QuartZ's Anovos ANH Stunt Build

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

looks good. keep on doing a great work, almost there ! 

[QuartZ]

21 hours ago, TKSpartan said:

looks good. keep on doing a great work, almost there ! 

Thanks! I appreciate the pep talk. I feel like I'm getting closer.

 

-Dana

[QuartZ]

As I mentioned the other day, I wanted to post a progress shot showing the upper body so far. The helmet is totally stock from Anovos, and the biceps aren't hooked to the Shoulder Bell elastics yet, but you get the idea. Oh, and my as much as I tried to get a straight on shot, my girlfriend was just off to the side enough to cause me to look off center and thus the gap between the shoulders and chest look asymmetrical. They're really close.

 

 

-Dana

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Looks good. 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking good

[QuartZ]

On 1/11/2020 at 1:15 PM, TKSpartan said:

Looks good. 

 

On 1/11/2020 at 1:58 PM, gmrhodes13 said:

Looking good

My thanks to both of you! 

 

 

-Dana

[Sly11[Admin]]

Wow this has really come along nicely.
Once you have finished the armour, don’t forget to extend the paint on the ends of the frown to a point. It’s one element Anovos just didn’t get quite right in the helmets and there are loads of screen references available here on the forums. I’m I a phone atm, so can’t get to the reference image I want to post right now.
Keep up the stellar work.


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[snipedoc2001[TK]]

I know I am a little late to the Chest party, but I have some advice.  Me personally really liked the return edges on the chest plate as it gave depth and looked like real armor.  After trooping a few times, the return edge in the collar started really dig into my collar bone and it became really uncomfortable.  I added a small strip of 2mm craft foam to the inside of the collar and it made it feel much better while keeping the look of a thick plate.  Comfort is definitely key on troops!  Keep up the good work!

[QuartZ]

On 1/13/2020 at 4:15 AM, Sly11 said:

Wow this has really come along nicely.
Once you have finished the armour, don’t forget to extend the paint on the ends of the frown to a point. It’s one element Anovos just didn’t get quite right in the helmets and there are loads of screen references available here on the forums. I’m I a phone atm, so can’t get to the reference image I want to post right now.
Keep up the stellar work.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you. I plan to do a complete overhaul on the helmet and I think I'm going to repaint everything by hand as well. I'll be sure to reference the screen grab references when I get there. Thanks again!

On 1/13/2020 at 8:36 AM, snipedoc2001 said:

I know I am a little late to the Chest party, but I have some advice.  Me personally really liked the return edges on the chest plate as it gave depth and looked like real armor.  After trooping a few times, the return edge in the collar started really dig into my collar bone and it became really uncomfortable.  I added a small strip of 2mm craft foam to the inside of the collar and it made it feel much better while keeping the look of a thick plate.  Comfort is definitely key on troops!  Keep up the good work!

You're not too late at all. I think that padding out certain areas on the inside for comfort and fit stability are great ideas. I did notice a little pressure in that area, but after removing some more return edge when I reshaped the Chest tabs that the Shoulder Bridges glue to I noticed a reduction in pressure on the collar bones. I like the idea of gluing in some thin padding there as well and I'll add that to my list of improvements to hit up after I finish the basic build. I know everyone mentions learning a lot from wearing the whole ensemble your first time so I'm already preparing to adjust and improve the fit and comfort. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

-Dana

[QuartZ]

With my belt completed, I thought about what holster solution I wanted to go with. I couldn't find much information about the differences between the supplied Anovos holster and the ones offered by Darman. I own a Neck Seal from Darman and think it's great so I knew I'd want one of his holsters when I got to that piece of the puzzle. But, there's 2 versions and I wasn't sure which to purchase. So I bought both. I figured having them in hand would let me really understand the differences and allow me to make the best decision for me. In the following photos, I've labeled the holsters:

 

1 - Anovos

2 - Darman 8oz

3 - Darman 4oz

 

 

The Anovos holster is larger in just about every way. The designs are all very similar which I guess makes the Anovos version a pretty good option for the stock kit. 

 

 

In the second photo, I wanted to give people a good idea of how the leather weights (thickness) compare. The Anoovos seems similar to the Darman 8oz in therms of leather thickness, but it feels much stiffer/harder. Both Darman holsters have a better feel in terms of the leather quality. You can see how much thinner the 4oz leather is and how it flexes a bit just under its own weight. Not in a bad way in my opinion.

 

Having studied the way the screen used holsters move, curl, and flap about in A New Hope, I believe the Darman 4oz is closest in thickness and movement. Another interesting thing I notice from the screen used holsters that the Darman 4oz also mimics is the 2-tone black look that the lighter leather interior gives off is what I see whenever scenes in the film show the holster clearly. This isn't an important detail but I found it interesting and worth noting for anyone who cares about minute aesthetic similarities. Either way, both holsters seem very nice and with the supplied mounting hardware, I can switch between either version.

 

Unrelated, I started fabricated the calf elastics/closures. I cut and stitched the strapping and I'll spend some time sewing the hooks in next.

 

 

I may use some other means to help keep the legs securely closed, but similar to the torso, I wanted them to look screen accurate from the outside.

 

-Dana

[troopermaster]

The Anovos holster is more screen accurate than both of those from Darman.

 

Problems with Darmans are:

1. V cut-outs are wrong shape

2. Retaining straps should not slot through the holster

3. Mounting straps attached to the front

 

 

[QuartZ]

3 hours ago, troopermaster said:

The Anovos holster is more screen accurate than both of those from Darman.

 

Problems with Darmans are:

1. V cut-outs are wrong shape

2. Retaining straps should not slot through the holster

3. Mounting straps attached to the front

 

 

Hey @troopermaster, thanks for the information. Do you have any links to photos of a screen used ANH holster up close? Or another thread that show the correct aspects you mentioned illustrated more clearly? I think the "V-cut" could be modified, the retaining strap could be mounted form the inside using the existing hardware and not passed through the slot, and the mounting straps could be separated and installed as you suggest. If there's good reference, I'd be game to try modifying these aspects on one of my Darmans  

 

Thanks in advance!

-Dana

Edited January 19, 2020 by QuartZ
formatting fix

[QuartZ]

Hooks sewn into each strap. My fingers are tired!

 

 

-Dana

[troopermaster]

Here is a replica holster by Gino who had access to a complete original ANH suit to cast, and it's a perfect example to show. I might be able to show the details on screen used armour but I don;t have a dead on shot like this.

 

Notice how the mounting straps are on the front of the holster? There are two ways the straps were mounted to the belt but the way they were attached to the holster are the same. Let me explain.

 

It's my belief that the holsters were originally made using loops to hang the holster from the belt - just as they did in ESB. But for whatever reason they changed their mind and decided to rivet the holster directly to the belt, so the loops were cut. The cuts were made either to the front of the strap, leaving a small black tab commonly seen on the front of the holster and the tan colour of the inside of the strap showing going under the belt, and some were cut at the back of the strap so you see black straps attached to front of the holster (as in the photo above) and the tabs would be on the back of the holster. This is why you will see some troopers with black straps and tan straps, but the main retaining straps and the shape of the holsters were always the same as far as I have seen during my research over the years.

 

So, while it's acceptable to have the straps mounted from the front of the holster, the way Darman has done it shouldn't have the tab on the front but on the backside of the holster and the straps should be black with the tan to the inside.