Pepakura Stormtrooper Armor

Making Stormtrooper Armor for My Son Out of Paper

Chris wearing the pre-hardened armor.

I have surfed the internet for cool things to keep me busy; things that I can do in the real world like printable forms and crafts.  That's when I discovered paper modeling and Pepakura (which means "paper folding").  There is a program called Pepakura Designer which makes CGI 3D models into printable pieces that can be assembled into real paper models, and in my case an actual set of wearable Stormtrooper armor.

  

It can be sized to fit specific sizes and builds using the Pepakura program, which leaves an endless array of possibilities, limited only by your imagination.  You can find a huge amount of resources online for different models, designs and tutorials for making the most of your Pep projects.  I found resources to guide me into hardening the armor and making it not only wearable, but durable (As seen in the pictures).    

Thigh armor hardened and fiber-glassed

This is my first attempt to do something like this.  I hoped to have it done in time for Venetian Festival 2012, but this year got a bit rained out.  So I to a break from it for a while.  But now that Halloween is approaching, I am planning on havving it done by then so Chris can show it off.  

I have currently finished fiber-glassing all the pieces, and just barely started on the bondo and sanding phase.  I'll trying and keep you all posted as I progress. 

In the meantime, you should check the Pepakura Designer site out.  And Google all the available resources and models they have available online currently.  I found a lot; more than I could deal with a once just on Stormtrooper/Star Wars armor alone.  There are models, statues, toys, etc...

So check it out!

Pepakura Designer (Check out their Pepakura Gallery)  

What's up, part 2....

When I was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome by the "specialist" at the university hospital, I was told by him that they couldn't fix it and that it was "a very real possibility" that an episode of tachycardia could kill me.  I mean, telling this to a kid (young man) who was experiencing 2-3 'flip-flops' (my word for tachycardia) a day!  I was only 17-years-old and this "expert" was basically telling me to get ready to die!  

I was shocked and confused.  One moment, my life was stretched out in front of me, then suddenly it wasn't so clear.  He even told me that I had the heart of a 30 to 40-year-old.  Which shocked me even more.  I was in my late teens, with an old-man's heart, and I could drop dead at any moment.  "Got it!  Thanks Doc!" 

I was told by my local doctor that it was possible that I could go into cardiac arrest from it, but that I shouldn't dwell on it; that I could live a long, happy life.  Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome had only been a thing (diagnosable) for a few years, at that time.  But, again, the specialist was an expert in his field ... a bit of a tactless and unfeeling man ... but he was "the guy" to go to.  

A month after getting home from the university hospital, I was trying to get back to normalcy.  But that wasn't going to happen.  I played like everything was okay.  Smiled at mom, flirted with my girlfriend, and planned stuff with friends.  However, I couldn't help grabbing my chest and holding my breath every time I had one of my 'flip-flops'.  Time stood still.  I prayed and asked God for help and forgiveness every time.  Because I couldn't know if this was the last chance I would have to say anything.  This went on several times a day, everyday.  

By the end of the first month I was exhausted from lack of sleep, shaky, and mostly kept to myself.  For two more weeks I was in and out of the doctors office trying to adjust my medication to help ease the bouts of persistent palpitations. 

One night about 7-8 weeks in, I was sitting in the family room, staring out the sliding glass door into the street.  It was evening and just getting dark out.  I felt my heart flutter and then pound.  I panicked!  I suddenly had this metal taste in my mouth, and I got light-headed and dizzy.  I don't remember making any noise or saying anything, but my mom heard me and came out and sat with me.  By then I was lying on my side and crying.  I would learn later that I was having my first real full-throttled Panic Attack!  

Mom tried to calm me down but I was beyond consolation.  I kept muttering "I don't wanna die!  I don't wanna die!  I don't wanna die!" over and over.  And my mother ... who helped raise her brother and sister, who buried a son, who put herself through nursing school against my father's wishes, who had been a nurse for many years, who ALWAYS had an answer for me ... was stumped at what to do for me.  I went to the emergency room that night.  They kept me for a couple days and sent me home with a new medication.  Mood pills!  It didn't help much though.  That was when I started having chronic panic attacks and anxiety disorders.  It wasn't until few years ago that I found a med that helps with them.  

