merkava74
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Posts posted by merkava74
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HELMET
I'm using an ANOVOS TFA standard helmet, and will be dismantling it in order to send for auto paint so that I get the same glossiness and colour as the rest of my armour.
First up, dismantling. Quite logical, except that some parts are glued shut so you will have to break off a couple of tabs. So took out the head strap, the face, the lens, the nose, and the mic tip, as I will be replacing it with an aluminium one.
A couple of places that need to be filled due to the Anovos plastic construction.
The mic tip interior:
The gap inside which I am going to fill up:
This casting line which runs across the whole helmet needs to be sanded down:
After all that was done, prime, sand as usual. And this is ready for painting.
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BICEPS
Pretty straightforward. Cut the 2 pill holes, join the halves, putty well, add clasp greeblie, ready for paint.
The halves were joint with glue completely as I could get my arms through it with ease. No need for any functional seams.
Again, I used several pieces of styrene as compared to 1 long strip in order to retain a curve at the joint.
Primer, sand, primer...
And done!
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THIGHS
Moving on to the thighs, I tackled the side with the holster first. I had Dan's metal holster, and it is a beauty. I wouldn't even save the kit holster as a paperweight. First thing I did was to drill a hole somewhere in the middle so I could embed a bolt through it, which, combined later with the top and bottom screws of the holster, will go through the resin riser, ABS riser, and the thigh piece, holding everything securely together since this part is going to hold the weight of my blaster in the future.
This is how everything should look like once done, with 3 screws going through the entire set up. Here you can also see the rectangular hole that I cut out, so that the indent where the clasp greeblie will sit later can sit flush.
I glued the holster together, even though it would be secured by 9 screws in the end, simply because I am going to send it for painting WITHOUT the screws. The screws will go in at the end, so they will retain the silver colour and not be painted white if I had sent it in with the screws.
This is the completed set up, with the edges of the resin riser sanded flush with the metal holster.
Next, I glued the ABS riser to the thigh, and used 3 temporary bolts to hold them together while it dried.
Then, slather with epoxy putty because, again, CRL says seamless...
After sanding, priming, sanding, I was happy with the riser looking seamless, and glued the holster to it. Again, I used temporary screws to hold it all in place. This is after it has dried and I had removed the screws.
Finally, the 2 halves of the thigh was glued together. Pretty straightforward using clamps, magnets and clips. I glued both sides down as the thighs allowed my legs to go through without any problems. The clasp greeblie was then heated, curved to shape, and glued onto the thigh.
After priming, sanding, and wet sanding using 1500 grit, it is done.
The other side was simply glueing the 2 halves together, and adding the clasp greeblie. Here the 2 thighs are done and ready for painting.
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Lovely mate, nice clean job of those forearms.
Thanks! These seem to be the most time consuming part of the costume. And I thought the TD was bad...-
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Outstanding effort! Loving your work Jasper.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Thank you! Enjoying the build!-
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FOREARMS
So after completing the re-work of the recess at the front of the forearms, it was time to assemble it together.
I did not want to use the shim method, as I realised that if I used the shim down the whole length of the forearm, the pieces would open "outwards". I needed the pieces to fold "inwards" in a rounded fashion. As such, I decided to use little styrene rectangles, heated and bent inwards and lined them along the insides.
This is how it looks like completed. The 2 sides do take on a nice inward curving shape.
As for the top plate, since I am going for Centurion, the CRL states that the "Forearm top plate is not attached at front of wrists". So I glued 2/3 of the top plate, leaving the front end flexible.
Next, the arduous task of filling the seams and sanding them down to a smooth finish.
Once that was done, I glued the 2 clasp greeblies and the ridged rail, and tackled the wrist boxes. Again, the CRL states that "Forearm wrist box should be separate pieces, affixed to forearms". So I decided to use 2 nylon bolts and nuts, drill 2 holes on the forearm, and attach the wrist box to the forearm this way. It shows a clear separation.
From the inside, this is how it looks:
The completed forearm, ready for priming and sanding down one final time.
After priming, sanding, priming again, and finally wet sanding with 1500 grit, left to dry.
And the completed forearms, ready to send for auto paint.
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Not much time to build over the last week due to work, but found some time to repair the forearms as mentioned earlier.
I shaved off both forearms leaving only the return edge:
Then I glued 2 pieces of 2mm acrylic pieces together as I wanted a 4mm depth, but could not find any sheet that was that thick:
Next, I bevelled off the edge, so that it will sit behind the return edge and be flush from the front, glued it in place, and filled the gap with more CA glue.
