BDWC's ANH stunt ANOVOS build WIP

[BDWC[TK]]

Whew!!
*** runs to grab drill bit and already painted rivets ***.....( then remembers upcoming Halloween troops, and puts on for Nov1st “TO DO” list.


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[ukswrath[Staff]]

lol

[BDWC[TK]]

What can I say?
I couldn’t wait... so, gonna get a test run in tonight for a 3 hour Halloween zoo troop






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[ukswrath[Staff]]

That will work 

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

I am so impressed and inspired with your build. My armour kit is supposed to arrive in the next couple weeks and I can hardly wait. Your and Ukswrath's builds have left me feeling very positive about attacking this seemingly daunting task of building armour. Thank you both for this. 501st membership and having screen accurate Stormtrooper armour has been a dream of mine since I was a kid. I'm 48 now and know I'll be checking off that spot on my bucket list before my next birthday...in February. 

[BDWC[TK]]

Thank you very much!
Granted I’ve had a few challenges that don’t apply to every build, but I hope that I’ve shown that there’s always a way to fix things, or make them work. This forum and the entire FISD community is what makes possible all these seemingly impossible things. No matter what it is, some trooper before you has tried it and can help you know your options and what might work best.
After all, “troopers helping troopers” is what it’s all about!
One recommendation that I can give is to build your armor completely to Centurion standards right out of the gate. I was just too anxious to get approval and start trooping immediately, but as you can see, you can modify and change as you go like I did. There is no time limit to your build, you can always keep improving, and most importantly, have fun with it!

I can’t wait to follow your build, and welcome to the ranks!


Sent from my Imperial TK communicator

Edited October 28, 2017 by BDWC
spelling, as usual

[BDWC[TK]]

Just received notice of a major milestone in my kit build....
I am officially EIB [781] !!!!!  

 

I want to give a major shout-out to Tony for answering my multitude of questions, Joseph for chiming in as well (plus the awesome handguards), all of the FISD liasons that are contantly helping, plus the entire, fantastic, online costuming community that we affectionately call the FISD 

 

...now on to the minor touch-up and corrections (and a new blaster) for Centurian 

[BDWC[TK]]

Now to convert from a "mime trooper" to a talking trooper:

 

I scored some Cyber Monday deals on an Aker unit and a Startech splitter so I can set it all up with the TrooperTalk app.

Once I got it all properly set-up, I started playing with the settings, and I must say that I was apprehensive getting a $15 app, but after actually trying it out, I must say that I am quite happy with the voice sound, static bursts, and the bonus of having background sound effects as well.

 

My only problem now is figuring out how to mount it all inside my chest plate. I did quite a search of the build threads and, unfortunately, any photo reference have been lost by the photobucket debacle :-((

 

I'm going to try to look for phone pouches and such to see if I can just snap plate those on the chest plate, or perhaps just go nuts with industrial Velcro. I don't think it would matter much if I applied the velcro onver the amp speaker, just as long as it's facing outwards.

 

Any tips? Pics? Bueller? Bueller?

Edited December 8, 2017 by BDWC

[BDWC[TK]]

Been a while since I updated this:

 

I tried several variations of mounting the amp in the chest plate :

1) using velcro facing forward

2) using velcro

facing my chest

3) glued on an ABS mounting plate for "clip in mounting", and facing forward

 

I like the ease of installation setup of #3 the best, but at times I am still getting feedback. Oddly enough, no feedback when doing suit-up checkouts, but only after I have my helmet on. I'm thinking that it may be the microphone placement or the microphone itself. Part of the problem may be that I opted for the louder 12w version. Still working out the bugs on this one, but so far I am fairly happy with the TrooperTalk app for the voice changer, using an old iPhone.

 

In other news, it looks like I will not be making Centurion anytime soon. Right now I just can't afford laying out $160, or more, for a toy space gun just to get a badge. Personally, I know that my armor meets all the specs and I put 30+ hours into modifying a blaster, but right now I have more time than money. On that note, I have replaced my hovi tip screens, painted the hovi tip rims white, re-heat-formed the curvature of my butt plate, changed my shoulder bell strapping to bring them more inward and forward, and repainted my vocoder.

 

All in all I'm happy to be a part of 501st, FISD, and a proud EIB TK

 

 

Sent from my Imperial TK communicator

 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Thanks for the update

[TheSwede[TK]]

10 hours ago, BDWC said:

All in all I'm happy to be a part of 501st, FISD, and a proud EIB TK

And that`s what matters - beeing happy  

[bartonajb]

Right now I just can't afford laying out $160, or more, for a toy space gun just to get a badge. Personally, I know that my armor meets all the specs and I put 30+ hours into modifying a blaster, but right now I have more time than money.

