Anovos TK armor preorder

[James[501st]]

"bootleg" is PR talk and I think the suits are going to be awesome.

 

I am happy I'm getting a kit and not the finished version with a "liner."

 

That sounds like a stinky nightmare for real trooping.

[CommanderZel]

The only thing about all this that really bothers me is the way they've been trash-talking. I get that they're just trying to talk their product up, but there are ways to do that without badmouthing the preexisting community.

At any rate, here's my thinking:

With a minimum of $350 from each buyer (I would throw my guess somewhere in the several hundreds area at this point, if not more) and probably some funding from Disney (I'm sure they paid a lot for the licence, but in the end this is supposed to be another way for Disney to make money, so it makes sense that they'd treat Anovos as an investment), there's almost no way that they're going to put out a low-quality product. This is especially clear when you remember that once all is said and done, the kit will be a $650 kit, which is a very normal price for a kit. The difference between the Anovos kit and our vetted producers' kits is that Anovos is licensed and will be including soft armor pieces. At this point, the only big question left is whether or not we, the consumers, care more for PVC or ABS.

I'm not an experienced builder. I don't have a completed build, and I've only barely worked with ABS. I've never worked with PVC. Before a few days ago, I had no idea what the differences were between the two. So now, I think what it really comes down to is whether consumers care enough about their armor being made of ABS to jump ship on this.

I, for one, am very happy to have gotten such a deal on what I think will be a very average kit.

[Barclay[501st]]

For the price, it's worth whatever mods that are going to be needed to meet 501st standards... The initial cost is part of what has kept me from taking a plunge into trooping, but put two kits on order (one for me and one for my wife) ... We are looking forward to the build and getting out in gear..

[UHCoog12[TK]]

I've finally caught up. Like many of you first time wannabe TKs, the Anovos kit was what caused you to take the plunge and order the kit. I

I too am being swayed into purchasing this kit.

 

The $450 pricing is good until July 9th -- so this is the deadline I'm setting for myself. Go, no-go.

Also would be interesting to see if those of you who ordered it at the $350 price point will receive it significantly before those of us ordering later. Selfishly, this gives guys like me a chance to see if the kit is any good and whether we need to cancel our order for a refund or not.

 

I'll be paying close attention to the builds of all you 6' and up people. I'm 6'2''... but from reading some of the comments here, some of you aren't worried at all about making it work.

Edited June 5, 2015 by UHCoog12

[jason14x]

I did it !!! I took the plunge.....

[helluin75]

I am in the middle of an heavy "pre-order, don't pre-order" phase.

Since my craftmanship skills sucks (a part in SWTOR, lol) I recently ordered an RS full built set. However, due to the price (if I do not consider the shipping costs to EU, more than 200 bucks) Anovos kit could be a good starting point to learn and have fun on my really first built.

 

I guess I will use a simple method of "all in or all out" the last day of the pre-order window.... 

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

I am in the middle of an heavy "pre-order, don't pre-order" phase.

Since my craftmanship skills sucks (a part in SWTOR, lol) I recently ordered an RS full built set. However, due to the price (if I do not consider the shipping costs to EU, more than 200 bucks) Anovos kit could be a good starting point to learn and have fun on my really first built.

 

I guess I will use a simple method of "all in or all out" the last day of the pre-order window.... 

I'm in a similar position.  I've not ordered an Anovos kit but have workings happening about a kit from somewhere else.  The former will be a fair amount cheaper but there's all the unknowns.  I've learnt over the years buy once buy right (not to all situations but most) and this really is that situation and I really can't seem to decide it Anovos is "right".

[Locitus[Admin]]

I'm in a similar position.  I've not ordered an Anovos kit but have workings happening about a kit from somewhere else.  The former will be a fair amount cheaper but there's all the unknowns.  I've learnt over the years buy once buy right (not to all situations but most) and this really is that situation and I really can't seem to decide it Anovos is "right".

A very good motto.

In my opinion there are too many unknowns still, with anovos. There's also the little fact that even with bulk buyers like the armour makers we already have, just the material cost itself is almost as high as the price anovos is asking. For a company to turn a profit on such razor thin margins they have to cut corners somewhere. There's no way around it.

 

I'm actually really worried about what this forum will be like if the anovos suit turns out to be bad. We'll all be chin high in complaints and support threads trying to help people fix their kits. It will be a nightmare.