After sanding down the front to make the acrylic flush with the return edge, I cut the pillbox recess.
And then finally shaved off the rest of the excess at the bottom.
This is how it looks after sanding and priming.
Did the same to the other arm.
Before final sanding and priming:
And the finished forearm:
Both forearms completed. A tedious step, but I think the results are worth it.
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Afterthought: once I realised that the recess was supposed to be black, I don’t think what I just did is the best solution. So I’m going to rework both forearms:
Remove the same area from both forearms, build up flat with styrene, cut the pillbox hole through, stick a piece of black styrene from the back.
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REPAIR FOREARM BAD PULL
So, I realised that my left forearm (bottom half) suffered a bad pull during the vacuum-form. Here you can see the comparison between the correct (right) and the one with the bad pull (left). After taking off the excess ABS which cannot be used, you can see that the recessed long bullet is almost gone, and the width of the wrist opening is so much wider:
So, I drew the outline of the right Forearm piece on Styrene and cut it out roughly:
Then, I removed most of the ABS from the forearm, leaving just enough to make the return edge and hold the styrene in place later:
Then I glued the styrene piece behind the return edge, and indicated where I should cut to match the right Forearm:
Here's how it looks cut:
Next, I caked the area with epoxy putty, and pressed a little recess for where the bullet recess will be, and let dry.
After it was dried, a little sanding and smoothening, and after spray a coat of primer to see the results, I am pretty satisfied with this repair job:
Now it looks much better!
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On 2/22/2020 at 11:07 AM, ukswrath said:
Overlap simply means to overlap the other side. How your armor was made makes this task very simple for you. No need to overlap past the point where it looks like it should stop.
As for the shins, unless you have exceptionally skinny feet there's no way to put on the shins without an entry section which is the inside seam for a couple reasons.
Hope this helps
Thanks Tony! Makes a lot of sense. Which means this is acceptable for the biceps and thighs:
Yes I understand what you meant with the Shins. There is definitely an entry section, unlike the thighs and biceps, where I can glue them shut.
Thank you again!
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QUESTION: THIGH/SHIN/BICEPS INNER SEAM OVERLAP
Here's a question for the Detachment costume staff to chime in please.
So, the CRL for Level 3 certification for Thighs and Biceps state: "The inner seam should be overlapped". No mention of that for the shins.
Using the Right Thigh inner seam as an example, my question is: Is the photo below considered overlapped?There already is a natural shim on the ABS for the 2 halves to sit nicely against each other. Or is the CRL saying that 1 half must be OVER the other half?
Photo 1: Right Thigh Inner Seam from the outside:
From the inside:
If I go beyond where both pieces naturally sit, then the front half is now OVER the back half:
Technically, this means overlap? Looks ugly, and I prefer the earlier interpretation of them sitting against each other, but if this is what the CRL demands, then I guess I'll do this. Same for the biceps. Just wanted to know before I glue them down.
Let me know, please.
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YOKE AND BACK
This is a pretty straightforward part to complete. The key thing is to glue the 3 parts together properly, and get it puttied and sanded to look like 1 solid piece. So I'm not going to show the pieces, but start at the gluing stage. Spare no clips or magnets so you get a nice solid bond.
How the inside looks:
And after puttying, sanding and priming:
That's really all for this part. Having said that, I will be trimming the arm opening later when I can get the chest piece fitted to form a nice smooth opening.
Also, there's still the shoulder metal plates that are going to protrude out of the side of the yoke, strappings, velcroes and magnets to go on this part. Till then!
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Your backplate should keep it in place but the magnets is definitely a nice touch. In addition the movie had a strip of Velcro that is fed through the bottom of the TD and secured under the waist belt thus help preventing it from moving up and becoming unhinged. Just a thought if you're interested.
I did something similar on mine
Yes I am using your build thread as a great reference too! I was meaning to cut that slot, but after the magnets, there really is no need for me. It is not moving! But thanks Tony!
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Gotta love magnets! I use them on my TDs - such a worthwhile mod.
Yeah! They’re neat, invisible and effective. I think I’m addicted to them.
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THERMAL DETONATOR PART 3
So hooking on the TD to the abdomen, you will notice that the gap is huge, and there is a curve with the back of the abdomen piece that makes it worse. So what I intended to do was to use magnets to try and bring it closer. It also helps during trooping that the TD is not going to slide or worse, unhook itself and fall off.
