OOoo-Raahh to that!

_________________
Sgt A. Richardson CMD A04/TQ1.0.02151E1

Choosing to be in the back, and being required to be there are entirely different things.

_________________
"Screen what? I wouldn't know screen accurate if it were driving a bus and ran me over during the parade."

LCpl. Av "Spectre" Taylor
Long Range Infantry Support

Not that I have a right to say anything in this thread, but from the point of view of someone who was actually in the Marines, they dress up bulldogs and put actual ranks on them. In the real military, I consider it to be a slap in the face to have a dog wearing a higher rank than me, but in a parade representing something fictional I guess I'd be ok with it.

That's all I'm going to say. As of right now I'm really going to plan on going to Dragon Con next year I think, but with no prior experience I'm out of this debate.

Except that this dog was a shih tzu.

_________________
-Spat

You stow that shih Tzu, Spatson!

_________________
"A writer needs a pen, a painter a brush, and a filmmaker an army." - Orson Wells.

http://www.rookscastle.com
http://www.alchemyarms.com

_________________
A72/TQ6.6.95356E8





"I plan to live forever.........or die trying!"

wait a minute Jonsey is a puppet?

_________________
SSgt Kris "Bloodsucker" Kobus, VAS.
A09/TQ2.0.12136E1

Nope, he's real.

It's the lame ass Brit who has his hand stuffed up his jacksy that's a puppet!

_________________
A72/TQ6.6.95356E8





"I plan to live forever.........or die trying!"

which is exactly what i thought

_________________
SSgt Kris "Bloodsucker" Kobus, VAS.
A09/TQ2.0.12136E1

Stacy,i for one loved you Hello Kitty armour! i was walking next to you for most of the parade, and judging by the amount of photos being taken, the crowd loved it too!

im just gutted that i didnt get to wear it

_________________
M/SGT Rich Hyatt-Dowling (Retd)

UKCM Black ops

Sandy - If you'd had a flag, and there'd been a spare pole, I'd have sent you straight up to the front!
As it is, this year's flag-carrying was EXTREMELY last-minute! It was suggested/agreed in my absence, and I was "reminded" with 9 minutes til muster!
Hence the "FFS, Clay... Can you leg it back to the room and get the flag please? Bolty! You have most other Drops, you got the honour!"

Anyway, I've been wrestling with this all damn day, and I feel horrible for any part I've played in making Stacy feel bad.
I do feel that we should strive to have as accurate a squad as possible for the Parade - But I do love the HK armour.
And therein lies the problem - We cannot adopt a set rule for this. As Dom says, what would happen if 50 Marines turned up for muster, and 45 of 'em were in some form of comedy armour variant?
Do we, then, say "OK, for every ten "normal" Marines we can have one amusing one"? Obviously that's pretty unworkable as well.

I reckon we're gonna have to rely on good old ( Dare I suggest it ) Common sense!

Not an actual vote, per se, but if anyone's got anything out of the ordinary they'd like to do, bounce it off a few other folk first. I hate how close this feels to 501st "Clearance", but giving me or Gareth a heads-up would be a good start for UKCM events.
I'm the first to admit, I love surprises - Like the 'Wall T-shirts, like Lauren's pinup costume in the bar, like the "extra" NSC shirts.
But so long as a few folk go "Should be cool!" and we haven't already had a bunch of other off-the-wall ideas... I reckon we should be OK.

( Dom, I assume you mean the Rapid Response when you mention irreverance and partial nudity? If so, I'd NEVER want to see those ugly buggers in the Parade! :p )

_________________
MSgt, UKCM 42nd Reg., 1st Batt. : Hadrian's Wall. UKCM

Wasteland Workshop
Props, cosplay pieces, upcycled ornamentation, and miscellanea;
For the discerning survivor of the apocalypse.
Steve Fletcher : Maker, Scavenger, and Junksmith.
linktr.ee/wastelandworkshop

Hello? Anyone there??

_________________
AKA: Simon

Again, what counts as "alternative"? The Tech Manual mentions different camo colors and patterns for different environments. So as long as it's armor, the color shouldn't matter.

I've been fighting against "Boob Armor" for a while now. I've had a lot of people ask me to make them and I've managed to avoid it this long. Introducing the Recon Armor seems to have helped stave it off for a bit.

Do we consider hockey pad armor as "Alternative"?

I'm against this "hot pants" thing that seems to be starting up, but ultimately it comes down to this....

None of us are in charge. So none of us have the right to restrict someone from marching in the parade. If someone walked up wearing camo body paint and an 8 point hat and said he was a Colonial Marine and wanted to march with us, how exactly would someone stop him?

_________________
-Spat

The individual in charge of the parade is responsible for making sure their group understands and follows the parade rules.
In my opinion that same individual is responsible for the group as a whole because they've put the time and effort into organizing the event for us.

Does that mean they can tell someone 'no'?
No. But if someone showed up in hot pants and/or camo body paint and I was that person I'd say it.

Just my $0.02

_________________

But could you enforce it?

