KMan's Anovos TK Adventure Build

[Cicero1981]

Don't use a heat gun on your shins unless you are 'really experienced', Im quite experienced with one (so I thought) and still managed to slightly wrinkle one of my shins at the back, hairdryer is a waste of time on the slightly thicker plastic of the shins as it just doesn't get the plastic hot enough, your best bet is boiling water, tape them into position with some electrical tape, quench in cold water to 'set' the plastic in place and clean up with white spirit (mineral spirits) when finished to remove glue residue from the tape.

Thank you so much for sharing this info. I have a quick question about how you fixed, if you did, the wrinkling in your back shin. I unfortunately had one of my shins bubble a bit along the seam, which is affecting the way the cover strip is laying. I have tried to find someone else mention this issue on the boards but have not found that thread. I felt like such an idiot. Just looking for any bit of help.

 

Cheers

[kman[TK]]

Been pretty busy, but I've managed to get a little gluing done here and there, and it's time for a quick update.

 

I glued in the side button strips on the ab plate, of course:

 

 

That finished with the side button strips, which are SO much nicer than the straps I had before! They really reduce the shifting, and make the whole thing a lot more solid. A bit tricker to put on, especially the middle snaps where you have to sort of reach in to get them snapped, but definitely an improvement.

 

Next I made some more male snap plates to glue into the chest and ab plates.

 

 

One on each side of each plate, connected with a double snap strip, in conjunction with the two I previously added in the middle (not quite enough),

seems to have stopped the chest from popping off.

 

 

I still have the stock Velcro/elastic straps connecting the plates, as well, to keep things as snug as possible if I bend forward a little, but the extra snaps provide a pretty good stopping point when moving back, making the ab plate FAR less likely to be able to pop out from under my chest. Here's a shot of all of the current/new rigging inside:

 

 

I adjusted the shoulder caps a little, which was the last thing on my GML's request list of fixes. Better now, although I still want it even more better, so I'll be converting them to snaps shortly. Just not immediately. The current system will suffice as long as I have someone to assist a little here and there.

 

Next up I want to mess with the helmet some more: The ear screws will be removed, painted black, and moved to the TD. I got the correct screws for the helmet to use instead, so I'll need to just cut them down to size (Home Depot only carried #6/32 screws in 1.5" and 2" sizes), paint the heads white, and that's done.

 

Last (for this stage) I want to remove and repaint the frown, including adding the triangles at the tips. I may go ahead and replace the Hovi mesh as well, or hold off on that last one for Centurion. (Also I haven't decided if I'm going to get speaker tips from Ukswrath or not, and if I do, there's no need to do the switch anyway) I probably won't get this done until next week, unfortunately, as I'll be visiting mom this weekend for Mother's Day. Should only take a day or two next week, though, so I foresee an EIB submission towards the end of next week!

 

Here's how things stand at the moment, showing off how all the recent mods are lining up:

 

 

I'll do more shots later, of course, for the EIB submission.

 

Oh, one additional fix on the to-do list, for comfort: I need to round off the sharp points in the back of the thighs a little, as they're digging into my bum. Not horrible, but just enough to be annoying. That'll be pretty straightforward with the belt sander.

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

Those point on the back are a pain aren't they. I'll trim mine once I can get an armourer to look at them in person at the end of the month.

 

Also for the side straps I only have top and bottom on the opening side and they hold things just fine so no awkward centre strap.

[kman[TK]]

Those point on the back are a pain aren't they. I'll trim mine once I can get an armourer to look at them in person at the end of the month.

 

Also for the side straps I only have top and bottom on the opening side and they hold things just fine so no awkward centre strap.

Yeah, depending on how things go as I wear the armor more, it may very well end up I'll only use the top and bottom snaps.

 

Well, once I lose a few pounds, at least. Armor is a tad snug at the moment, even with my shims. My trip to Italy was not beneficial to my waistline, LOL

[kman[TK]]

Time for some updates, FINALLY!

I did some serious work on the helmet last night, and some minor work on the TD.

I sort of did these tasks simultaneously (to avoid too much work while handling a freshly-painted bucket), but I’m separating the descriptions here for simplicity.

First, the painting: I removed the Anovos-painted frown from the helmet. I used rubbing alcohol and 3-4 cotton balls. I understand the 90% rubbing alcohol works a little faster than the 70% I had on hand, but that’s fine, the only difference is a little extra time.



You don't have to rub hard, but it does take some time to get it done.



