One Year Ago (Yesterday)

I've been so busy with work, kids, and life in general that it slipped my mind that, on January 31st of last year, I started pulling out the pieces from my Big Brown Box and set off on working on something that ultimately changed my life.

Weird to think that this box changed my life.

There were trials and tribulations. There were shins that didn't match up right and had to be assembled and reassembled three times or so. There were thigh pieces that had to be cut, trimmed, and then partially rebuilt because too much got cut off. Mistakes were made, fixes were affected, and learning occurred.

And after everything was said and done, my armor was fit for duty with the 501st. (But I'll talk about that more at the end of April, which will mark my 1st anniversary with the 501st.)

Yesterday, as it were, was also the official 20th Anniversary of the founding of the 501st by Albin Johnson (with help from his friend Tom Crews). The group was originally called Detention Block 2551, then the 501st Squad, and finally the 501st Legion, broken down into the garrisons, squads, and outposts seen today. For more retrospective, there's:

• The Trooper Survival Guide on the 501st site
• The Mashable article "Plastic Spacemen! How the 501st Legion Conquered Star Wars" which is an excellent read for those not versed in the beginnings of the 501st. 
• Albin's own logs on his web site about the early days of the group, before people had the benefit of the Internet and social media to coordinate gatherings, yet alone share armor building tips, create charters, etc.

Overall, it's been a great experience, and during the year I'll be inserting some reflections in with my further build posts.

Speaking of which, I haven't done anything yet to the armor, but I plan to get it ready for the Expert Infantry Program as a step towards Centurion (which will require at least some new hand guards). I honestly don't think I have much work left in that regard, if any, but if I do I'll log it here for reference.

In addition, I'm going to start toying around with a TKTalkie system once I purchase the two main boards. It's a less expensive solution, I have gobs of experience with soldering, and a degree in computer science, so I think I'll be able to manage. I think.

So yes, I'm still working on the armor (or at least tinkering with it) more than a year after I started. But I guess, like all good hobbies, that one's probably never done with it. If it's not altering something, then it's maintenance, fixing a crack, replacing worn parts, etc. etc. like some sort of plastic Ferrari. But as far as hobbies go, it's not cheap, but it's certainly not as expensive as cars :P

And now my wife might be getting into a (royal guard) build too :)

So, until my next build post, this s TKSnake, (former TK call sign Obsidius) signing off :)