First Time Build (Anovos ESB)

[Knightblade]

Hello everyone! I'm starting my first ever build and am excited to join the 501st.

 

I got my Big Brown Box on Wednesday, but actually bought my kit secondhand from another member, which has the double edge sword of some of the work already having been done. 

 

 

 

The helmet is already complete, so I only need to finish the other hard pieces.

 

 

Some of the parts (thighs, calves) are already assembled in the front, but my understanding is the majority of the trimming is done in the back, so that's not a problem at all. Also, some of the strapping/velcro is already attached. 

 

I've come to understand that the best place to start is by trimming return edges before I size the parts for final assembly, so I've started working on trimming the return edges per this thread:

 

 

Of course, I've also taken this opportunity to relearn the old Scouting adage of "Always cut away from yourself." I've put the first drop of blood into my new build.

 

 

I plan to keep this thread updated as I continue with my build. Any advice is more than welcome and I look forward to joining the ranks.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nothing better than BBB's.

 

Isn't it amazing at times you hear a voice saying to yourself "If you trim that way you'll cut yourself" yet you still go and do it 

 

Looking forward to the progress good luck 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Great start, Damien, and SO glad to see that you are posting pics!!  If I could make a few suggestions for ya', they would be:

 

1.  I see that the previous owner used the Velcro strapping that Anovos sends with the kit.  I would seriously consider removing it and replacing it with the snap system.  Velcro can (and will) wear out and lose it's adhesive properties over time with use.  Snaps are a bit more expensive but will hold up over time.

 

2.  You didn't mention if the previous owner was larger or smaller than you, so be careful with trimming.  I am not a fan of return edges, but you may need to keep a few here and there if they were smaller.

 

3.  When in doubt (even a little bit) always ask before cutting or gluing and post up a pic of the area in question.

 

4.  Ask questions.  (I can't stress this enough).  We are here for you, so never be shy is you have any sort of issue.

 

I will be following your build, and look forward to seeing your progress!

[Knightblade]

2 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

1.  I see that the previous owner used the Velcro strapping that Anovos sends with the kit.  I would seriously consider removing it and replacing it with the snap system.  Velcro can (and will) wear out and lose it's adhesive properties over time with use.  Snaps are a bit more expensive but will hold up over time.

 

2.  You didn't mention if the previous owner was larger or smaller than you, so be careful with trimming.  I am not a fan of return edges, but you may need to keep a few here and there if they were smaller.

That hadn't occurred to me, but it sounds like an excellent plan.

 

The previous owner is slightly (2" and 20 lbs) smaller than me, but none of the pieces have been fully assembled, so I can still trim them down to fit.

 

I have no doubt I'll have some questions moving forward, so thank you in advance for your help!

[Knightblade]

A busy Saturday rewatching Star Wars: The Clone Wars from the beginning so I can start season 6... but that has given me plenty of time to work. 

 

I've trimmed the return edges on the my forearms (front and back of the inside, just front of outside piece). 

 

 

I've started assembling the left forearm, so we'll see how it turns out tomorrow. 

 

 

I do have a question. The halves of my right forearm don't quite match up, and I was just wondering if this is normal or not. 

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Depends on the armor, you'll find if you wrap painters tape around quite tightly they will pull together. I use a combination of clamps, magnets and tape for assembly. For getting your trim lines nice and straight after cutting a long block of wood with sandpaper wrapped around can help.

 

Also scuff the surfaces that will be glued with some sandpaper, gives the E6000 something to grip too, any excess glue you can usually rub off with your thumb once dried. 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

It's OK to have a small gap if you can't get them perfectly aligned, as the cover strips will cover any imperfections.  The sanding that Glen mentioned is critical, though.

Just try to make sure that the ridges (yellow lines) run as parallel with the cover strip edges as possible. 

 

 

You will need to trim down the V shaped point on the upper piece, otherwise this will seriously poke into your arm.  (Pic 1).  If it were me, I would trim down as seen in the second photo.  You don't want any angles that are too sharp.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                              Reference images of screen used armor.

                      

 

[Knightblade]

It's been a few days, but work is going steady. Forearms are mostly done, but could use a little trimming. 

 

 

 

 

 

Knocked out the biceps too. Sure am glad I bought the value size bag of clamps, as I was able to fully assemble one bicep at a time.

 

 

As this is my first build, I decided to stick with the included velcro strapping system. 

 

 

While I was at it, I went ahead and strapped up the rest of the armor.

 

 

 

I need to trim and finish strapping the torso pieces, but my eyes are still dilated from an eye exam, so it'll have to wait a couple days for my vision to return. 

 

Thank you all for the suggestions and feedback so far!

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Looking sharp. Damien, and really nice job on trimming the return edges on those wrists! The blue arrow below shows what I was saying about that area poking into your arms (and it will).  Normally I would suggest trimming as seen with the yellow line, but since you have already glued the halves together if you trim that much out there would be too much room at the top opening.  Instead, I would go with the blue line.

I realize that the edges still need some fine tuning, (red arrow) but be sure to sand the edges down smooth (220 grit sandpaper).  This is not only for comfort, but to make sure that any jagged edges don't snag on your under suit.  Keep up the great work!

 

[Knightblade]

I've started trimming down return edges on the back and chest pieces and have come to a couple questions.

 

 

For the chest piece, I have trimmed the bottom return edge but am curious if I should leave some near the shoulder straps. If I remove all of the return edge there, it'll show the velcro strips and straps underneath. Is this an issue or not?

 

 

For the thigh pieces, the majority of the top return edges have been trimmed, but can I also trim the return edge at the bottom? 

