Phx Rebel Desert Troopers

IA and I would like to push this project forward. We're going to work on the camo pattern this week and try a few things out. This post here will be a general info post that I'll keep updating. This is where we'll have people who are interested, lists for everything, people who are ordering parts like donuts for the helmets, etcetera. If there is a step the group is taking, you can find the updates here on this first post. I have compiled some of the previous information here so we have a game plan to work towards.

Previous Threads

Costuming and Props board thread

Original planning thread

Original helmet thread

Those threads still have a bunch of great links and discussion.


Costume Pieces
Pants
Boots
Cool-tek shirt
Vest
Helmet with neck scarf

Other Ideas
Desert cloak/wrap
knee/elbow pads
Rank insignia
Unit patches
Airsoft weapons
Camelback/Aquaduck packs
Gloves
Specialist backpacks

Squad Member Ideas
Leader
Vaporator Handler
Communications
Sniper
Heavy Weapons
Medic
Demolitions
Technician


PtrsonsZoo had her own helmets made up and reverse engineered the cloth part, that seems to be the hardest part to get. If you would like one, please PM her to work out all details...and she has a job now, can't devote all her time to us anymore

So who is interested and comitted to making an effort on this project ? Please feel free to have anybody discuss ideas, but IA and I agree that having a squad ready for Comic Con would rock.

 

I see some good ideas there. And I plan on having New Republic Desert Troopers with identical costumes to the Rebel desert trooper, for my fan film.

Anybody wanna be one? I promise it will be filmed in the winter! Or fall, if the cooling equipment cools you down too much.

And, what sort of blasters should they have? DL-44's or the Fleet Trooper Blasters, or even both, for variants!

And I came up with an idea! For my Fan Film, there will be Jedi New Republic Desert Troopers, with light cotton camoflauged cloaks. Soak in water, ahhh! Nice and cool, and tells the enemy that they are a Jedi.

BTW: Void, The Prop Palace is a fraud. So, no patches from that ex-con's shop.

Also, how much do the Donut Helmets cost?

 

Kev: we're looking at a variety of weapons, both heavy and light, as well as a few specialty ones. (Like my sniper rifle). Some will be canon weapons and others will not. Check out the different threads to get up to speed and get a feel for what we have in mind.

It'll be a good project and a lot of fun to have our own squad of originals, and they'll look great next to the RMFF's mountain troopers.

 

Void asked me to post my current equipment loadout and where I bought each item. None of this is mandatory, just suggestions for a little uniformity.

Pants: Standard BDUs (tan, no camo pattern) from Larada's military surpluss (intersection of Main/Extension in Mesa).

Shirt: Coolmax long-sleve shirt (white) from Sports Authority. I'll need to dye this either tan or light gray.

Tac Vest: Mesh vest (tan) from USCav.

Kneepads: Green. From USCav.

Boots: Haven't decided on anything yet. The desert boots tend to be a bit expensive. May hit the thrift store for hiking boots or I may try to use my jungle boots.

Goggles: Standard GI issue from USCav.

Cape fabric: I think this is muslin, but I'm not sure anymore. Similar in texture to the raw silk used in Jedi tunics (except cheaper).

Sidearm: Nintendo Zapper from Savers thrift store.

 

Hey, you could always have BDU shorts, and have leg wraps below them. And then you could have wraps on the arms, and around the hands! Then, you could go to the thrift store and get some cheap riding boots. How about the sidearm be a PVC Rebel Fleet Trooper Blaster Pistol!

 

The Rebel blaster pistol is WAY too underpowered for the ops, Kev. It's fine for a sidearm, but trust me: You don't want to go into combat with just an under-powered sidearm. I know, I carry one in my RFT costume. And you'll note that I spend half my time in biders, right?


An E-11 is really the minimum sized weapon for the job. Just look at what the Desert Stormtroopers carry. You want to be able to at least compete head to head with them, don't you?




As a real life Army Sergeant, I can tell you that on special ops, where you and your team the only ones for miles (in this case possibly light-years) from help, you want as much bang for the buck as you can get. But that's just my semi-professional opinion. If you want to go up against machine guns with a pop-gun, go for it.

 

Besides, big guns just look more impressive.

EDIT: Quickdraw...

 

That's what I said. A RFT blaster for the SIDEARM!!! A main weapon for say, the heavy weapons specialist, would be AN E-WEB!!!!

 

Guns - A great lookalike piece is the "Laser Warrior Rifle" from KayBee toys... I know for a fact that you can get them still, because I seem to have caused a run on them through the Rebel Legion. I'll try to take a good picture this week to demonstrate, but for $11.99, some black paint and some work scuffing it up, it's the best way to go for a generic blaster (not the hold out kind, this is a 2 handed gripper).

Cloth Helmet - Drink Kool-Aid!!!! The lids off of the round plasitc Kool-Aid containers make perfect ear pieces. I am also putting the finishing touches on the pattern for the sewing work. And it is really easy, once you figure it out (and since I already did that, you'll be set). They can be hand sewn in a few hours, so machine sewing (though not all of it can be) will take no time... I'm thinking somewhere around and afternoon to have a single helmet. I am still working on attaching it to the donut though, but soon.

Donut - I will clear it w/ someone here, but we may have a really good supplier for these. REALLY GOOD!

 

Jen, you're awesome. I owe you one, if you can get us a hook-up on the donuts, and on your pattern. BTW, I have my cool-aid caps ready to go.

 

Kev...Oddly enough, I've actually had decent experiences with the Prop Palace. Takes awhile since his stuff comes from overseas...but I've dealt with him before and after they started circulating stuff about him.

I mean, I'm not standing up for the guy by any means -- but the sources I've heard stuff from were all bad seeds, so to speak. The whole living in a glass house and throwing rocks, kinda thing, ya know? Lately on the prop boards, one of the most reputable people decided to just STOP filling orders that people had paid for and disappeared.

And I'm sure you all remember the Great Unnamed One from the 501st, who lives here in CO, that became the "head" of the 501st for awhile, only to rip off people for THOUSANDS of dollars worth of items once everyone trusted him...and he single-handedly made all of us look bad. We still haven't gained justice, but at least we got to kick him out.

I also just recently got screwed in a helmet purchase by someone who's SUPPOSED to be one of the best. That in itself felt like I got kicked in the gut.

That's why I started making my own -- there's so few people you can trust anymore. *shrug* I dunno...this was more of as rant than anything. My apologies. There's tons of people you can still trust -- it's just a matter of knowing who.

I *do* know others that make patches and stuff, and I'll PM you a good place to get Rebel and Imperial patches, and some neat-o stickers. I've had really really good experiences with that individual. Prices aren't too bad, either.

 

Ok, then, if you actually had a good experience, that's what I want to know. I'll have to try out getting a New Republic patch from there, which I NEED to get, and if the quality is good enough and the service is good, I'll definitely recommend them. And I may be wrong, because their prices are steep, because high prices means good products and good service.

 

Well...not always. Just goes back to the "it's so hard to find someone who sells X product that most people pay the inflated price" concept.

We could always custom order patches. I think we got our Mountain Garrison patches for $2.50 or $3.00/patch thru hookups.

But we sorta had to order at least 100, I think.

 

I found a bunch of Custom Patch places, and some that had smaller order limits as well... I believe I posted the links in that Patch thread a while back... Try doing a search

 

Yeah, you were a great help on that one. For now I'd like to get the core outfit done. I'll be working with IA tomorrow on it, trying to dye a camo pattern.

 

Sweet. And, how about the vest be a Han Solo type "Tracker Vest", but that might be unoriginal, so the US Army vest could do. And, also, keep in mind, shorts keep you cooler! And arm and leg wrappings keep you cooler when dipped in moisture(if any is present), and they protect you from the blowing dust. And the boots could be thrift store riding boots. Just a reminder, that you need to also cover yourself, lightly, in the desert.

 

Did you get my Sponge Dyeing Tutorial? Not sure if JGoC put it on the website yet, but I can email it to you.

 

As for cooling...for something that might actually work...you could make small pockets in yer wrappings and fill with silica gel (that stuff they use for flowers) and dip that in water. It'd hold the moisture a lot longer. Doc and I talked about doing that awhile back -- re-doing how the trooper "neck seal" is done and filling the ribbing with silica. It'd definitely keep you cooler than the current neck seal. Someday I'll actually get around to doing it, too!

 

And I believe you guys had discussed camel backs (And I recall doing a search and finding some knockoff brands that were cheaper as well, probably in one of those original threads)

 

I saw it in the old threads, I'm an IMSplus customer too IA and I are going to try a spray bottle dyeing to see if we can get a more "natural" sand pattern.

 

Yeah, I guess for the desert stuff, that might work better... Talk to Jedi_Pilot, since he used the spray bottle method, if you have any questions.

 

Oooo...YES...Camelbaks. You can get a nice non-name brand one for $20, and it's got a 50 ounce resevoir.

 

well, as for prop palace, i ordered a Luke ceremonial jacket for my comic-con costume from him.. it is supposedly shipping tomorrow.. we will see!

wish me luck

 

I've seen some "Cool Wraps" around here, I'm going to get one for work --it's hot out there, even at 2AM when you're walking around. I think these might not be too bad of an idea.

Another thing I've heard is putting small ice blocks (like the kind you put into a small cooler) in the layers of your clothes.

 

heh heh

[image=http://www.kreleia.com/images/desert_trooper.gif]

EDIT: yes, I know what it says...