DarthColejoy's ANH Stunt TK Build using Anovos

[Darth Colejoy[TK]]

Hi All,

 

So I joined years ago thinking I would eventually get into the 501st and fulfil my lifelong dream of building a stormtrooper armour. Well about 5 years later I finally did it with the help of the great pricing of Anovos.

 

Have joined up with my local Garrison (shout out to the Terror Australis Garrison members and specifically my fellow Victorian Nightfall squadron members) and have spent many hours chatting amongst the new recruits, cadets and full 501st members. I have a build thread over there that will be my main updated (with everything) which I'll then bring over here. If you want to follow there here is the link: http://forum.501tag.com/index.php/topic/15842-anh-stunt-tk-build/

 

So my planning and research has led me to the following:

 

1. Armour - went with the Anovos armour as it fit my price point and wa excited to see what they would produce. This is currently at a warehouse in Portland awaiting movement to another warehouse in Oregon so it can be shipped to Australia (what us Aussies have to do to ship things!)

 

2. Boots - went straight to the top for these and with all the comments on here couldn't pass up TK Boots, Have been ordered and they arrived... TODAY! Hence the start of this post as I have my very first piece of armour gear.

 

3. E-11 - have gone of the Hyperfirm E-11. Has been ordered and awaits production and shipping

 

4. Voice system - have gone for the Aker 10W amp and was going to purchase an iComm until I saw some of th great work being done by fellow members on here and have signed up to beta test TK Voice. Here's the link for that thread if you are interested:

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/32270-tkvoice-for-ios-development-annoucement/

 

5. Strapping System - still up in the air on this. Was thinking of trying the in-house Anovos system first as I am a complete noob and just want to see and then may look to completely upgrade to a snap system which I have seen some diagrams of and think it might be the best option. Will keep you posted on decisions there.

 

So my planning is done, the research is continuing (and a big shout out to UKWraith whose build I am following religiously) and my parts are slowly arriving. Can't wait to get into it and meet many of you throughout the world on some amazing trips within he 501st!

[Darth Colejoy[TK]]

And my first piece of equipment that arrived was my TK Boots. So excited to pick them up today. Here they are in all their glory!

 

[Haso[TK]]

Hey mate good to see you over on FISD! You can now literally take your first steps on your journey to building your TK armour.

 

Sent from my HUAWEI G510-0251 using Tapatalk

[Tk8268]

Sweet boots. I am also very new here. Look forward to seeing your progress with the ANOVOS suit. I am glad to see folks getting their orders, very encouraging!

[Scotty33[TK]]

Great research Shane and looking forward to watching your build. Just have a question about where you are getting your blaster from? I didn't think Hyperfirm shipped outside of the US?

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

I think the work around is getting one through trooperbay. Not 100% on that though so don't quote me. 

[gazmosis[501st]]

Looking forward to this!!

[Darth Colejoy[TK]]

Great research Shane and looking forward to watching your build. Just have a question about where you are getting your blaster from? I didn't think Hyperfirm shipped outside of the US?

Hey Scott - using a forwarding service  so getting it shipped to an address in the states from Hyperfirm and then further shipped to Aus from there.

[Darth Colejoy[TK]]

So the day has finally arrived! The BBB was delivered to work today and despite the irony that it was 2 days late for the Armour Party I was super excited. 

Had to wait all day to get it home and crack the box open. The bad news is that the box was a little dented on the side (probably from the fact it got passed through about 4 different warehouses to get to me) and so my poster is a little bent 








Everything is there and ready to start trimming!






There's been a lot of talk about the bucket - but I really love the sharp edges. I think it looks imposing. Here's a few close up shots:







Now to look at adjusting the bucket so my head doesn't swim around and take the obligatory shot with a star wars t-shirt on...

[Darth Colejoy[TK]]

Here's the obligatory helmet on selfie....



