By CHIEFTAIN PHOTO/ CHRIS MCLEAN 'Star Wars' Imperial Stormtroopers mingle with visitors to the Colorado State Fair on Saturday.

The force is still with us

By JAMES AMOS
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

They come in peace, really.

The Mountain Garrison of the 501st Stormtrooper Legion was a crowd favorite at the Colorado State Fair on Saturday, representing movies come-to-life and the lengths to which some folks will go for a hobby.

The Mountain Garrison had 15 participants dressed up as characters from the "Star Wars" movies or related genre. The group's members came mostly from Colorado Springs and Denver, but several are Pueblo residents.

Most of the adults were stormtroopers, the foot soldiers of Darth Vader and the Empire, decked out in white armor and black body suits. They had the weapons, they had the backpacks, heck they even spoke through electronic amplifiers so they sounded like "real" Stormtroopers.

Not every participant was right out of the movies. There was at least one female trooper, noticeable in part for her white combat boots, supported by 3-inch heels.

There also were the garrison members' kids, decked out as Princess Leah and Anakin Skywalker.

The costumes are all home-made or purchased in pieces from other "Stars Wars" fans who vacuum-form the plastic panels. Trooper David Washer of Denver said he has spent about $1,200 on his white plastic costume, complete with microphone and amplifier.

Washer said he got into the hobby when his wife, a big "Star Trek" fan, took him to a convention. He wasn't a hard-core "Star Wars" fan, but after watching the other guys walk around in the Stormtrooper suits. . .

'I've been trooping for about five years now," he said.

The garrison visits events up and down the Front Range, and this is the second year the troopers have come to the Fair. The group also spends time raising money for charities like Dream Weavers and Special Olympics.

Washer said the members like to go to special events because otherwise all their work on their costumes is relegated to infrequent conventions and that once-a-year opportunity: Halloween.

And they put a lot of effort into looking the part. Pueblo resident Joe Musso is a sandtrooper, which is a Stormtrooper who has been unfortunate enough to be assigned to a desert planet, like Tatoine in the first "Star Wars" movie.

So Musso's armor is painted dirty, really dirty, and scuffed up, and it generally looks like he's been dragging himself up and down sand dunes for several months.

Washer said it's nice to have the sandtrooper option because everyone's armor gets dinged up after a while.

"For a while, you polish it after every event," he said. "But later you say, this is going to be a sandtrooper (costume)."

Musso made a lot of his gear himself. The backpack started out life as a car's oil pan. He also used a peanut jar, a straw dispenser and a bunch of glue and paint.

"Hot glue is our friend," Washer said.

Yes, it does get a little hot inside the plastic costumes. Musso said they add about 40 degrees to the outside temperature. Musso mounted a fan inside his helmet, but it wasn't working Saturday, while the sun sure was.

When he's not a trooper, Musso has a private investigations company and Washer works in food distribution. Several members are current or former law enforcement types or military personnel, Musso said.

Jason Heflin of Pueblo says he's a longtime cop and was a Marine, a veteran of the first Gulf War, and that stormtrooping is still the most fun he's had.

Some adults give them a hard time, but most remember the original Star Wars movies and get a kick out of seeing them, Musso said.

"Most of the comments are 'How can I join up?' ” Rhonda Musso said.

And the kids, well, that's the reason the guys and gals pull on their black Lycra and white plastic outfits, they said.

"The reaction you get from the kids," Musso said, "it's the best in the world."