Fish's ANOVOS Build Thread - Aspiring for L3

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Awesome!!!! 

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

Thanks for all the recommendations! I am considering them, but I'm kind of a "material" person and choosing between resin, plastic or metal, I would almost always choose the metal. 

 

I don't mind the weight, as far as right now, so I'd like something that provides the real steel feel. Besides weight, screen accuracy, cost and support for good vendors, is there any reason I wouldn't want to choose the eBay aluminum replicas? They look pretty good, but I can't seem to find any review of them, positive or negative, only people that have purchased some M38A2s here on the forum. I guess a polymer/resin scope would also be easier to mod due to soft material. Not trying to stir any pots, just want to have some cake and eat it too.

[CableGuy[TK]]

Thanks for all the recommendations! I am considering them, but I'm kind of a "material" person and choosing between resin, plastic or metal, I would almost always choose the metal. 
 
I don't mind the weight, as far as right now, so I'd like something that provides the real steel feel. Besides weight, screen accuracy, cost and support for good vendors, is there any reason I wouldn't want to choose the eBay aluminum replicas? They look pretty good, but I can't seem to find any review of them, positive or negative, only people that have purchased some M38A2s here on the forum. I guess a polymer/resin scope would also be easier to mod due to soft material. Not trying to stir any pots, just want to have some cake and eat it too.

Fieldmarshal sells on EBay and his E-11 kits are AMAZING!!!! I don’t think you could go wrong with that one.

Haven’t seen any others to comment on, really. Do you have any Ebay links for ones you’re looking at?

[kman[TK]]

On 4/27/2019 at 7:10 PM, fishgoh0nk said:

Thanks for all the recommendations! I am considering them, but I'm kind of a "material" person and choosing between resin, plastic or metal, I would almost always choose the metal. 

 

I don't mind the weight, as far as right now, so I'd like something that provides the real steel feel. Besides weight, screen accuracy, cost and support for good vendors, is there any reason I wouldn't want to choose the eBay aluminum replicas? They look pretty good, but I can't seem to find any review of them, positive or negative, only people that have purchased some M38A2s here on the forum. I guess a polymer/resin scope would also be easier to mod due to soft material. Not trying to stir any pots, just want to have some cake and eat it too.

I think you're referring to Field Marshall's aluminum kits, which he sells on eBay (as "vmusicstore").  Only one I'm aware of, on eBay.  Freaking AMAZING.  I so wish I had the budget for one!

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

On 4/30/2019 at 3:37 PM, kman said:

I think you're referring to Field Marshall's aluminum kits, which he sells on eBay (as "vmusicstore").  Only one I'm aware of, on eBay.  Freaking AMAZING.  I so wish I had the budget for one!

Ok, getting one

[ukswrath[Staff]]

I think he sells them on Etsy also, very nice blasters. 

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

Back from hiatus everyone! Found some time and inspiration and now back in full swing. Pausing on the blaster now, working on the belt instead.

 

 

I think my elastic is a little too high for the ammo pouches, any imperial decree as to how low/high they should be? I can use some heat + stretching if they're too high...

 

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

@ukswrathOn your Anovos build, your holster only had 1 set of holes, the version I got has 2, should I only bolt one set and let the top half stay loose, against my body? It wears well as is, just wondering what the appropriate steps should be:

 

[kman[TK]]

Drop boxes should sit snug against the ammo belt, aligned with the bottom corner.  No visible gap between the two parts.

 

For the holster, Stunt requires ONLY the bottom two be connected (as you have pictured now).  Hero requires all 4 to be in place.  This means two different belts, unfortunately...

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

3 minutes ago, kman said:

Drop boxes should sit snug against the ammo belt, aligned with the bottom corner.  No visible gap between the two parts.

 

For the holster, Stunt requires ONLY the bottom two be connected (as you have pictured now).  Hero requires all 4 to be in place.  This means two different belts, unfortunately...

Thanks!! Perfect, glad I don't have to shift anything - those  pop rivets are annoying to undo - Just have to repair my dented button now...

