aghoneim's ANOVOS TK - 1st build

[aghoneim[TK]]

It's very hard not to get some glue coming out from the sides of cover strips no matter how careful you are.
 
I find using a soft cloth is good to get it off on flat pieces, on the edges I use pieces of scrap abs, gets in to the corners nicely.
 
For any stubborn bits some polish normally will help to get it off

Thanks - looking forward to getting that nice final polish then on this armor.

Guess sandtrooper isn’t for me


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[A.J. Hamler[TK]]

When it comes to removing excess glue, the properties of E6000 make it among the easiest.  In fact, it's so easy that I make no attempt to limit the amount of extra that squeezes out (to a point, of course).  Here's what I did with my build.

 

First, I used a razor knife to cut through the excess, using the edge of the cover strip itself to guide the knife for a nice, straight cut.

 

 

 

Make several light passes with the knife to avoid scoring the plastic itself.  The idea is to just cut through the glue, and not down into the ABS.  Then, pry up one end of the glue using a fingernail, toothpick, the tip of the knife, whatever, and just pull it off in a long solid "string."

 

 

E6000 dries firm, but rubbery, rather like silicone caulking.  You may find that if you cut through it all the way that you can pull all the glue from the edge of a cover strip in a single string.  However, since you're being careful not to cut through the glue all the way to the plastic, you're bound to leave lots of little bits of glue along the edge of the cover strip.  Any sharp object will easily scrape those out, but be sure to use something that is not harder than the plastic or you could scratch it.  A sharp metal object would be bad, but something made of wood such as a sharpened popsicle stick or toothpick, or plastic, like this scrap of cover strip cut to an angled point, is perfect:

 

 

This will loosen almost all those little bits.  For any tiny stragglers, you can get them with a fingernail.  If you want to really be fussy, a pair of tweezers can grab those little guys nicely.  Still, rubbing a fingernail along the edge of the cover strip will most likely get the little bits loose.

 

You might still have a bunch of tiny loose bits in the crevice along the edge of the cover strips.  Although not really "stuck" to the plastic, the loose bits are still rubbery and tend to stay put on glossy plastic.  I found that once you have all the big pieces pulled free and the little bits loose, wiping the armor along the length of the cover strip with terry cloth -- old towel material -- wipes those little bits off.  Shake out your cloth periodically to get rid of the bits, and just wipe down the cover strip till it's as clean as you want.

 

A.J.

[aghoneim[TK]]

11 minutes ago, A.J. Hamler said:

When it comes to removing excess glue, the properties of E6000 make it among the easiest.  In fact, it's so easy that I make no attempt to limit the amount of extra that squeezes out (to a point, of course).  Here's what I did with my build.

 

First, I used a razor knife to cut through the excess, using the edge of the cover strip itself to guide the knife for a nice, straight cut.

 

 

 

Make several light passes with the knife to avoid scoring the plastic itself.  The idea is to just cut through the glue, and not down into the ABS.  Then, pry up one end of the glue using a fingernail, toothpick, the tip of the knife, whatever, and just pull it off in a long solid "string."

 

 

E6000 dries firm, but rubbery, rather like silicone caulking.  You may find that if you cut through it all the way that you can pull all the glue from the edge of a cover strip in a single string.  However, since you're being careful not to cut through the glue all the way to the plastic, you're bound to leave lots of little bits of glue along the edge of the cover strip.  Any sharp object will easily scrape those out, but be sure to use something that is not harder than the plastic or you could scratch it.  A sharp metal object would be bad, but something made of wood such as a sharpened popsicle stick or toothpick, or plastic, like this scrap of cover strip cut to an angled point, is perfect:

 

 

This will loosen almost all those little bits.  For any tiny stragglers, you can get them with a fingernail.  If you want to really be fussy, a pair of tweezers can grab those little guys nicely.  Still, rubbing a fingernail along the edge of the cover strip will most likely get the little bits loose.

