Question to the Alpha 75

[TK3100[TK]]

Hey all,

 

I have a question to pose to all of you Alpha 75 who had their kits built for celebration and since....

 

Have you had problems with the yolk / shoulders cracking under stress from the design of the pieces that are bondo'd or slurried together ?

 

A few troopers supposedly had problems with this because of the design of these pieces, but I have yet to be able to identify more than two of these individuals.

 

The reason I'm asking this is to work with Dean and ANOVOS to hopefully resolve these concerns for future kits and hopefully in time for wave 2 / 3.

 

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

 

YES! Both of us here. At least on one side. That is because even though our best efforts to put the back plate on like a shirt, you still have to bend and warp the shoulder around the deltoids. What I believe caused major strain was the rubber gaskets because it took more to move the ABS around it. 

Edited May 17, 2015 by TK3100

[plushie[TK]]

Hey all,

 

I have a question to pose to all of you Alpha 75 who had their kits built for celebration and since....

 

Have you had problems with the yolk / shoulders cracking under stress from the design of the pieces that are bondo'd or slurried together ?

 

 

So far no. But then again, I've only been test fitting. Today was the most stressful day on the yoke as we test fit with and without gaskets, sliding the back/yoke over my head and shoulders multiple times. We were also pretty darn careful. 

My adhesive and filler on this part was also devcon plastic weld with 3500 PSI. We went that route just because we knew the stress that was going to be placed on the back and yoke. 

 

I'm sure with more wear and stress there may be a cracking issue, as that seems inevitable. However, I'm sure different adhesives/fillers will have varying degrees of durability.

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Has anyone else had their helmet break?  Mine came apart and it took a big effort to get it assembled again.  Not sure if I'm the only one, or did others have the same problem?  I'll post a close-up tomorrow to show how it wasn't quite able to be re-assembled the way it was ma----------------

Edited March 11, 2021 by gmrhodes13
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[Bayani[TK]]

Monika and I haven't had any issues with the Yoke/Back connection cracking.

 

We use CA to assemble and fill the entire kit No bondo.

[Daetrin[Admin]]

has anyone else had problems with their helmets coming apart?"  After coming back from Anaheim, all seemed OK but when it was taken out of its helmet bag the other day the helmet just disassembled.  The front "bill" came off and the little tabs under the outsides of the eyes flared out.  It took a lot of work to re-assembled the face, but it's not quite right still.  

 

Be careful with your buckets guys - they are not overly solid and the face plate may need a lot longer to properly cure, or else maybe mine just has a "bad glue job". 

 

Will they replace these under warranty of any kind?  Just wondering if ANOVOS will honor replacements.

[TK6682[TK]]

 

has anyone else had problems with their helmets coming apart?"  After coming back from Anaheim, all seemed OK but when it was taken out of its helmet bag the other day the helmet just disassembled.  The front "bill" came off and the little tabs under the outsides of the eyes flared out.  It took a lot of work to re-assembled the face, but it's not quite right still.  

 

Be careful with your buckets guys - they are not overly solid and the face plate may need a lot longer to properly cure, or else maybe mine just has a "bad glue job". 

 

Will they replace these under warranty of any kind?  Just wondering if ANOVOS will honor replacements.

 

 

Have you addressed this issue with Anovos? I'm not sure that this is the place to ask.

 

I believe that they are made in 3 pieces. 

Edited May 18, 2015 by TK6682

[Daetrin[Admin]]

I will reach out to them today for sure, however my other question is a fair one for this group.

[plushie[TK]]

So far so good with my helmet. It's been handled a few times and transported in a padded helmet bag, but no trooping yet.... (This will be remedied this coming weekend! Denver ComicCon!)

[TK6682[TK]]

I will reach out to them today for sure, however my other question is a fair one for this group.

 

Oh For sure.

 

Did it get squished, or heated up or something?

I can only speak for the 4 helmets that I have encountered at various times.  None of them have displayed this type of problem.

Sorry to hear that man.

