Quartermaster

Thank the maker!

He will be missed indeed. Always one of my favorite actors. We also just happen to share the same last name, no relation though (at least as far as I know anyway). God speed Dennis.

Great job Jordan. Looks like you are ready to go weapons hot!

Just added a few favorite SW songs to my new MP3 setup in my Sonix. Have a listen...LOL Can't wait to play this at my next Troop amongst the kiddies!

Looks great Rick! You have some skills with these radios!

Great work on the Syphon Noel! The pack looks fantastic!

Thanks everyone! And thanks to Dana for making a great addition for the Sonix radio!

Well, I couldn't resist picking up one of Dana's (a.k.a. Voodoo) new Panasonic cast dials. It came today (super fast I might add) and I went to work. I like all my dials to actually turn and move like a real radio. Drilled a small hole about 1/4" into the center back of the dial. Cut the head off a screw and threaded it into the dial. Used some epoxy before threading it so it will hold better. Fender washer goes between dial and faceplate for smoother turning. On the back side another fender washer and a nylon nut so it won't come loose when the dial is turned. I also added my cheapo Radio Shack MP3 player and a single phillips self powered speaker to play the TD Backpack Loop. The speaker runs on 3 AAA batts and sounds great!

Incredible shots! I'll have to look into the Photographers in my area soon!

One of the first packs I ever built cost me about $40 in materials from Target and Home Depot. Not very accurate but came out pretty good. Check it out.

Yeah, the UK one is nice but Gordons find is AWESOME. Way more accurate. I will be using Gordons on my new pack build for sure. Home Depot or Lowes sells the Plasti-Dip for about $4-5 a can. I used it as a base on almost all the parts on my pack.

Amazing what you can do with some plastic boxes and spare parts. Add a little paint and some weathering and presto!

Here are a few pics of my Syphon from Gordon. I trimmed out the plastic between the tube and the flange so it is open. Sanded the whole thing with a medium grit first, then a fine grit sanding block. Then I wiped the whole thing down with alcohol wipes (we use them to clean fiber optics at my job). Glued and riveted some zip ties to simulate the stacker edges. Then I shot it with Plasti-Dip. I swear by this stuff. It coats evenly and sticks great! It will get a few more coats of Krylon Fusion for plastics and then it will be done. Here is a side by side of the UK Syphon I finished last week and Gordons. The UK one is slightly shorter and actually comes apart into three pieces.

Awesome...can't wait!!!!

Great looking pack Lou! I may have a box for you. I posted you over on the ECG as well.

I am a big pack guy. I love them and you are 100% correct, the pack is an important part of the TD costume. When they are built properly, they are very light and actually fairly comfortable. I personally would not troop my TD without it. Special circumstances of course do call for not wearing it. Perfect example was the Hospital Troop we did. When visiting the kids in their rooms, I had to remove it so I could manuver without banging into stuff. That was my old pack which was slightly oversized, this new one I am building will be the correct size and even lighter. I am shooting for about 7-8 lbs. Here you can see the size difference between my old pack and the Novatrooper pack I built which is essentially the "Move Along" pack only all black.

Hey Charlie...any news on the status of these beauties!

Thanks Jason, Chris, Paul and Gordon for the input. I will be working on this over the weekend. I will post more pics soon. Hope you are enjoying your HWT SE pack Chris (TK-5069). Let me know when you are ready for one of these.

Congrats on your deployment! Pics look great! Hoping to be right there with you soon!

Just got my Blast-Tech tracks today and I am VERY happy with them. $20 shipping included for 6 eight inch strips with adhesive.

Thanks Noel! I appreciate the info. You guys always know how to find just the right screenshots! I am really looking forward to getting this thing together and weathered. Hopefully I will have some time this weekend to get most of it done. I will post more pics soon!

I was pretty sure about the "no tape thing" on this pack. Just want to make sure I don't need the shells. I'm almost positive they are not on this version.

Thanks Juan. Yeah, the radar dish is just leaning up on the tube for the picture. It will be mounted lower on the tube during final assembly. Thanks for the tip on the trays as well. I will make sure they almost touch during the final mounting. Just wanted to confirm a few things: a.) Air filter pack has no "shot gun shells" on the upper right tray? b.) No vinyl tape on the lower tray? Thanks!

Well, I have been slowly working on my pack for deployment. I have decided to go with the "Air Filter" pack. Have almost everything ready for assembly. Just have to swap the swithes out on my Crashmann Radio for more accurate silver ones and add the main dial, put together the lab pipe for the left side of the pack and assemble one more wipes bottle for the syphon. Going to use this radio for now and swap it out with the new Crashmann Radio once I get it. The Air Filer and PVC frame were custom made by me. Backpack straps are military issue that I picked up from a local Army Navy store for $7. Faucet cover and 2" ABS pipe from Home Depot, Tupperware from Ebay, Syphon from the UK, Crashmann radar dish and trays. Thermal pad and end caps from VT Armor. Here are all the parts prior to assembly. Laid everything out on the frame and seed trays just to see how it will look. Nothing mounted yet. Let me know what you think! Always open to suggestions.

My 8 year old son Aidan doesn't look to happy to be stuck on Tatooine...and in the wrong Episode!