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Lee_C Anovos TLJ build


Lee_C_77

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Right. Finally getting round to posting this up on here. I’m almost ready for painting so I thought I’d show what I’ve done so far. 
Kit was ordered September 2016. Received about 8 weeks ago, minus the lid and the gaskets. This is ok as I have gaskets from GP. I also ordered a lid from sanotized creations. This brings me on to the next point. 
I had a paint shop unsuccessfully try to match a paint with the armour. It is not possible. They matched it but when you go from being inside to outside and vice vests, the shade of white changes, due to the properties of the plastic. 
We decided, to keep things uniform, to paint the whole kit and get a lid that requires painting. I’ve seen a few Anovos kids on painted kits that haven’t 100% matched and I didn’t want this. 
mom a side note, I think that anyone building this kit will have to paint it. Even the suggested paint, that Anovos recommend for the resin parts does not match 100%. 
Some quick pointers. The yoke needs filling and reinforcing, the ab section needs filling at the seams, the forearms need modifying and the TD backplate needs modifying. More on those later. 
Here’s what comes with the kit. 
E8-B2-D602-D2-F9-4993-B189-7-C06-E997-F8
22-C690-E8-8555-49-FB-B97-E-3154-EA51169
CD381593-2-B2-F-48-F4-A0-DA-4316-BC0199-
CC5-B1-FBC-B234-45-BF-9-BB3-B2-EB3-EDDB3
EDC33-A47-0440-4664-B942-A13-E4-D3110-AE
CDD736-DE-63-F2-4-F2-D-BA53-1-BA97394-C3
1-D7-FAF8-A-FD72-4-DD1-A2-DC-C339310-F23
38873197-7-AFC-4-D4-D-8-A94-330-FA677-F8
0-B3-A5198-06-E3-41-F6-8-EB8-EB821-A4-B6
1933-A291-BA23-40-D3-BF98-79596967-D4-F5
8-B8-F9-E14-E17-A-47-EC-BC33-2-FA104-E76

Edited by Lee_C_77
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AB Section

 

The ab section has internal overlap strips built in so that they join together. Anovos instructions state to use Velcro, but the crl says seamless. 
I used devcon plastic weld to glue the 2 halves together. 
This then means that unless you have a 28” waist that it needs opening along the back. I cut along the rear line, and used snaps and elastic to close it. Even though my waist and chest aren’t huge, there’s a 50mm gap at the lower part of the back, and a 100mm gap at the top. This is ok and is covered by the TD back plate. 
 

1620632-F-5622-4769-A300-1048-FEFD6479.j
DA6-D83-B4-8-C13-4108-BEBE-8539-DE141-B8

 

Withe the ab section glued and cut, I used poly flex flexible body filler to fill the seams that run up the sides of the ab and back section. I mixed it and applied it from a syringe, using a silicone former to spread and shape it. It dries very very quickly and is flexible. 
 

3114-F56-F-E7-B3-4-E56-943-E-744-DFAC6-F
54-AF639-F-1-DA6-4342-AD2-D-C1-C4-EB43-B
054-BE5-B6-AD71-4131-8963-A285-CFD46-B9-
1785-EDDA-BB06-4-CBE-84-B3-4864207393-E4
4-A97-F6-BA-B23-D-47-D0-8-C8-F-5-C7-DB4-

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TD backplate

 

This was my first real problem. The design and curve of the backplate is not curved properly. With the ab section not cut up the rear, it fits. When you open the ab section up to fit you, it obviously throws the shape out into more of a curve. Also, they say use Velcro to secure it. This is insufficient for this part due to 2 things. The TD is cast and is fairly heavy. Also, Velcro doesn’t pull the plate in tight and leaves gaps at the edges, which look awful. 
Here’s what I did to get this to fit. 
 

I used some angled plastic to sit in the internal top part of the TD holder. This hooks over to top of the ab section rear and supports the weight of the whole piece, keeping it nice and secure. Then I glued 5mm earth magnets to the lower sides of the TD holder. A thin piece of plastic sheet glued on this, with 2 more magnets on top of that. I then glued 2 5mm magnets inside the armour. Once fitted, it fits and holds really well. I also had to trim the edges of the TD holder slightly to fit the curve of the ab section. 
 

5-C6-DB79-B-453-B-44-C1-96-C5-945-A80647


76673533-EDD5-48-B9-AA2-E-C446-ADE97386.