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Not that I can think of.  It was in a helmet bag, in a car.  Unless the car got overly hot?  I'm guessing the helmets just didn't have enough time to cure maybe?  There was still a lot of out-gassing when we received them.

 

Or, again, maybe I just got one that was weaker than the rest, e.g. my comment about "bad glue"?  It happens some times in manufacturing. I'd rather hope I just got the one bad one of the lot than there is a greater concern.  In any event, I'm going to see out a hard case for the helmet, rather than using my regular helmet bag.

 

Here are some photos...

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Edited March 11, 2021 by gmrhodes13
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[camprandall]

I haven't noticed any cracking on the yoke yet. I had slight bondo cracking more on the wrist end of the inner forearms due to the fact that these things cut into my hands and get a lot of torque trying to force my hands through and then when I bend my arms. I backed them with much thicker ABS but it's still a decent bit of tension. Unfortunately due to those glued greeblies that go up to the seam, it was a pain to fix them because sanding isn't as straight-forward as it was during assembly.

 

If I had more time to do it from the start, I would have still gone bondo because it's much easier to work with and makes a nicer finish, but I would have added wider reinforcement strips on the inside of things so that there's less chance for flex. I found the JB Weld way too slow to sand and finish nicely and also found slurry to be way too erratic and have pinholes in it from bubbles and everything so it still needs a touch of bondo to make it smooth.

 

Aside from bondo cracking, I've also actually had to reinforce the raw ABS in 2 or three random spots on the return edges of armor where it's started cracking due to the ABS being pretty thin. My classic TK armor is much thicker and doesn't have that issue.

[camprandall]

On 5/19/2015 at 1:49 AM, Daetrin said:

Not that I can think of.  It was in a helmet bag, in a car.  Unless the car got overly hot?  I'm guessing the helmets just didn't have enough time to cure maybe?  There was still a lot of out-gassing when we received them.

 

Or, again, maybe I just got one that was weaker than the rest, e.g. my comment about "bad glue"?  It happens some times in manufacturing. I'd rather hope I just got the one bad one of the lot than there is a greater concern.  In any event, I'm going to see out a hard case for the helmet, rather than using my regular helmet bag.

 

Here are some photos...

--------------

 

Yeah, I would contact ANOVOS. That's definitely defective and considering it's a premium helmet, you shouldn't have to reassemble. Hopefully they'll take good care of you.

 

I agree about the earlier comment about replacement parts. It would be amazing if they would make it possibly to buy them at an affordable cost because there are a lot of parts to this and it's concerning that we have no way to ever get parts. All it will take is to lose a hand or knee plate or something and this costume will be shelved indefinitely.

Edited March 11, 2021 by gmrhodes13
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[Torment[TK]]

Saw a helmet this past weekend.  I noticed that the white parts near they eyes were fliared out.  Not sure if thats how they are supposed to look or not.  If not then, I would say there may be some issues with the helmets in some cases.  It seemed like a molding issue from the master when I looked it over, but reading over this thread and others maybe it shouldnt be like that.  Ill let him know to look it over and take pics 

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Yeah, I would contact ANOVOS. That's definitely defective and considering it's a premium helmet, you shouldn't have to reassemble. Hopefully they'll take good care of you.

 

I agree about the earlier comment about replacement parts. It would be amazing if they would make it possibly to buy them at an affordable cost because there are a lot of parts to this and it's concerning that we have no way to ever get parts. All it will take is to lose a hand or knee plate or something and this costume will be shelved indefinitely.

 

OK, I sent them an email today (yeah, I'm behind on personal stuff).  Will keep everyone apprised of the response.

[TK4205]

I think your helmet was a slow cure, Paul.  Not only did it smell like it, but the helmet itself warped. It took a heat gun to line the seam back to epoxy it shut with the epoxy that came with the gaskets. The part that I could not fix is the part on the side that curled out and away from the lens. I couldn't heat that part without destroying the lenses.

I would simply ask ANOVOS to replace it.

 

Also, the rim of the helmet seems to have been trimmed out very poorly, with a jagged cut all the way around the opening. This has allowed little cracks to form around the bottom.

