Anovos First Order Armor

[FN1313[TK]]

I’ve preordered the Anovos armor that should be shipping Dec 22 - Mar 20ish. Has anyone else preordered this and heard any status update? I’ve reached out and let I heard in December they were finishing the review of the instructions and things were starting mass production, but I wanted to see if anyone has heard more? I’ve reached out again as well.

 

Once I get mine I aim to make a video tutorial building it as well.

[Harbinger[IPM]]

You are one of many in this situation.

 

Unfortunately, anything you hear from an Anovos CSA can't be taken as fact as they'll just reiterate the current shipping window. Nobody can tell you if/when a delay will happen. Given their track record, your best bet is to not worry about when it will arrive, but unless something drastic happens it should arrive eventually.

 

(I bought one in 2016 and am waiting like everyone else.)

Edited January 15, 2018 by Harbinger

[FN1313[TK]]

When you bought it was the shipping window the Fall 2017? I know they had to push that to winter 2017, but from what I’ve seen and heard they usually break things into blocks and then you have to wait for your block.

[Anzo[TK]]

As Harbinger said, don't trust them on any dates until you get a shipping notification. I ordered the premier kit day 1 on 5/31/16. It was originally said to ship in Fall 2016. Still hasn't shipped to anybody. I cancelled that and moved on long ago. I expect the standard line to see at least one more delay. 

[Peregrinus]

I also pre-ordered a while back, via their payment plan. Since they've had so many delays on various items and ensembles, it was a way to throw my hat in as an interested party while still keeping the cost minimal. I still have a couple payments left. I'm vaguely curious if they'll have it ready to ship before I make the final payment. *heh* The scope of their product is far, far smaller than an outfit like Hasbro or WalMart, so one of the problems they've had to deal with is that they have, more than once, had their relatively small item runs bumped at one or another of the factories in China they contract with in favor of a larger production run (and thus more money) for another client. Add in problems with prototypes requiring partial or complete reworks, Lucasfilm or Disney or both being dissatisfied with packaging or safety or a multitude of other things they have to sign off on at each. incremental. step. of. the. process. and you get things several years on the side of uncomfortable for them as a company.

 

Add to that, when they started their Star Wars products, they were still doing their old business model of announcing a product, with pictures of a prototype (usually a fan-made version), to gauge interest in the form of pre-orders. Then they'd delve into a variable period of research and development and prototyping and, finally, manufacture to demand. With the Star Wars license, they were reaching a far wider customer base than their previous Star Trek and BSG niches, and many of those people didn't understand that when an item went up for pre-order, nothing existed yet. Add in a lot of problems they've run into with the products themselves and satisfying the rights-holders, and they've had to drastically rework how they do things. They still take pre-orders, but it's further into the R&D stage, and they've already contracted for initial runs with the factories, based on what they estimate demand will be. And the most irritating par tof all this for us, the potential and actual customers, is that their normal transparency is hindered by order of the rights-holders. Disney told them to stop telling us about the problems they ran into. Apparently, they feel it's better if we are just left waiting and wondering when something gets bumped later for a fifth or sixth or tenth time.

 

So, as was stated upthread, try not to concern yourself with when your ANOVOS order will arrive. Just know that you'll get it at some point and work on other projects in the meantime. For the First Order Stormtrooper, there's still the undersuit and gloves and neckseal and boots and weapons and all the various glues and fillers and paints and other assembly/accurizing/finishing materials to buy. That alone is plenty to keep a body busy for a while. For those of us who either want the consistency and (theoretical) accuracy of the commercial product, or lack the ability to do that scale of fabrication at home, or both, that loss of control is the price paid for having someone else do that work for us. I'm hopeful they'll make their current estimate... But not hanging all my future happiness on it.

[Peregrinus]

I hadn't said above, as it's posted elsewhere, but after sitting on it for a couple days, I'll summarize it here, too. This latest delay was due to, earlier in 2017, them getting the first test pulls and discovering pieces didn't line up as well as hoped, some of the details were too soft or more inaccurate than they would accept, in addition to concerns about the longevity of the (presumably hydrocal or similar) forming bucks. So they bumped it back to Fall 2017 as they went back to the original digital files they got from Lucasfilm and redid everything for crisper detail, better accuracy and fit, and machined steel bucks that would hold the sharper detail and last longer. Given that they would have to negotiate new production slots in their factories' queues and that LFL and Disney would have to approve the new prototypes whenever they were made and arrived here in the States, I'm not surprised they didn't make their optimistic estimate. The last I knew, as of December, was that the shipping container with the new prototypes was due in the Port of Los Angeles "soon", but even if the packaging and included accessories (belt, pouches, gaskets) are all approved and ready to go, the armor kits themselves would still have to go through the approval process. Assuming that first shipment had enough for initial orders (those who ordered on day one and haven't cancelled, as well as those who have ordered more recently to fill in those slots), I expect they're stacked as out of the way as possible in their warehouse waiting to get the yes-nod or no-nod from the nitpickers who have final say.

 

I wish I had more, but even that is pieced together from many conversations several people have had with them over a couple months to get a partial picture of behind-the-scenes logistical crap they're not supposed to be telling the public at all...

 

Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for KB to finish getting his new workshop set up so I can maybe get my Phasma boot armor to start working on something. So it's not just ANOVOS.

[FN1313[TK]]

Yes last I heard was a small update that things are on track to ship out by March 20 EOD. That being said I’m sure they are waiting for approval. 

 

My previous update they mentioned that the build instructions were in process of approval.

 

if this is all true. I’d say they are building tons already and the moment they get approval, they are going to be pushing those out like crazy.

 

i have to wait for my helmet nonetheless. I ordered TLJ helmet and it won’t be shipping until Spring 2018 time period.

 

another thing I can see is they are focusing most of their work on OT and FO TK armor as they had to put other armors offline or on a wait to meet the demands for these.

 

So I’m hopeful and optimistic, but who knows for sure.

[Guest TK1784]

3 years and counting. Supposedly these started shipping in September. I haven’t heard anything from them nor have they responded to any of my requests for information. I bought on the first day and if I do get mine I will officially be on the tail end of the delivery date. Have any of you received your order? If so did you order on day one?