Panic Attacks happen when your stress levels stay high and then flare up periodically or when triggered.  I would have them whenever my heart acted funny, which was like 10-12 times a week on average.  And it isn't just a simple anxious feeling.  Panic Attacks are debilitating.  In most cases of Panic Attack, a person gets their stress level to peak, then their heart races and they get an overwhelming feeling of something being terribly wrong and/or the feeling that they are going to die.  In the end, it's mostly an emotional trigger with physical consequences.  

However, my trigger was always physical; tachycardia and palpitations.  First, my heart flips out. Then, I stress out about dying.  Then, I get a Panic Attack.  Which makes my heart race and flip.  Then, I stress out that I am dying.  Then, ... well you get the picture.  Breaking that cycle when it starts is NOT easy.  I'd be lying to you if I said that I am free of panic attacks, but they are much, much less frequent.  I will always have them to look out for, since I will always have WPW to catch my attention with daily flip-flopping.  The biggest breakthrough I had that helped me to greatly reduce the frequency of Panic Attacks was a bit of very late information.  

About a year ago, I mentioned to my current heart doctor what the specialist told me years ago when I was diagnosed.  He looked at me with surprise and told me that, yes, it was true that WPW is a bit more serious for kids and teens, but that I had lived with it for years and that it was "very unlikely" that I would suffer a life-threatening complication from my "flip-flopping" heart.  

I was surprised and furious!  All these years of fearing my own heart and no one could have told me that!?  I never thought to ask because I thought I had the facts.  I was sure that someone would have told me if they learned something new about it.  But the university doctor was the specialist, so he must know what's what.  

My new heart doctor pointed out that back when I was diagnosed, Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome was still very new and not much was known then.  Also there wasn't any real "specialists" for it anywhere.  He thought it was strange that the university doctor would paint such a bleak picture of my future instead of admitting that "no one really knows everything about this abnormality, just be cautious and keep up with your regular doctor."  That's all!  At least there would have been a brighter future in it, if that had been said to me instead of "you're likely to drop dead any second!"  I could have been spared a couple decades of heart-ache, pun intended.

So that's my story on my issues with Panic Attacks and Anxiety Disorder.  So with that, my Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and my arthritic ankles, knees, back and neck ... Tell me again why my super-awesome wife sticks around?  I guess if I can still kill spiders and reach the top shelf, I'm good.        

What's Up...

I was born in Garden City, Michigan, moved to Northern Michigan when I was 5 and have been here ever since.  I'm a father and a husband.  I am a musician, writer, composer, filmmaker, and amateur model builder.  I like watching the sunset on the beach and I would like to see world peace in my lifetime.  But I digress.

When I was 17-years-old, I was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.  It's a heart condition/abnormality in which there is an abnormal extra electrical pathway in the heart.  It can lead to episodes of rapid heart rate (tachycardia). 

Normally, electrical signals in the heart go through a certain pathway that helps the heart beat regularly.  With people that have WPW, some of that signal goes down an extra pathway.  For me, this causes a rapid resting heart rate (90-140+ bpm) and daily episodes of tachycardia. 

Symptoms I deal with on a daily basis are chest pain and tightness, dizziness, light-headed feeling, palpitations, and shortness of breath.  I have even, on occasion, passed out for a few moments. When the tachycardia hits, it keeps the heart from fully pushing the blood around and deprives the brain and body of oxygen.  

Since I was diagnosed, I have been treating my WPW with medication.  The only other long-term treatment for Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome is catheter ablation.  They insert a catheter into an artery through a small cut near the groin, and guide it up into the heart area.  When the tip reaches the heart, the small area that is causing the fast heart rate is destroyed using a special type of energy called radiofrequency. However, doctors say that catheter ablation is not recommended for me due to the sensitive area where my extra bundle of neurons is located in my heart.  "It would probably do more harm than good."

So here I am.  Besides the persistent thought of possible heart failure and lovely side effects from the many pills I take daily, I survive.  

Oh yeah, I also am slowly seizing up with arthritis pain in my ankles, knees, back and neck.  That's been a growing issue for the last 12 years or so.

All that said, let me add this ... it could be worse!  I'm alive.  I have a great relationship with my two awesome sons.  My wife is too good for me, but she insists on sticking around anyway (bless her).  My mom is alive, a little crazy and getting older, but the crazy part is nothing new.  And I have great friends and family in my life.  If it wasn't for them, I would have long since crawled into a hole and waited for death.  God knows how much I am thankful for them all. 


(If you want to learn more about WPW, click HERE.)