 


500-F287-A-A5-BB-43-FE-AFF0-4362-A92-D03


AE1-CF14-D-01-D1-4109-8090-692-B28-E78-E


4-B4-BAA2-C-4-DD4-4999-A88-B-AAC68-F26-C


054891-EA-355-E-4-AE9-91-E3-BBAF03-F35-F

 

Edited by Lee_C_77
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This is great!

If mine ever arrives it's so nice to see a step by step for us to see how the issues are handled.

I already have my Devcon and Poly-Flex ready to go but it will probably be expired by the time my kit arrives.

 

And 28" waist? WTF? as usual Anovos???

Edited by mikidymac
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3 hours ago, mikidymac said:

This is great!

If mine ever arrives it's so nice to see a step by step for us to see how the issues are handled.

I already have my Devcon and Poly-Flex ready to go but it will probably be expired by the time my kit arrives.

 

And 28" waist? WTF? as usual Anovos???

Thanks. Hope your kit arrives soon. There are a fair few issues with the kit. The instructions are pointless. There’s no way you can use Velcro on the kit and get clearance. And regarding the ab section, I think anyone with a 36” waist or above will struggle. The TD plate Is maybe 6inch wife andmust cover the rear split part. My waist is 32” and there’s a 2 “ gap already. 

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Forearms 

 

Unfortunately, the forearms are a really poor shape. The top part cuts too deep when compared to screen caps. All the BS about perfecting accuracy and scanning screen used parts , they really messed this part up. Anyway, I was told that these were ok for clearance, but I wanted to mod them to make them a little better. Unfortunately I’ve struggled to get consistent screen caps. I’m thinking that the top may have been trimmed slightly to suit the person in the armour on screen. 
 

here’s Anovos effort

 


B1718-B4-B-885-B-4-B80-8-FDF-1-B24-FE236

 

 

 

Edited by Lee_C_77
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Forearm mods

To try and make the forearms better I did the following.

Trimmed the return edge from the part to be modded. Considering it was pre trimmed it was rough anyway.
46d163d94331cb9a5698f75f838202f5.jpg

Then I heated some abs sheet. I heated it a few times, progressively shaping it.

9af8be555dea25b8e37985cb214a33a3.jpg

ad3377d6f827223e7811df434184b223.jpg

Once happy, I glued it inside the arm.

b73d22601e9872baaa0a9d6d750d9f29.jpg

e13b8d5002012763b9efcc7598c669ea.jpg

Then cut another piece to sit on top, bringing it flush to the armour.

a908a3892627e803f5afa7c9e7b3bf4f.jpg

Before I filled the joint with polytek. It might need a little more shaping but I’m fairly happy with it.

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Great work will be a good guide for others to follow, if their kits every turn up.

 

It's a shame Anovos changed some details for better screen accuracy like the longer front yoke and the bottom ab tabs (which can't really be seen) but then let obviously things slip by.

 

You are well on top of this though ;) 

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Thanks for the kind words. Hopefully kits will start shipping soon. I noticed that another deadline has been and gone without any updates.

 

Yoke assembly

 

This part has been the biggest PITA to get right. The way the instructions tell you to assemble it is by using Velcro on the shoulder joint to hold the front and back parts together. Whilst this would work, if going for clearance, the joint needs to be seamless. I thought that this would simply be a case of filling and blending. But it isn’t.

Here’s a picture of the 2 halves glued together with Devcon plastic weld and a first layer of poly flex filler. It’s a small picture as I forgot to take one and edited one from further along.

 

4a607e48053478bc1772995096208175.jpg&key=6d736bb09dfd943bcaa8dfe7f22e722304dde18f42f2ad74a4aa93d5b5b0b3d5

 

With this glued and dried there is a hell of a lot of flex on the yoke. Far too much. It flexes so much that it puts pressure on the area around the joint, to the extent that it will split and crack.

To remedy this I bought some of the brackets from UKSWrath to support the seam and joint. These things are great. With a little mod, they fit perfectly and really do stiffen the whole of the shoulder area. b9e305b4e9bf3eeca171e77a8790b156.jpg&key=97efb08d6a7ea3aa1cc0fc4701d30268392600d8d09b2830c6ed55760ea26b5f

 

8061bd4f2594512662767d3cd5322fef.jpg&key=bac175b161bf270c5c2bb9ea71c48d3734738fad7020ae90656aeaf9eec7c7ac

 

74f5a399f92bd481f79969b544146e22.jpg&key=e72f7d9342b464d39c982b33f24580b7d7f18ac24d1b0df8ad56740b4d5dd6fd

 

f265391ac3ff96e1ae0559a1aea6cd7a.jpg&key=1ab587f9c5cc50bdf24ca393c5dd607649c3fd8dffdfe617dd96db4788a2f9e1

 

These are really easy to fit. They need a slot cutting on the yoke, then bending slightly to fit, before being glued in. But note that 1 of the small parts at the top needs removing due to the Anovos return edge not being deep enough to accommodate it. And don’t forget to glue a small piece of abs to the top of the flaps that protrude through the yoke to support the shoulders.