So my build will very much follow the build of Ukwrath from Whitearmor who seems like the King of the Anovos build. Even though I have been frustrated in waiting for my BBB I have had the ability to watch many builds going ahead and learn some pitfalls. I will very much be trimming and building using the same steps as Ukwrath however I am going to use the supplied strapping initially and then with the help of hpmy fellow TAG and Knightfall members I might look to upgrade the strapping system. 
Also have decided I will remove the system inside the bucket as tried to get it to feel comfortable tonight and really didn't like it. I will be inserting helmet pads instead as have tried a couple of other buckets with lads and it feels more comfortable. Warmer yes but will insert a couple of fans as well as the headset system while I do the insides. 
I started trimming this evening and worked on the forearms. Did my first rough trim and now that the first one is out of the way and I didn't rip it apart feeling a lot more confident. 

Edited February 23, 2016 by Darth Colejoy

[Darth Colejoy[TK]]

So have begun the trimming. Have done the first rough trimming of both the forearms and the biceps on both sides. They are no trimmed along the cut lines and ready for fitting. I will be doing all of ht trimming first before any measuring and fitting of pieces. But the plan is to trim each section so they are ready to fit.

Forearms:







Biceps before trimming:







Biceps trimmed:







So the trimming the arms parts are done. They need a good sand but will wait and fit them first before doing a sand otherwise I'll make them look nice and have to trim again anyway.

Next up will be the shoulder blades and then I'll move onto the body pieces. Hopefully they will be done sometime this week.

After that first forearm I felt a lot more confident and it took me half the time. The first forearm I did a small trim, then another and then a final trim as was worried. But that was actually hard than just trimming along the cut line from the beggining as the natural groove actually helps the blade move along. 

I'm a bit nervous about the body parts as the won't be covered by cover strips and will need to be a bit more careful but willl trim them with more care and at the lower edge of the cut line so I can sand back if necessary.

[Darth Colejoy[TK]]

So some more trimming has happened over the last few days and will try and complete the torso pieces and possibly the shoulder bells today.

First the chest plate:







Then the ab / cod plate:







Then just trimmed the button plates and the shoulder straps:







These are all pre-sanding and will be cleaned up when the fit has been done. Enjoying the build even tho this is really all pre-assembly. Never undertaken anything like this and I call myself a anti-handyman so this is out of the comfort zone but amazing what you can do when there is a desire and passion to complete something.

[Darth Colejoy[TK]]

Update - did some more trimming on the weekend and completed the trimming of all the torso parts:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Will try and finish some trimming tonight and see how I got with the shoulder bells and maybe get onto the leg parts...

[Darth Colejoy[TK]]

Have continued a little bit of trimming but has been crazy busy and haven't had time for much. Have trimmed shoulder bells and also the thigh pieces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also finally got to get some foam to replace the basic hard hat liner that came with the anovos helmet. I removed the helmet and then using double sided velcro I attached the pieces of foam into the bucket. I still need to add a little bit of more foam the forehead area and have bicycle helmet pads to use in that area. Just waiting on my helmet fans from Q ro arrive (which will be early next week) and then my bucket will be ready.

 

 

 

Have also purchased the AKER speaker, a headphone splitter (for iPhone) and am using the TK Voice app that was created by a member of FISD. Am trialling this instead of the iComm. Very happy with he bucket. Might have to re-glue the mesh around the frown but checking which glue to use first.

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Hot glue is sufficient for the mesh. 

[Darth Colejoy[TK]]

Finally found some time today and was able to finish trimming. The parts were the 4 shins pieces:

 

 

 

 

Then I also completed the foam inserts in my bucket by adding an extra piece at the forehead section:

 

When the helmet fans arrive early next week I'll glue/velcro them in and then the bucket will be complete

[Darth Colejoy[TK]]

So I did a trial dry fitting of the leg and armour pieces to see how they looked and get an indication of how they sit and too see if there were any major concerns of lengths of parts.

 

Left Shin:

 

 

 

Right Shin:

 

 

 

Both shins:

 

 

 

Left Thigh:

 

 

 

Both Thighs:

 

 

 

Left Bicep:

 

 

 

Left Forearm:

 

 

 

Right Bicep & Forearm:

 

 

 

All Leg & Arm parts dry fitted:

 

Front

 

 

Back

 

 

 

So a couple of things from this fitting.

