BDWC

....or if this really, really bugs you, then you could always run down to the hardware store and see if you could find a pristine piece of plastic pipe to replace it. It would take some time to cut and bevel for the caps (as you already know), but this might take less time than sanding out the old one just my .02

In more news.... The air dry clay inserts I was going to use for fan mounts might now be used for templates. I read in another thread yesterday, that someone mounted their fans onto foam. This would not only be much lighter in weight, but also more forgiving in shape. My only concern is whether or not E-6000 will hold foam to the helmet ?? This should cut down on fan noise by eliminating most of the vibrations, but would the foam mounts "wiggle" too much or eventually rip from the glued areas? For these reasons, I'm thinking of using EVA, aka floor mat, foam for this. It is much denser than 'padding' foam. I can use the clay forms as templates to get the shapes correct. I know EVA is a no-no in armor building, but for fan mounts, are there any downsides I should know about?

Thanks Tony!! Two reasons I switched out the Anovos liner for a real hard hat liner: Since the Anovos doesn't have a suspension system, the Velcro mounting the top liner strap to the helmet would rub on my bald head. This would become particularly bothersome and a little painful during troops of more than ~2 hrs. Since the real hard hat liner does have a suspension system this would A) feel better on my head, and hopefully allow for more airflow to keep me cooler (hopefully) Now that said, your post couldn't have been better timed. This morning I went to insert the liner and found on of the front mounts wanting to come off. I did rough up the backsides of the clips very well, but I didn't sand the areas on the inside of the helmet before gluing (which sounds great, now in retrospect). Those tabs on the liner do take a good bit of force to properly snap into the mounting clips. But the one problem mount did not come off fully, but just 'delaminated' slightly. So I used toothpicks, q-tips and E-6000 to re-apply into the opened area without completely removing the mount, and we'll see if it will hold tomorrow for the liner clip insertions. If this fails, thanks to you, I now have an awesome back-up to the back-up. I thought that for maintenance, replacement, or cleaning that I could just unclip the liner. I now see that this is a much more difficult task than I expected. So (I'm thinking this is more of a 'when' than an 'if') the glue let's loose, I have plenty of Anovos Velcro to put in place instead......or do you recommend industrial or other Velcro? I'm now wishing I'd gone Velcro in the first place now....it actually never really occurred to me

Alrighty, the rear mounting clips are glued up now Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks ! This is probably the best compliment I could ask for [emoji120] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Still waiting for the fan "shims" to fully dry. Maybe another day or two, then I can take s dremel to them for clean-up These sure look ugly now, but they sure do fill in that egg shaped area by the hovi tips really well [emoji848] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh... here's what a cannibalized hard hat looks like, LOL [emoji23] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Using the hard hat liner, and the marks I made using the 'hard hat brim' with all the mounts still attached, I marked the locations onto white duct tape. Then I used rare earth magnet and duct tape to E6000 the front mounting clips onto place ( Note: I went with the duct tape since the regular blue painter's tape just didn't hold the parts in place securely enough) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Finished cutting out the hard hat mounting pieces and cleaned them up for installation Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

More things to do: Cut out mounts from purchased hard hat & glue into bucket for new mounting Order/make thigh garter Glue in foam on biceps to help positioning to allow shoulder bells to sit better. Glue in foam on forearms to alleviate "armor bites" Trim down tops of thighs, and remove return on back sides Add in snap plates to shoulder-bicep connections where Velcro is installed (last of Velcro left for "fitting") Remove cod area return edged (because reasons!) Cut off end return areas of kidney plate to add in ~70mm of shim

Alrighty, it's been a while, and as I do more troops, I see more and more thing that I need to change/upgrade. Right now I just can't stand the Velcro in the top of the Anovos stock helmet liner rubbing on my bald head. So time to put a real hard hat liner in it Also, the mounting for my self-made fan system just isn't as sturdy and clean as I'd like. I tried using some self-sticking craft foam to "shim" up some mounting Velcro for my fans, but it just didn't conform well enough to the inside areas of the helmet "tubes" where I had them mounted, just outside the frown area at the bottom of the helmet. So I used some air dry clay to fill in the areas to make a flat mounting area for my fans (I used this same method for attaching the stud posts for securing my lens mounting screws) I will then E6000 the clay shims to the helmet and glue the 'fuzzy' Velcro to the new flat mount area on the installed shims. I already glued the hookside of the Velcro onto the backside of the fans. ( I would post pictures, but I've reached my size limit....time to set-up an Imgur account)

I'm really loving reading all these fantastic stories of why we do what we do!!! It's really all about the kids, community, and camaraderie. And here's my attempt at keeping it to 25 words or less: Since ANH, I have always wanted to be a stormtrooper. Finally, my bucket list item is now complete and I couldn't be having more fun!

