By the beginning of 1983, Troy and Charles were making ambitious plans to turn the year into one of the biggest and best in the group's history.

In November 1982, KISS had released Creatures of the Night, returning to the elaborate costumes that had characterized their earlier years. Troy decided the group would recreate these new outfits for 1983 and began construction in January.

The guys also considered several possible appearances throughout the year. These included another Picture Day in March or April, participation in the Vacaville Fiesta Days Parade in May, a concert during the summer, an appearance on the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon over Labor Day weekend, and a Halloween appearance to close out the year.

However, the decision to recreate KISS' new costumes brought an unexpected setback. As in previous years, Troy was responsible for making all four outfits, but the elaborate designs meant considerably higher material costs than those of the previous two years.

The expense proved too much for Tim and Mark Branson, who decided to leave the group. That left Troy and Charles searching for two new members.

They found their Paul Stanley almost immediately in Mike Feliciano, a friend of Charles who happened to live just around the block from where Troy had grown up.

Finding a fourth member proved much more difficult.

When the search began, the group was looking for someone to portray Ace Frehley. After learning that Ace had left KISS and been replaced by Vinnie Vincent, they began searching for someone to take on the new guitarist's role.

With Vinnie still relatively unfamiliar to fans, finding a suitable member proved difficult.

During February and March, progress slowed considerably. Then, at the beginning of April, Troy moved more than an hour away once again. Work on the costumes continued, but at a much slower pace.

As the months passed, the group remained without a complete lineup. Without a fourth member, none of their proposed appearances materialized.

Summer came and went. The costumes were nearing completion, but the group still had no Vinnie Vincent.

In mid-September, KISS released its new album, Lick It Up, featuring the band on the cover without its trademark makeup.

With KISS having removed its makeup, Troy decided that 1983 would be the final year for the KISS Impersonators. If this was going to be their farewell, he wanted to pull out all the stops and make it one of the group's most memorable years.

Shortly after that decision, the group finally found its Vinnie Vincent. Jimmie Katarzy, another friend of Charles, was introduced to Troy and agreed to join.

After months of searching for someone to fill the fourth position, the group finally had a complete lineup.

Jimmie's arrival gave everyone renewed motivation to finish the costumes in time for Halloween.

Troy also contacted The Argus once again to ask whether the newspaper would be interested in doing another story about the group, particularly since this was intended to be their final year.

The newspaper liked the idea and arranged to interview and photograph the group on Halloween.

With the lineup complete, costumes nearing completion, and another newspaper feature scheduled, things were finally looking promising.

On Saturday, October 22, the group gathered at Mike's house to try on their costumes and identify any final adjustments, alterations, or additions that were needed.

They also took several photographs without makeup.

For nearly half an hour, the guys posed for photographs and talked with people. Although they had originally allowed only about twenty minutes for each stop, they stayed longer than planned and helped raise a nice amount of money for the school.

While they were there, one mother, accompanied by her young son, approached the group and invited all four of them back to her house.

Apparently, the KISS Impersonators had attracted their very own groupie!

Charles, Mike, and Jimmie were interested in accepting her invitation, but Troy reminded them that they had a schedule to keep, people were expecting them at their upcoming stops, and they were already running late.

Besides, Troy wasn't particularly interested in the possibility of an angry husband coming home to find four guys dressed as KISS in his house.

After all, the woman was wearing a wedding ring!

With that unexpected adventure behind them, the group continued to Cabrillo Elementary School, followed by Olivera Elementary School.

Their next stop was Chadbourne Elementary, where they visited their former principal, Mr. Lewis. While there, they posed for photographs and even signed autographs.

After leaving Chadbourne, the guys headed to Washington Hospital to visit a few children who were spending Halloween in the hospital. They hoped their appearance would help brighten the evening for the kids who couldn't be out enjoying the holiday.

As the evening began winding down, the group headed for its final scheduled stop.

It was a return to the place where their story had begun seven years earlier: Patterson Elementary School.

Once again, the group was a hit at Patterson.

Throughout the evening, the guys had also made several stops to visit friends and family.

After leaving Patterson, they returned to Mike's house, but their Halloween adventure wasn't quite over.

During their tour of Fremont, someone had mentioned a costume contest taking place at a restaurant and bar called Fat Fanny's.

The guys called to get the details, touched up their makeup, and took a few more photographs before heading back out for one last appearance.

Fat Fanny's was packed with people wearing some impressive costumes.

Shortly after the group walked in, the DJ played a KISS song in their honor.

Once again, the guys attracted plenty of attention, even among costumed characters such as Batman and Robin, Tarzan and Jane, and the Killer Bees from Saturday Night Live.

One particularly memorable character was Robin, who stayed completely in character throughout the evening, speaking just like Burt Ward from the original Batman television series. His constant references to "Bat this" and "Bat that" provided plenty of laughs.

With so many great costumes in attendance, the group knew they were facing some serious competition.

When the contest began, they made the first cut and advanced to the final round against a select group of contestants.

During the final judging, Troy played up his Gene Simmons character, raising his arms to encourage the crowd to cheer louder. The audience responded enthusiastically, helping the group capture first place and a $50 cash prize.

By the time the contest was over, it was approximately 1:00 a.m., and the group headed back to Mike's house.

Even then, they weren't quite finished.

After touching up their makeup once again, they headed outside Mike's house to pose for another series of group photographs using smoke bombs and fireworks. They also took individual photographs with smoke effects in Mike's backyard.

At approximately 2:30 a.m., the final photographs were taken, and the costumes finally came off.

By the time everyone had changed clothes and helped clean up Mike's house, it was 3:00 a.m.

At last, the evening was over, and everyone headed home.

The long run of the KISS Impersonators had come to a close.

It had been an incredible Halloween. The group had toured Fremont in a limousine, made numerous appearances where they were enthusiastically received, visited children in the hospital, received another interview from The Argus, and capped off the evening by winning $50 in a costume contest.

For Troy, who genuinely believed this would be the group's final Halloween, there were two reasons he was satisfied with bringing their years together to a close. With KISS having removed its trademark makeup, he felt there was no longer a reason to continue impersonating the band. And after such an incredible Halloween, he couldn't have asked for a better way to end the group's long run.

There could hardly have been a more fitting farewell.

The 1983 lineup featured Charles Duck as Eric Carr, Troy Correia as Gene Simmons, Mike Feliciano as Paul Stanley, and Jimmie Katarzy as Vinnie Vincent.