I spent 2+ hours in front of the TV while cleaning it up, until it reached a point where I was happy enough with it. Clearly I didn't bother trying to remove every single bit from every nook and cranny, since I was about to re-paint it with nearly the same color, but the vast majority was removed, and all overspray, of course..



Then, pulling out my trusty tin of Humbrol #5, I carefully repainted the frown. Note: I actually used a decent real hair brush on this, which made controlling the paint MUCH easier than the crappy Harbor Freight plastic brushes I used when painting my ab buttons. I used photos from Gazmosis’ Anovos Helmet Rebuild thread as a reference, and carefully added the triangles at the end, matching his as well as my limited skills could do.



Frown complete!



Next, I tackled the screws. Two issues with screws: First, the ear screws Anovos used are not correct matches to the screen-used helmets. Second, the wood screws Anovos provided for the Thermal Detonator are not accurate. (And while the ones I found locally are close, since they are combo heads instead of slotted heads, they’re not quite right either.)

Interestingly, it turns out the “incorrect” ear screws Anovos used are actually nearly dead on accurate screws for the TD:



So out they came!

I had purchased #6-32 slotted machine screws, normally used for electric junction boxes, which have been determined to be nearly identical to the screen-used screws. (technically, I believe they're an obscure British size in BRASS that's hard to find now, even over there, but these are nearly identical, as I said, and the metal won't matter once they're painted) Home Depot only had 1.5" long screws, while the originals were a little under an inch.



So the first order of business was to hack the new screws in half. Five minutes with a bench vise and a hacksaw, and the screws were the correct length. (Close enough for me, at least)



I had some #6 locknuts on hand, so that’s what I used to secure them in the helmet. Here they are installed:



And a touch of white paint later, that’s done!



Moving on to my TD, I used some Acetone to strip the white paint off the old helmet screw heads (came off easily wiping it with a cotton ball), and stripped apart the TD, removing the the caps and screws that I had originally used. I put the new screws on the TD (loosely). Leaving them sticking out about 1/8", I painted the heads black (I used my Humbrol #85 that I had purchased for the Vocoder) and let them dry. Later, I tightened them up from the inside (with pliers), so as to not chip the new black paint from the screw heads. Done!





Funny, from more than 4 feet away, you'd never be able to tell the difference between the screws I had before and the ones I have now (in both the helmet and the TD, actually). But I'm very happy I did the mods, because *I* know they're more accurate now.

I wanted to replace the mesh in my Hovi Mic tips, so I removed them from the helmet. Unfortunately, the 99 cent store sieve I had thought to scavenge the mesh from was not quite right, once I really looked closely, so that’ll have to wait for another evening.

Once that’s done, I’ll get back to upgrading the shoulder cap to bicep connections with snaps, and perhaps convert the shoulder straps from Anovos Velcro to snaps as well, and then I should be ready for EIB.

Edited May 11, 2016 by kman

[BDWC[TK]]

If you countersink the ear screw holes just slightly by hand they will sit much more flush

 

If you want to, I did this for my rebuild and the screws sit almost flush

 

 

Sent from my Imperial communicator using Tapatalk

[kman[TK]]

If you countersink the ear screw holes just slightly by hand they will sit much more flush

 

If you want to, I did this for my rebuild and the screws sit almost flush

True. I'm leaving them out for a bit at first, to let the paint dry more, and just in case I need to pull them out again (hearing assist, etc). Don't want to stretch the plastic any more than necessary.

[kman[TK]]

I ended up going out to the pub last night, so didn't get to much. I dabbled with the Hovi tips, but I'm not happy with how they turned out so I'll probably redo them.

 

 

I picked up a cheap strainer from the 99 cent store. It works, but not as well as I'd like. The mesh wire seems a little too fine, and it torques out of position (giving you an angled grid instead of a straight one) very easily. I can confirm that the Chapstick method is indeed the PERFECT size to shape your mesh around, though. LOL

 

 

The original mesh came out easily enough (small screw driver to push an edge away from the side, then pluck out with needlenose pliers and a twisting motion to pull it free), but I couldn't separate the two pieces of the mic tips, using my bare hands. (I was in a hurry so I didn't want to force it, and didn't have time to properly tape up a wrench to prevent damage.) So I just sort of stuffed the mesh in from the top, with less-than perfect results. It worked, but I want better. It's not glued in, so no harm done in this little experiment.

 

 

I'll swing by Home Depot on my way home and see if I can find some better mesh to try out, and tape up my wrench so I can separate the halves. (That way I can push the mesh into place from the back)

 

I'm using the general techniques discussed in WelshChris' tutorial to do this, btw: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/36456-anovos-hovi-mic-tip-mod/

 

So here they are at the moment, but tonight, once I get the halves separated so I can insert it from the back (and perhaps some better mesh), I should be able to make it nicer looking, and more tidy and crisp in appearance.