Here is the gap that I am talking about. Ugly:
So what I did was to stuff 4 balls of epoxy putty on the inside of the back plate of the TD, and while they are wet, place 4 stacks of magnets on them. These are the places that I want to have the most strength to pull the abdomen and the TD together. I placed the magnet stacks lightly, making sure that they PROTRUDE out of the back plate when seen from the side:
Then it was simply to hook the TD on the abdomen piece, have corresponding magnets on the inside of the abdomen piece, and reinforce with more temporary magnets so that the epoxy putty gets pressed, and the permanent magnets inside sit EXACTLY on the abdomen piece, ensuring the strongest pull to the ones behind the abdomen piece. Not sure if I have confused anyone already, but here's the photo. Already, you can see that the pull of the magnets has closed the gap between the TD back plate and the abdomen piece. Success!
The magnets inside the abdomen piece. They are temporary, as I have not decided how I want the abdomen piece to close at the back.
After letting the epoxy putty dry, I took it out, and reinforced around the magnets with another wad of putty, to ensure that the magnets do not move or fall off in future. Yes I am THAT paranoid. This does make the TD a little heavier, but I feel it is well worth the peace of mind and the aesthetic look of it sitting flush against the abdomen piece.
Finally, another test fit without the temporary magnets. It sits nicely, the gap is almost gone! Looking good!
So, this marks the end of the TD part build. A little more putty and sanding in places where I feel can be improved, and this part is ready for the paintshop.
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2 minutes ago, JAFO said:
You certainly went the extra mile on that mod
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ProTo make sure that the damn thing gives me many extra miles! Haha!
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THERMAL DETONATOR PART 2
After settling the tube portion, I moved on to attaching it to what I call the back plate. Looking at the physics of it, I think this joint will be weak as it will only be held together by the thin frame of the rectangle on the tube part to the back plate, and the area of contact is really tiny. There's not much to sit on, and if there's any knocks during troop, I am afraid of risking it breaking off.
This is the joint, and I don't think it's strong enough:
So I decided to reinforce the inside of the tube with a 3mm thick strip of acrylic, with 2 bolts fixed onto it, which I will tighten to the back of the back plate. The long strip will pull the tube down towards the back plate and form a really secure hold.
This is where I will drill the holes through the acrylic strip and the backplate for alignment:
And this is how the acrylic strip looks like with the 2 bolts CA glued to it, and then epoxy glued around it. Yes, call me paranoid.
And this is how the strip looks inside the tube portion. I made 2 balls of epoxy putty at the ends to hold the flat strip down on the curvature of the tube ends.
Then, I applied my Weicon glue around the inside of the rectangular edge, put the 2 bolts through the 2 corresponding holes in the back plate, and secured it from the back with 2 nuts, clamp the whole thing down and let dry:
This is how it looks after drying. Super tight and secure! No wobble, no play.
Then comes the ever dreadful task of achieving "no visible seams" in the CRL. Epoxy putty, sanding, priming, putty, sanding, priming.... you know the drill.
At the same time, I added the lip which will hook on to the back of the abdomen piece. Do note that instead of gluing it right at the top of the back plate, I glued it further down, so that the hook will be as close to the back plate as possible, which will in turn ensure that when hooked on, the back of the abdomen piece will be closed up and there are no gaps between the TD back plate and the back of the abdomen piece when worn.
So, after many (insert vulgarity here) rounds of puttying and sanding, I am finally calling this part done. I can still see a few imperfections, but I am willing to let it slide, and the white paint and gloss coat later on will hide most of it anyway. Here is the finished TD part 2:
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THERMAL DETONATOR PART 1
Now to tackle this part which I find to be most time-consuming due to the fact that the CRL states "no visible seams" and the darn thing comes in 5 pieces....
The first part of the TD build will focus on the top part, while part 2 will focus on the flat plate, and part 3 will focus on how the back plate joins with the back of the abdomen piece.
This is the TD after gluing the 2 end caps and 2 halves together.
And after applying epoxy putty to the joints:
After the putty dried, it was several repetitions of sanding, , priming, more putty, sanding, priming, more putty, sanding, priming....
And the results:
End of Part 1
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CHEST
First up, I wanted to tackle the chest piece, as this to me was the most iconic of the FOTK.
To cut out the 6 oval pill holes, I sanded down the indents from the back. By doing this, you are ensured of identical holes once you sand the indents flat.
Here's all six of them sanded flat from the back:
And this is how it finally looks from the front. Pretty satisfied with it, I must say.