 

 

The previous owner already shimmed the inside of the thigh pieces, so I just need to trim them up and size them. I've also noticed that the pieces are a little tall on me; if the bottom is sufficiently over my knee so I can actually bend my leg, then it's stabbing into my torso so I can't bend my leg forward.

 

 

Am I supposed to trim this from the top to fit me better?

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

 

1.  You should cut these down a bit, especially to get rid of the 90 degree angle at the front.

 

   

 

Anovos is famous for the return edge on the neck splitting/cracking (red arrows).  If you want to keep that return edge, be sure to add a thin (1/4 inch) shim** behind it.  I would suggest losing it altogether.

** One solid curved piece... don't use short ones.

 

 

You can trim the tops down as much as needed, just follow the existing curves.  BUT, do this before final fitting (gluing the backs together).  VERY important!

 

 

The bottoms of the thighs can be kept like they are, just sand down those rough edges.   Keep up the great work, and keep those questions (and photos) coming!

[Knightblade]

I've removed the return edges on the chest piece and around the neck.

 

I've trimmed the thighs down about 3cm already, but I've got a question. Is the front edge (and the corresponding peak at the top) supposed to line up with the center line of my thigh/shin or sit slightly off to the side? Different pictures I'm looking at give me slightly different views of it. If it needs to be directly up the center line, I'll need to trim more off and I feel like it's starting to look a little too small. 

 

 

If the thighs track the center line, they still run over/under the bottom of the ab piece, but are over my knee either way.

[snipedoc2001[TK]]

Great work so far mate.  Lookin good.  To answer your question, my understanding is that the cover strips don't necessarily have to track down the middle but the strips on the thighs need to line up with the coverstrips on the shins.  The reference photo on the CRL on the website shows the thighs slightly off center, but perfectly lined up with the shins.  

 

Keep up the good work!

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

As Cody mentioned, the cover strips on the thigh and calf should line up.  Ideally, they should face forward (first photo) but some leeway is given in many circumstances as there were slight variations (second photo).

 

            

[Knightblade]

I've put aside the thigh pieces to work on the calves to ensure they line up together and have run into a bit of a snafu. I'm using the included white velcro, but it doesn't seem strong enough to keep the halves together at the back due to the plastic wanting to pull apart. 

 

 

 

The velcro also isn't sticking onto the plastic the best, so should I use some E-6000 to hold it better? I've only done the right calf so far, as I ran into this issue.

[snipedoc2001[TK]]

The best thing to do in this case is a hot water bath and carefully mold the calf armor closed and the Velcro is less likely to pull apart.  Check out this thread and ask questions before doing anything.  If you close that gap at the top of the calf armor, you should be golden.

 

 

[Knightblade]

When I first cut the excess of the back of the calves, it lined up well. I think the issue was when I was gluing on the cover strip in the back, the spacer I used to keep the cover strip and the opposite side from touching was too large and warped the plastic, so I've got some large clamps and I'm going to let the piece sit for a couple days to warp back into shape. 

 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

One thing I would definitely do is remove all the return edge from the bottoms of the calves,  This will give you a bit more room and hopefully loosen up the rear connection a bit.  Leaving them on will also scratch the bejeezus out of your boot tops.

 

                                                                                                      Reference image

   

[Knightblade]

Welp, the clamp and wait method didn't work, so I boiled up some water. 

 

 

I think the only thing scarier than cutting the armor out is sticking all the hard work into boiling hot water.

 

 

Thankfully, it all worked out!

 

 

I also trimmed down the return edges at the bottom. I'm letting the piece finish drying overnight and will reattach the velcro in the morning. 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Looks MUCH better, Damien!  Now that you have the right shape, don't forget about removing those return edges at the bottom.    Keep up the great work! 

 

[Knightblade]

Wow, it's been a minute. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I got a little intimidated by the sniper knee and cutting/sizing the thighs...and then time slipped a little. 

 

Now I'm back, and I have updates and questions.

 

Return edges have been removed:

 

Got my boots in the mail!

 

Now back to the sniper knee. I understand for Centurion, the knee needs to align with the contour of the top of the shin piece, but I think I'm having trouble getting it to line up perfectly. This is the best I could get it:

 

 

 

 

 

Is this acceptable? Should I start boiling it to get it to shape better along the back? As always, any assistance is very appreciated!

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

29 minutes ago, Knightblade said:

 

Is this acceptable? 

 

Hi Damien, Great boots  and great work with the return edge.

About the sniper knee, it's just perfect for high levels.  I would suggest that for better look  you could trim it down a bit  to closer match the reference images.

 

 

   

 

 

Reference Photos  

 

 

        

 

Cheers  

 

[Knightblade]

Ok, I got the sniper knee put on: 

 

 

Next time I have a couple days off work, I'll start working on the thighs again.

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Perfect 

[Knightblade]

Well, I'm back. I've spent the last two years moving around the U.S. and have finally settled down enough to resume the build. Two years and a day later, I've made some more progress. Got the ammo pack attached and the paint on the rivets is still drying.

 

I've got some E6000 behind the center, but I'll reapply if it doesn't hold well after a day or two. 

 

I've started the thermal detonator and waiting on the control panel to finish drying onto the tube. In my recent move, I somehow lost one of the metal clips for the TD. I've found potential replacements (https://www.etsy.com/listing/539534403/ukswraths-td-clips-anh-type-with-pan). Anyone have experience to say if this would suffice?

 

Finally, the saddest part... I took my ab plate out of the box this morning to find it covered in stains/markings: 

 

Although it still had the plastic covering the front, it was marked up by something in the box (I assume). I pulled the plastic cover off and it remains. I've tried soap and water, but to no avail. Anyone have suggestions for cleaning this up, or do I need to accept I'm ordering a new ab plate?