 

I know it wasn't mashed. It's resin. Had it been mashed, it would have shattered.

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Thanks Wyatt.  I included this info in the support ticket I have open now, #116847. 

[v7sg[TK]]

My visor cracked, already contacted them and sent photos, now waiting for an answer

[Clamps[TK]]

Paul, Can you share photos of the specific defects so that soon to be owners know what to look out for upon receipt? 

[Barcoder[TK]]

Like Paul’s, my helmet is suffering from some similar issues. Thankfully it has not fallen apart. (I am posting the pictures in case it helps others to identity issues with their helmets.)

I contacted Anovos yesterday regarding the issues. I am sure they will take care of me. J

 

The sides of the helmet, near the eye have pulled away and are flaring out. There are large enough gaps to fit something in them.

--

 

The front panel does not sit flush on the right side, near the lenses and is starting to lift up. There is also a divot near the area. (I guess from strain of being mounted incorrectly?) You can see the gap in the pic below. (Also a different angle for the side flare.)

--

 

You can also see that the left side on the front panel is fine, as it sits flush near the lens, there is no overlap. You can see the right side flare from a different angle

---

 

The bottom rim, near the back is cracking in two places.

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Edited March 11, 2021 by gmrhodes13
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[TK4205]

On 5/27/2015 at 8:19 AM, Barcoder said:

Like Paul’s, my helmet is suffering from some similar issues. Thankfully it has not fallen apart. (I am posting the pictures in case it helps others to identity issues with their helmets.)

I contacted Anovos yesterday regarding the issues. I am sure they will take care of me. J

 

 

On Paul's helmet, only one side is flaring out under the lens. I also forgot to mention that Paul's bill fell off. It was the one thing I was able to fix back to the way it was.

 

But I got to see something; The bills never did fit right. they had to build up an area with epoxy to get a good contact. They then used a different color of glue to attach the bill, which didn't work. This tells me that helmets were repaired after factory, else they would have used the same pink epoxy that they put it together with. I imagine that a lot more bills will be popping off.

[Pencap510]

I'm on the wait list- and am still waiting. While I completely agree that Anovos being a new company and have their reputation on the line...so they will definitely take great care of their customers---- these quality issues wreak of poor production practices. It makes me nervous spending ANY money with them.

 

I will say I've purchased the OT kit already, but this thread is making me 2nd guess even that GREAT DEAL. wonder if it's worth waiting on the folks here to make a fan sculpt..

 

Thoughts?

[TK4205]

I'm on the wait list- and am still waiting. While I completely agree that Anovos being a new company and have their reputation on the line...so they will definitely take great care of their customers---- these quality issues wreak of poor production practices. It makes me nervous spending ANY money with them.

 

I will say I've purchased the OT kit already, but this thread is making me 2nd guess even that GREAT DEAL. wonder if it's worth waiting on the folks here to make a fan sculpt..

 

Thoughts?

If It's something you can afford, I say go for it. We don't know how long it will be until a new fan built comes out and we don't know how long this kit will be available.

With a little effort, this kit can be made to look sweet. I'm no fan of the helmet, but it's all we have at the moment...

[plushie[TK]]

Now I'm nervous about my helmet as I can now finally troop in my kit.

I only wore it for an hour and a half Sat and Sunday of Denver ComicCon. By the time I was out of kit on Saturday, we did find the surface stress cracks on the yoke/back connection. I'm already planning to reinforce under the yoke with strips of ABS. 

[Barcoder[TK]]

Despite the defects in my helmet, I would buy it all over again in a heart beat. I LOVE this helmet and armour.

Given the tight deadline for Celebration, issues can be expected in a few. This is true with buying any product; I've had defective products before. I am sure we all have.

What makes the difference for me is how the company responds and deals with the issues.

It wasn't my intention to cause doubt & nervousness in the kit or Anovos.

[Barcoder[TK]]

As expected, Anovos responded right away and will arrange for a replacement helmet.