henselmonster

Dooooo itt

congrats and welcome!

Nice, looking great

I have been digging through older builds for armor, packs, etc. and with photo bucket not allowing linking anymore a ton of these resources are lost. I wonder if we can try to rebuild these assets? We lost a good 70-80% of build images. It may be nice to create a build resource and place them in a more permanent place, like a google drive or something. That way newer members won't have to dig through builds and guess what is going on. Just for now until new build threads are created.

Now all I need are the seed trays and to finish the exhaust

I was using one of Gordon's but I was able to get a hold of a real shires! So I'm swapping them out

Got my hands on a real Shires Siphon and I am patiently awaiting my new seed trays. After that I can finally start on this thing!

Things have been going well for the account! Over 250 followers and growing everyday! I have been trying to make one post a day. We are also linked to our twitter account as well, so new posts get featured on twitter as well. Right now I am posting info for all of our new CRLs I the works. It has been a smooth transition from the old account to the new one. We are getting tagged in pictures everyday. I would love to start featuring troops from our members. I will be going over the troop logs to see what I can find! http://instagram.com/mepd501st

Welcome everyone to the August/September issue of the MEPD newsletter! Things have been moving along here at the MEPD. So many new SWAT members approved or under review. Its always so great to see. Also we have relaunched our Instagram account. If you would like a photo of yours feature send them to @henselmonster or DM on instagram! http://instagram.com/mepd501st In this issue: -A note from our Detachment Leader -An interview with one of our command staff -A feature on the Tunisian blasters used by the Sandtroopers -Troop of the month Summer, ah…. The time to lay back, relax and enjoy your time off. Not at the MEPD I tell ya!! We have experienced one of the busiest summers since a certain smuggler escaped from docking bay 94. Where to start….Behind the scenes the CS has been working hard on getting the CRL for the Special Edition Sandtrooper done. The current status is, the text is complete and we now only need good reference pictures for the CRL. Also we aren’t forgetting about the other CRL’s that need to be written but one CRL at a time. Next to this our design team has been working hard on a design for the Desert Foxes and we are close to finishing that, all with the help of the ladies of the Desert Foxes. Then we had a situation that we rather didn’t have. A recasting claim made by one of our members at the address of another member. We of the CS reacted swiftly and have done everything that was in our power to solve this in the best way possible. The only thing I can tell about it is that the 501st as an organization has created a resolution for cases like this. You all probably have read it on the boards but I will share it here again: The 501st Legion does not condone, support, or encourage re-casting. It is, however, outside of the scope of this club's mission, charter, authority, jurisdiction, and purview to consume our time and energies as a volunteer organization in efforts to prosecute those who, of their own volition, choose to engage in re-casting. But what about all the downtime I can hear you all say, well it seems that there are still some Jawa’s hidden somewhere that hack into our mainframe from time to time. That’s why I am looking for a trooper that is interested in becoming the webmaster for the MEPD. You all know the drill, when you are interested contact me! There is one thing that I would really like to have special attention for. Walt from Walt’s Trooper Factory is doing a raffle for a complete TD armor. It’s linked to a special charity event which Walt specifically only wanted TD’s for as we are the “police force” of the Empire. The charity event is for the families of policemen who gave their life during duty. Please do join in on the raffle when you are interested in a decked out armor from Walt and make this one count for the families and the MEPD. And now a word about our PO and SWAT program….I’m flabbergasted by the amount of requests that have been entered for PO and SWAT the last months. Some of you have already achieved PO/ SWAT status and earned their stripes. But there are also still some that are being reviewed as we speak, good luck troopers! Therefore I would really like to express my appreciation for all the hard work that you all have put into it to achieve this as did our Deployment Officers. I salute you, my brothers! For now, keep up all the good vibes and positive flow that is currently running through the MEPD! -Dutchy I got a chance to ask a few questions to our MEPD Specialist/Ambassador @SCRIBBLER! Thanks so much for taking the time to let the detachment get to know you a little better: 1. When did you first join the MEPD, and why a Sandtrooper? I entered the 'Precinct' back in 2011. Other than always liking the battle worn look of a TD as opposed to a TK, I just got tired of polishing the 'clean' TK armor. LOL Seriously though, I just loved that the Sandtroopers had the appearance of being on the frontlines, the whole setup: Pauldron, Backpack and BFG just did it for me! Joining the MEPD pretty much insured that I would get my gear as close to screen accurate as possible thanks to all the knowledge of the TD community here! 2. What is your favorite part of the MEPD? Armor building and helping others with their projects as well. Interacting with all the members, helping in any way I can and just suiting up and representing this bad-a$$ community of troopers this side of Coruscant! The tips and secrets that we use to complete our projects is simply outstanding! =) 3. Do you have any meaningful troops or interactions as a member of the MEPD? Since 2014, our Sandtrooper Patrol (Route 66 Patrol) has been doing 5, 8 and 10 mile charity hikes through the trails at Griffith Park in the Hollywood Hills (Los Angeles) and this year along the sands and shoreline at Venice Beach. We've been doing these voluntary troops to raise money for Children's Hospital L.A.. Just putting smiles on the faces of Star Wars fans (Young & Old) that come to support and cheer us on i makes it all worthwhile! It's a brutal troop. We go full armor and gear. There is an average of 5-6 of us TDs plus other 501st costumed characters that have been joining us every year since we did it alone back in 2014. This year we had approx. 