Spring Fashions: White Armor, Conventions, and Charity

“Trooping” isn’t exactly new to me. I completed my first set of armor in September of 2007 and promptly made the roster of the fiercely benevolent 501st Legion as TX5882, a Shadow Stormtrooper. Cool to some, confusing to most (wtf is a black stormtrooper doing in philly?), and completely awesome to me. But over the past 2 months I’ve been busy working on a new set of armor – a Biker Scout from the lush forests of Endor. You may remember them speeding around chasing after Luke and Leia, getting their asses handed to them by short furry aliens throwing rocks… (Eric likes to refer to anything in white armor as a “Stormtrooper” by the way. I’ll forgive him someday.)

This past weekend granted this particular Biker Scout a change of scenery. My armor made it’s debut at the opening ceremonies of our Franklin Institute’s new Star Wars Exhibit: Where Science Meets Imagination. On that day, over 120+ Imperial forces, Rebel soldiers, all part of a community of Star Wars fans showed Philadelphia how a classic story of good versus evil can still WOW an audience. You’ll see it in the videos we post, the reactions from others who attended, and the countless others who saw us on the streets of this city.

So what’s next? Well I haven’t abandoned my TX armor. I’ll still be wearing it around for Steel City Con, NY Comic Con, Wizard World, and countless other charity events through this next year. I’ll be joining Carida in the continuing toy drives and Children’s Hospital visits, multiple charity walks and a host of other events designed to use our presence for good. I know it’s a little different than what Palpatine’s Empire sought out to be, but I love it. Love live the empire.