 

You might still have a bunch of tiny loose bits in the crevice along the edge of the cover strips.  Although not really "stuck" to the plastic, the loose bits are still rubbery and tend to stay put on glossy plastic.  I found that once you have all the big pieces pulled free and the little bits loose, wiping the armor along the length of the cover strip with terry cloth -- old towel material -- wipes those little bits off.  Shake out your cloth periodically to get rid of the bits, and just wipe down the cover strip till it's as clean as you want.

 

A.J.

Those images are super helpful + the thorough explanation! Thanks A.J.!

[aghoneim[TK]]

Belt done! How's it look?

 

 

Test fit on the ab plate:

 

 

[Rat[TK]]

Looks good. Though the left drop box looks as if it over too far. It should line up like the right one just at the edge of the plastic belt.

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[aghoneim[TK]]

6 minutes ago, Rat said:

Looks good. Though the left drop box looks as if it over too far. It should line up like the right one just at the edge of the plastic belt.

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Yeah - it's funny what you don't notice when taking a pic, but spend an agonizing amount of time gluing and making sure those drop boxes are aligned.

Hopefully it's nothing gravity won't fix when it's upright and not on the floor !

[Rat[TK]]

Yeah - it's funny what you don't notice when taking a pic, but spend an agonizing amount of time gluing and making sure those drop boxes are aligned.
Hopefully it's nothing gravity won't fix when it's upright and not on the floor !

Hopefully, but it shouldn't be to hard to fix. Depending of course on what you glued it with.

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[aghoneim[TK]]

On the topic of fixing stuff ... Not happy with how the left forearm turned out after gluing the cover strips. Take a look (clicking on pics should enlarge):

 

Left Forearm:

 

The upper part of the front cover strip isn't aligned well. I was having difficulty getting the forearm to cooperate when gluing and it seemed to have moved or bulged out a bit due to the pressure. 

 

vs. Right Forearm which looks better to me:

 

 

[aghoneim[TK]]

Anyone have thoughts on the image above regarding the left forearm cover strip assembly?

 

Another question as well: Completed gluing front of shins - but the rear of the left one looks like it's deformed afterwards. I thought it was just the clamps pressing down, but I created a super wide gap (see pic comparison below) ... Thoughts? When I install the rear cover strip w/ velcro, will it hold it in? (I can pull it across so that both sides meet but there is a lot of pressure...) 

 

 

[TheSwede[TK]]

Forearm: good to go  For a cleaner look and higher levels, fill the gap at the elbow or trim the return down

 

Shins: they might need some heat-persuasion. Alot of Troopers use a hot water-bath toget pieces to fall in line

 

[aghoneim[TK]]

4 hours ago, TheSwede said:

Forearm: good to go  For a cleaner look and higher levels, fill the gap at the elbow or trim the return down

 

Shins: they might need some heat-persuasion. Alot of Troopers use a hot water-bath toget pieces to fall in line

 

Thanks Daniel! 

 

I'll look into heating the shins with water ... or maybe a hair drier. Since the front is already glued, I worry about getting the whole thing wet. Maybe shaping with a hair drier while bending into shape with my fingers will work. I'll read more on it ...

[aghoneim[TK]]

Howdy - hopefully this doesn't come out like an update dump. It's Thanksgiving long weekend here, so naturally I spent *most* of my time building my TK - it's truly the gift that keeps on giving! 

 

1) Completed the Thermal Detonator

 

 

2) Got a lot of progress on internal strapping. I'm following Ross Walmsley's popper tutorial. That is, his practical poppers video and torso rivets/external poppers. They're really good, and I liked the idea of having poppers and being able to measure/adjust on the fly later on. 

 

 

 

In some spots I went with two poppers, others just one. The plan is to go with nylon only for the internal straps, and elastic to connect the arms (should, bicep, forearm) together. 

 

Here's the whole thing together: (It looks awesome!)

 

 

Just a few more straps to be completed ... 

 

3) Still gluing the shins and thighs. It's gonna take a few more days - but things are coming along! I used a hair dryer to bring in the gap a little (created after gluing front of left shin, see earlier post). I'll add a pic after the rear cover strip has dried. 