Just the fact that this thread is 28(!) pages long about a non-existing product is quite telling about the built up hype that can come crashing down on us.

[sskunky]

My guess is Disney via Anovos is just trying to put small vendors like the ones selling here out of business. Hence the cheap price with most parts included. As LFL never put an artistic licence on the OT props they have to try and do it another way. That's why I think the costume designs have mostly been changed for the TFA. New deaigna equals new copyrights.

[Locitus[Admin]]

My guess is Disney via Anovos is just trying to put small vendors like the ones selling here out of business. Hence the cheap price with most parts included. As LFL never put an artistic licence on the OT props they have to try and do it another way. That's why I think the costume designs have mostly been changed for the TFA. New deaigna equals new copyrights.

You're probably right. It wouldn't surprise me if Disney reimbursed Anovos to have them sell the ANH kit at a loss. If so, at least there's the off chance that the kits will be of decent quality.

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

My guess is Disney via Anovos is just trying to put small vendors like the ones selling here out of business. Hence the cheap price with most parts included. As LFL never put an artistic licence on the OT props they have to try and do it another way. That's why I think the costume designs have mostly been changed for the TFA. New deaigna equals new copyrights.

Reading between the lines of their most recent post, the low price was so they could get a massive upfront capital injection to allow them to be able order materials in much higher volumes and so cash in on the quantity discounts.  The price is going up, they've said $650 after July 9th and also theres a "may change" bit on it somewhere too. I figure you're looking at about $700-800 by the end of all that.

[Tom]

Reading between the lines of their most recent post, the low price was so they could get a massive upfront capital injection to allow them to be able order materials in much higher volumes and so cash in on the quantity discounts. The price is going up, they've said $650 after July 9th and also theres a "may change" bit on it somewhere too. I figure you're looking at about $700-800 by the end of all that.

I agree with this, theres no way they are gonna put out a low quality product. They are the company that lucasflim allowed to make TFA armor. And have it at celebration. They have the license and access to stuff no one else does. They are looking long term. Cheap up front to drive sales to them. After the first wave of people show off their product more will come. Word of mouth and seeing something are the best way to get sales. And it's not like selling star wars stuff is all they do. When they start selling TFA armor you can be sure they will be selling around the $900-1000 price. And ANH will more than likely be $700-800. Kits that is, the fully made ANH armor is $1200 now. The more of something your able to get the cheaper the price. Example is I work for a national pizza company and we get soda from coke. We pay $1.50 per 2 liter and sell them for $2.50. Walmart get the same soda and sells it for $1.00-1.50 most of the time. Which means they gotta be buying it for $.50-.70. Bulk buying equals better pricing.

 

 

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[=Sv3=[TK]]

 

 

I agree with this, theres no way they are gonna put out a low quality product. They are the company that lucasflim allowed to make TFA armor. And have it at celebration. They have the license and access to stuff no one else does. They are looking long term. Cheap up front to drive sales to them. After the first wave of people show off their product more will come. Word of mouth and seeing something are the best way to get sales. And it's not like selling star wars stuff is all they do. When they start selling TFA armor you can be sure they will be selling around the $900-1000 price. And ANH will more than likely be $700-800. Kits that is, the fully made ANH armor is $1200 now. The more of something your able to get the cheaper the price. Example is I work for a national pizza company and we get soda from coke. We pay $1.50 per 2 liter and sell them for $2.50. Walmart get the same soda and sells it for $1.00-1.50 most of the time. Which means they gotta be buying it for $.50-.70. Bulk buying equals better pricing.

 

 

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Well they even said as much. Got Maul on The RPF boards said that thanks to the number of preorder they got, they were able to have their own supply of PVC made to their specs. IMO that statement supports the theory that they needed a large cash intake in order to start production, which it seems they got.

[Locitus[Admin]]

Remember that a good kit is more than just good plastic.

[=Sv3=[TK]]

Remember that a good kit is more than just good plastic.

Yes, definitely!

 

Call me naive if you will but with their history of Trek offerings, interviews, access to the LFL archives and the fact that they come from the fan community, I'm quite hopeful they'll put out a quality TK.

 

If not, well there's always eBay...

