have stated that they will often try and get several troopers together in each vehicle, which helps cut down on gas prices per person traveling, and has the added effect of getting cars off the road, which then in turn leads to fewer emissions, if one looks at all the benefits of this. Others limit which events they are attending. Several have said that they won't attend an event that is more than a couple of hours away from where they live, and pick and choose events more carefully.

Another major effect that the rising prices of petroleum is increases in prices for ABS and other types of plastic. According to at least one armor maker, because the price of plastic is rooted in the price of crude oil, the prices of raw materials has gone up, which will most likely cause this already fairly expensive hobby to get a little more expensive.

Some people have coped by selling off their sets. A number of sets have come across the trading section on the legion forums prefaced by: 'I really hate to do this, but...' followed by the sale of a suit in order for one of our members to focus on more important things, such as the regular onslaught of bills and food. It is an unfortunate thing to see happen. I for one had to contemplate selling off my scout armor at one point (I didn't, for which I'm very glad), and I cannot imagine selling my TK armor for any price. It's far too special for me, and I think this underscores the problems that some people are having during these difficult times.

I can't say that I've been wholly effected as badly by the economic crisis. Vermont has been largely spared in the housing market, and I feel that I have a job that is both secure and leaves me with enough time and money to continue this hobby. Since I've gotten back into the swing of things, I've attended a number of events that have been three to four hours away from where I am, and I'm planning on doing it several more times this summer. Currently, my expenses are fairly low, and this helps keep me active and able to attend events.

Because of my location, I have found it difficult to arrange events up here in Vermont. Many members in my garrison aren't willing or able to drive the distance up, and with prices the way they are, I can hardly blame them - it can cost around $60-$70 in my car to get to and from some of these events. This has largely influenced me to recruit more in the state, which is slowly happening, to help build up a good local base, and to work more closely with the Canadian Garrison, which is much closer to us than most of our members.

A positive note is that while the fuel prices have mainly effected troopers abilities to get to and from various events, translating into lower attendance at various events, there hasn't been any firm indication that donations at and for events has gone down at all because of current events. While it certainly makes people think twice about driving to and from events more, its a positive sign that what we do is still valued and needed.

501st in the Comics

A webcomic, the Least I Could Do, recently featured some 501st members:






Read the comic here.

Happy 501st Day!

May 1st (5/01) is 501st Day!Go out and get a picture next to a clock at 5:01, or do something in armor. I've brought my helmet into work today, and I'll be doing a Meet the 501st event in Burlington this evening.

Deal or No Deal: Star Wars Style

I generally dislike reality TV/ Game shows. However, I'll tune into tonight's episode of Deal or No Deal, because tonight's episode will be Star Wars themed. The storm troopers? Members of the 501st, from the San Diago Squad and surrounding areas. Way to go guys!

Here's a blurb from the official Star Wars blog:

The Banker is about to meet his match. NBC’s hit game show “Deal or No Deal” transforms itself for a special Star Wars themed “winner take all” episode on Monday, April 28 (8-10 pm ET) surprising two diehard fans of the popular movie franchise with the experience of a lifetime. Guest supporters cheering on the contestants include actress Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Chewbacca and R2-D2, and in a surprise twist, Darth Vader fills in as the villainous Banker.

In this two-hour “winner take all” episode, two contestants, Elyse McCrillis and Brad Flinchum, will duel against each other with the chance to win close to two million dollars. They will each play their own game and whoever has the highest amount at the end of his or her game will take home both winnings, leaving the other with nothing. This will make them re-think their strategy — play it safe or take the risk and go all the way — in order to be the winner.

Dealing with Sketchy People - Report

Dealing with Sketchy People

Over the weekend, I ran across a couple of rather sketchy people while walking around Church Street. In the 501st, you tend to stick out. The costumes are distinctive and that tends to attract all types of people. 90% of the people that we tend to encounter are awed, shocked, interested and excited to see a Storm Trooper, Scout Trooper, Sand Trooper, Vader, etc. The other 10% are the odd ones, who can be unreasonable, antagonistic or just downright annoying.
When going out into public, Troopers need to make sure of a couple of things. First, they need to ensure that they and their armor is safe, they need to make sure that the people around them are safe and finally, they need to ensure that they uphold the image of the 501st Legion.