 

Another thing about my shins that I did not expect was that my right shin (which does not have a gap, but actually overlaps a bit after gluing ... again, see earlier post) seems to also need some heat treatment and adjusting. Long story short, I decided to go with bra hooks as method for closing together the shins - but when checking the fit, the bra hooks basically having no tension from which to pull with. I'll need to create a bit of a gap for the rear closure to look. 

 

Here's how it looks on it's own, without me even trying to close it: 

 

 

And what the bra hook testing looks like:

 

 

Am I correct that I will need to reduce the overlap? Or is it possible I'm overthinking this and it will close just fine (in my head, when I close my shins, the rear cover strip should be snug on the armor, with little gap). 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice work, just to make your TD a little more accurate you could replace the screws with black slotted pan heads  

 

You are correct there should be little to no gap once you have your shins on and closed, could be they need a little heat to get them to sit a little better.

[aghoneim[TK]]

Nice work, just to make your TD a little more accurate you could replace the screws with black slotted pan heads  
 
You are correct there should be little to no gap once you have your shins on and closed, could be they need a little heat to get them to sit a little better.

Thanks!
Okay, good to confirm that. Back to heating them a bit. I’ll update again on progress for both left and right.

I guess after gluing front cover strips, both shins took a different shape...


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[Rat[TK]]

Looking good. Yeah the shin closures have been my personal bane in getting them to sit properly. Tried heat and just putting a bit of bend on them and nothing has worked for me.

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[aghoneim[TK]]

16 minutes ago, Rat said:

Looking good. Yeah the shin closures have been my personal bane in getting them to sit properly. Tried heat and just putting a bit of bend on them and nothing has worked for me.

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Thanks Rat! 

 

So ... wait ... how did you get yours to fit then?

[Rat[TK]]

Thanks Rat! 
 
So ... wait ... how did you get yours to fit then?

They fit just fine, but I have a gap where they overlap at the closure. So the inside sits fine, but the outer one with the cover strip sits at an angle. Frustrating.

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[aghoneim[TK]]

1 minute ago, Rat said:

They fit just fine, but I have a gap where they overlap at the closure. So the inside sits fine, but the outer one with the cover strip sits at an angle. Frustrating.

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 Ah okay, got it. Well glad they fit fine, I guess that's what's most important! 

I'll try my best to get my shins to cooperate ... we'll see.

[aghoneim[TK]]

Quick update on shins. 

... They're a pain! 

 

But there's progress. The right shin, which had too much of an overlap, I've managed to flatten the rear connection, and it fits perfectly. 

Forget the left one, it's dead to me. 

 

Obviously not true, but it needs more work. The rear connection needs more flattening, and it's shape needs to be more oval to fit the boot. Right now, it kind of slides around since it's too circular in shape (should be a bit more oval for the ankle and boot). Some pics:

 

How they both look (cover strips installed): 

 

How they look worn (I decided try white industrial strength velcro for the calf closure):

 

From the rear:

 

[Rat[TK]]

They look good in these photos.

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[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice work, was worth the fighting

[aghoneim[TK]]

5 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Nice work, was worth the fighting

 

7 hours ago, Rat said:

They look good in these photos.

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Thanks guys. Glad to hear!

Still working on the left shin, but good to know I'm on the right track anyways (even if it looks good in the pic). 

[Harbinger[IPM]]

I had to do several hot water baths to get my shins to line up properly. Good luck.

[aghoneim[TK]]

Hello again

 

Things have been a bit busy, but I got around to doing a quick fit of the torso parts. Two things I noticed was my chest needs to be tightened in a bit (I think) and that the posterior was protruding outwards more than I would like. Any tips for tightening the posterior in a bit more? Here's a pic of both: 

 

 

For the posterior, I'm thinking either to heat it and form it to my shape, or add a popper to the side and connect it to the ab ... 

 

Thanks!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

 

12 minutes ago, aghoneim said:

For the posterior, I'm thinking either to heat it and form it to my shape, or add a popper to the side and connect it to the ab … 

You can try a little heat or tighter strapping on the butt plate, you could also try attaching a V section of abs strips, only the end on the butt plate is glued, which still allows for movement, it will keep the butt plate held inward, here's the shape: