CoolHandLAZ[TK] Posted June 23, 2020 Report Posted June 23, 2020 (edited) Hello all! Longtime lurker, first time poster. After years of having the Anovos TK armor (pre-ordered from the original run), I'm thrilled to say I'm finally at a place to put it together. I recently moved to Los Angeles from Chicago so I've had a lot going on but I'm finally set up and ready to build! The Stormtrooper is my dream costume so I'm very excited to get this going. I figured there was no better time than now to get a build thread started in case I have questions (I know I will). I've been a part of the Rebel Legion in the past so I've been around the 501st quite a bit but I've never dived into armor until now so I'm very excited! I've been doing much research around the forums and have been looking closely and a bunch of threads. The main build thread I'm drawing from is Ukswrath's Anovos build thread which has been extremely informative thus far. I decided to make the jump and go for L3 Centurion status right off the bat for the ANH Stunt TK so wish me luck! Some of the pieces I've sourced so far are: EDITED 8/8/20: Acquired Hovi Tip speakers from Ukswrath as well as a cooling bracket for the fans. Armor: Anovos Helmet: Anovos Undersuit: Under Armour-type from Amazon Neck Seal: TrooperBay Holster: Anovos Gloves: TrooperBay Belt: Kittle Boots: TK Boots Flexible Handguards: justjoseph63 E-11: Hellhounds Fans (with cooling bracket): Ukswrath Helmet Electronics (Hovi Tip Speakers): Ukswrath My plan is to replace the waist belt with a Kittle belt as well as install a com set. Also need to get the neck seal. So far I have the armor cut out and am currently in the process of sanding the edges and removing the return edges on the wrists. Will post progress pics as I go but I just wanted to introduce myself and say thanks in advance! Luke Edited June 6, 2021 by CoolHandLAZ 6 Quote
Sly11[Admin] Posted June 23, 2020 Report Posted June 23, 2020 Welcome Luke, great to see you are in a position to get your build underway. 1 Quote
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted June 23, 2020 Report Posted June 23, 2020 Hello and welcome aboard, good luck with the build, looking forward to seeing the progress 1 Quote
TKSpartan[Staff] Posted June 23, 2020 Report Posted June 23, 2020 Hi Luke, welcome to FISD. looking fordward to see your progress photos. Remember: "Measure twice or more, cut ans glue once. " Post photos, ask for opinions, tips and feedback. Here we have so skilled Troopers willing to help. Good luck and enjoy. 1 Quote
jsilvius[Staff] Posted June 23, 2020 Report Posted June 23, 2020 Welcome aboard Luke! Can't wait to see those pictures as you build! Be sure to ask lots of questions, that is one of the reasons we are here! 1 Quote
TK-28046[TK] Posted June 23, 2020 Report Posted June 23, 2020 Welcome trooper! feel free to ask, to search the forum, we are here to help you! 1 Quote
CoolHandLAZ[TK] Posted June 23, 2020 Author Report Posted June 23, 2020 (edited) Thanks for the warm welcome! So I did have a question concerning the fore arms. After sizing, does the cover strip need to be flush against the return edge on both sides, like in the first picture, or are you able to leave room on the return edges like on the second photo? I hope that makes sense. Thanks! Edited June 23, 2020 by CoolHandLAZ Quote
CoolHandLAZ[TK] Posted June 23, 2020 Author Report Posted June 23, 2020 And here's the full armor layout! (Well, minus the smaller pieces ) 2 Quote
TKSpartan[Staff] Posted June 23, 2020 Report Posted June 23, 2020 7 hours ago, CoolHandLAZ said: So I did have a question concerning the fore arms. After sizing, does the cover strip need to be flush against the return edge on both sides, like in the first picture, or are you able to leave room on the return edges like on the second photo? I hope that makes sense. Thanks! Hi, the first one is better. more screen accurate and for L3. I would recommend to use painter's tape to make the first fitting test. Arms, thighs, shoulders etc. Cheers 2 Quote
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted June 23, 2020 Report Posted June 23, 2020 7 hours ago, CoolHandLAZ said: Thanks for the warm welcome! So I did have a question concerning the fore arms. After sizing, does the cover strip need to be flush against the return edge on both sides, like in the first picture, or are you able to leave room on the return edges like on the second photo? I hope that makes sense. Here are some screen used armor images that may help: Note that there is some of the ridge showing on the front the pieces, but the since the backs do not have those raised areas the cover strips will lat flat against the armor. Both ways you have it are acceptable, and the sizing can be done in the rear join as needed. Bicep/forearm Thigh front Thigh front Top of left calf piece 1 Quote
CoolHandLAZ[TK] Posted June 23, 2020 Author Report Posted June 23, 2020 Thanks for the info! I’m going to try to hide most (if not all) of the ridge. My arms should be able to fit with some room to spare. Going to do that measuring! I’m sure this has been posted elsewhere (and there’s thankfully so much information out there) but I was wondering...so I ended up removing the return edges off the tops of the fore arm pieces (by the elbows) in order to make room. Because of this, should I remove the return edges on the rest of the armor pieces for uniformity? Or should I take it piece by piece and decide which ones need it based on fit? And I already did the wrists for L3 approval. Will post pics later. thanks! Quote
