BikerScout007 Posted August 2, 2018 Posted August 2, 2018 Please join me in congratulating ST-19758, James "FarEast" Machin on obtaining the rank of Vanguard! James, please send the most awesome picture of you in your gear to Shortstack so he can prepare it for the eventual Level II Wall once we get it set up Well done! 1
Shortstack Posted August 3, 2018 Posted August 3, 2018 Congrats sir!! Congrats on the leveling up! Be proud! 1
FarEast Posted August 4, 2018 Posted August 4, 2018 Yes I did miss this! Thank you so much guys - it means a lot to me, more than you could actually imagine. Last October I had completed a Halloween trooping session at a local kindergarten, on the way back home on my motorcycle I was hit by a car that made an illegal U-turn across 4 lanes of traffic and hit me side on throwing me off the bike and into oncoming traffic. Fortunately my very, very good leathers, armour (Thankfully not my TK armour) and helmet saved me from injuries, however I was wearing lightweight gloves that basically exploded on the impact. The blunt force trauma shattered my little finger, and then all the internal bones in the hand and then the thumb joint requiring pins and plates to hold the hand together in the hope that the bones would repair themselves and that long term disability would be minimised. This had a huge impact on my profession, I was at the time an early education specialist, as well as a professional model building for the likes of Sir Peter Jackson and also Bandai with many of my models being used for display and promotional work here in Japan and on their websites - as you can imagine the injuries to my hand pretty much ended that. However I did not want to be the victim and when I get angry I get creative as I want to channel my energies in a positive way - so I built the Prusa i3 MK2 printer and went about this project..... the idea was that if its 1:1 scale I could pretty much do it one handed...... sadly that was not the case so my kids helped making this a joint effort. Then around March of this year they removed the 3 huge pins locking my wrist and thumb allowing me some more movement in the hand allowing me to start making the serious modifications needed on Sean's wonderful files to meet the standards laid out - at first I was only aiming for basic approval but as time went on and the advice, encouragement from this site and the Shoretrooper Fam on FB; and the realisation that when you start modding you might as well go the whole route this build took on a great aim, that of reaching the Vanguard status. The build took its toll on me, I bled for it popping one of the staples in my hand as well as a few slips of the craft knife.... (Try holding PETG sheet with an elbow while you try and cut it) as well as the sweat and tears we all experience on this builds - The Japan Garrison GML really went above on beyond in getting me approved pretty much staying up all night to go over my armour and soft parts making sure it was done so that I could then try for vanguard. Again the Vanguard approval team really went out of their way to address the issues, post reference photos and advice so that I had a real chance of getting the modifications done in time for the racing shirts orders to go through. Again thank you all - and I'm honored to carry the title of Vanguard! 6
ScaryGuy Posted August 5, 2018 Posted August 5, 2018 That makes your build extra special James, you can be proud on your hard work! 1
BikerScout007 Posted August 6, 2018 Author Posted August 6, 2018 That's a wonderful story, James. Proud to have you in the Vanguard! 1
shadan Posted August 10, 2018 Posted August 10, 2018 It was amazing watching your progress over in Shoretrooper Fam. Congrats and well-deserved! 1
FarEast Posted August 11, 2018 Posted August 11, 2018 Many thanks, I’ll continue to support the group and help others with their builds and questions - without that group and the amazing support it gives this build wouldn’t have been possible. 1
BikerScout007 Posted August 13, 2018 Author Posted August 13, 2018 On 8/10/2018 at 8:43 PM, FarEast said: Many thanks, I’ll continue to support the group and help others with their builds and questions - without that group and the amazing support it gives this build wouldn’t have been possible. That's what we like to hear! 1
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