My first few troops with the 501st

Lazerjock

Active Hunter
I wanted to share my first few experiences trooping with the 501st.
Without the support of the members of The Dented Helmet I would have never been able to do this. Thank you!

All of the troops I go on are outdoor due to COVID-19 and everyone is required to wear a mask when not helmeted. We also practice social distancing. The 501st has all of the requirements laid out.

My first troop was outside of my squad. I drove over 2 hours to get there.
It was a birthday party for a 7 year old boy who suddenly lost his father 2 weeks earlier to an pulmonary ambulism. His neighbor set it up so we were a surprise when we showed up.

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My second troop was for sensory sensitive children (autistic).

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There was a dragon puppet there too not part of the 501st. I decided to have some fun with him.

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My third troop was a night time Christmas parade. Several of the streets didn't have street lights. All of the helmeted characters struggled seeing. Thank goodness for our handlers.

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My fourth troop was a fund raiser for homeless veterans.

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We had some fun.

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Coming up this weekend we are doing a driving birthday parade for a boy turning 14. He is terminal and has been given 2 weeks to a month to live.
It's a good thing I'm wearing a helmet.....I'm sure onions are being cut somewhere.
I am taking my Vette. My wife will drive and I will take the top off the car and stand in the passenger seat.

These are the types of events why I built my costume and joined the 501st. They are a great organization.

Lazerjock
 
Looks great! Looks like everything fits you pretty well too. Gosh I wish I could troop face-to-face with people! Only done ones where the visitors are in cars.
 
Looks great! Looks like everything fits you pretty well too. Gosh I wish I could troop face-to-face with people! Only done ones where the visitors are in cars.
Thank you.
Where are you that you can't troop face to face? More like mask to mask.
 
Thank you.
Where are you that you can't troop face to face? More like mask to mask.
I'm in Arizona. The majority of the recent troops that are usually large events are drive-through ones so I mean I'm mask-to-mask with other cosplayers, but not with the general public.

There have been some smaller ones like comic book signing events, but I haven't been available to go to them.
 
Hey Lazerjock
It sounded challenging trooping in the dark.

Although Ive never had a troop at night, I have worn my helmet at home when it was night and the lights low, etc.
I use Bobamaker Visors. They are really dark viewing from the outside, but you can still see pretty well from the inside. I have looked through other visors that were sooo much darker, where you really wouldnt have been able to see most anything at night.

Maybe order one up to try out. I higly recommend them.
 
Hey Lazerjock
It sounded challenging trooping in the dark.

Although Ive never had a troop at night, I have worn my helmet at home when it was night and the lights low, etc.
I use Bobamaker Visors. They are really dark viewing from the outside, but you can still see pretty well from the inside. I have looked through other visors that were sooo much darker, where you really wouldnt have been able to see most anything at night.

Maybe order one up to try out. I higly recommend them.
Ram,
Thanks for the info.
I believe my visor is from T visors. It came with the helmet when I bought it second hand. I don't plan to do more night time events unless the lighting is better.
 
Great to see you putting this thing to use so quickly Lazerjock . Any issues trooping outdoors for you? I know you said you were in Florida; so I’m assuming you have fans in the lid.

What about the soft and hard parts - you’ve sprayed them with a fixative to ensure the elements don’t effect the paint or weathering...?

I cannot wait to do this - these events you attended, especially with our current pandemic predicament, mean so much to these people and their families. Well done!
 
Great to see you putting this thing to use so quickly Lazerjock . Any issues trooping outdoors for you? I know you said you were in Florida; so I’m assuming you have fans in the lid.

What about the soft and hard parts - you’ve sprayed them with a fixative to ensure the elements don’t effect the paint or weathering...?

I cannot wait to do this - these events you attended, especially with our current pandemic predicament, mean so much to these people and their families. Well done!
Thank you Boochman,

I did install fans in my helmet. They are mounted just above my ears. Originally I had 1 blowing forward on the visor and one blowing backwards to circulate the air around my head, but I quickly discovered I needed both blowing on the visor to keep from fogging under certain weather conditions. This was especially bad during the night time parade. I have to assume this was due to the dropping outside temperature and me sweating inside the helmet. So far the new fan configuration works really well. One side effect of the fans above my ears is I can't hear anyone talk.

So......I picked up one of these kits.

I replaced several components to make it a little smaller, but it will easily fit in a hip pouch without doing this. I 3D printed a box for the kit. The box lives in my left hip pouch.

Then I extended the mic wires to the far left and right ammo pouch. I cut a hole the same diameter as the mic in the bottom of each pouch and glued in the mics. I use earbuds which block out the noise of the fans and gives me stereo hearing. I can hear perfectly now. My wife calls it my hearing aid. This is one of the best upgrades I have done to date.

All of my soft parts were weathered/dirtied up using various colors of spray paint. I'm not worried about that coming off.
I did clear coat all of the hard parts to lock in the color. Several of those paints were water based acrylic.

The ammo belt and pouches.
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The hearing aid in its 3D printed box.
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The mics in the bottom of the ammo pouches.
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What lives in the right pouch.
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