Blast 'Em! Posted June 23, 2020 Report Posted June 23, 2020 Hey Luke, I'll chime in and recommend going piece-by-piece for your return edges. I'm approaching it as you proposed- using fit to determine how much (if any) return edge I keep. I started with around 5mm of return edges for all pieces, and I've been modifying that amount right before I glue pieces together. Joseph has a great resource for return edges in his signature (Return edges 101) that I heavily relied on. Like you, I'm currently working on my Anovos kit from their initial run so I'm happy to share what I've learned over the past few months. Good luck bud! 2 Quote
MaskedVengeance[Staff] Posted June 24, 2020 Report Posted June 24, 2020 Greetings Luke, and welcome to FISD! I would follow Shane’s lead regarding return edges, and here’s a link to Joseph’s thread which he referenced!https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/48166-return-edges-101-ottk/I look forward to building alongside you, and I am also in the middle of my own ANH Stunt TK build!Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote
CoolHandLAZ[TK] Posted June 24, 2020 Author Report Posted June 24, 2020 4 hours ago, Blast 'Em! said: Hey Luke, I'll chime in and recommend going piece-by-piece for your return edges. I'm approaching it as you proposed- using fit to determine how much (if any) return edge I keep. I started with around 5mm of return edges for all pieces, and I've been modifying that amount right before I glue pieces together. Joseph has a great resource for return edges in his signature (Return edges 101) that I heavily relied on. Like you, I'm currently working on my Anovos kit from their initial run so I'm happy to share what I've learned over the past few months. Good luck bud! Hi! Okay great, that's what I was hoping because I'm not quite sure yet how much I'll need to take off for everything. I started by just going off of their recommended cut lines and am gradually trimming as I see fit. I'll for sure check out that article from Joseph. That seems like a fantastic resource. Thanks for the advice and I'll definitely scope out your build as well! Happy to hear I'm not the only one who waited on their kit 3 hours ago, MaskedVengeance said: Greetings Luke, and welcome to FISD! I would follow Shane’s lead regarding return edges, and here’s a link to Joseph’s thread which he referenced!https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/48166-return-edges-101-ottk/ I look forward to building alongside you, and I am also in the middle of my own ANH Stunt TK build! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Thanks nice to meet you as well! I'm stoked to finally get going on my armor and all of you have been a great help already. I'll definitely check out your build and hopefully borrow some secrets from you! And thanks for the link! 1 Quote
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted June 24, 2020 Report Posted June 24, 2020 The key to a great build comes down to 2 things, Luke: Ask lots of questions and post lots of photos. If you have even the smallest doubt about an issue, it's better to post up a photo along with your question so that you can get the correct advice instead of forging ahead. Trust me. I noticed that you listed your undersuit as Anovos. My advice would be to promptly ditch it, and here is why: Anovos undersuits are infamous for bleeding onto armor, an in many cases the black marks are very difficult or impossible to remove. You can pick up a shirt on Amazon like this and pants like this, which are fairly inexpensive, just make sure there are no markings (logos, colored stitching) which are visible when you wear your armor. 3 Quote
CoolHandLAZ[TK] Posted June 24, 2020 Author Report Posted June 24, 2020 8 hours ago, justjoseph63 said: The key to a great build comes down to 2 things, Luke: Ask lots of questions and post lots of photos. If you have even the smallest doubt about an issue, it's better to post up a photo along with your question so that you can get the correct advice instead of forging ahead. Trust me. I noticed that you listed your undersuit as Anovos. My advice would be to promptly ditch it, and here is why: Anovos undersuits are infamous for bleeding onto armor, an in many cases the black marks are very difficult or impossible to remove. You can pick up a shirt on Amazon like this and pants like this, which are fairly inexpensive, just make sure there are no markings (logos, colored stitching) which are visible when you wear your armor. That's great advice! I definitely am going to keep posting progress pictures and questions to make sure. I want everything to be as exact as possible so I definitely will be asking questions and searching through the forums a lot! Great to know about the Anovos undersuit. I had no idea. I don't want that bleeding to happen so I will go ahead and replace it. Thanks for the heads up! Quote
CoolHandLAZ[TK] Posted June 24, 2020 Author Report Posted June 24, 2020 Here is the wrist side of the forearm with the return edge removed. The protective film is still on the armor so that is why there is fuzziness around the edges (Definitely will make sure to remove partially before glueing). Does that look like there's enough return edge taken off? 4 Quote
TKSpartan[Staff] Posted June 24, 2020 Report Posted June 24, 2020 1 hour ago, CoolHandLAZ said: Does that look like there's enough return edge taken off? just right Luke. Reference Photo 2 Quote
