HI all, sorry about the delay in getting to these questions. Really good stuff here so let me dive in.
Big question is when do you estimate pre-orders will open to the general public and when do you imagine they will ship to customers?
Because of stipulation of selling, we won't be able to offer The Force Awakens merchandise to the general public until the end of the year, closer to the big movie release. What we did with the 501st was a unique marketing opportunity, where Anovos and the 501st got to represent the next face of the new era in Star Wars with a big bang! While it made my heart sad to turn so many people away from the TFA sales at the booth, it warmed up again to see such an amazing response to the work we all overcame to bring the new Stormtroopers to life in the convention.
The original Stormtropers were a blacksuit and various pieces clamped on with the abs/back hung with a suspender rig. Can you give a little insight on how this new suit goes together? Next question, what is the undersuit like (ribbed etc)? Were the gloves off the shelf or custom?
One of the big inspirations for this new suit was uniformity. One of the drawbacks of the old TK suit was that an observer could tell if the person in the armor was thick, thin, or amorphic. Thus, the solution was create a gasket system that actually attached to the armor rather than the person. This gasket gave the trooper thickness uniformity, while the production simply tried to choose those who fit in the 5'10 - 5'11" range for height. The results were staggeringly symmetric. Thus, to answer your question, you can still wear a lycra under suit underneath this suit, but the harnesses will be independent of it and attach directly to the armor.
Gloves : not found. In fact, they were manufactured for the movie. Another fact : Anovos has reached out to the same company and we are bringing those gloves to the public.
So many questions! I'll echo those wondering just how soon we'll be able to avail ourselves of this or any other version of TFA Stormies. I figure the Q4 projection is based on some sort of Disney and/or LFL not wanting any TFA Stormtroopers "crashing" premiere events? That is, trying to keep it to hired performers and 501st? I'd like to know the options breakdown -- whole thing only, helmet and armor able to be ordered separately, optional pieces that can be ordered separately so one could swap between, say, Stormie and Incinerator Trooper without needing two full suits, and so on like that.
I'm also curious if you can tell us what was used or the original suits that was so expensive, and whether you can recapture the detailing in vac-formed ABS (like the separate belt boxes on the movie suits versus the apparently molded-on boxes on the Anovos display suit). Will the latches be functional (indeed, were they functional or decorative on the movie suits, for that matter)? If not, how much work would an end-user have to put into
making them functional?
Sorry if this is a lot, but I love these and can't wait for the opportunity to get started on one.
--Jonah
First question: for now we will be offering only kits and helmets of The Force Awakens armor. The nice thing is though, you will have some buy options to increase the value of your suit. When we do get to release this at the end of the year, you will have the choice of two helmets - our standard edition (~$200-250) or our Premier edition (~$700) . The difference between the two are really the materials. Standard edition will be injected plastic with mostly plastic parts and adjustable inner lining for proper fit. The Premier edition will feature fiberglass build but with metal detailing such as the aerator and mesh. As for the current kit we have, we are looking at multiple options for completion on it, but we haven't fully committed to which direction we will take. Just know though, you will have some options in the armor as well.
The originals suits used a flexible poly urethane. This has basically become the standard in hollywood for movie armor. The great thing about it is that the detail is extremely crisp because it originates out of a two part mold, injectable mold. But the problem is, it is very expensive with a high production failure rate. When I ran the numbers, to replicate this procedure would bring the price of the armor well into the $8,000 - $10,000 dollar range which, while cool and totally accurate, would not be feasible for our markets. The real magic was then converting this armor into Vacuform ABS. While admittedly, some of the detail is soft, if you look at the overall balance of accuracy vs pricing accessibility to the masses, you will see that vs a $10,000 dollar suit, this is not bad.
The latches were not functional. Trust me, we were disappointed to find this out too. I believe they had every intention of making them functional, but alas, it was not to be had. With that being said, should YOU make them functional, give us a jingle !
The biggest question I see thrown around right now is if the helmets/suits were scanned from original suits, why are there some pretty dramatic differences in the parts from the originals vs the ANOVOS castings? Some of the more obvious are shown in this photo. Screen suit on display on the left, ANOVOS on the right.
I get that some of the differences in the suit are due to vacuforming, but the helmet since it is resin/fiberglass should be able to copy the subtle nuances of the original fairly easily, especially with a 3D scan of the helmet.
View attachment 467227
This is a good question. From what we've observed, there were actually different sized helmets used in production. Also, as it turns out, the helmets we received directly from production did in fact vary with TWO other screen used helmets, which varied against themselves ! Therefore, what we did was use the one we received from production for our run which seemed to have the biggest size accommodation for the helmet.
The more I stare at the Anovos helm, the more differences pop out at me. It looks nice, but accurate, it ain't.
Unless they fix some of the glaring differences for actual production, I think I'll take a pass on this one.
Sorry to disappoint. As stated earlier, just like the variances in the original TK's, these helmets weren't immune as well. The helmet we used was provided by production.
We may also want to wait and see how some of the other TKs look in the movie. The screen used helmet on display may have been a "hero" version... we may find that some of the background or less prominent TKs have helmets with less refined details as well.
Still... for the speed at which Anovos came up with these I think they are damned good. Perfect...? maybe not. But damned good.
Thank you for that. Yup, 3.5 months for something that typically takes 11-12 months is quite accomplishment . I am still reeling from the effects of such a stressful period.
Do we know when the armour kits will be available and how much it will be?
The full kit, no. The helmets yes. End of the year and look at my earlier answer to the question.
Do you have any thoughts on how to improve the gaskets, Art? Perhaps the materials used or a different shape? Or do you think this is a necessary evil that troopers will just have to live with in the future?
the originals used a rubber that was thinner. But in the same token, it was extremely challenging for us to find a set that wasn't damaged or torn in some way. This lead us to the conclusion that the thickness used on set just didn't hold up over time. Therefore, the thickness we chose here at least would guarantee a longer half life, which we chose over comfort.
ABC interview with Anovos at celebration VII
Crazy huh ?
Is there any official word that a kit form will be offered for that price point? Don't tell me I have to buy an OT and a PT suit this year!!!!
Not yet, still working out the details, but we have time. Looking at the end of the year for the release of this
From the interview:
Joe Salcedo from Anovos:
Standard Injected Helmet ~$200
Premium Fiberglass Helmet ~$7-800
Armor Kit ~$400
Armor Premium Version up to $2500
Dana Gasser: Available "near the end of the year, closer to when the movie comes out."
Helmets are more solid than the kits and built up. Again, working on it !
The movie design has actually been growing on me since I originally saw it, but the one main complaint I have with the Anovos kit after the differences started getting pointed out is the boxes actually being a part of the ab plate. I can understand why that change was made from a savings point of view, but it is something I would like to see improved as a premium option. Which leads me to the question of whether someone can mix and match what premium options they want or if you have to be "all in"?
There will be areas where you can choose to go premium or not. This way, you can control the level of accuracy you are trying to attain without going overboard on your expenditures.