Next up, to tackle the chest pill box. I drew the outline of the resin attachment from the back, and then proceeded to cut the rectangle out CAREFULLY.
Truly a heart-stopping step.
I test-fitted it onto the chest. Glad it was a good fit, and I didn't have much to fill later.
Next, I removed the slot from the pillbox, and from the back, I also created notches so that later when I apply epoxy putty around the pillbox, it would hold much better, compared to just the being held by only the rectangular frame of the cut-out.
Glued the pillbox in place using CA, and then proceeded to apply 2-part epoxy putty around the back and front.
This is how it looked dried and sanded down. That pillbox is not going anywhere!
The front after sanding down.
And finally, after a coat of primer. Again, pretty satisfied with the result. It does not look like 2 pieces.
Calling the chest piece done!
Stay tuned for the next part...
UPDATE:
I realised that my head is small enough for me to slot through the yoke WITH the chest piece attached. As such, I will be fixing the chest piece onto the yoke. I didn't like the way the 2 sharp ends of the chest piece will pop up, and since I can now put my head through, I decided to drill 2 holes onto the yoke, where the chest piece sharp ends are going to be. Then I will glue 2 bolts under the chest piece, go through the yoke, and secure the other side with nuts.
Here are the holes:
And here is the chest piece attached to the yoke via the 2 bolts.
This is how it looks like from the inside. The excess bolt will be shaved off.
I reinforced the bolts with epoxy putty, making the sharp ends much stronger, and the bolts secure.
Finally, the chest piece with the greeblies added, primed and sanded with 1500 grit. This piece is now ready for the painters.
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Finally, after having bits and pieces except the armour since 2017, I managed to get my hands on an ANOVOS TFA kit, and so finally my build can commence!
Armour, Helmet and Neck Seal: Anovos TFA
Gaskets: Imperial Gaskets (rubber)
Boots and Gloves: Imperial boots
Undersuit: Stormtrooperundersuit
F11D Blaster: 3D Print
As I build, I will be linking those parts here for easy reference instead of scrolling through every post. Disclaimer: I am intending to build this to Level 3 certification, so hopefully the CRL doesn't change drastically during my build. Comments are welcome!
And here's the kit in all its glory. Washed with mild soap to remove any release agents that might be on the plastic.
The basic tools that I am using:
Cutting and Sanding
Proxxon Handheld Jigsaw for cutting ABS: https://www.proxxon.com/us/micromot/38530.php
Belt Sander for fast sanding
Proxxon Handheld Belt Sander for finer but still fast sanding: https://www.proxxon.com/us/micromot/38536.php
Files, various grades of sandpaper for final sanding
Adhesives
CA Glue for small quick joints
Weicon epoxy for final and large joints: https://www.weicon.de/en/applications/bonding-and-sealing/linking-major-parts/for-large-bond-gaps/54/easy-mix-n-50-epoxy-adhesive
Weicon Epoxy glue dispenser gun and mixing nozzle
Cutting the pieces
Every piece was first outlined with a marker pen to understand where to cut off. I tool care to use references and other build threads to see where there would be return edges, and where there wouldn't. Golden rule: MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE.
BUILD INDEX
YOKE AND BACK
FOREARMS PART 1
FOREARM BAD PULL REPAIR
CRL CLARIFICATIONSTHIGHS AND BICEPS INNER SEAM OVERLAP
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1 minute ago, bear0902 said:
What’s the website ?
Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkLook for BackStage Props on FB
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If anyone is having problems with their refund, I would like to take over your slot. Im already in the queue, but would like another set. No problem with the wait for me. We get Anovos to transfer the name, and I’ll pay you directly. Win win for all parties.
So let me know via DM if interested. Thanks. -
When one ordered doesn't have much bearing on when one's order is shipped. They often go in regional batches. I have seen a nonzero amount of bitching in the past from people who had been waiting years for something and someone who had only just ordered a few weeks prior got theirs in the first round of shipments.
This was the order of shipment according to them:
“These kits will begin shipping Spring 2018 (starting as early as March 20th) and continue shipping through Summer 2018 (ending September 21st). We ship orders in the order in which they were placed and will notify you by email to pay for your shipping charges when your order is next on deck.” -
So, the delivery window is supposed to be here. Has anyone received any news from Anovos? Those who ordered earlier?
Merkava74's TFA FOTK Build Thread (Anovos)
in TFA Build Threads
Posted · Edited by merkava74
HANDPLATES
Pretty straightforward. Cut them to shape, and I drilled out the pillbox so I can back it with a black styrene later.
And after priming, it's done.