TK4205

very well said, Clint. I wish I had the ability to put words together like that to convey what I am thinking. You are right in that we need to separate the issues popping up. You are right in that we have enough reference to get started on a CRL. When I post my opinion here, it is only that, just my opinion. I have no say here more than any other FISD member. Thanks for taking the time to read my opinion.

Christa, thank you. I would be happy to clarify. I do believe the ANOVOS armor is good enough for basic membership. It's more accurate than the FX when it first came out. Let me compare this with the E-11; Several builders tried vac forming parts to build up an approvable E11. It can be done, but only with lots of bondo and building. What we ended up doing is a mixture of vac formed and resin parts to make it look better but never perfect. Using the argument that "we just cant reproduce injected parts" could be used for everything else that we recreate, which would lower our standards over time. During the interview with ANOVOS, i heard said that they expected to supply a fully approvable kit out of the box, but we simply do not work that way; we approve members and their costumes, not kits. Nor does the 501st endorse or recommend armor to purchase. It took almost a year for our Cad Bane to get approved. My mask is not officially approved.I tried to get my mask and organic parts approved for the legion so that members would not be denied based on my mask, but it doesn't work that way. Once a member got approved in my sculpt, that's all I needed to know. No one ever told me that it was "close" or that "things needed to be changed". I took a chance, I built it, and it got approved for a member who put a whole lot of work into his kit. ANOVOS wants to guarantee approval of its kits, but that's not how it works.

Standing face to face with the stormtroopers in the TFA room is what made me question the accuracy of the anovos kit. They got very close with their vac formed interpretation, but it's simply not accurate. I believe it could be built up with bondo or similar, to reach the required accuracy, but accurate out of the box it is not.

I'm no expert on this costume. But give me time, I've built only one. But if I had to critique anything about your suit, I would say you need to pad your bucket so it doesn't ride so low. We also have a bigger bucket than I think is intended. As far as the build goes, it looks OK to me with what we have to go on so far. I think that is the whole point here; I can't imagine the TFA trooper getting approved before the CRL is finished, and I don't imagine the CRL being finished before the movie even comes out. preview accurate armor is not movie accurate armor. Not to belittle the hard work that the first 75 invested, but a new costume is just a new costume and shouldn't be granted any special favors. I am glad that it wasn't "approved on the spot" like had been intended.

It wont be long before there are more fan sculpts available. We may never get access to a screen used suit, so right now it's a race of sorts to get the best looking sculpt. By "best looking" I mean screen accurate. We definitely need longer leg parts. The thighs seem too short for a lot of the taller troopers. I think that's what added to the gaskets popping out.

How about the branding, any problems there? My next mold will have the branding around the arm where it meets the bicep, BUT, I don't want to scrap my current mold yet if I don't have to.

Thanks for the great review guys. Glad you like them. I am adjusting my molds for the larger leg. If you have any trouble and want to trade, just let me know.

cool. then we have something to go on.

We don't even know for sure if those troopers in the TFA room were screen used, do we?

Membership isn't the question here. Accuracy is the subject that we are discussing. The who of it shouldn't even come in to play. The props that I build are not any less accurate than when I'm active on the boards. On the same token, just because you're a member, it does not necessarily mean that you have high costuming standards. Accuracy does not speak for talent. I think many people consider this thread to be an attack on a person and his talent and feel that they must come to a persons defense but it's not personal.

or this one http://vid51.photobucket.com/albums/f386/wtatt794/ImperialGasketKeyTest_zpsh5vkhmja.mp4 Paul, could you tear the prototype at all?

https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=8856a29d22617556&id=8856a29d22617556%2176111&ithint=video,mp4&authkey=!AGxnrTEk_xoA26M A little vid to demonstrate durability.

That's exactly what they told me at the Rubies booth about their stormtrooper and their Vader Many of us are curious to know how you obtained your bucks. Did you cast an actual screen used suit, or did Disney supply you with the 3D printed bucks? If you took a 3D cad file and built your own bucks from that, with cardboard and bodo, you have done a fan sculpt, not too different than building from pep. No shame in that. Fan sculpts usually look better. I was told by the ANAVOS staff, that the display model was in fact a 3D printed (rapid prototype) model. I knew this to be untrue due to the red bondo showing through the seams. Furthermore, you can actually tell a 3D model by the tiny dots that it is built up with, like pixels in a photo or the sormtroopers in the TFA room. One more question: Do you have any proof that this TFA armor is a licensed product? I was told by the ANOVOS staff that these kits were mass produced in China. I believe this to be the case with the helmet but not the armor. It doesn't matter what size operation someone has when it comes to copyright info like you see on the bottom of a star wars Burger King toy (per copyright law) but I have seen no evidence that the armor is licensed. A non disclosure agreement doesn't mean "lie instead". After sifting through the various stories that I personally heard from ANOVOS staff, I find it hard to take anything they say at face value. Side note: The guy at the ANAVOS booth (white hat) was clearly aware of the inner workings of our recent VONC, Amy's distraught state, and the fact that she and her husband paid for their armor because he was the one that did the invoice. I was informed that we made a wrong decision in the recall election.I wonder why would he would know of this or why he would care?