If you don’t mind me asking. What’s wrong with your blaster that prevents centurion level? If I’m reading this correctly you built one already? I ask because I just started on my own e-11 build. The question I have been already wondering is to what detail the blaster has to be at to make centurion? Does it go beyond the few details listed in the CRL?
Congrats on your build and approval!
Andy


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[BDWC[TK]]

3 minutes ago, bartonajb said:

If you don’t mind me asking. What’s wrong with your blaster that prevents centurion level? If I’m reading this correctly you built one already? I ask because I just started on my own e-11 build. The question I have been already wondering is to what detail the blaster has to be at to make centurion? Does it go beyond the few details listed in the CRL?
Congrats on your build and approval!
Andy


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Honestly, I don't know, but I will ask Tony.
In my EIB review it was simply mentioned that I would need to replace it with a more accurate one.
PLEASE, if you find out, let me know as well, since I saw no restrictions per the CRL, but then I'm no expert on their interpretation either.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

15 minutes ago, bartonajb said:

Right now I just can't afford laying out $160, or more, for a toy space gun just to get a badge. Personally, I know that my armor meets all the specs and I put 30+ hours into modifying a blaster, but right now I have more time than money.

If you don’t mind me asking. What’s wrong with your blaster that prevents centurion level? If I’m reading this correctly you built one already? I ask because I just started on my own e-11 build. The question I have been already wondering is to what detail the blaster has to be at to make centurion? Does it go beyond the few details listed in the CRL?
Congrats on your build and approval!
Andy


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For clarification regarding the blaster denial. On the Rubies the Hengstler counter and scope are incorrect. There's missing or very soft details on the scope rail mount and "T" tracks, just to mention a few. Centurion is the ultimate level of accuracy without also focusing on interior details. Out of thousands of 501st Stormtroopers there's only 370 Centurions. 

9 minutes ago, BDWC said:

Honestly, I don't know, but I will ask Tony.
In my EIB review it was simply mentioned that I would need to replace it with a more accurate one.
PLEASE, if you find out, let me know as well, since I saw no restrictions per the CRL, but then I'm no expert on their interpretation either.

 

[bartonajb]

Only 370 Centurions??? Now you made my want it even more!


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[ukswrath[Staff]]

25 minutes ago, bartonajb said:

Only 370 Centurions??? Now you made my want it even more!


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We want you there 

[BDWC[TK]]

Thanks for the clarifications Tony!

I honestly didn't have an answer for bartonajb on this as the CRL really doesn't define those items beyond rhe power cylinders and d-ring requirements at the EIB level. I fully understand, I just didn't have the technical answer for this.

Ideally I'd want a sterling de-com to do it right and, as great as they are, I really don't like how the molded blasters are filled in under the scope rail and have obvious seam lines.

I'll find the right one out there here for me whether it's a fully built or kit.... but then I am a patient man

 

Thanks everyone for the concern, questions, and excellent discussion. I am always learning more and more each time I log on to FISD

 

 

Sent from my Imperial TK communicator

 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

32 minutes ago, BDWC said:

Thanks for the clarifications Tony!

I honestly didn't have an answer for bartonajb on this as the CRL really doesn't define those items beyond rhe power cylinders and d-ring requirements at the EIB level. I fully understand, I just didn't have the technical answer for this.

Ideally I'd want a sterling de-com to do it right and, as great as they are, I really don't like how the molded blasters are filled in under the scope rail and have obvious seam lines.

I'll find the right one out there here for me whether it's a fully built or kit.... but then I am a patient man

 

Thanks everyone for the concern, questions, and excellent discussion. I am always learning more and more each time I log on to FISD

 

 

Sent from my Imperial TK communicator

 

Sorry if were not always very clear. We'll be here when you ready to move forward, waving the checkered flag brother. 

[BDWC[TK]]

okay, made my first walking parade today ( about a mile and a half)
This accomplished two milestones: 1) longest walk in full armor, and 2) longest walk since having my hip replacement implant 11 months ago
Additionally, I finally was able to control my Aker feedback issue and more than doubled my sound volume! This involved not only some minor burst/echo/static sliders adjustment but the major problem solver was mounting a thick strip pf memory foam above the Aker box just below the neckline on the chest plate. This really blocked out the sound from feeding back up into my helmet that was causing the feedback loop. Absolutely no squawks for about 3 hours of use, I'll call this a major win, and of course the magic volume mark has been "silver sharpied"

Another added bonus is that with my birthday just passing , I'm going to apply some of the gift funds to a better and approvable blaster ....more to come  

Edited September 13, 2022 by BDWC

[CableGuy[Admin]]

Wow - that’s a great list of positive events, Jim. Happy belated birthday, and well done for the troop and Aker wins. 

Edited February 3, 2018 by CableGuy

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Very cool Jim

[BDWC[TK]]

Well, What can I say? I haven't been keeping up my WIP thread very well...but A LOT going on!!!

1. A year and a half-ish after joining the 501st, I have now officially made it to Centurion!!!
2. ...been busy trooping and trying to find the sweet spot for my TKtalkie/Aker set-up as it works great, but I just can't seem to get it loud enough under the "feedback threshold". Going to try some more iterations of setting and positioning and see what happens
3. Well, got my Centurion just in time because my belt ammo end boxes and my chest plate neckline are starting to crack/tear-out

...on item #3, I also had some undersuit bleeding occurring, and not with an Anovos suit either. It's a 32degrees heat gear top and it has starting bleeding onto my kit a bit. Luckily, I just ordered some of the generic Amazon replacements and recommended by @justjoseph63. My armor had worn holes in my pants from the lower thigh sections. I did trim those areas a bit, sand all the edges smooth, and even add a couple of pieces of foam to not only save the undersuit, but to prevent any future "armor bites" in these problem areas. I must say though, the thigh garter belt has greatly improved this from my early days of trooping!