Okay, I've had a LOT going on since I last updated my build thread, so now it the time!!!! After fixing my helmet fiasco, things settled down, and after receiving official membership, I started trooping. Of course I found areas in my biceps and forearms that were cutting into me, along with a small spot on one shin. All easy fixes with lexan scissors, sand paper, and the addition of some weather stripping foam. Well, I also went through a major move, and I am now in a new garrison, and trying to get used to how things are run somewhat differently. All that aside, I desperately need to commit and start on my kidney plate shims so I can add the extra needed strapping and the required rivets for EIB and (hopefully eventually...) Centurion. I'm afraid to cut off the front return edge for the kidney plate shim because I really don't understand if it's needed or just nice to have. I would think that it would make the plate look more uniform, than to be tapered down for this "love handle cover strip". One idea I had was to cut off the existing return edge, about halfway to the notch location, and put the added ABS sheet in between. I ordered a 12"x12" white ABS .090 sheet to use as the shim and to overlap behind the kidney plate. YEs this makes for two sema fills per side versus one, but what's the difference once the ABS pasting starts and the sanding and polishing is all the same, right? LOL Then I would use trim scraps I saved from the original ANOVOS ABS to make the shim flush with the kidney plate and the removed return edge portion, by gluing it onto the overlapping backer sheet. This was my idea to avoid painting and to have a perfect ABS color match. Yup, it'll be lots of sanding. The question I have that is stopping me from starting this is, again, the whole return edge issue. I would "like" to have the top and bottom reuten edges, as well, but how do you make thise without damaging or snapping the ABS?

OMG, sooo much awesome in this build !!! Keep up the great creative work

Thanks for the data! I love charts, because often a story is revealed that you weren't even looking for. For instance, as you explained, the movie releases have an even larger effect than the new makers on the market. For me, if the Anovos price point had not appeared (and now long gone) in their pre-order launch, my dream may have stayed out of reach. That said, I have learned much and would probably now go with an armor maker such as AM that makes the 2.0 size pulls. So shims are my goal right now to join the ranks of the first 4 digit EIBs

Might need to remove all returns and hot bath them too I did for mine and it made a world of difference Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

From one O.F. to another I love your tips and out-of-the-BBB thinking on the creative solutions Just a question, so you left a "decorative" screw head on the bottom of the ears and effectively solvent welded them in place? Obviously since I am from the ANOVOS (read as super thin armor) masses, I am VERY careful when it comes to ABS past and heat guns. And yes I've used both quite a bit during my build, but not without interpretation. They look absolutely fantastic, but ( and same reason I won't plastic dip and cheese cloth the inside of my helmet), for whatever reason, I like to leave everything easily removable (as in replaceable) since I already had one issue with my faceplate, I guess I'm just paranoid about long term maintenance? Any way, welcome to the ranks and very nice build thread that I will be following for more O.F. tips

Congrats on your first big step towards many more decisions to come. Like it was said above, research and don't hesitate to ask questions. If it could be done, someone in the FISD is sure to have done it or have a solution for you. Troopers helping troopers [emoji1] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Holster re-installed, and rivet covers glued up! Next stop, helmet fans!!!

Well after a trip to Harbor Freight to pick up a hollow punch set, I got the ammo pouches re-attached. Since the ANOVOS snaps are smaller than the Tandy line 24 snaps, I drilled out the "stock" ones I had already installed for the floppy belt. This did make it easier to lay th TKittle belt in place and then just mark the snap location through the ab late holes. Then I centered the pouch assemble to transfer the rivet hole locations. I found that the installed backer washers were more like 5/32 , but the rivet I had that size were too long or too short. So I just kept with the 1/8x 1/4s I had on hand (same as on Ukswrath's tutorial) and found the right size smaller ID washers to use. Good thing I'm a pack rat with hardware! After installing the pop rivets they didn't pull as tight to my liking, so I hammer riveted them down sone and now they look just like the cap rivets Covers are now glued on place, all that's left is to pop in the holes for the holster... Just two please, LOL Sent from my Imperial communicator using Tapatalk

Well I made it through basic approval, so now on to upgrades! First on deck is putting my new TKittle belt in place of the Anovos "Mr. Floppy". Sure I could have just cut off the ammo pouches and velcroed it on, but I need a challenge. So I attempted to safely remove the rivets and covers. I got the first one off with almost no damage, but not so lucky on the second two One of the covers even tore So on the ABS paste repairs on the ammo belt and may need to be performed on the cover as well However I noticed that the cover recesses matched some button batteries I had laying around, so may try to vacu- form some replacements first Sent from my Imperial communicator using Tapatalk

TK-24233 requesting 501st access Thanks http://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=21870

Nose damage fixed, frown repainted.... Reassemble Time! Sent from my Imperial communicator using Tapatalk

It is Testors #1138 I also wasn't entirely happy with the fix, so I applied an additional smoothing coat of newly mixed ABS paste and repeated the entire process I also refined the teeth-to-gums and completely repainted the frown I'll post new pictures once the screen glue has dried :-) Sent from my Imperial communicator using Tapatalk