=Sv3= Anovos ANH Stunt - First time build

[=Sv3=[TK]]

So you stumbled upon this build thread, eh? I must warn you, this guy is a slooOOOooow builder, so sorry for that in advance! (Sorry, eh, Canadian much?) To give you an idea, I’ve started on a Doopy build in June last year but I have yet to finish it. Getting my kit kinda distracted me off this project but I intend to come back to it once I’m done with this build.

 

I always thought building a TK would be too expensive to even consider but when I saw the Anovos 350$ deal last April, I lost it for a second and bought it on impulse! Looking back, I now know that I could have gone with AP, which is literally in my backyard. However, this is how I got here and I’m just happy I got in the game!

 

For those who might be wondering, I’m in eastern Canada, more specifically in the Montreal area. I’ve made a few contacts with people both in our local squad and TK hopefuls on Facebook and everyone’s been great.

 

I’ve been lurking for a while, participated in a few thread, followed a few builds and watched TK-1336 and TrooperBay videos. I know research is key but my attention span isn’t the best so I wouldn’t say I know everything about TK building going in. I do think however I’ve picked up enough that I feel confident I can tackle the issues as they come using the wealth of knowledge that’s available here.

 

My main source of information so far has been UKSWRATH’s fantastic tutorial, which if for some reason you have yet to check out, I strongly recommend you do!

 

So, first order (no pun intended!) of the day is obviously BBB :

 

 

I got that puppy at work on a Friday and managed to find the force of will not to spoil the unboxing experience for a quick glance!

 

 

Chilling with the big boss!!! Next up, let’s make sure it’s all there :

 

 

Looks good to me!

 

Now, after months and months of research, I was pretty set against the score and snap method. I know it works great for most, but I have shaky hands (think frail old man hands) and a tendency to say oops a bit too often… So, snips and lexan it is for me! In my opinion, if you don’t feel good around knives and blades, do yourself a favor and get curved lexans. For 10$, you can't go wrong! I’ve cut most of my kit in an evening, with the TV playing in the background :

 

 

 

I ended up trimming just outside of the Anovos cut lines. My reasoning was that I should leave some room for sanding… In the end, I wish I didn’t, my vacuum cleaner will never be the same again!

 

I then got to work on my forearms. Coming off the initial trim, I made small adjustments to ensure the parts were straight, clean and even. I have to say though, I don’t have big arms, quite the contrary, which left me with a dilemma : to trim or not to trim. After much consideration I decided that I’d rather add padding inside my forearms and biceps, rather that messing with the proportions of the armor and ruining the look of it. Besides, if I change my mind, I can always come back and size them for a tighter fit. To give you an idea of how big they are here's a pic :

 

 

So, starting with the left forearm, I cleaned up the cut lines and checked how the pieces aligned. The sanding block was my friend here, much more than my Dremel which was only used sparingly. It really helped making all the cut lines nice and even. While most of them will be hidden by cover strips, I’m in no hurry so I want to do it right!

 

Since I was satisfied with the results, I glued my first pieces together with E6000 using inner strips. I made these strips from scraps from the initial trim which I saved. Now, I know inner strips are a bit overkill, but my reasoning is :

 

a) The sturdier the better (I’m a clumsy, clumsy guy)

 

It will be easier to put the cover strips on if it’s already one piece, no stress on the strips as the glue dries

 

c) It gives me a chance to get the hang of it with less risk of doing visible damage to the armor

 

d) Did I say something about being clumsy?

 

Also, I’m holding off on cover strips for now. I will wait until I have it all put together, put it on and see how it looks and feels. Then, if I feel like making adjustments, I’ll just have to tear down the inner strips, trim, sand and glue them back again.

 

Another method I’m using is that I’m sanding and making little scratches with a blade on the edge of my pieces and strips before gluing them. This is done to ensure that the glue has something to “bite” into. I know E6000 is strong but in my research, I’ve seen people do this and I decided to go that way. I’d rather waste a few minutes here and there, than have pieces fall apart while I’m trooping. Here's what is looks like :

 

 

As you can see, it's rather rugged which should help bond the pieces together. I really wish I had taken more pictures but here’s what my left forearm look like so far :

 

 

 

 

I've since cleaned up the excess glue that seeped through the butt joint, so it looks cleaner now.

 

For the right forearm, as documented in various threads, it’s kinda wonky compared to the other. So, what I did first is measured the left one, top, middle and bottom. I used these measurements to determine how much I needed to remove, cut the excess off and finished it with the sanding block. It took me a few tries but here are the results :

 

 

 

 

I felt pretty confident, so I got to work on the biceps. I will add padding as they are a bit big for me but I feel more comfortable doing that instead of sizing and cutting.

 

I won’t go in as much detail as I don’t think anything noteworthy came up at that stage. I pretty much used the same method I used for the forearms, going slow and steady. One thing worth mentioning is that I aligned the bottom of the biceps together instead of the top. As documented here, the right bicep is a little too long on one side :

 

 

I don’t know as of yet what I’ll do with that. I’ve seen people cut it off and others hide it with the cover strip. I’m leaving that in the air for now but I’ll probably be looking at reference shots from the movies and the screen-used RS suit before making a decision. As of now, this is how they look :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So this is it for now! I’ve started working on the shins, trying to figure out what goes where but that's a good question for ano

Edited April 30, 2016 by =Sv3=

[dejango[TK]]

Are you going to put bondo on the tiny gaps? Looks good so far

[=Sv3=[TK]]

Are you going to put bondo on the tiny gaps? Looks good so far

Thanks man! To be honest, looking at other builds, I don't think it should be necessary as cover strips should hide those. If it comes to that, I'd go with ABS paste rather then bondo which has no flex and needs to be painted.