Jeroen, if you have an ACE Hardware, you can get their name brand Plastic welder in the purple two part tube. It's the same stuff. If you still can't find it, I can pick some up and ship it to you. Forewarned, I went through 12 tubes building the TFA. Oh, and I don't like JB anything.

And here all this time I thought you were a fan. But seriously, how is this not a fan sculpt, meaning how is it different from your clone, or any other kit that someone makes from decent 3D files?

FYI, my list is growing with people that don't mind the brand down the shoulder, though I will probably remove it with my next mold. Like I said, my main concern was copying ANOVOS's design enough to get a C&D from them. It's hard to cut a straight clean line on latex so the folding and gluing of the edge just finishes it up nicely. Elmers glue bonds latex almost permanently. It's what I used in my production of Cad Bane and the rubber cement has been holding for years. I could include latex straps and buckles, but it will bring my price up.

Any rubber cement or contact cement will work. If you have access to acetone, you can make your own out of your rubber scraps after trimming. I am looking to buy a case of small tubes of Elmers rubber cement so I can include it in my kit. I realize that some troopers don't have access to things that others can easily obtain. Here, you can buy rubber cement pretty much anywhere.

I see what you mean there. That is some air bubble/bumps in the pull. They don't look that rough in person though each pull has it's own little imperfections, like any home cast stuff.

As far as I can tell, this new armor doesn't fit any differently than a clone or TK. I've seen people with very skinny frames, attach padding to the joints of their TK in the manner that anovos recommends for the TFA. You gotta do what you gotta do to make it work. From what I could tell in the TFA room, is that the gaskets were extruded rubber tubes without any seams. I could do this too, but then it would be only one size.

Nice work. .I almost lost my a$$ investing in white eagle gloves when I thought they were a found item. Good thing I was able to cancel my order when I learned otherwise.

Yes, you may hand wash. In fact I recommend it to keep the rubber robust. Good point about the construction for thinner people. I would then suggest adding thin foam to the backs and attaching them in the same fashion as your gaskets that came with your kit. I have headliner fabric that would work quite well, It would add to the cost to have me trick them out.

The top of your shoulder should not be visible. But today we do not know if shoulder bells flip up and back and forth. It's nothing to make new molds when we see what is under there. I wanted something that looked different than Dana's design. ANOVOS gaskets are a fan creation from reference as well. If you guys don't like my brand, I'll change it. It wont hurt my feelings that bad. Please be specific as to which part. Maybe it's the angle and shadow, for I see no damage upon close inspection. All I can really say is wait and see. My first order shipped today. First order. Get it?

No doubt. In my experience, pro vac shops pay more attention to easy demolding rather than what needs to look right. I didn't need to read anything but the plastic to know the who-what-when-and-where. When Paul and I opened the box, I pulled out a piece, flipped it over to check out the return edges and knew who's vac table it came off of. I even matched up the flashing to clone scraps I had from the last clone I built. Remember the FX and how it was formed? You can tell that it came from a commercial shop, with about 10 mercury (vac pressure).

DevCon plastic welder or the ACE brand equivalent. The ACE brand is a couple bucks cheaper. No cracking whatsoever. The trick is to mix only what you use. It took 12 tubes of devcon to do my build and I might have had 2 tubes worth of waste. I cut little mixing trowels out of HDPE bottles to stir with. My mixing plate is HDPE, so I can peel off the old epoxy and reuse it. If you are floating out a large area, I recommend Bondo white All Purpose Putty. It bonds to ABS and HIPS, so don't prime first. It also flexes a little.

Tutorial video: Imperial Gaskets now come with a bottle of black contact cement! It is my own formula , acid free and designed to work better on these gaskets than your average rubber cement. I.G. 88 Glue directions: brush on both surfaces to be joined together, let dry for about 5-10 then press together firmly. For those of you getting my Imperial Gaskets, they go together fairly simple. Pick up a bottle of Elmers non wrinkle rubber cement and follow these directions. Trim them out like this: Brush the entire back edge with glue and let dry for 10 minutes. The latex will ripple and misshape, this goes away and reclaims its shape as it dries. Once tacky to touch, fold the edge over and stick down, finishing up your edge. Only glue the flaps on one side Glue flaps on the other side and line them up. It should look like this. I suggest sewing the gaskets to your underarmor. If you are unable to sew, you can glue in felt tabs and use safety pins. Have fun. https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=8856a29d22617556&id=8856a29d22617556%2176111&ithint=video,mp4&authkey=!AGxnrTEk_xoA26M A little vid to demonstrate durability. Latex rubber can be tricky to trim. Start with a sharp pair of scissors, pull and stretch the piece that you are trimming towards you, likr in the picture below.