DC's ANH Anovos Build

[ParaDax[501st]]

Hello everyone!

 

I've lurked for a long time on these forum's and I decided it was time for me to stop procrastinating. Back in 2015 I pre-ordered the Anovos TK armor with completed helmet. Ever since I received it, the helmet has sat on display and the armor pieces have sat in its brown box for the most part. At one point I had gotten some pieces out and started scoring some edges while follwing the instructions provided by Anovos. That being said, once I got to a certain point I felt very uncomfortable with continuing on due to fear of messing it up, ruining pieces and undersizing them. Since then I have moved states and am living on my own in an apartment which doesn't give me the best work area either for it. I am tired of beating around the bush though. 

Some initial questions:

 

• The original helmet liner (or harness rather) has all but fallen out. The adhesive they used was terrible. Are there any recommendations as to a better replacement for this? Even with the harness it felt like I was a bobble head. I need something more secure.
• I have an E-11 replica I purchased online a few years ago, but I'm really unsure if it is up to 501st standard. It isn't a Hasbro repaint, but it seems to be mostly wooden in build. I will post pictures later of the prop.
• Are there any guidelines that would be better followed from other's experience in builds other than the Anovos instructions? It is helpful but it seems like it has a formula to it for the most build, and I want mine to last for a while and troop in.
• I've seen where many have point out that the belt that comes with the Anovos TK's don't seem to hold up well, what other alternatives are there?

 

I appreciate any help and feedback, and I can't wait to finally get this thing finished! Pics will be posted soon. Thanks 

[wook1138[TK]]

Hi.  Congrats for starting your build!  A really good resource for building is this:

 

 

This is a really detailed account of building the Anovos kit. 

 

 

For adhesive, it depends what you are trying to glue, but many of us use E-6000.

You don't technically need a blaster for basic approval - but what trooper doesn't have a blaster, right?  Post some pics and we'll let you know (you will need a imgur or tapatalk (or something similar) account to post pics on the forums).

There are a few vendors that offer good belts.  Check out the for-sale section:

https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/16-ongoing-sales-project-runs/

 

Good luck with your build.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Welcome to the FISD, Dax!  Always great to see a future Carolina Garrison member, and I'm looking forward to watching your build thread!  Just remember... ask questions, post lots of photos (especially if you have an issue) and have fun with your build.  If you get nervous about a particular item, just post up a few pics of the issue before cutting or gluing and we will steer you in the right direction, I promise.

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Welcome to FISD Dan, you're not alone, here you can find a lot of info and feedback and tips from our so experienced troopers.

 

good luck with your build and looking forward to see your advance.

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Hello and welcome aboard

 

[Chemi[Staff]]

Hi Dax...We are here to help you... Welcome to FISD... 

[ParaDax[501st]]

Alright, so I've taken my big brown box out of storage and started to lay out everything. I had forgotten I had actually bought some E6000 for this build so that's a good start. I will probably follow Ukswrath's build closely. The more I've studied it the more I have liked how he has things put together. Here are some pics of part of the kit. I also included a picture of the harness that fell out, a look into the bucket etc. It looks like the lense also fell off with the harness. Also attached are pictures of the E-11 I was talking about. Here goes nothing.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[TK-17973[TK]]

I too have an ANOVOS kit and I had a lot of fun building it. Always remember the folder rule, measure twice, cut once. Find someone in the 501st in a garrison you will be joining and seek out an armour specialist that could help you through the process. I’ve had a tremendous amount of help from a couple of legion members from my garrison that helped me out a lot. 
 

good luck brother!

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

You can't go wrong by following one of Tony's builds, Dax.  As for the E-11, they are not required at Basic approval but if you are aiming for higher levels of accuracy (Expert Infantry and Centurion) it will need a few mods.

 

1.  It will need 2 cylinders on top of the magazine housing as seen below.

2.  It will need a replica (real ones are crazy expensive) Hengstler counter.

       

 

1.  A charging handle will be needed.  This is an old reference image, so it would need to have the original look, unlike this example.

2.  The ejection port guard is missing.

3.  The flash guard is missing.

      

 

Most of the parts can be either purchased online or made.  If I can be of any help, just let me know!

[ParaDax[501st]]

Hello! This build IS NOT dead, I work in healthcare and with the craziness that was 2020 it really put this project on the back burner. I was feeling inspired and broke the kit back out and I finished all the rough trimming. Taped up the forearms and biceps for a rough fit. I was told return edge is for those pieces will need to be trimmed off for screen accuracy and higher level certification. Excited to keep this going!

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Welcome back Dax.  !!

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Good to see you back at this

[tat2trooper[TK]]

Hope to see you finish this kit. I also did this one. Was definitely worth the roller coaster of emotions building it. But once finished you will be so satisfied and proud of your work. Keep it up bud.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Welcome back to the boards, Dax!  If you have any questions (especially before cutting or gluing) just ask.

[ParaDax[501st]]

Alright so I got some curved craft scissors and trimmed one forearm's return edge to see how it would turn out. Of course it will need sanding, but is this closer to what it needs to be if aiming for centurion status? Also I'm concerned how much room I need to leave for padding so I show how much is typically left "hanging" if you will? I attached pics on the piece taped on showing the space left.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

On 5/27/2021 at 5:48 PM, ParaDax said:

Alright so I got some curved craft scissors and trimmed one forearm's return edge to see how it would turn out. Of course it will need sanding, but is this closer to what it needs to be if aiming for centurion status? Also I'm concerned how much room I need to leave for padding so I show how much is typically left "hanging" if you will? I attached pics on the piece taped on showing the space left.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk
 

 

Depending on how you do the strapping, you won't have the forearm "hanging", it'll be suspended by a velcro strap to the bicep. Be sure that inserting your hand is easy, the hardest part (most friction) of my suit is the forearms, I really have to touch all my fingers together to squeeze my hand through the front opening, then I have barely one finger to help me shove the rubber gloves into the forearm. If you're having some pretty tight tolerances, you can actually take all the return edges off from the forearms, they aren't required by the CRL. By doing this, you can minimize the fat forearm / Popeye / Megaman look while maintain the ability to wear them. Here's a picture of mine.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Many of us use elastic to join the forearms to biceps as it is screen accurate.

 

A small amount of padding inside the forearms can help stop any rotation and floppying.

 

You also want to remove any return edge

[ParaDax[501st]]

UPDATE*

After moving around a lot for work I got back on the saddle and got the forearms mostly done this weekend, hopefully biceps will be done next. Any good tips on getting off the excess E6000? Thanks
!





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

3 minutes ago, ParaDax said:

Any good tips on getting off the excess E6000? Thanks

 

rubbing with your thumbs. 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

If it's along cover strips you can use scrap plastic, when it gets dull just cut a little off, thumb for less stubborn areas and sometimes a slightly wet rag can help.

[FN1313[TK]]

I used scrap plastic to slice the excess off where i could, then thumbs. It was like hot glue but just a little more work to get off.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk