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Finished just in time for Halloween, even won the costume contest at work! Thanks for all the help from the members here, the advice and information was invaluable. Still lots of room for improvement and fixes, but that will have to wait for another time.

Thanks that's great! Anything that helps me do less heat shaping is a win to me.

Continuing work despite the lack of updates. The shins have been a pain in the thermal exhaust port and have reduced motivation a bit. After multiple fitting and heating sessions I finally arrived at what I believe to be adequate, which will do for now. Cover strips are on, but have not attached velcro yet. The rear cover strip is a bit misaligned due to the back seam not being completely flat/flush. It's just near the ankle though, so hopefully velcro join strength won't be too compromised. Could I heat bend the cover strip slightly to match the curve? Also did initial fitting and inner cover strips for the thighs which was uneventful (but I'm thankful for that after the shins). I will likely have to trim a bit more from the top later, so will wait on attaching the outer cover strips. Thermal detonator was also a quick win. Was going to stick with whatever screws were provided, but phillips head just looks so out of place so I'll get the correct ones later. Now for the fun part! Doing some initial fitting for the chest/back/ab/kidney/butt. Any recommendations appreciated. Ab, kidney, and butt taped together. I think this is a good placement. Butt piece will need heat shaping on the sides so they don't flare out so much. With chest piece: Gap between back and kidney looks a bit too big, but ab can't really go any higher because... you know. Maybe I can heat bend the back shoulder flaps to allow them to hang lower?

Thanks Glen, very useful build threads to follow, those two have probably been the most informative regarding hot water baths that I've seen. I was able to fit the shin piece in my kitchen sink, so I boiled two large pots of water and poured them into the sink which was enough water to submerge the back half of the shin. I only submerged the back half of the shin because I was worried about weakening the E6000 bond on the front cover strips, despite seeing many pictures of others just dunking whole armor pieces (glue joins and all) into buckets of boiling water. After letting it sit for 75 seconds, I pulled the piece out (while wearing dish washing gloves), and pushed in the right side of the back enclosure to be more flush with the left side. While it re-shaped pretty well, the right side of the back enclosure was much more curved than the left, and flattening it out ended up making the shin piece too tight. I attempted a couple more hot water baths in later days to pull it back out a bit, but was unable to do so successfully. I switched to using my heat gun which allowed me to better direct the heat, recurve the right side of the back enclosure a bit, and give my calves a little more breathing room. Wish I remembered to take more pictures in between and during the process, but final before and after below: For the sniper knee, I'm finding the front and outer side fit pretty flush with the shin, but the inner side is a bit wonky. Almost like it's too long and tall? I'm thinking I might need to shorten it both length and height wise to better sit flush with the top shin return edge, maybe do some more heat shaping, but wanted to consult with the masters first. Outer side (looks good): Inner side (too long/tall?):

After further research, I think I'll hot water bath the back of the shin to get the calf closure pieces more flush. I'm a little intimidated so I'd like to make sure I got the process down right: It looks like most people use masking tape to hold the shins into the final/desired shape, then put it into the hot water bath? After enough time has passed for the plastic to soften (maybe a min or so?) the piece can then be put into cold water to set in its new shape? Does the plastic protective layer need to be removed for the hot water bath?

Was distracted by Elden Ring for a bit, but now that I'm all finished with that it's back to work. Glued on the outer cover strips for the biceps and forearms, did some final sanding and I think I'm done with them for now. Maybe I shouldn't have, but I peeled off the protective plastic on the outside as a reward. Very satisfying. Started sizing the left shin first. This piece was the most difficult to work with (so far). It was a bit awkward to hold the pieces and check the fit against my leg, especially trying to check how it looks in the back. The first time I glued the front inner cover strip I didn't use enough glue and it snapped apart when I pulled the back opening apart to fit around my leg. A little scary, but just a little time loss and a lesson learned. Satisfied with the fit for now, any guidelines on how much boot should be showing under the shin? I should've taken pictures of the knee area to get feedback on how high the shin piece should sit on your leg. Sure is hard taking a picture of your calf. Here's hoping the rest of the kit will be easier.

Thanks for the quick response. The forearms fit fine, so I think I'll let sleeping dogs lie.

Thanks for all the responses, everyone is so supportive and welcoming. Only a small update since last, just finished the inner cover strips for the bicep pieces. Next I plan on doing some final sanding on the return edges of the arm pieces, and then attaching the outer cover strips. I know the forearm pieces are asymmetrical, but I noticed the right forearm is more oblong than the left forearm. Wanted to check if that's normal and acceptable, or if I need to make some adjustments before proceeding. When test fitting the bicep pieces, the circled part below is a little pokey. Since it'll be mostly covered by the shoulder bell I assume it'd be okay to shave it down a bit?

I was worried that the butt join gap would result in a weaker glue joint due to the reduced surface area for cover strip to armor contact, but it seems pretty sturdy so far. For the leg pieces that are subject to more stress I'll definitely try to get the butt join straighter and cleaner. I'm tempted to buy a belt sander but I have enough neglected power tools as is... Maybe I just need to reassure myself I'll definitely use it again in the future... Right? Will definitely need more/bigger magnets as that's my limiting reagent right now.

Hi all, long time listener first time caller. I pre-ordered the ANOVOS kit way back in 2015 at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim. After receiving the kit there was much ooh-ing and aah-ing as I sifted through the mountains of white plastic, and dreams of one day owning a completed armor set. It was then put back into storage (along with hopes and dreams) for almost a decade. But there's no time like the present! I've finally decided to complete this build or die trying, with a goal of completion by Halloween. I've lurked these forums and followed many build threads over the years, so I figured starting my own build thread would be a good way to document and share my journey like those that have inspired me along with getting some valuable feedback, About a year or so ago, I actually took the pieces out and rough trimmed everything. Thanks past-me! Decided to start with the right forearm first, here it is trimmed, sized, and inner cover strips attached. Didn't do a great job cutting straight so there is a bit of a gap at the butt joins. Imperial inspector Kiki disapproves of my shoddy work. Currently working on the left forearm and both bicep pieces. Just attached inner cover strips for left forearm, biceps are trimmed and sized but waiting on the arrival of more magnets before attachment of inner cover strips.