CoolHandLAZ[TK] Posted June 25, 2020 Author Report Posted June 25, 2020 (edited) Awesome thanks Tony and Mario! So yeah the last few days have been very busy armor-wise which is exciting. After cutting everything out (which I did prior to starting this build thread) I decided to go in order of Tony's build thread: Which meant starting on the forearms (deciding to do a bit of a recap here). I went ahead and did the sizing for both the right and left (Joseph's return edge thread was very useful here). I ended up losing the return edges on both the top and bottom of each forearm. This made it way more comfortable as well and most likely I will be removing most (if not all of the return edges for the rest of the build. I tried to make sure to leave around a half-inch of space inside for each arm (per Tony's suggestion in the build thread) and everything felt great after cutting out. Per suggestions that I've read in various build threads, I decided to reinforce the forearms with a cover strip on the inside made from excess ABS from cutting out the original pieces. For my first go at glueing together, I feel pretty good about it but I'm slightly worried about glue getting everywhere on the outside like it sort of did on the inside. Would goo be gone be the best option for removing if needed? I also found that using clamps here was tough for me as the pieces were sliding all over the place so I just went with the painter's tape and magnets. Maybe I need smaller clamps, but these did the trick for now. Tomorrow/later today the plan is to glue the opposite inner cover strips and then start on the biceps. Throughout the week I'll move to the outer cover strips for the forearms (while remembering to remove the protective film). I do have a question regarding the right forearm. So there is this pointy piece that sticks up by the upper opening. I've been looking at various threads and I believe that in Shane's (Blast 'Em!) thread it was suggested to trim that down so it doesn't snag on the armor. I just wanted to make sure that it is still groovy to do that, and that it will still be approvable before I start slicing and dicing. As always, thanks for everything! Until the next post... Edited June 25, 2020 by CoolHandLAZ 1 Quote
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted June 25, 2020 Report Posted June 25, 2020 12 hours ago, CoolHandLAZ said: I feel pretty good about it but I'm slightly worried about glue getting everywhere on the outside like it sort of did on the inside. Would goo be gone be the best option for removing if needed? I do have a question regarding the right forearm. So there is this pointy piece that sticks up by the upper opening. ....it was suggested to trim that down so it doesn't snag on the armor. I just wanted to make sure that it is still groovy to do that... Any glue seepage can be removed by rubbing it off with your thumb. You may want to carefully score along the seam with a razor knife first to get a clean line, though. Groovy like Greg Brady, Luke. (Hope that reference didn't go over your head, lol). A few had the pointy piece to some degree, but most were more or less rounded off. 2 Quote
CoolHandLAZ[TK] Posted June 26, 2020 Author Report Posted June 26, 2020 15 hours ago, justjoseph63 said: Any glue seepage can be removed by rubbing it off with your thumb. You may want to carefully score along the seam with a razor knife first to get a clean line, though. Groovy like Greg Brady, Luke. (Hope that reference didn't go over your head, lol). A few had the pointy piece to some degree, but most were more or less rounded off. Okay great! And nah I watched the Brady Bunch when I was younger so we're all good there Also nothing goes over my head, my reflexes are too quick. I would catch it. (I think that's the line lol) And cool, now I feel good about rounding that edge off. Onward! Quote
CoolHandLAZ[TK] Posted June 26, 2020 Author Report Posted June 26, 2020 Sooooooooo... I glued the inside cover strips for reinforcements on one side of the forearms and they came out great. But when I tried to close them up and glue the inside cover strip on the other side, I wasn't able to get it to close so that I had a flat/flush surface to glue the cover strip onto. I realize that this will also pose a problem for when I glue the outside cover strips on. I've read on other threads that people have used the "bath" technique. Is this the best method for making those "butt ends" meet? Or is there another way that works better? It seems that it isn't wanting to curve properly for me. (The film started coming up here) Thanks! Quote
CoolHandLAZ[TK] Posted June 26, 2020 Author Report Posted June 26, 2020 While waiting for the forearms to dry, I am moving on to the shins. Sorry for all the questions coming up at once, but I was wondering how much return edge are you all taking off of the shins by the knee? I couldn't seem to find info about specifically this (most likely it is there but I just missed it). My gut instinct is to just lose it all to avoid the armor burn. Quote
TKSpartan[Staff] Posted June 26, 2020 Report Posted June 26, 2020 Hi Luke, Don't worry about making questions, we love questions, photos and help others so keep on making questions and posting photos. For the Shins , you can leave a small return edge at the top and they don't have any return edge in the botton as you can see in the references. Cheers. 2 Quote
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