 

My problem though, it=s that after ABS pasting backer pieces inside the neck area cracks, and even skimming some ABS paste over the front side, the bled-in black still appears even after sanding much of the filler back off. I now am guessing that I should have sanded it all out BEFORE doing the ABS paste. I am thinking that the ABS repair paste just liquefied the contaminated plastic and spread it out even more...ughhhhh!!!

 

I'll add photos later, but for now I have sanded off all of my 'front-side' repair work and I'm mixing up more ABS paste to try to 'skim and fill' the discolored area. If this does not work, my plan is to just sand and polish out everything the best that I can and just paint over any badly discolored areas.

 

The good news is that at least the crack are firmly repaired and no longer splitting 

[BDWC[TK]]

Time again for me to make a forum appearance and update my build thread 

I really don't want to be one of those folks that make the build thread and then just leave it to time-out and die as one of the lonely unread threads that must now be deleted due to age and lack of interaction 

 

So...for others that have been trooping over a year, here are some more items that I'd like to add to pass along in case it can help another trooper:

 

• After 2 years of trooping at a rate of 15-20 troops per year, the elastic shoulder strap just do not hold up over time. Of course I could simply replace them with the original material I used, just not stretched out, and just do this on an 18 month repair cycle,...BUT, I wanted to try another route that a fellow centurion has done with success. I replaced my shoulder straps with canvas! The hardest part was finding 1.5" white canvas. I actually has to source this from a seatbelt manufacturer, LOL. Well, at least I know these will not stretch nor break! I hope that this will also aid in another issue I was having with the shoulder bridges popping out from under the 1/4" elastic on the back plate each time I bent over to talk to a child. With the stretch distance removed I hope that this is fixed as well. I initially tried velcro-ing the bridges to the back plate, but that only makes the plastic take the load and wound up cracking them, and with the worn-out elastic, the velcro simply pulled on the bridges until they cracked . Fortunately, this repair led me to reinforce and reshape my bridges, so this should not be an issue regardless. But, now with the canvas straps, I might try the bridge velcro hold-downs on the back plate again to see what happens, and report back here with the results.
• A major tip I can give for crack repair is to not to try to make it perfect. I tried so hard so many times to sand out the crack, repair it with ABS paste and spent all the extra time with the multi-stages of sanding all to find out this: Just fill the crack with superglue, and add a backer plate with ABS paste. once it's dry and cured, lightly final sand and buff the front side. I fount that the hairline that remains it no different than taking 10 times the effort for a full frontal ABS repair, but without th
• Meanwhile, using the voicechanger TrooperTalk and an Aker amp, a lot of experimenting went on with myself and a couple of other troopers to find the magic combination. We worked it out over at this thread: 
• And if you checked out this update, I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU, as I try to post my trooping experience and discoveries here as without the same help, wisdom, and brotherhood of the troopers before me, I would never have gotten this far in what is by far my favorite SW character costume to date!!!

Edited September 13, 2022 by BDWC

[TheSwede[TK]]

38 minutes ago, BDWC said:

The hardest part was finding 1.5" white canvas.

Then 2" might be easier as Trooperbay sells some AND that would be the "correct" width if shooting for screen accuracy and you beeing a Centurion I courteously frown my nose upon velcro-ing the shoulder bridges in the back 

Keep Trooping

[BDWC[TK]]

40 minutes ago, TheSwede said:

Then 2" might be easier as Trooperbay sells some AND that would be the "correct" width if shooting for screen accuracy and you beeing a Centurion I courteously frown my nose upon velcro-ing the shoulder bridges in the back 

Keep Trooping

Good catch there Swede!!!

Oops my bad, I guess it WAS 2".....I honestly forgot the size, but it was the same as my  elastic, so I guess it actually is 2" (I'm out of town for Christmas while writing this, so I can't go to my armor box and measure right now)

 

Also, I did not especially like the idea of velcro-ing the bridges, but it was a suggestion from a centurion garrison-mate (who I will not name) and an experiment I needed to try during the time where I had troops more frequently and did not have enough time to sew up and fit new straps. I have since removed the 1/4"x 1" velcro pieces almost a year ago from the back plate, but left the "fuzzy" side pieces on the underside of the bridge pieces to reduce scratching up the back plate from all of the movement each time I stoop down. It is completely unseen as it sits in on one of the 'bump' recesses. And honestly, for the temporary fix this worked good enough at the time as #1) these were non-canon events, and #2) this was better than the bridges continually slipping out then returning UNDER my back plate, which was not only uncomfortable, but made me look like an idiot.

 

All that said, Swede I want to thank you for actually reading my update and chiming in with your 100% correct suggestions and comments.

And for the record, my personal pet peeve is the continual overuse of pauldrons.