 

Edited May 12, 2016 by kman

[welshchris77[TK]]

Great progress Kalani, looking good! 

[kman[TK]]

Thanks! Progress is on hold due to a crazy busy weekend, plus I've decided to go with Ukswrath's hovi mic tips instead of proceeding any further with the Anovos tips. (A crack in the plastic tips helped me reach the decision, but it's nothing that can't be easily repaired with CA glue and I was on the fence anyway)

 

Soon as I get the mic tips (and iComm system!) I should be back on track. If I have time early this week, I'll get back to the shoulder straps, too. I think that's all I need to wrap up to take some EIB photos, at least.

[kman[TK]]

Been MIA a bit, but not for lack of working on my armor. Time for an update.

 

First off, I got my helmet electronics package from Uskwrath. Hovi tip speakers installed!

 

 

Managing the wiring is proving to be quite the challenge. This system is only two boxes (iComm and Amp, both from Ukswrath) but considering I'll likely add more equipment, it's only going to get worse!

 

 

First thing I did was rebuild my fan bracket. The one I made previously worked... ish. Problem was the plastic was too flexible, and while it dropped into place easily, it would curl up and fall out if I turned the helmet upside down. I bought a cheap bin that was on sale at Walmart, but which was constructed of nice thick plastic, and tried again.

 

 

I've since removed the car door edging you see in this pic (made it just a little too big, which was a shame), but otherwise the new bracket works MUCH better. I still want one of Echo's fancy engraved ones, but this will hold me until he resurfaces.

 

Here's the helmet with all of the pieces installed... clearly wire management is an important next step! Now that the positioning of the electronics has been ironed out, I also put in the rest of the helmet padding.

 

 

I picked up some split loom wire tubing to help with the wires. Under $5 at Home Depot for more than I'll ever need.

 

 

I'm using a short bit of the wider stuff in the front to deal with the speaker wires, and allow wires to cross in front, in general, and, and I have another section curling around the back of the helmet, routing the wiring from the amp and iComm, hidden behind the fan bracket. Technically you can't see it there, but turns out every time you remove the bracket, loose wires fall free, so I'm grouping them in there, too. I'm still tweaking the exact wire routing, particularly where the mic will be affixed, but it's definitely usable as it is now.

 

Here's the bucket interior as of right now:

 

Overview

 

Left side

 

Right side

 

Towards the front

 

Speaker/fan detail

 

I did my first official 501st troop today, wearing this armor. Woohoo! Definitely learned a few things that I'll be applying to the armor to make it more livable.

 

The fans were a lifesaver. It wasn't even that hot out, but it was going to miserable in the armor, I could tell. I was nearly comfortable with the fans running. It's going to be interesting when I do my first genuinely hot troop. Oy!

 

I think I'll make shin loops, to hold the shins down. Funny, walking around my house for 10-15 minutes at a time, I never had a problem, but when trooping for 3 hours, my shoe tops popped out from under the shins a few times. I had a wrangler to assist shoving it back in, but sometimes that won't be an option, so better to not have it happen at all.

 

I also need to slightly loosen the belt that holds up my thighs. It was on really tight, to keep the thighs firmly in place, but unfortunately it popped open at some point. Not sure exactly when, but I definitely noticed my thighs seemed lower than they should be, and finally someone noticed the buckle sticking out. I doubt anyone but us noticed, but wasn't easy to get that reconnected without taking the armor all off! Fortunately there was a restroom nearby so I could remove helmet, gloves, and one arm just to get that reconnected under the cod!

 

I think I want to add a chin strap. The bucket did fine, but If I can lock it to my head more thoroughly, I should be able to get more expression out of it.

 

I need to fine-tune the mic placement and sound setup a bit, still. The iComm was cool, but people still couldn't hear me very well, at times. And the VOX setting worked well... until the DJ starting playing loud music, in addition to a loud announcer on the PA, which pretty much caused my system to crackle and pop nearly continuously. Next time I make have to try the PTT line to see how that works.

 

Nonetheless, a great time was had by all, at this local elementary school robotics science fair. A very rewarding experience! I'd post more pix but I seem to recall there are rules about putting pics with kids online, without permission.

 

[TK 22686[TK]]

Any idea why your pictures aren't showing up?  I was looking into how you got your back plate straps moved up, as mine don't seem to want to straighten out past a certain point.  Did you find that you had to over-bend them to a point to get the correct shape that you wanted?