[kman[TK]]

Looks like a much easier repair than mine was! LOL

 

 

Pro tip: Don't use pop rivets, anywhere you can avoid it.  Use Chicago screws, instead, so you can unscrew them if you need to.  (use a drop of threadlock or E6000 to make sure they don't accidentally come unscrewed over time)  There's two varieties of Chicago screw, one is closed and looks kinda like a smooth-domed snap top (but smaller) on top, and the other is open and looks almost identical to a pop rivet. (except you can unscrew it!)  You can see both types here (just before I put the button covers on... you can also see the drop box alignment to aim for):

 

 

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

5 minutes ago, kman said:

Looks like a much easier repair than mine was! LOL

 

 

Pro tip: Don't use pop rivets, anywhere you can avoid it.  Use Chicago screws, instead, so you can unscrew them if you need to.  (use a drop of threadlock or E6000 to make sure they don't accidentally come unscrewed over time)  There's two varieties of Chicago screw, one is closed and looks kinda like a smooth-domed snap top (but smaller) on top, and the other is open and looks almost identical to a pop rivet. (except you can unscrew it!)  You can see both types here (just before I put the button covers on... you can also see the drop box alignment to aim for):

 

 

Yikes at the button! Ouch ouch ouch! 

 

I did buy a sack of Chicago screws from a post you had advised me about earlier... i should probably go through the thread history before beginning again... it's been so long since i've worked on this, all my tools and materials are kind of scattered (2 moves and a marriage haha). 

 

I have a feeling my 1/8  pop rivets aren't going to last very long, maybe after a first troop and the rivets fail, i'll have a bigger hole for Chicago screws

[kman[TK]]

A little superglue and some ABS paste, and you can barely tell the button was damaged.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

2 hours ago, fishgoh0nk said:

@ukswrathOn your Anovos build, your holster only had 1 set of holes, the version I got has 2, should I only bolt one set and let the top half stay loose, against my body? It wears well as is, just wondering what the appropriate steps should be:

Hey James mine had 4 also seen here. I just cut the tops off, though not required so long as they don't extend past the top of the belt.

 

https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/35086-ukswraths-anovos-tk-build-stunt/?do=findComment&comment=465111

 

Edited January 28, 2020 by ukswrath

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

Gents, I have a question about calves - I have fairly large calves, and I believe with the cover strip, I shouldn't have a problem closing them. My main concern is whether I should trim to straighten the closing edges before attaching the strapping (primarily the bottom of the left calve), and the best way to align the height of the right calf. I did swap the calve pieces per Anovo's builders recommendations and wanted to check with you guys if things look right.

 

Here's my proposed changes (bend/mold in green, cuts in red). I'm using my hands to grip the front to give some closure (also makes my legs more bowed than normal)

 

Below are the calves loosely fit.

 

 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

You have pretty good sized gaps in the second photo, so it looks like you will need that room.  The way they are pinched together in the first photo will probably not be comfortable, and while walking it may cause the Velcro to come loose (if you are planning on using that as the method to keep them closed).  

 

A way around this is to put cover strips behind the openings on each side.  Doing this will give you more surface area to glue the outside cover strip to, as well as more surface area to attach the Velcro.  The second pic shows that the outside cover strip would cover all the gaps.  Since you are aiming for Centurion () the large space on the ridges cannot be there, so you could trim them down (mobility cut).  Just make sure not to go past the bottom of the ridge (red arrows).

 

     

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

7 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

You have pretty good sized gaps in the second photo, so it looks like you will need that room.  The way they are pinched together in the first photo will probably not be comfortable, and while walking it may cause the Velcro to come loose (if you are planning on using that as the method to keep them closed).  

 

A way around this is to put cover strips behind the openings on each side.  Doing this will give you more surface area to glue the outside cover strip to, as well as more surface area to attach the Velcro.  The second pic shows that the outside cover strip would cover all the gaps.  Since you are aiming for Centurion () the large space on the ridges cannot be there, so you could trim them down (mobility cut).  Just make sure not to go past the bottom of the ridge (red arrows).

 

     

Would it be best to add extra material to normalize the thickness (one behind, one adjacent)?

 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

It couldn't hurt, and that is actually a very good idea, James.   I like the way you plan on making that inner shim wider... excellent!  If you haven't cut them to width yet, you can (and probably should) make the outside cover strips about 5mm wider than normal.  It will not affect approval at any level, and will give you a little more surface area to work with.

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

Eyes clean up - right eye's brow is a bit droopy, should i use my heating iron to give it a lift?

 

 

Edited January 29, 2020 by fishgoh0nk

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

1 hour ago, justjoseph63 said:

It couldn't hurt, and that is actually a very good idea, James.   I like the way you plan on making that inner shim wider... excellent!  If you haven't cut them to width yet, you can (and probably should) make the outside cover strips about 5mm wider than normal.  It will not affect approval at any level, and will give you a little more surface area to work with.