Fortunately, instances where you have problem people around are relatively rare. Most Legion events are in fairly controlled settings - a convention, parade, and other types of things in which we're out in public. Contact with passersby is a bit more limited. Other times, some events take place where there's a lot more contact with the general public. Generally, the more people you come into contact with, the more likely it is that you'll come into contact with people who are going to be antagonistic.

There are a couple things that you can do to minimize problems:

1 - Always have a wrangler or handler. They can do a number of things which will stave off most problems - a good save zone in which troopers can operate, they can control who comes close, and in the event of a problem, they can take care of a problem person by diverting them away. In the case of larger groups, multiple wranglers are needed. In the case of the St. Patrick's Day parade, where we had sixty people, we had ten wranglers all spread out, connected with radios. Wranglers can be either officers, who can generally see and move around better, or in plainclothes.

2 - Operate in groups. Safety in numbers is generally a good idea. People are less likely to bother a larger number of troopers, and everyone can look out for one another fairly easily.

3 - Avoid problem groups. Several members of the legion have identified several specific groups of people are potential problems. Small, over excited children and teenagers seem to be one of the dominant problem groups, because they can have a lack of self control and might not know their limits. Avoiding these groups ahead of time, or alerting the wranglers to keep an eye out. Keeping kids away is a good idea - there's a lot of reports of kids rapping on armor, pulling pieces and other similar actions which can damage your kit.

4 - Ignore antagonistic people. While people might feel like they need to snap off a response to someone who's being annoying, it's generally not a good idea. The good thing about armor is that people can't see our faces, and it's a lot easier to ignore people, either by pretending to look in another direction. This past weekend, I came across a woman who I think was pretty high. She was tapping my chest plate, singing loudly and following me, which was attracting attention that I didn't want. Asking her to move along didn't work, so I just started to move on, and she left. Someone suggested to ask them a complicated question, especially someone who has been impaired due to drugs and/or alcohol. When they try and think of the answer, their thought process will likely be slowed down, and when they think of an answer, walk away. If they persist, contact security, or the police, and they can handle it.

5 - Stare down someone who's being antagonistic. This is pretty easy to do when you have a mask. Troopers are intimidating, and staring one down is hard. Probably not a good thing in every case, but in some select instances, it might work.

The bottom line is to avoid making a scene and drawing negative attention. You never want to lash out, yell or drop down to their level. Generally, these problem people are looking for a response, something that validates their behavior. Additionally, it doesn't look good at all for a Storm Trooper to get into any physical confrontation with anybody, because that can lead to larger repercussions, which can affect the squad, outpost, garrison or legion as a whole, which is something that cannot happen.

Women in the 501st and Rebel Legion have a separate category of problems - sexual harassment. This comes in the form of comments or downright unwanted physical encounters, depending on the costume. One thing that the wearer has to keep in mind is the reality of what they are wearing - someone dressed as a Slave Leia is going to attract a lot of unwanted attention from the males (and probably some females) in and around them - something that they have to be prepared for. Some costumes, such as the masked ones, don't reveal figure nearly as much, but even then, problems can arise if someone takes their bucket off. In places like conventions, where there tends to be a lot of socially inept people (sad but true), the attention is going to be even more intense. By some reports, Anime Conventions are the worst, as you tend to have an audience that seems to have less restraint and more enthusiasm.

Once again, the key is to increase your personal protection - keeping your comfort level and safety is paramount, and the Legion's image is a close second. Sexual harassment is a big no in my book, and it shouldn't be tolerated, especially from the somewhat creepy people that turn up at conventions. A wrangler is an absolute must - two is probably better, also depending on what you're wearing.

Bottom line for any outing - Wranglers. Wranglers, wranglers, wranglers. They can help keep people away who you don't want near you, they can keep problems away and they can do things like hold a camera and take pictures. And pick up any pieces that you might drop.

