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I'm too large for Anovos (assistance in shimming)


shnar

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So I'm working on my Anovos kit, the forearms pieced and glued together no problem. Moving on to the biceps, the pieces are too small for my arms. I test the calves and thighs, again, too small. I simply cannot close the pieces in my sizing tests. I'm a bigger fellow, 6'2", broad shouldered and on the heavy side (295 lbs), so I obviously need to shim these pieces. I'm just not sure how to go about doing it. Here are some pictures:

 

I've tapped up the "fronts" of most of these, and as you can see here, I haven't trimmed down the front to the desired widths for the cover strip:

 

post-23413-0-65482400-1476080524_thumb.jpg

 

Here's how tight I can get it on the back:

 

post-23413-0-74175100-1476080523_thumb.jpg

 

The Bicep:

 

post-23413-0-78343800-1476080522_thumb.jpg

 

Back of my thigh:

 

post-23413-0-87363100-1476080525_thumb.jpg

 

So 3 main questions: 

 

1) How to go about shimming. I'm not really sure what the general approved process is. These pieces are two wide to use any of the left over strips I have from cutting them from their molds.  And how do I shim in the first place? Do I butt a strip against one of the cuts, then on the inside put a glue 'shim' down? Are there any good articles for shimming?

 

2) Where can I go to find a similar plastic to use to shim these? Would Lowes/Home Depot have something I could use? Some sheet of similar plastic to cut and glue.

 

3) Mold Edges, should they be cut? The edge of each piece has a 'thick' corner, shown here:

 

post-23413-0-09091800-1476080525_thumb.jpg

 

Should I trim off those edges? Can I and still qualify for 501st? And on which pieces? I did on the forearms, and they look pretty good, and are also required for Centurion approval. I'm not too concerned about that, but would love general approval. Seeing how small the thigh piece was, I trimmed those off, but the calf piece almost feels like it's needed.

 

Any help here would be appreciated for us larger folks. Needless to say this is a bit discouraging, but I'm assuming overcomable, just need to be pointed in the right direction.

 

-shnar

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Minor update, I did find this article: -------------

 

I found similar sheets that look like they'll work at my local Ace Hardware and I shall attempt to shim my shin pieces today. I'll probably do one piece that's an inch longer than I need, glued to the inside of the armor, and a second piece that's the amount I need glued to that (i.e. 2 pieces back to back). Will report back with progress.

 

-shnar

Edited by gmrhodes13
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Wow, that's going to need a LOT of shimming.  Also, note that your plastic sheeting is going to be a very different tone of white compared to the Anovos plastic.  It's a fairly impossible to match cream color that no one has found a perfect match for, and Anovos won't sell any raw sheets to anyone, unfortunately.  There is a guy on the Anovos Stormtrooper Kit Building Group on Facebook, BJ Browne, who has done some custom paint runs with paint that actually matches pretty well.  He's wrapping up a group buy NOW, so if you contact him today you might be able to score a can or two.  That'll be the only way to match the armor without having to paint the whole thing.

 

Aside from the color matching issue, it IS possible to add all the shims you're going to need, but it will be a fairly massive undertaking.  I haven't seen anyone shim Anovos armor into your size range yet.  I'm 6'3", but I'm thinner... I needed some side shims around my gut (I'm 220#) but the shims needed were just small enough that I could use leftover scrap pieces from the rough cut of my armor to make the side shims.  The rest is snug but tolerable, for me.

 

I hesitate to mention, but one option you might consider, depending on what you paid, is consider selling your kit before you make any alterations beyond the rough cut, and instead buying AM 2.0 or RT-Mod armor, both of which are designed specifically for larger troopers, and which will need minimal shimming, or possibly even none.  And matching plastic for shims is readily available, should you need any.  Just something to consider.

 

Otherwise, post back and I'll see if I can point you to some build threads where people have done leg and calf shims of the type you're going to need, and the same concepts can apply to the biceps, etc.  My build thread (linked below) shows the two techniques I used to make my side shims.

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Well, if you mix and match abs you will have to paint. And Bondo. And if at the end of the day it fits you all over the 501st will welcome it. And you'll get to brag about how much work it was and how awesome it looks.

 

There are better armours for bigger troopers. Am 2.0, rt-mod. Might still need an inch or two but not near as much.

 

If you can sell the anovos and upgrade a kit for yourself you may be happier in the end.

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I ran into the same problem you are having. I had to heavily shim the thighs because mine are larger. I have a thread going with my progress, but it is a huge pain and it is taking me a while. I added a shim behind the pieces then placed a shim over the top of that to fit between the two ends. I ended up using a slurry made from scrap to fill in the gaps and am currently sanding that down. I contacted Anovos to see if they have a paint recomendation for match color and they said no, take it to a paint store to see if they can color match their ABS.

 

Here is a link to my shimming progress to see if what did may help you or not.

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/38921-anovos-anh-thigh-shim-help/

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When it comes to final matching, I'm thinking of just painting the whole thing one particular color, so everything will eventually match. 

 

That kind of shimming is exactly what I'm trying. I don't think I want to resell, I'll just keep plugging away. Either I'll *make* it fit, or I'll lose some damn weight ;)

 

-shnar

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