The ANOVOS comes with pre-cut cover strips @20mm - but since i ordered some replacement parts from ATA, they had provided some material, unfortunately they're bicep strips and not long enough (short by 10mm) for calves. Could you recommend a good place to acquire some, or should I try and visit a hobby shop/hardware store in search of ABS?

Edited January 29, 2020 by fishgoh0nk

[TheSwede[TK]]

6 minutes ago, fishgoh0nk said:

right eye's brow is a bit droopy, should i use my heating iron to give it a lift?

Not sure what you mean? Eyes look fine to me

 

7 minutes ago, fishgoh0nk said:

ANOVOS comes with pre-cut cover strips @20mm

For back of shins they should be 25mm, did you perhaps get them mixed up? 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Daniel is absolutely correct about the eyes.  What you have now is perfect, and I honestly wouldn't touch them.  As seen in the photos he provided, they were all a bit wonky in some areas, which adds to their charm.

 

Finding ABS that matches the Anovos color may be a tall order, but ATA would be the one to get in touch with about acquiring some replacements.  You may be good to go with the Anovos ones, but before gluing them on I would suggest posting up a few pics to make sure you have enough overlap of the Velcro to keep them in place. 

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

54 minutes ago, TheSwede said:

For back of shins they should be 25mm, did you perhaps get them mixed up? 

 

I think I did - I have 2 sets of cover strips remaining, Parts #37 and 39; 39 is a 25mm strip x 15"3/4 and 37 is a 20mm strip x 13"3/8.  My brain thought because it was longer/thicker it was meant for thighs. ::doh:: 

 

44 minutes ago, justjoseph63 said:

Finding ABS that matches the Anovos color may be a tall order, but ATA would be the one to get in touch with about acquiring some replacements.  You may be good to go with the Anovos ones, but before gluing them on I would suggest posting up a few pics to make sure you have enough overlap of the Velcro to keep them in place. 

Yea, I think i'll do the shimming on both sides of the calves to give me an extra inch for circumference, then do some fitting and covering with the provided cover strip. As long as the cover strip is on the "outer" half/portion of the leg piece, and the inner folds under, I'm good to go right? Any tips such as maintain extra material in the case my legs start to grow, or should I trim off as much material as possible to reduce the amount of poking/material inside of the calve (to avoid chaffing)?

 

Also any tips for how much room should be inside the calve? Example - enough to fit 1 finger in or something like that? I'm thinking that as long as it's not too tight to walk or too tight that the strapping/velcro would break, I should be good?

Edited January 29, 2020 by fishgoh0nk

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

34 minutes ago, fishgoh0nk said:

Yea, I think i'll do the shimming on both sides of the calves to give me an extra inch for circumference, then do some fitting and covering with the provided cover strip. As long as the cover strip is on the "outer" half/portion of the leg piece, and the inner folds under, I'm good to go right? As long as there is no gap you are good to go!  Any tips such as maintain extra material in the case my legs start to grow, or should I trim off as much material as possible to reduce the amount of poking/material inside of the calve (to avoid chaffing)?  I would advise leaving as much room as you can.  If you think your legs (calves) will grow, allow for that.  Better to have them fit a tiny bit loose than to have them fit too snug.

 

Also any tips for how much room should be inside the calve? Example - enough to fit 1 finger in or something like that? I'm thinking that as long as it's not too tight to walk or too tight that the strapping/velcro would break, I should be good?  Use blue (painter's) tape and actually walk around for a bit before gluing anything.  Calf muscles flex somewhat while walking, which should give you a better idea.

 

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

I'm currently rebuilding the helmet - and I have a couple of questions for you guys. Anything is much appreciated!

• Helmet to face gap - I'd personally like to close up the gap a bit; would some heat treatment be wise or dumb? Screen references as well as many other posts appear that a gap is present, I'm having an internal debate between conventional (if real word helmets had gaps, that wouldn't be great) and screen accuracy. I'll be trimming the ears as well to sit more flush with the edges as well.
• Polish - If I decide to polish the helmet at this time, I'm guessing I would need to polish the entire suit to match the sheen for approvals?
• Brow height - Dan's post about brow height indicates it's acceptable to have a low brow, which I like better (looks more aggressive), ::  
  • But after reviewing some of the approval requests, it appears stunt brows (high-med) are the preferred look even for EIB - is this just a matter of garrison leader's preference or is there an approval standard in this regard?  :: EDIT :: I guess I'm building an ANH stunt, so high brow is more conventional, but is it required?

Edited February 1, 2020 by fishgoh0nk
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