4000 and Climbing

Today, the legion marks a bit of a milestone - 4000 active members! The honor goes to Brian Robinson, LID # 2918, of Garrison Tyranus, who's joined the ranks as a Storm Trooper. This is the the largest that the legion has ever been, ever.

Now, how long before 5000?

501st on CNN 360°

CNN's 360° feature has a picture of us from the Rose Bowl parade up, and is asking for captions. Here's some of the better ones:

• The next wave of fighters getting ready to deploy to Iraq…the stormtroopers.
• The stormtroopers going to rescue the Olympic torch.
• In defiance of friend Steven Spielberg, director George Lucas provided the Chinese government with additional security for the Olympic torch relay.
• President Dick Cheney’s inaugural parade stepped off right on time today……………………..
• The IOC decides to use storm troopers to protect the Olympic torch from being distinguished
• After the explosion of the Death Star, the shortages of jobs led troopers to take an unorthodox approach to employment.
• We’ll see who will stop the torch now …
• Just keep smiling, with these flags, they’ll never guess we aren’t from their planet…
• This is what happens when the Wookie costumes get held up at the drycleaners…
• Stormtroopers do it in formation.
• Two stormtroopers walk into a bar. The third one ducks.
• Where’s Waldo
• Reagan’s Star Wars has finally been put into action!
• “MMM, escort torch to Bejing, do you?”
• Comment from Yoda, Dagoba, as the Olympic Torch escorts, adorned with 100% made in China armor, transport the Olympic torch through downtown San Fran.

I bolded my favorites. You can see the rest of the responses here.

What do Storm Troopers have to do with St. Patrick's Day?

Just after the St. Patrick's Day parade, the communications director had me do a writeup on the 501st and what I do with it. Here's what I came up with:

In a word, nothing. However, if you were in Boston for the South Boston Saint Patrick's Day parade, you might have seen a number of people dressed in the manner of the characters from the Star Wars movies. Odd, considering that the last Star Wars movie was released in 2005, with no other feature films planned (although there will be an animated, CGI feature coming in August).

I belong to an organization called the 501st Legion, a group that's dedicated to costuming on the Imperial side of the Star Wars films. We portray the bad guys (or, as we like to say, we're the good guys fighting for the wrong people), and our sister group, the Rebel Legion, does the good guys. I'm a member of the New England Garrison, which covers Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. (Connecticut has their own garrison).

Generally, we're functional adults, hold jobs and share a passion for the Star Wars movies - where some people spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on antique cars, golf and other 'socially accepted' things, we put money into making screen accurate costumes, which have been hailed, by Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and George Lucas (the series creator) as better than the costumes in the filming of the episodes.

Why would someone do this? Or, why would any normal person do this?

I do this because of one reason - we bring a certain type of joy to people, mainly children, who share a passion for things that most adults don't. Often, when I've marched in a parade, attended a convention or have been out in armor, kids who see me and my fellow legion members will light up. Star Wars captured my imagination as a child, and does so for many people today - seeing something like that, for a child, is mind-blowing, inspiring and exciting. Seeing a kid get excited seeing something from their favorite film is more than enough reward.

We don't just walk around and just exist. One of the primary motives for the group's existence has been charity work. Two years ago, Katie Johnson, the daughter of the Legion's founder, died of a brain tumor, after a lengthy battle with cancer, at a very young age. The group rallied around her family and sick children everywhere - we raise money for funds to help research cancer treatments, we walk in charity walks, visit children in hospitals, all to help make something of a difference for them. Their world is hard enough, and the hope is that we can do something memorable, and maybe make a difference in their lives.

My start with this came in late 2003, as a college undergrad. I purchased a suit of storm trooper armor (or, if you want to get technical, an FX TK Suit), put it on, did some Halloween things, attended a couple conventions and parades since then, while working with the group, tracking the world wide events that go on. I've just started contributing to the legion's history project and their bi-weekly podcast.