_________________
-Spat

By alternative I mean the pinups/cuddly mascots/HK armour. Aliens related but not strictly movie related. The type of costume that advertises the group rather than the film/s.
Does that make sense? Probably not but what the hell! I've never been much of a wordsmith

The whole hot pants idea is just daft. There's loads of other parades more suited to those types of shananigans....

_________________
AKA: Simon

If its inappropriate, yes with the addition of the con/parade staff because it would violate the parade rules.

_________________

The way Dom mentioned in the other thread-

"If he marches, I won't."

Simple.


Kevin

_________________
I told you I'd shoot, but you didn't believe me! WHY DIDN'T YOU BELIEVE ME!?!

Well, there's "inappropriate", and then there's "Violates the rules". I don't think Hot Pants or body paint violate the rules, but I wouldn't want to march next to it either. Unless it was only for females.

And remember, I'm all for movie accurate costumes in the parade, but that actually bumps like 90% of us out. Do we only let people with 100% accurate Hicks, Hudson or Frost armor march?

Or does it have to be "movie'esque"? And then what about the Black Ops armor?

And if Black Ops (all black armor) is ok, why isn't Pink?

Where is the line, and who decides what crosses it?

_________________
-Spat

Why I'm here, and what made me chose this group to play with.

So, yeah, I'm brand new. Still, I think I can offer some insight on this discussion.

Aside from my love of Sci Fi and military history in general, and Aliens in specific, there are two big reasons I decided to enlist here.

First, you don't take this too seriously. You do leave room for things that are thematically apropos, like the pin ups, and Spectre's scout sniper persona. But, also you leave room for fun stuff, like the Hello Kitty outfit.

As I've said before, this is encouraging to newcomers, folks who want to jump in, but need/want to ease that process. Over the long term, I'll be able to afford a screen accurate costume. In the short term, the group philosophy allows me to participate now by starting with something in line with canon, but not a part of it.

Now, on the other side of the coin...

The second thing that made me say "I want to do this!" is that you do, on a certain level, take this seriously.

You're proud that you lead the parade, and for very good reason. It's a huge honor to carry the colors of your nation or service branch in a parade. Even one as wacky as this.

So...I'm a soldier. I volunteer with the state Department of Defense as an emergency management/disaster relief responder and as part of the National Guards state support network. I wear the U.S. Army uniform, I have a rank, I am deployed alongside the GANG for emergencies and disasters, I drill once a month, the whole deal.

I'm immensely proud to be able to wear the uniform, and to serve alongside so many veterans and active duty warriors.

At cons, I see tons of guys in military gear. Some get it right. I saw a spot on SGT Rock last year. I saw a few really good WWII impressions this year.

Most, however, don't. Guys in Army Combat Uniforms with converse Chuck Taylors, or guys who mix and match camo patterns. Or, small things like wearing a beret wrong, having patches in the wrong place.

And, it bugs me. If you're going to wear it, wear it right.

Which brings me to the point...

I've watched y'all at Dragon Con the past four years. This year, I finally (accidentally, even) found your table, and talked to Tony, who invited me to watch the Colony Sweep.

I showed a bit early, watched some photo ops, and talked to a few members, notably Spectre.

What impressed me was that, while not everyone was screen accurate, you all fit. Spectre had his sniper impression, not canon, but not at all out of place. Everyone had different graffiti and markings on their uniforms and armor, but it all worked within the theme of the film. Some folk didn't even have armor, but what they did have meshed with what I saw, really well.

In a word, it was impressive.

The contradiction of being open and still staying true to concept sold me.

Now, I get where folks are coming from regarding a conservative take on the parade. I support that notion, as going too far afield does a disservice to the group, and to military service in general.

Things like pin up girls and differently colored bdu's, or EU concepts like snipers, recon, urban warfare specialists, if they fit the mold and mesh thematically, I don't feel they detract from the groups presence.

More esoteric and extreme costumes, things in poor taste, stuff better suited to an after hours party, don't do much to help our community image.

Sorry for the rant, just wanted to get my two cents out.

_________________
Patrick "Scout" Gerrity

"I see you had another visit from the 'good idea fairy', Lieutenant..."

This is exactly the point I was trying to make earlier. I like to use myself as an example, as I use a wildly inaccurate kit (that was even far MORE inaccurate in the past) and no one has ever had any sort of problem with it, with me, or with me in the parade.

But the simple fact is, that this:



is closer to this:



than this is:

_________________
"Screen what? I wouldn't know screen accurate if it were driving a bus and ran me over during the parade."

LCpl. Av "Spectre" Taylor
Long Range Infantry Support

Thank you!!

_________________

That pretty much hits the nail on the head.

Thank You.l

_________________


USCM- The Colonial Marines- A Brotherhood of Bad Asses!

Av- the first pic is just a red x on my end.


And yes- Lonescout has totally nailed it here.


Kevin

_________________
I told you I'd shoot, but you didn't believe me! WHY DIDN'T YOU BELIEVE ME!?!

Hmm. Showed up okay for me. Edited with different link. It's a picture of Stacy with her Hello Kitty armor in the parade.

_________________
"Screen what? I wouldn't know screen accurate if it were driving a bus and ran me over during the parade."

LCpl. Av "Spectre" Taylor
Long Range Infantry Support