See picture below.

 

7a5ecabac755c06c2a33f8036ce2bddf.jpg&key=d8b78a623d00fe901d00b0d185edff5e9a307bcfa50963061d87e5334ca6d221

 

 

Whilst the bracket really stiffens you the yoke, it does cause another problem. It moves the stress away from the shoulder areas to another area. If you think of the arm opening as a clock, it moves the stress point from 12 o’clock, to 10 and 2 o’clock.

I noticed stress marks in these areas. I tried to photograph them but it’s hard to see them.

 

ddba1f3d0b40484187ef825b1c0dc786.jpg&key=06212b6156c96cc687709d3b06c81b949fe49516817177355ffb49bf3d5817bb

 

7d62719da60713c48d05dcea09ecec92.jpg&key=530dcc7a3aed7288352c8045d32e45b0195ee7eec3a2157a9e0af772435436da

 

To rectify this I reinforced the areas by heating plastic sheets up and cutting/shaping them inside the yoke.

 

ddf8ad4e2ab3a1b4fb320c11e264f9df.jpg&key=f622d30b8fbf49a0801042c48500a92752044f4c1b1cb3c0b2dae1ae5ffee424

 

0f0a4c4ffba89c6cb3f1c4eef4fab90b.jpg&key=ed05579d9081ed0045c218dd7a004545382f454b5aa5d5634994a6e050e5d1a1

 

c6e393cdbe98a2ef305507a9f9159064.jpg&key=74bd7f605265ecb3b393f18d7dcc6df979cc45954683329ea1d174efdf4773aa

 

Until you end up with something like this.

 

73e0bce9c18394991d75dcd9a09c18f8.jpg&key=7750a677d1c650760dcbb9a1c034a46b9d148edcb3257fd0176e2b742193da64

 

So, with all of the reinforcing done, I gave a final fill to the seams, after using primer to look for imperfections.

 

67c3a176aa509cc687523b4ee37ad869.jpg&key=b74d35d6780f42bfe3dbbd79a48314949b2206ce3c3403f9d0869451c9a41e47

 

And I ended up with this.

 

c95546b9c287356ced10289cf73b8f7b.jpg&key=e49125cd663b2de79c1541dfb44625397ff04701558ec4b3de63d8f302b9cb3d

 

059f2d17cf2f12045e7aa9704b147ae6.jpg&key=f57b8a83e5df39813fe5bd13fa48bdeaea5e2a4dd1f7ec0068589602024e78ad

 

And the yoke is now ready for primer and paint. I’m fairly sure that like all the other abs yokes, it will crack and need repairs but apart from reinforcing it, there’s not a lot you can do.

 

EDIT

 

Don’t forget to fix 2 snaps to the metal shoulder supports. These attach with elastic to snaps inside the shoulder bell. If you want, you could slot the elastic through the yoke but it leaves it very thin and at risk of splitting.

 

8d6bad229d0c2e5638b409b4f0b47dbb.jpg

 

 

 

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Edited by Lee_C_77
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Ab section mods for Butt, cod and belt.

I changed the way the butt and cod attach to the flaps at the bottom of the ab section too. Anovos say to use Velcro but I don’t think that it was man enough. I tried putting snaps straight to the flaps but this was too rigid. There needs to be a little give in them for movement.

On the rear part, I trimmed away part of 2 of the flaps and glued 50mm webbing each side. Then I used snaps.
The 2 inner facing snaps will line up with snaps on the butt connection, allowing a secure and flexible attachment. The snaps facing outwards will be used to attach the belt and stop it slipping or rotating. More on that later.

4faf30570e56455bc9848a07fbb329b9.jpg

ff18c3d5510535d0a9d06af76a451da6.jpg

For the front I did something similar. I cut 2 sections away and fixed webbing in. The 2 snaps line up with the snaps on the cod. The centre one will attach to the belt.

64fcad0ff3ea7fd4ae92c93b6555e116.jpg

dd936a4730dfdba141c000123a741a80.jpg

Also, anybody building this kit, ignore/throw away the instructions. They are pointless and basically say to use Velcro to connect everything together. Also, the templates they give you for the Kit Kat parts on the shins have the holes in the wrong place. They don’t line up so be aware.


