Early Mandalorian Era Armor Requirements Released!

Mercs has released the armor requirements and references for early-era Mandalorian costumes such as:

1)  Early era Crusaders

2)  Late era Crusaders

3)  Neo Crusaders

We took a good while to narrow down what we were really looking for in the sets.  We had quite a bit of internal debate, and used some of the already crafted member armor as some of the basis for these requirements.  

You can read these new requirements and see the reference pictures be following the link HERE.

You can also post and comments or concerns regarding these requirements in the following thread HERE.

A handful of Mercs attended this year's Wizard World in Philly on July 19-21, 2009.  Here is the report from Synnr:


For more photos on this event, click HERE.

As of this weekend we have officially matched last year's total for Help a Verd'ika fund.  Last year we ended up with $750.  With this year's fund raising at events and helpful donations from members we've been able to hit that mark in less than a year's time.  Now, what that means is we're raising the bar!

I'm going to pop the bar up to $1000 and see if we can't make that by Christmas time.  Thanks to all who have donated or helped with fund raising at conventions!  Don't forget about the RAFFLE too.

Penang, June 19th. Mandalorian Mercs Jebat Squad leader Ge'tal Gra'tua was honoured as one of the Icons of the Muzium & Galeri Tuanku Fauziah (MGTF) Smart Art & Science Carnival held from 18-21 June 2009. This carnival is an annual event held by the MGTF which is located in the grounds of Universiti Sains Malaysia. The Jebat Squad made it's first official appearance during this year's carnival, which was themed "Transformation".

During the carnival, Ge'tal appeared with two of his "clones" in full Mandalorian armour. He was also featured in a local paper which covered the launch of the carnival. Ge'tal was originally brought in to the project as the designer of historical and period costumes presented in the "Timeline" performance, which featured historical characters related to the history of the MGTF site. This project was a collaboration between Ge'tal and the Director of MGTF, Mr Hasnul J Saidon, who was instrumental in the introduction of the Mandalorian Mercs into MGTF. The Mandalorian Mercs was featured at the museum earlier this year during the Resurrection III: Rise of the Mandalorians costumes exihbition.

Mercs from all across the midwest gathered again this year in the city of Knoxville, TN under the sunsphere monument for this year's AdventureCon.  This year brought in a bit more draw due to a few more Star Wars related guests such as Ray Park, David Prowse, and Anthony Forrest.

Coming from CO, ME, AL, GA, OH, NC, MO, and MS, Mercs gathered on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for a great time.  Friday had a few Mercs in their gear and Novall and his crew had done a great job setting up the table and it's displays.  After most of the group drove in Friday evening, the convention ended and the Mercs headed off to dinner in downtown Knoxville and a stop at the hotel pool before it closed:




Saturday was the largest gathering of the Mercs in armor.  There were 24 in armor that day by counts (23 in the group photo, one brave Mando stayed behind to man the table).  The morning consisted mainly of standing in our corner posing for the onslaught of cameras and flashes.  Part way through the day we decided to start up the "jail and bail" event which went over well with both the convention crowd and the Mercs themselves.  Con-goers could place a bounty on their friends and family for a small donation, a team of Mercs would then go hunt that person, cuff them, and then place them in our jail cell by the table.  The jailed person would have a bail set at half the original bounty amount.  They could either pay it themselves, or beg for the money from the crowd.

Everyone who participated had a great time with it and definitely want to do it at other conventions:



Saturday came to a close but not before we went out for our "walk on the town" in the dark.  A large crowd of Mercs and other costumed folks gathered in the hotel lobby that night and headed off to the Knoxville Market Square to mingle with the crowds.  Most of the folks there hadn't even realized that there was a convention in town, but didn't hesitate to pose with the costumers for photos.  The crowds roared when we walked past the bars and we even stopped at the local movie theatre again (mainly because it was an air conditioned building with a big lobby).

Sunday was the last day of the convention and didn't bring in as many con-goers.  The table slowly began to break down as different displays had to head home with their owners.  Throughout the whole convention though, props HAVE to be given to Pinocchio who wore his armor all three days from open to close.  Give a hand to that dedicated Merc.

