freakengine

Thank you for that, Fraulein. I'll certainly pass that link on to Tony. I believe that he's tried getting through to Amazon with little success.

You know me as Tom at costumebot.com. I'm not very active on the boards these days but I'm here today to ask for help from the illustrious MEPD ranks. A great SW artist named Tony Harris is being ripped off by a bootlegger on Amazon. Will you please help us by posting negative reviews of this product. It isn't "fan art" but a pro illustration that has been stolen for a profit. This aggression will not stand, man. http://www.amazon.co...e force awakens

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. In my estimation, once a sandtrooper, always a sandtrooper.

My very first 501st costume was a sandtrooper. I chose the sandy because I liked ANH better than the other SW films and I loved the Tatooine scenes the most. I also chose the sandtrooper because of all the forums I browsed trying to navigate the path toward 501st membership, the MEPD was the friendliest and the most helpful. I got my sandtrooper together including getting in on the first run of Seth/Mike/Crashman backpack parts and building a homemade MG-15. I got to troop C-IV in my TM helmet that arrived just in time for the con and the group pic with other MEPD members. What I'm trying to say is that this place has felt like home for me for some time now and definitely gave me the accuracy bug. As I tried to make my costume more accurate, I found that the accurate armor just didn't fit me (I'm 6-3) and no matter how many people said it looked okay I knew it didn't. To each his or her own but too much black is no good for a trooper. I found myself looking for a costume that would better fit my size and have completed my Tusken and have been working on an ANH Vader. Then over the last year or two I've had tremendous upheaval in my personal life which was capped by an unexpected job loss earlier this year. To cut to the chase, I had to raise some cash so I chose to sell my sandy. I've not had the time to spend here that I once did anyway and I'll continue to visit but my costume has been sold off over the last few weeks. I still have my TM helmet which may eventually have to go but for now I'm hanging onto it. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to reenlist one day but for now I have to ask that my name be removed from the ranks of the illustrious MEPD. I just wanted to thank everyone here for being decent to noobs and hope you will continue to do so. It actually does make a difference. Through my costumebot.com vids I meet a lot of prospective members and I always refer them here first. I will continue to do so as long as the membership here remains vigilant against trolls and flame wars. I've been proud to troop with many of you and proud to call you my brothers and sisters. See you on the dunes.

While all this retcon's making my headf hurt it still doesn't deny the fact that at some point the sandies were clean. Discuss.

And plenty of time to ripen in that one outfit. Whew!

While I agree that I don't like seeing TK's with pauldrons, I have to ask one question... Were the TD's clean before they stepped off the drop ship, and if so, how did they get dirty so damned quickly?! They were on the planet for all of five minutes and WHAM!...Dirty. In the acursed Special Edition of ANH we even see the drop ship taking off and those troops look like they're covered in mustard!

SWEET! Nice work!

Very nice work!

Ahhh, I see. Cool. Excellent work.

LOL @ Scootch! I'm gonna be in trouble then.

LOL!!! I always knew you were a troublemaker. I had my night in jail when I was 17. There's something about being 17 that makes you not wanna take **** off anybody, but especially cops or older people.

Awesome work, Rolf. Let's hear the arrest story!!!!!

I can't speak for everyone who doesn't post as much as they used to but for myself I've been working on an ANH Vader and a Tie Pilot costume along with my day job and my personal film work. There's only so much time in the day and the posts on this forum are a lot to keep up with. I'm not complaining...far from it. Spending time on other forums has just made me appreciate this one more but when you're focus currently lies with other costumes, it's hard to find the time to spend here. You guys know how it is - you focus on what's on your workbench. Rolf, this doesn't include you as I know there's ALWAYS a sanady on your workbench! LOL! Don't kid yourselves. The community here is strong and just because people don't post frequently doesn't mean they aren't reading. I was told not to say anything unless you have something to say so I don't post all that often. Since I'm not currently working on my Sandy I don't have a lot to contribute right now. A big thank you to the staff here for making this one of the friendliest and most informative costuming forums ever! I've been constantly amazed how a group who is so detail-oriented and fastidious can also be so kind to noobs. That's why I send a lot of noobs here and why i started with a sandy in the first place. I really appreciate the staff's perseverance in maintaining that attitude across the board. Here's to many more years of the MEPD!

Awesome! I love seeing the kids gathering around to take a look.