15 total SW armor marching and hiking. All the blood (literally) sweat and tears is all worth it. This right here is why I joined the 501st in the first place. Helping Charities. =) 4. Where would you like to see the MEPD go this next year? I'd like to see more Legion members join our ranks, more SWAT Activations and hopefully discover new canon details to add to our armor and gear to help keep us all as accurate looking as possible! I've been exclusively trooping as a TD for nearly 7 years and I have no regrets. I've loved every moment of my time as a Sandy. I also have nothing but confidence in the direction we are currently taking in regards to continuing to keep this detachment up there as one of the best ones in the 501st! 5. Enough about life in plastic, what do you do in your real life? I am a freelance Visual Effects / Concept Artist and a Golf Assistant. I also like to surf! 6. What is something about you that might surprise other members? I'm a BIG Beatles fan and I like to collect the same make and model of Guitars & Drums that the Fab Four used during their run when they were together. I also used to dance on Soul Train (TV Show) back in the late 80's and early 90's. Definitely had the Kid N Play hairdo as well! lol Lastly, I assisted with the design and construction of the Fountain / Lake water feature effects at the Bellagio Hotel / Casino and The Volcano effects upgrade at The Mirage Hotel / Casino in Las Vegas back in the mid 90's. 7. And last but not least, what would you say to someone who is looking to join the ranks of the MEPD? Join our ranks! Get your armor and gear ready, come on in and let's get dirty! It's ALL worth it! =) Thanks so much Scribbler for your time! We hope to continue these interviews with the rest of the command staff throughout the year! - Henselmonster • TD-11787 One of the most recognizable Star Wars costume props is the “Stormtrooper” blaster. While most Stormtroopers carried the e-11 blaster, the Sandtroopers had some larger options and even a special e-11. This month we will focus on the weapons used mainly in Tunisia during on location filming. Our focus will be the Bapty e-11 and the DLT-19. First up is the e-11, the most recognizable of Imperial Weapons. The e-11 is based on the Sterling Arms MK4/L2A3 sub-machine gun used by the British during WW2. These guns were modified to include 6 “T-track” grips around the barrel, similar to those found on Luke’s lightsaber, a Hengstler Corp industrial counter on the side, 2 small cylinders on the magazine well, and a 1942 model M38 Azimuth scope with a custom rail. With these modifications, the Sterling became the e-11. Sandtrooper e-11’s, or the Bapty e-11, were a little different. Since shipping and transporting weapons out of the U.K. and into Tunisia was so difficult and the need for firearms experts on set with working guns was costly and time consuming, the production group decided to make a “non-gun” version for use in location shooting like Tunisia. Hence the Bapty e-11. The Bapty Tunisian e-11 had an added solid cast billet rear of the gun with visible seams and molding lines, and rear site was solid, there is no actual trigger, a custom aluminum trigger guard and grip were added, and there was some added rivets and custom cut magazine. This created a unique look for the TD’s e-11. While these blasters do show up elsewhere in a couple of film scenes and in quite a few of the cast production photos, it is most attributed to the Sandtrooper. Our next Sandtrooper blaster which was modified to use on location in Tunisia is the DLT-19. This blaster was built from the German Maschinengewehr 34 or MG34. Bapty & Co again had to modify this weapon for ease of shipping and on-set use. Resin or Wood was believed to replace some or all of the barrel parts. They also added a conical disk on the handle, more of those “T-tracks” around the barrel shroud, and a metal box covering the ejection port of the original weapon. - Punisha On this edition of Troop of the Month, we are highlighting DarthStevius/TD-18969’s troop down under at the Sunshine Theatre’s Kids Flix event for underprivileged and sick kids on August 20th. The best thing about being a dirty and plastic spaceman is making a kid forget their problems even for a moment and creating a smile. Thank you for sharing your troop with us and you can’t beat trooping in a nice, air conditioned movie theater! Remember troops, if you would like to be featured on the next newsletter, make sure you’re sharing and updating your troop logs! Explain the troop, who attended, and any additional details you can! - Airborne Trooper • TD-82573 Instagram!

Also! If anyone has photos they want to share, please tag us in your photo or PM me your photo and I will add it to the queue! Thanks!

Entered! Thanks for doing this Walt!

Account is all set up! Head over to http://instagram.com/mepd501st and give us a follow!

We have returned to Instagram with a new name @mepd501st head over to http://instagram.com/mepd501st and follow! Thanks Troops!!