 

First - I will clean up the front connections on all the parts and then glue the front cover strips before doing another fitting. They were not clean for this fitting but just wanted to see how it would feel and get an idea of how much might need to come off and if I had any concerns.

 

Second - Everything seemed to feel ok except for two parts. The left shin - but a few people pointed out on the cadet fb group that I might have been wearing these a little high and I should push them down onto the top of the boots which I didn't. That will alleviate the problem if it sitting on my knee and being a bit uncomfortable.

 

Third - The thigh piece are the only parts that I am concerned about the length. Not sure if I should glue the cover strips of those yet or whether they do need to be trimmed a little. Which might be a bit daunting because I will need to trim but try and retain the shape.

 

Would love to get some feedback on anything that is picked up and I should note before I start to glue front cover strips. 

 

The plan is to have the cover strips on the front of all of these pieces in preparation for the Arnour Party where I can then get some help to fit, measure, mark and maybe even trim those parts. Once these parts are done I will move onto the body parts.

[kman[TK]]

Careful you don't go too tight on the thighs. They should be free to move up and down a bit.

 

Start on the front cover strips, because those pieces are sized to the cover strip, generally, not your body (unless you're VERY large). Then the size adjustments are done on the back-facing side.

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Judging the amount of overlap on the rear, I think he can do 20mm front and 20mm rear no problem on the thighs. 

[Darth Colejoy[TK]]

Thanks for the advice guys! I agree about doing the front cover strips first and have started that process.

 

So have started glueing the font cover strips. The plan is to have all the front strips glued for the armour party so I can then get help with measuring and trimming the backs of all the legs and arm pieces c

The first were the shins:


Found it a little tricky but got it clamped, magnets and set. Will wait until Monday to take it off and try it on. 
Also had enough magnets for a third piece so did one of the thighs as well. 

[kman[TK]]

For the thighs, the cover strips should end just shy of the ridge at the bottom.

[Darth Colejoy[TK]]

So the first glueing of cover strips went well and after removing the clamps and magnets this morning and doing a quick test fit the pieces are holding together well.  Will need to sand and trim the cover strips a little but I am happy with my first pieces. The 2 shins and thighs are done!

 

 

 

With the feeling of success I moved to do the 3rd thigh piece and the two forearm pieces. 

 

 

Now I only have the two biceps pieces left to glue for the front cover strips and I will be ready for the armour party in early April. My plan to have all the front cover strips done so that I can be properly fitted and do the final back strips - both glued and with velcro for the legs at the armour party seems like a reality.

[Darth Colejoy[TK]]

For the thighs, the cover strips should end just shy of the ridge at the bottom.

Thanks for the heads up! I'll make sure they are aligned correctly.

[Darth Colejoy[TK]]

So had an hour home tonight before a rehearsal (and before my trip to Adelaide where I won't be able to touch my armour for over a week ). I installed the helmet fans that I received from Q!

 

 

 

All ready now just to get some rechargeable AA batteries for when I do my first troop.

[Darth Colejoy[TK]]

We have the armour party tomorrow which I am very much looking forward to. I am doing a few little things today to try and get the most out of the armour party. There will be a few updates on here throughout the day. 

 

First thing was I completed the forearms and bicep front cover strips:

 

 

 

 

Then I realised that I had incorrectly done the over strips on the thighs. I had made the cover strip go all the way to the bottom join.

 

 

The cover strip should stop above the raised section at the bottom. So on one of the thighs I was able to remove cover strip and cut this section, The other one has required the complete removal of the cover strip and re-glueing. Which has now taken place:

 

 

 

I have also glued the should straps onto the chest plate:

 

 

Next steps for today is the put the end caps and plate onto the Thermal Detonator, then put on the velcro strapping for the torso parts. My plan for the armour party is complete two things:

 

1. Basic test fit of the leg, arms and torso pieces so that trimming of arms/legs can be done (not necessarily at the armour party), the gluing of cover strips/velcro strips can be completed. Then complete the strapping for the torso parts

2. Drill all required holes in parts as I don't have a drill. I will look to drill holes for the TD, chest plate, back plate

 

Another update coming soon of work on the TD and the strapping later today