[=Sv3=[TK]]

Alright, didn't get much done since my last post but I did smooth out my ab/cod piece edges from the initial trim.

 

Also, I decided my workspace was too messy, so I went to IKEA to grab a floating shelf to free my working table from all the stuff that's clogging it. I also got a matching chair and I must I'm pretty pleased with the results!

 

 

With that out of the way, here comes my biggest challenge so far : SHINPOCALYPSE!!!

 

So, I must say, despite my best efforts, it's much harder to figure out in person than I would've thought! I can see that there definitely are inner and outer pieces, but it's not that easy to figure out how to match them together. Following UKSWRATH's thread, I'm leaning towards 28/25 and 24/27. I outlined the flat edges and did a mockup of how they fit together :

 

 

 

 

 

It doesn't really line up as I haven't trimmed anything yet past the Anovos cut lines but it's just to get a sense of whether or not they are paired correctly. What do you guys think?

Edited May 1, 2016 by =Sv3=

[TKTroopa]

Hi. What do you think the armor itself is made of just to give me an idea of what to mold myself. Yes i can do that. I have friends.

[=Sv3=[TK]]

Hi. What do you think the armor itself is made of just to give me an idea of what to mold myself. Yes i can do that. I have friends.

You mean what material it's made of? It's ABS plastic, which is what most armor is made of.

 

As for molding yourself, I'm guessing you mean by that you'd like to sculpt your own armor? I don't see why you should go through such trouble. Plenty of makers here sell approvable armor if Anovos isn't your cup of tea...

[=Sv3=[TK]]

Alright, time for an update on this build!

 

As I said earlier, I have now started on assembling the shins! The right shin is glued with an inner strip, so it feels like things are moving along a little.

 

I first measured more or less 10 mm from the start of the straight edge on both parts. I tried to get it as straight as possible. Using a metal ruler, I made a cut line, which I cut with lexans scissors. Using the sanding block, I made sure the line was straight and even. It's not necessarily 10 mm across, as the flat edge is kinda wonky but it's pretty close to.

 

Per ukswrath's instructions, I did a dry fit of my right shin with the front taped, in order to measure the overlap in the back. I did the test fit with my boots on, so I ended up having to trim 20 mm at the top and none at the ankles. I divided it between both pieces and cut the excess.

 

I then glued an inner strip at the front, using the same techniques I did with the arms. Here are some pictures of the results :

 

 

 

 

It kinda overlaps a little in the back still but when I put it on, it settles into place quite nicely. Unless I'm doing something wrong, in which case, suggestions are welcomed!

[=Sv3=[TK]]

FIELD TRIP DAY, YAY!!!

 

I went to Ottawa ComicCon on Saturday. There was a Q&A with Alan Tudyk that was, sadly, cancelled because of flight delays. :’(

 

But, the day wasn’t lost because the Capital City Garrison was there, along with The Imperial Fortress squad.

 

 

I got to meet quite a lot of troopers, asked a lot of questions. It gave me quite a boost of confidence and motivation to continue on my build. Oh and I also met that giant talking carpet!

 

 

So, I went home and got back to work! I glued my left shin but I unfortunately forgot to take pictures. It’s drying right now but I’ll be sure to post some when it’s set.

 

Next on the list, the thighs!

 

Starting with the right, I measured 10 mm from the beginning of the flat edge, leaving a little more for sanding and adjustments. That flat edge is… Special… Like, it’s not straight, AT ALL!!! I evened it as best as I could, made the cut lines and trimmed the excess.

 

 

 

 

 

I did a quick dry fit and determined I didn’t have to trim the back side, it fits pretty good as is! With that in mind, I did the same with the left thigh. The left one is even weirder though, with the flat edge doing that weird curve at the top… Following the advice from ukswrath, I’ve made my cut line straight, so that this weird curve will show.

 

 

I compared the two thighs with a measuring tape and the left was an inch bigger at the top and half an inch at the bottom. I split the difference between the two pieces and cut accordingly.

 

 

So, with both thigh trimmed, I taped them all and did a dry fit to see how it all came together :

 

 

I still need to trim the return edge as it is quite significant at the moment. I’ll be able to bring the thighs up a little bit more which should help reduce the amount of black showing. Still, at the moment, I’m quite happy with how it looks! As usual, if you have any comments or see something I missed, please let me know

Edited May 16, 2016 by =Sv3=

[=Sv3=[TK]]

Ok, so quick update here!

 

Since my last post, I got busy assembling those thighs. I'm not gonna lie, it was brutal. The back takes some convincing to get right :

 

 

I had to redo it 3 times before I got it to work. I had to sand the bottom of one side caused it overlapped while the e6000 was drying. I bought some more magnets, a locking clamp and threw everything at it, et voila!

 

 

 

 

During that time, I also managed to sand off most of my pieces to get them ready for assembly. So just like like that, all my halves are glued with inner strips!

 

There's more to tell but my bed is calling for now!

[Tolo[TK]]

Not done yet???

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk

[=Sv3=[TK]]

Not done yet???

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk

Should I? I've been putting 1 hour every night, but weekends are a no go these days... There's always something, like this week, my nephew is visiting, so not much armor time!

 

At least the thighs are done, this is what has been bugging me for at least a week. I kept trying, waiting for the e6000 to cure, come back the day after to realize I had to do it again :'(

Edited May 27, 2016 by =Sv3=