[Locitus[Admin]]

The problem with ebay is that whoever buys that kit will eventually end up here asking for help. And then were back where we started before the kit was put up on ebay.

 

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[helluin75]

There's always the chance to cancel the order and obtain a full refund before the shipment. I guess that in case weshould pre-order the kit now we will be placed at the end of the preorder queue. Once the first kit will be delivered and first "hands on" comments should arrive, we could have the chance to delete everything before the disaster... Even so, i'm still doubtful.

 

Totally agree about the fact that TFA armor is the first step of a new copyright regime in the prop market.

[=Sv3=[TK]]

The problem with ebay is that whoever buys that kit will eventually end up here asking for help. And then were back where we started before the kit was put up on ebay.

 

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Yeah, I see your point... If I ever do sell it on eBay, which I doubt, I'll be sure to tell in the post in what way the armor isn't 501st approved so that the buyer knows what he's getting into. Edited June 10, 2015 by =Sv3=

[tkrestonva[TK]]

I agree with this, theres no way they are gonna put out a low quality product. They are the company that lucasflim allowed to make TFA armor. And have it at celebration. They have the license and access to stuff no one else does. They are looking long term. Cheap up front to drive sales to them. After the first wave of people show off their product more will come. Word of mouth and seeing something are the best way to get sales. And it's not like selling star wars stuff is all they do. When they start selling TFA armor you can be sure they will be selling around the $900-1000 price. And ANH will more than likely be $700-800. Kits that is, the fully made ANH armor is $1200 now. The more of something your able to get the cheaper the price. Example is I work for a national pizza company and we get soda from coke. We pay $1.50 per 2 liter and sell them for $2.50. Walmart get the same soda and sells it for $1.00-1.50 most of the time. Which means they gotta be buying it for $.50-.70. Bulk buying equals better pricing.

 

 

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I can guarantee you that ANOVOS will not be selling TFA kits for $900-$1000 apiece. More likely the kits will be in the neighborhood of $2k each, with a completed suit going for at least twice that. There are interviews from SWCA the ANOVOS principles that say as much - the links to those videos are posted in the TFA section of this forum.

[hon143]

Hi this will be my 1st armor. I have no experience at building and I am really worried if I buy a kit I might ruin it . I have watched countless build videos and it seems easy enough if not time consuming. I wanted to get an opinion, Kit or pre-assembled?

The only way to ruin the armor is by cutting too much (is repairable though with some spare ABS) or melting it if you're trying to hear it up to remold the shape.

 

I had zero experience too. With all the help here, the build wasnt hard at all. Just takes a lot of time and patience.

[hon143]

Hi this will be my 1st armor. I have no experience at building and I am really worried if I buy a kit I might ruin it . I have watched countless build videos and it seems easy enough if not time consuming. I wanted to get an opinion, Kit or pre-assembled?

The only way to ruin the armor is by cutting too much (is repairable though with some spare ABS) or melting it if you're trying to hear it up to remold the shape.

 

I had zero experience too. With all the help here, the build wasnt hard at all. Just takes a lot of time and patience.

[Tom]

I can guarantee you that ANOVOS will not be selling TFA kits for $700-$800 apiece. More likely the kits will be in the neighborhood of $2k each, with a completed suit going for at least twice that. There are interviews from SWCA the ANOVOS principles that say as much - the links to those videos are posted in the TFA section of this forum.

Yeah I couldn't remember what pricing they said but I believe your right. Either way if the armor doesn't meet the 501st I'll still enjoy it

 

 

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[charlesnarles]

By the time the first crew shows everyone else exactly what we're getting, the price will have tripled. That's all the motivation I needed to day-one it, regardless of my future plans for the kit. Build and display, keep mint in box, troop/wear-out, mod, or sell..

If you're looking for a kit, you have all the same options as before, so this cheaper (at time of writing) Hail Mary option shouldnt be anyone's first choice until we know a lot more... at which point it will be too late to save money (lol thanks a lot guys!😠) but that tells me that they've thought about their marketing strategy just a little and really are trying to make the other makers flinch by offering a competitive kit for way too cheap. Cautious optimism at its finest.

Edited June 10, 2015 by charlesnarles

[Kath[501st]]

Is it shipping time yet lol. Half year to go

 

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[panasonicyouth]

the good thing is if you decided to cancel your order, they refund you loot within 2 days.