It's a hobby that's really out there. We catch a lot of flak from people who don't understand why we do this sort of thing. We're not a group of geeks who don't have a life. I can easily say that the group is like an extended family. Our events double as reunions from people of all walks of life and places in society.

Currently, there's just under five thousand members on every continent, and we're out every week, somewhere in the world, trying to make the world a better place.

It's up here.

501st Caught on Camera

A bunch of videos this week. Here's some good ones.

501st: MEPD Sandtroopers

Captain Jack and the Troopers

Trooper Hodown

The Guys In White

501st Childrens' Hospital Visit

Polish Outpost - Pyrkon 2008 wejście

Star Wars Stormtrooper E-11 Blaster

501st Caught on Camera

Here's a selection of phots from the past week on Flickr:

The 501st Legion and "Fanboys"

The Legion finally issued a statement regarding our involvement with the Fanboys boycott that the media seems to have latched onto:

The 501st Legion and "Fanboys"

The 501st Legion is not involved as an organization in any protests, boycotts, or movements related to the film “Fanboys”, nor do we have an opinion or position on the film (which has not yet been released). A few of our more than 4,000 members in 47 countries participated in the project, and accordingly may have their personal opinions about the current issues surrounding it. But their participation in this film was not coordinated through or sanctioned by the Legion.

Our organization is an all-volunteer costuming club that focuses on official Star Wars promotions and charity work. Mounting protests is counter to the Legion's mission and would detract from the time and energy that we currently devote to more meaningful causes.

If you would like more information on the 501st and what we are all about, please feel free to contact us! www.501st.com

- Legion Command

Thus far, a number of news sites have reported that the 501st is behind these proposed protests. We've even been contacted about them, hense the above statement. This is what I was afraid of, that we'd be piggybacked onto this. I really hope that nobody goes out in armor for this one.

Other Pictures from the Week

Here's some images from around the legion from the past week. The first two are from Wizard World 2008:





Pictures from the Girl Scout 96th Birthday Party in Yorba Linda CA:

Storm Trooper at Comic Con Ponce ' 08

Trooper at Wizard Con

More Boston Pics

Pictures are still coming in from the Boston Parade. Here's the latest batch:

Other Parade Pictures

Came across some pictures from some other parades. I believe that this is the Golden Gate Garrison, on the 11th Annual Vietnamese Spring Festival & Parade, but I could be mistaken:

Joining the Legion

I joined the 501st three years ago after getting a suit of armor during the summer of 2003 and getting accepted in 2004.
Vermont currently has two troopers in active duty, with a third inactive member - something that I'd like to change over the next year or so. As I mentioned in an earlier message, I would like to eventually see enough members in the state to form a squad for the state, under the control of the New England Garrison. (I'm thinking the Green Mountain Squad).
In order to do that, we need an additional 8-10 extra members, plus legion council approval and things like that. The overall garrison is fantastic, we're just really, really spread out - it's sometimes a real effort to get out to events. Or to get people up to events.
Currently, I'm putting some low level recruiting things into effect. The New England Garrison has some recruiting posters that have been put up in the bigger gaming store up in Burlington Vermont, which will hopefully gain some interest, and I've spoken to several people who are interested in getting armor and joining up with the Legion. I guess we'll see.
So, if you're in Vermont, come join the Empire!

Introduction

This is something that I've been meaning to start for a little while now - a separate 501st blog about things in the Legion, from my perspective.
Over the past several months, I've gotten more active in the legion. I've since rebuilt my armor, redoing all of the Velcro and seams, helmet, the whole shebang. Just yesterday, I got proper TK shoes, something I haven't had before. I've also since picked up a navy flight suit for under the armor, which is long overdue, and really effective.
I'm currently assembling a set of Scout Trooper armor, which should be completed sometime this year, and I'll talk about the building process from my limited perspective.

In addition to building armor, I've also started a major project that involves the entire legion - Event Tracking / Reporting. I've been contacting and searching garrisons for their events, and every Friday, I've been reporting the events to the Garrison, and will continue to do so through here.

I'll also report on the various events and news articles that come across my plate.

Troop On!