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Nice work and you are correct stiffening under the top of the yoke only shifts the stress point, over 4 years I've added longer support strips behind twice which has helped, I have them all around the opening now down to hallway at the front and back. 

 

Way to go, ditch the Velcro, makes life easier down the track.

 

 

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22 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Nice work and you are correct stiffening under the top of the yoke only shifts the stress point, over 4 years I've added longer support strips behind twice which has helped, I have them all around the opening now down to hallway at the front and back. 

 

Way to go, ditch the Velcro, makes life easier down the track.

 

 

Regarding the Velcro, as it’s TLJ armour, the arms and legs all have overlap joints that open to help put them on. The instructions say to use Velcro to close them. This isn’t going to work either. 
due to the thickness of velcro it leaves a 4–5mm gap on the overlap and looks horrible. I’m thinking of using a few 0.75mm magnets to close instead. Whilst the gap with the Velcro is only noticeable when you look close up, it looks awful and is one of those things that will bug me. 

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Depends on the thickness of the Velcro, I use it on my shins and they really aren't that open too much, as its on the inside it's not that noticeable.

 

In regards to the legs and arms overlap joints you don't need to use Velcro there, they can be glued together and don't need to open to put on, the overlap construction is just screen accurary, not needed for actual dressing. 

 

 

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Depends on the thickness of the Velcro, I use it on my shins and they really aren't that open too much, as its on the inside it's not that noticeable.
 
In regards to the legs and arms overlap joints you don't need to use Velcro there, they can be glued together and don't need to open to put on, the overlap construction is just screen accurary, not needed for actual dressing. 
 
 

Good shout. I’ve glued the biceps and thighs tonight. Forearms need to be able to open to get my wrists in, so that will be magnets. Shins will be Velcro on the inside leg.

The Anovos kit is paper thin around the rear of the neck area. Maybe less than half a mm. Adding some plastic sheet inside. Photos to follow once it’s dried. I’m guessing that all of the early Anovos kits needed reinforcing inside too. It doesn’t look pretty, but it’s needed to keep the flex to a minimum.

Hopefully they start to get some kits out soon


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Definitely any additional strengthening to the yoke is a great idea, they do take a lot of strain getting arms in and out and flex a lot, if they are now that thin they will be even more susceptible to cracking, good call.  

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Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing.  Great work so far!  You know seeing all those magnets, I wonder if at some point we'll see people using those instead of snap plates to do connections between such things as shoulder bells, etc.?

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Thanks for the input guys. Regarding magnets, I’ve tried them on the wrist sections and they’re fine. I used them in the chest to yoke connection too. I’ll put photos up later.

I had a really productive Sunday, taking advantage of a nice warm day to get the whole kit painted, after priming it last week.

Excuse the awful pictures, it’s like a game of Jenga in the shed, and I’m scared too move everything until the weekend.

Remember, that this was the kit that Anovos said required no paint. Then they said the resin parts only. Trust me. The whole kit needs painting.

19e500b88cb4e40c3994b9e6255bfb3f.jpg

097a6776d09982d0a9ca1c42da6991b3.jpg

742fa62af5984f26e7cd33cc779c6932.jpg

Regarding the paint, I’m ok with painting, and used cans of 2k paint, so no need to lacquer.
The paint is TC10 2k and I have it from the supplier that this is the colour used to touch up the rubber screen suits and to paint any none rubber parts. I’ve seen the sample cards from the movie in his store. It’s the same supplier that supply the studio. This sample was from the spacebear sample cards which was the working title for TLJ. The name was space trooper white, and the pint code was TC10. It was quite cool for him to let me flick through the sample cards. I’m trying to go there again regarding the TR1XIE colours for another costume.

91063bc30feb4b04e926d5781404a795.jpg

I managed to get the right thigh out and fit dans holster.

3cc78e0125e189ed3b07506d73fbafba.jpg

And all I had to hand to try it was an F11D.

f74e1533d64594b8ec03bcac774c15e7.jpg

On a side note Dans holster is a few mm smaller than the Anovos one. The holes in the Anovos resin part need re drilling to take this holster. And the self tapping screws that he supplied need cutting by a couple of mm.

Hopefully get more pictures up soon as trying to get clearance for a con. Painting was the big job. The rest is fairly straightforward.

Also, along with the instructions and the Velcro Anovos supply, toss the resin holster in the trash.


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Great update Lee! The kit is looking fantastic.

I love how Anovos include their choice of paint in the instructions for their “kit which doesn’t need painting”

If only they had access to Colorite! The guy is a legend.




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