[kman[TK]]

Any idea why your pictures aren't showing up?  I was looking into how you got your back plate straps moved up, as mine don't seem to want to straighten out past a certain point.  Did you find that you had to over-bend them to a point to get the correct shape that you wanted?

Some people seem to be having some firewall issues with my image host for some reason, mostly from offices with overzealous firewalls. They're all showing up fine here, and there's nothing malicious about the site. Try looking at an image directly by pasting the direct path to the JPG into your browser?

 

http://www.kppix.com/piwigo/_data/i/upload/2016/03/19/20160319234552-4eb0d406-la.jpg

I didn't over-bend the back straps, but I definitely had to remove the return edge entirely (at least on the outside edge), and it took a couple of passes with the hot water before it stuck.

[TK 22686[TK]]

Yeah, must be the firewall here at work.  

I'll probably end up trying my hand at heating up the straps and bending them again tonight.  I get the pot to boiling...put in the strap for 30-50 seconds, bend it and then run it under the cold tap (gets pretty cold) and doesn't seem to stick.  Was at it for quite a bit last night.  I'm afraid I slightly warped my right strap. 

How far did you submerge the piece?  

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

If I turn off my work firewall I can see all your photos. Guess it's nice to be an administrator  

[kman[TK]]

Yeah, must be the firewall here at work.  

 

I'll probably end up trying my hand at heating up the straps and bending them again tonight.  I get the pot to boiling...put in the strap for 30-50 seconds, bend it and then run it under the cold tap (gets pretty cold) and doesn't seem to stick.  Was at it for quite a bit last night.  I'm afraid I slightly warped my right strap. 

 

How far did you submerge the piece?

 

Actually, I turn off the heat and wait 20-30 seconds before immersing the plastic, rather than putting it into actively boiling water. Keep it in there longer if you need to, up to about 90 seconds before I'd start worrying.

 

I submerged it as far as it would fit in the pot. Just an inch or two past where I wanted to actually bend it. There's a photo in post 117 (on page 6) once you get to a computer where you can actually see the pics.

[Stratcat96[501st]]

Great build thread, very informative! Question for you to regarding the shins- Did you cut them down at all in the rear to resize them?looking at your pics, they look just like mine where the left shin is slightly bigger than the right. My right shin measures roughly 14" on the bottom and 17" on top without any trimming being done. That size is perfect, so I was going to cut the other down, but multiple people have told me they didn't bother..

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[kman[TK]]

Great build thread, very informative! Question for you to regarding the shins- Did you cut them down at all in the rear to resize them?looking at your pics, they look just like mine where the left shin is slightly bigger than the right. My right shin measures roughly 14" on the bottom and 17" on top without any trimming being done. That size is perfect, so I was going to cut the other down, but multiple people have told me they didn't bother..

 

 

Thanks!

 

I took a very small sliver off in the back, only.  Can't cut them down much more than that without pinching the shoes, which looks terrible, IMO.  I didn't measure any circumferences so I couldn't tell you the size in inches, only that I wrapped it around my leg and that's how it fit best.  I couldn't take much off if I wanted to, else it wouldn't fit my leg.  I mostly trimmed it to line up the overlap a bit.

 

Post #84 (on page 5) shows where I trimmed them: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/35552-kmans-anovos-tk-adventure-build/?p=474985

 

Once it's all sized, then a nice hot water bath massages everything into lining up perfectly.

[Stratcat96[501st]]

Thank you for your reply. Perhaps I wasn't explaining my question well enough. Untouched, there is an obvious size difference between the right and left shin. Should the two be the same size?

 

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[kman[TK]]

Thank you for your reply. Perhaps I wasn't explaining my question well enough. Untouched, there is an obvious size difference between the right and left shin. Should the two be the same size?

Oh, that? That's not uncommon. As long as you trimming the front evenly, and haven't taken unequal slices off the back, the pieces will work out. They're all fairly close to the same actual size plastic, after all, if you measure them. It's just a question of how they lie once you've glued them.  If they're assembled correct, and glued correctly in front, but one is a little more "open" than the other (I think this is the actual issue you're describing), that's where the hot water bath comes into play.  See post #106 (on page 6) for a description of the process: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/35552-kmans-anovos-tk-adventure-build/?p=476998

 

But basically after the front is glued together, go ahead and attach the back cover strip (outside edge, remember)  TAPE the back well to force everything to line up perfectly, so it closes exactly the way you'll be wanting it to.  Then you can do a hot water bath, tape and all.  Basically you boil water in the biggest container you have (large roasting pan is probably idea, if you have one you can put on the stove, else you can try a large pot of water and just dunk it in two stage, top and bottom).  Bring to a boil, turn off the heat for 20-30 seconds so the metal temp stabilizes to the water temp.  Dunk the piece for about 30-60 seconds, rotating as needed to submerge it all.  Then immediately run it under cold tap water (or better still, ice water) to "set" the new shape.  You may even want to do this twice.  Then the plastic should relax into this new shape and you won't have problems anymore with one side being more spread open than the other.

