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Looks amazing, man! Outstanding craftsmanship. Fantastic work. I'd really like to tackle one of these sometime in the future.

Agreed! Fantastic work, as always, Terry. I love how dirty your armor looks in the un-doctored photos. Nice & crusty!

Ah, thanks for the details, boss! (Filed away for future reference!)

Why is this?

Welcome, Elliot! Hope you're enjoying Germany. This is truly a great bunch of guys, as I'm sure you've already witnessed. There's SO much helpful information here. Best of luck with your TD build. I'm sure you'll beat me to it! Semper, Russell

Well, you certainly have everyone on pins and needles!

Nice! Looks fantastic, Rolf, as expected.

Gracias, hermano! Gotta love the MEPD.

"What kind of lunatics would obsess about this crap? This movie will probably the biggest flop in film history, anyway!" "Yeah, well, it's a paycheck. Toss me one o' them radios."

^I'm pretty certain that's the case here, Noel! It'd sure be nice if they (and Lucas) had put some method into their madness. Consistency would've made it a lot easier for the MEPD to establish protocol. <_< So many variations, with no real rhyme or reason! How inconsiderate of them...

My only gripe with the term "Enlisted" is that, in the real world, sergeants are technically enlisted, as well as corporals, privates, etc. Officers are not enlisted, but commissioned through other channels such as academies, etc. (I know it's being very sticklish of me, but old habits die hard...) *I also realize that we're trying to fit Star Wars terminology into real-world usage, which can be ridiculous to the point of futility.* We're taking on the challenge of placing significance where it probably wasn't originally intended by Lucas; never written or adhered to for continuity. However, if we're trying to keep things understandable on a basic level, it needs to be taken into consideration. We're tackling an elephant here, but I think we're doing a really good job. Besides, there's nothing wrong with taking some liberties and establishing what becomes the "official" language. Just because the Great Lucas didn't think about it doesn't mean it doesn't or shouldn't exist. So, I have no major objections to using that term, but I wanted to bring that up for your decision making pleasure. (You guys are going to start hating hearing from me before too long...)

Well, how about that? Fantastic observation! It certainly does look like that, which would make sense since they were motorcycle chest protectors. Racers tend to prefer brighter colors, right? It's amazing what we keep learning with the high res imagery we have now, coupled with lots of keen eyes!

^ Absolutely agree here. It's costuming, for Pete's sake. (Of course, I know how far some people take things...) It just seems like it might help give some back story to the pauldron colors, and seems like it adds more clarity than confusion. Thanks for the reception, guys. It sounds like the Staff has it pretty well under control. Cheers.

(Sorry, gents. I know I'm still a nobody around here and my own armor may be a long way off, but if it's ok, I'd like to insert my $.02 here, too.) I think ascribing ranks to the pauldrons is a good idea, and adds more clarity to the color choice than it does confusion. We're in the process of establishing precedents here that, once set, will give more structure to the uniform. 1. Newbies like myself would understand quickly that the color goes with the trooper's rank, as I originally understood when I came to the forum. 2. When trooping, you'll have a firm, coordinated response when kids ask, "Why is your pauldron orange and his is black?" Otherwise, there's no uniformity to the responses. "I like orange better" doesn't sound like a very in-character response, and if everyone makes up their own reasons, it could get really confusing for kids. 3. Costumed rank structure doesn't mean that one trooper is superior to another, but it helps give the illusion of a system of authority in keeping with the Empire a TD would serve. In short, I think this precedent should be figured out and established, rather than avoided and left for another day. That being said, you guys are the decision makers, and you've done a fantastic job thus far coming up with great solutions to complex issues. Thanks for at least giving a listening ear--one of the many things I love about the MEPD.

Outstanding. Thanks for sacrificing a year in the sand and working with our boys.

Thanks for the confirmation, Dirty. ^ Haha! Thanks, Noel, for validating that prickly feeling on the back of my neck as I hit the "Post" button! "Right or wrong, I've gotta say it!" (*whew*, glad I wasn't completely off my nut.)

Just a little tidbit from the peanut gallery here, but I've heard the black pauldron TD referred to elsewhere as a Corporal. This makes sense to me, making the "no pauldron" TD the Private. Thoughts? The only reason I bring this up is that it seems we're establishing some pretty good guidelines that will be around the MEPD for a long time to come. This might be kind of a "speak now or forever hold your peace" moment.

You are one crusty TD! Looks great on camera. Your TD must be a very conscientious rifleman to keep his DLT-19 so clean and free of dust! Kudos on finishing your armor.

Side note: I like the new profile pic. Are you out at Bliss, or do you just live in El Paso? I did a couple deployments out to WSMR back in '98. Had fun working with the missile team. Got to go to Bliss a couple times, once to see a Marine Corps Silent Drill Team presentation. Quite a show, if you've never seen it. Semper Fi

Fantastic tutorial, Terry! This will really help me (when I finally get to it ). (Man, it's REALLY loading slowly--I think the MEPD is about to crash YouTube!)

Basically, God dumped a big bucket of white sand in the middle of the desert. (Seriously, that's what it looks like! It's as if it's all on top of the natural surface of the desert. It's a really cool site, and quite a natural phenomenon!)

Agreed! Wow, what a mature and open discussion! This speaks very highly of the MEPD. You guys are great, and a true supportive brotherhood!

Nice! Really diggin' the distance shots, too!

Ah, so you replicated the oil effect with paint, then? Nice work, 'cause it looks fantastic! (Yeah, I was a little worried you'd be a walking grease-ball.)