After the con closed on Sunday the leftover Mercs headed over to Stefano's pizza for a good meal and then rented "Watchmen" on the hotel pay-per-view.  Everyone called it a night and we all said our good-byes.  Another AdventureCon down...bring on next year.

For more great stories of the event check out THIS thread.

Photos of the event can be found HERE.

Falco Clan invades Pennsylvania and the Scranton Comic Con!

Well, we all know it was bound to happen.  The Falco Clan was going to end up invading somewhere and we know that wherever they went trouble was sure to follow.  Well, the Falco Clan came through!  On Sunday, June 14th 8 members of the Falco Clan and their support staff invaded the Scranton Comic Con in Scranton, PA.  Sporting new looks by almost everyone in the group, the Falco Clan became the talk of the con, the town, and the police!  

That’s right, you’re reading correctly, the police were called on the Falco Clan because someone thought Scur’s rocket launcher was real.  Oops, guess we forgot to peace bond that weapon!  Luckily the policemen laughed and went along his way.  The con was a lot of fun and each of the Falcos scared at least one fan each during the course of the day.  This event was the largest gathering of Falcos in the Northeast to date, but we’re sure it won’t be the last.  Attending the event were Tigris, Kal, Scur, Ad’Carud, Synnr, Corran, Sheydra, and all their supportive wives/loved ones.

Mandalorian Mercs made a large impression on the organizers and attendees of this convention.  A lot of pictures were taken and a lot of questions answered about the Mandalorian Mercs and how we make our armour. We look forward to attending next year with even more members of the Falco Clan

Read more about the Scranton Comic Con invasion HERE.

Kuala Lumpur, 13 June. Five fully armed and armoured Mandalorians were seen prowling the vicinity of the Outpost Cafe in Cineleasure Damansara near here today. Upon closer inspection, these Mandalorians were actually clones of the Malaysian Jebat Squad leader, Ge'tal Gra'tua, who was identified to be wearing his black hunter-killer armour.

The Mercs were there on request by the Utusan Karya group, one of the largest and longest-running media groups in Malaysia. Ge'tal - using his Arkanian knowledge of cloning - answered the challenge with 4 other "clones". The event was held to mark the launch of the Infiniti magazine, a new magazine catering to the bizarre world of science, illusion and reality. The Mercs were allocated a table and even a banner, and was gladly hosted by the Outpost Cafe, Malaysia's premier sci-fi themed cafe. This was also the first time that Malaysians get to feel the full impact of Mandalorian might!

Manda Akaan'ade Clan based in Curitiba Clan Brazil hosted "Mandocue 2" on May 6th.  The "Mandocue" is Manda Akaan'ade Clan's local armor party and dinner for members and perspective members of the Curitiba Brazil chapter of Mercs.  Ben Ru Montroc, the clan leader for Manda Akaan'ade gave us the following report:

"On may 6, the Manda Akaan'ade Clan from Curitiba Brazil, held the 2nd Mandocue and 6th beskargam workshop.

This meetings first objective is share the techniques of building d Beskargam.  After the work, the members enjoyed another awesome barbecue!"

You can view more pictures of Mandocue 2 HERE.

Vode'An Clan of São Paulo Brazil hosted the first "Mandalorian Workshop" on June 7th.  The goal of the workshop was to help explain the history and culture behind Mandalorians within the Star Wars Universe and introduce Vode'An Clan to possible new members.  Aysin Fett, Regional Commander for South America attended the event and gave us this report:

"We had a four hours event, with lectures talking about Mandalorian Origins, Republic Commando, GAR, Vode an and Mercs and sure, TOR.  We also raffled off some buttons and also, some kindly gifts we recieved from São Paulo Jedi Council.
About 50 persons attented to the event and we had a lot of fun. It a great pleasure to notice that most of the questions came from... children,The future of Mandalorian Culture in Brazil is already on the way!"

You can read more about the Workshop and see pictures HERE.

The United Kingdom's Vok'Chi clan invaded CollectormaniaCon 15 in Milton Keynes on June 6th.  This is the 4th invasion of CollectormaniaCon for Vok'Chi Clan in the last two years, and they are quickly becoming a fan-favorite within this semi-annual convention.

You can see more pictures of the event HERE.