[Stratcat96[501st]]

Thanks so much for the very detailed instruction for the water bath. I was going to try the hairdryer but the water bath seems much more effective and doesn't look too bad after all.

 

What I was referring to is that the left shin actually has a larger circumference than the right "out of the box" and not being cut down. When on and closed up there was more room in one over the other. Just like a pair of pants I suppose you want your pant legs to be the same size. I measured and cut down the overlap from the top of the left shin to bring its size down to resemble the right. I ended up taking a sliver out much like what you did to yours.

 

I glued the fronts now, so while those dry it's time to prep the sniper plate! Thanks again!

 

 

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Edited June 4, 2016 by Stratcat96

[kman[TK]]

I should probably update this built thread to note that today, I was approved for EIB.

 

Expert Infantryman #591 at your service.

 

Application thread here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/37582-tk-91423-requesting-anh-stunt-eib-status-anovos591/

 

Just a few tweaks to add to my to-do list, and eventually I'll get to Centurion...

 

Edited June 8, 2016 by kman

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Ohhhhhh YEAAAAAA! Party time!

[Sentry71[TK]]

Congrats, Kalani. Onward!!

[kman[TK]]

A sidetrack from finalizing armor: You gotta have a good way to transport it!

 

I took inspiration from VancouverTrooper's Husky box thread (read: blatantantly stole the paint scheme, albeit with his blessing!) and gave my 50 gal Husky box a serious makeover.

 

Masking the top lid:

 

Painted top lid:

 

Masking everything below the lid:

 

Top and front panel decals:

 

Right side decals & stickers:

 

Back panel decals:

 

And there you have it! Oh, for the record, I used Semi-Gloss White Rustoleum Painter's Touch 2x Ultra Cover Paint + Primer. I think I used about 3 cans, total.

 

At this point, I'm waiting for my 501st engraved box tag, to cover the Husky logo, and awaiting a few stickers for the side center panels. (I'll add SoCal Garrison, and 501st stickers on one side, and add the FISD stickers to the side with the LA Squad sticker... or some combination thereof.)

 

I also need to figure out the best way to clean up the lines that didn't come off as cleanly as I would have liked. But then I'll be ready to roll out in style! Once I see how it looks with the box plate on it, I may also paint the bottom of the little indentations to each side that center panel, to break it up a little more.

 

With the exterior done for now, I started on the interior. VirtualCaitlin had the great idea to use foam from a cheap Walmart bed liner:

 

Fits great side to side out of the box, just have to trim the ends off:

 

... which leaves just the two small sides bare, once it's glued down with 3M Super 77 spray adhesive:

 

Fortunately the two cut-off sides work nicely to fill those bare sides, and ta-da, we're all nice and padded. If I ever need to commit a small child, I have the perfect padded cell! LOL

 

 

For packing, this is the best combination I've come up with for packing, to date. Needless to say this is a work in progress. I've used some random sheets of foam (perhaps 1/4" thick?) I had laying around, scavenged from various packages I've received, between the layers.

 

Bottom-most layer:

Shoes on the right, laying down flat underneath the arms, in their white bags.

Shins nested into thighs, and forearms nested into shins, leaving the biceps sitting out atop the shoes, with the shoulder caps nested over them.

TD in the middle, as you see, and tool/repair kit at the end, along with my Imperial Handcuffs.

The thin foam sheets go over this layer.

 

Next layer:

Ab and chest plate, connected. Add another layer of foam on top, and then:

 

Next layer:

Full back panel, all connected. Add another layer of foam, and then:

 

Top layer:

Helmet lies sideways on the left, in a helmet bag for protection.

Belt lays across the other side, on the right, with the holster attached.

E-11 Blaster, gloves, neck seal and underlayers all just go whereever they fit, on top.

 

That's pretty much it! Although I'm trying to find a good inexpensive source for acrylic mirror that I can attach securely into the underside of the lid. Should be handy while suiting up. I forget who came up with that idea, but I like it.

Edited August 14, 2016 by kman