ANOVOS announces custom PVC for original trilogy armor!

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

Here is a Quote from Anovos:

 

For those of you not member of the RPF (Replica Prop Forum), Anovos' GotMaul posted the following, concerning the switch to PVC:

The ultimate piece will be PVC. The reason you saw the variation was because it was still in deliberation what material we were going to use. My guys were in China this past week and put the materials through various professional tested conditions that looked at wear and tear, long term use and aging. The results we found pointed all at PVC for its durability and wear over the long term.

The part that most people don't understand about PVC is that there is a gradient of quality of this product. Arguably, the gradient between poor PVC plastic and amazing PVC plastic is larger than ABS. What we typically have used here in the states (at least from we have observed) is that everyone is usually held to the limitations of poor supply that doesn't necessarily give the best quality. This would explain the mixed responses ranging from people loving PVC to hating it.

With that being said, thanks to you on the RPF and thousands of people, our great experiment to leverage volume to command our own quality has paid off. I am so pleased to you all that behind the scenes, we are now buying plastic by the TONS. This has allowed to not only be free from the restrictions of supply, but actually custom make our very own plastic and what it will consisted of, down to the molecular level. The PVC we have chosen to make from scratch, will be highest quality PVC. It will also be dyed to match the bright white ABS (which is something that American PVC suppliers rarely see ) and an added element, unique to Anovos, will also have custom anti-UV protection mixed into the plastic. Not only will your armor be durable, it will also be protected much longer from yellowing caused by light and time.

All, I am so excited about this. We've knitted our own fabric before, but actually creating plastic is whole new level for us and it was all because of you and thousands other. Because of you guys, we are not only making more product, but actually expanding our hobby and taking costuming to whole new levels.

 

end quote.

 

This is fantastic news!

 

[hupspring[TK]]

Winter can't come soon enough. I'm even more excited than I was before, and I was already plenty excited!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Wow!

[crisisfilms]

I was slightly concerned when I first saw the pvc news but after I read his explanation I'm even more excited. Custom designed plastic sounds fantastic and I can't wait to get my hands on it. Especially love the UV resistant aspect considering how yellowed plastic can get.

[cm325i[TK]]

Does this mean that someone who had originally passed on this kit should go ahead and order one?

[gazmosis[501st]]

It's still bothering me that no updated in regards to the molds or even a prototype shot has been released. Greatest plastic on the planet means nothing if the items made out of it are garbage.

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

For what it's worth,  the photos that they had on their website said that they were photos of their actual prototype, and they looked pretty good at a quick glance. 

[hupspring[TK]]

Just got this email from Anovos, but I wasn't able to include the pictures.

 

 

Welcome to the Empire, Troopers!

 

The ANOVOS Team would like to extend its gratitude for your tremendous support of the Classic Stormtrooper Armor, and we are extremely humbled by your trust and excitement for our products!

 

As one of the many Founders for our officially licensed STAR WARSâ„¢ Classic Trilogy Imperial Stormtrooper, we wanted to reach out to you to begin a dialogue and establish a baseline for communication and updates on the progress of this exciting new product.

 

Due to the unique nature of the items we produce, ANOVOS traditionally operates along the lines of a pre-order crowd funded-style process, and thus our goal is to give you a peek behind-the-curtain as to updates relating to this product that you’re helping make a reality!

 

Firstly, the photos shown on ANOVOS.com are images of our actual prototype armor. Our production team has already begun the process of finalizing the sculpts used for the various armor pieces used in the kit. Our manufacturing and quality control representative, Heath, has been traveling to our factories over the past few weeks to oversee the final stages of pre-production development for the Classic Trooper.

 

A few photos from that trip are below… The first photo is the initial review of the sculpts by Heath and the manufacturing crew, so they could be made into tooled, metal bucks for the actual production run.
 

 

Once those final stages are complete, our factory anticipates tooling the bucks for the various armor pieces and, from there, will produce a few test pulls to verify quality before entering into full bore production.

 

Astute followers may have noticed a recent and significant change in our choice of material from ABS to PVC. ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) plastic is not necessarily the most suitable material for comfort and long-term wear. As our goal is to deliver the best possible product, we are taking the material itself to the next step with a custom-formulated, UV-protected, color-matched PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) material which should allow a new level of comfort, durability and — most importantly — wearability to Stormtrooper costuming. Make no mistake, this material is nothing like the “off the shelf†PVC you can find anywhere today — it is being custom-made just for your new armor! Over 4 tons of it, in fact. Crazy, huh?

 

During this process, we aim to bring you progress photos (as photos are worth a thousand words!) to give you an idea of what goes into creating armor for the soldiers of the Galactic Empire. Please remember that nothing we show you here is final as we are still in production, but it should give you a good idea of the directions we are going!

 

With regard to the soft-parts of this piece, what we can show you is the first test sample of the neck-seal which is included with your pre-order.
 

 

 

On a related note, because of the overwhelming response to this initial Stormtrooper pre-order, we have been able to continue offering a lower price point through at least July 9th as part of our “Revenge of the Fifth†Tier. If your friends or family were on the fence about purchasing armor for themselves, they still have a chance to save at almost 30% off the kit MSRP and almost 10% off the completed ensemble MSRP. Remember, building armor is more fun as a team!

 

Thank you again for your support as we work together to change the face of costuming and fill the world with more soldiers of the Empire! Be sure to ‘like’ our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, and on Instagram.

For the Empire!
Team ANOVOS
 

Reminder that we're still on target to reach our San Diego Comic-Con International stretch goal! If we can reach 33,000 Facebook fans by July 9th, we're also going to give FREE SHIPPING to 33 LUCKY FANS* who have purchased the Stormtrooper armor by that date. Share and like our Facebook page to bring the world more Stormtroopers!

*Applies to pre-existing (and newly placed) orders where shipping & handling was remitted, and that are shipping within the United States of America only. 

 

 

 

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

ah... to have a nice thread running... feels like the old days!