Fish's ANOVOS Build Thread - Aspiring for L3

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

12 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Some other references of the mobility cuts

 

Also you may want to bend those shoulder straps down a the back, you can add some elastic if you haven't already

 

          

 

 

Yup, already have elastics, that morning I switched out my straps for the lengthier ones (left side), ultimately led to a back droop. I'm back to using the old ones (right)

 

Edited May 25, 2021 by fishgoh0nk

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

Doing some science this week - trying to get the right color formula for Anovos white - Will share the formula once I succeed. Current bottle concentration is 1 : 5000 mL.

 

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

The closest I got after several mistakes and retries. What do you guys think... would this pass Basic Approval? What about L3? I haven't attached the cover strips yet, as if it's not passible for either, I'll probably paint the thigh entirely. The trouble wasn't just getting the right color, it was the blending from the airbrush's overspray. If I'm going to redo the entire thigh, I'll probably bondo over the unevenness of the shims and re-sculpt the rear. 

 

Indoor (bulb / sundown)

 

 

Direct sunlight

 

Indirect sunlight

 

Warm color spectrum test

 

Direct sunlight unglossed / sanded

 

Edited May 30, 2021 by fishgoh0nk

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Once you get the rough areas on the ridges sanded down, I don't see any issues holding you back from any level, James.  SUPER nice job on these, and all that extra work is definitely paying off!  

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

On 5/30/2021 at 5:00 AM, justjoseph63 said:

Once you get the rough areas on the ridges sanded down, I don't see any issues holding you back from any level, James.  SUPER nice job on these, and all that extra work is definitely paying off!  

 

Thanks Joseph! I left the ridges unfinished because I figured those'll get cut out when I make the mobility cuts. If there's any more rough edges after the material removal, I'll finish those up and polish/touch up.

 

 

Airbrush Paint Formula

Here's the paint formula as promised.

 

I used Createx Wicked colors: Opaque White #0030, Black #0002, Yellow #0003, Red #0005, #5620 Gloss Clear with #4012 reduced, #4011 for undercoat. 

 

I made 2:25ml premixed color dilutions for Red Yellow Black (40 drops of the primaries in 25 ml of #0030 White, where 20 drops  ~ 1 mL ).

 

These dilutions served for experimentation with quantifiable results. After much trial and comparison, I arrived at (20 drops White [undiluted], 3 drops Black [diluted], 4 drops Yellow [diluted], 1 drop Red [diluted], 3 drops #4011 reducer). Give or leave 1 drop Yellow; I had to balance out having too much yellow haze from the airbrush edges vs it being a bit lighter so 4 or 5 drops still might yield good results. The ABS paste lines were stained and rather dark and had to be primed and sanded otherwise it would leave a residual dark shade. After several coats of white with .3mm and let dry, I then used 10% #4012 with the #5620 Gloss and sprayed extremely wet with .5mm.  

 

Hopefully someone looking for a color match will find this useful. No Bothans died for this information.

 

EDIT: I think I found a better code: 60 drops diluted white, 5 drops black , 7 drops yellow, 3 drops red, 6 drops #4012 reducer. This time I sprayed with a .5mm needle.

 

Had to respray because the E6000 caused some paint damage. Best to tape the edges (not cover stripped) to trap the E6000, and peels away clean. Also learned that sanding to 3000 grit will yield a better blend of colors. I'm super impressed with how the repaint turned out compared to the previous... contemplating reshooting the left thigh as well...

 

Edited June 2, 2021 by fishgoh0nk
forgot black

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

When magnets just aren't strong enough... you utilize the coat closet to hang your thighs

 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Got Clamps!? 

 

Whatever works 

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

Even for a few minutes, helmet fan is life. Had to get my fans in - I got some mounts and finally decided the best place was to utilize the speaker nut and screws from @ukswrath's TK speakers. Decently sturdy, hopefully I don't get any structural integrity problems at HOVIs from burdening the battery.

 

 

 

Since I'm here, might as well post the progress of the helmet.

 

 

 

 

Any one know of a good way to polish the lenses? I made the mistake of even trying; now one's slightly blurrier than the other. Car detailing polish of 4500 grit isn't cutting it (see what I did there?).

 

Edited June 3, 2021 by fishgoh0nk

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Looking great.

 

I've never had any luck polishing the green lens material, as you mentioned it just blurs them. If you can't remedy the problem you can pick up replacements relatively cheap on Trooperbay.com 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

If you have a pair of tin-snips, I have a spare piece (2.5 x 8) of brand new green lens material (still has the protective plastic on both sides) that you can have  for free... I'll even pay postage.  All you have to do is cut it to shape.  PM me if interested!

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

6 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

If you have a pair of tin-snips, I have a spare piece (2.5 x 8) of brand new green lens material (still has the protective plastic on both sides) that you can have  for free... I'll even pay postage.  All you have to do is cut it to shape.  PM me if interested!

 

PM and postage sent.

 

Tin snips? Oh snap, that's what you use to cut them? I used exacto scoring and snapping. I guess with all polycarb and plastic optical lenses, a coating is required for resistance to scratching/scuffs - wonder if there's a DIY coating option... I guess the blurry one will be an experimental polish/coating specimen, I'll do some research and experimentation

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I know the F1 racking use a film over their lenses which they can remove.

 

I have a few scratches on my lenses over the years but if you are careful cleaning you should be ok.

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

Stuck at a cross roads guys - I've seen a mobility cut that I thought looked pretty good a while back for Centurion approval (right/blue); but the more I examine, screen accuracy is definitely left/green and seems to fit more with the SW era/universe/theme. Any thoughts or guidelines I should be aware of? I'm debating but I think I need some community feedback to push me over to one or another.

 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

1 hour ago, fishgoh0nk said:

Stuck at a cross roads guys - I've seen a mobility cut that I thought looked pretty good a while back for Centurion approval (right/blue); but the more I examine, screen accuracy is definitely left/green and seems to fit more with the SW era/universe/theme. Any thoughts or guidelines I should be aware of? I'm debating but I think I need some community feedback to push me over to one or another.

 

Green is OK.   

 

You can change to the blue one if you want later. But not the contrary. Just take care to not pass the ridges as per the Crl. 

 

 

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

Last week I added a Raspberry Pi to the electronics for soundboard options. Main cable stem is still a mess, but I guess I'll worry about that after I do an actual troop.

 

 

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

Finally got the E11 Sanded and wrapping up the paint. I'm really digging the texture - using Krylon Textured, knocked down with Krylon Matte, and then topped off with Rustoleum Dead flat top coat. Thoughts?

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

 

should've waited for the paint to cure before doing the crayon...

 

Also should've chose a brighter sheen for the undercoat when scraping to weather... lesson learned haha