ANOVOS issues (ANOVOS ONLY discussion)

[mikidymac]

Are you confused on the quarters? Q3 is July - September.

Do I really expect them to start delivering all of those Q3 products in Q3? Nope, not anywhere near all of those. They have never delivered that many different items in a quarter.

LOL, you are correct. In my defense it was a longer than normal Monday.

I would agree. Their disclaimer if for imperfections in the finish as far as color and weathering as everyone is going to be a little different because they are hand made and application and technique is going to be different for every "artist" that is applying it.
This doesn't excuse them from poor craftsmanship like fingerprints on wet paint, trash in the paint, scratches or cracks.

 

[zsherman]

Does it cover ears being put on entirely wrong?

 

[ggriffaw]

I still find it suspicious that this notice came out just after a few people got helmets with fingerprints on them and as of today no one that has complained about them in this thread has heard back on what Anovos is going to do about it other than they are investigating, what the frack is there to investigate, send out a new helmet already without having the customer sending the bad one back first.

Some complained about the amount of weathering early on.

Defects in weathering are tricky. Weathering is meant to make the item look worn. When does it go from being weathering to being a defect?

The complaints about fingerprints may have prompted this addition. Fingerprints in the clearcoat are obviously not something done to intentionally weather the helmet. They are just mistakes.

Replacing items gets tricky. Are you saying anyone should be able to say they are not satisfied and get a second helmet without returning the "bad" helmet? Luckily I have never had to return an item like a helmet. I'm not sure how that is normally handled. I think some require proof the "bad" item has been destroyed.

LOL, you are correct. In my defense it was a longer than normal Monday.

I would agree. Their disclaimer if for imperfections in the finish as far as color and weathering as everyone is going to be a little different because they are hand made and application and technique is going to be different for every "artist" that is applying it.
This doesn't excuse them from poor craftsmanship like fingerprints on wet paint, trash in the paint, scratches or cracks.

I mostly agree, but scratches could be intentional for weathering some items. It depends if it is intended to be part of the weathering or was a mistake.

 

[ggriffaw]

As promised, here are a few photos of the “raw” Anovos Mandalorian. I still need to go in and do some detail sanding and smoothing here and there, but this is essentially what you’ll get after stripping the paint. The ear stripes are still incredibly shallow which is unfortunate. I’ve still got to fill the “thumb print” indent in the left ear cap so don’t mind that either.

Surprising how well the paint can be stripped off and look that clean. I wish they had an option on certain items to order them unpainted like the Shoretrooper helmet and x-wing helmets.

 

[Mr Mold Maker]

Surprising how well the paint can be stripped off and look that clean. I wish they had an option on certain items to order them unpainted like the Shoretrooper helmet and x-wing helmets.

Unfortunately it isn’t quite as simple as just pulling the paint off. The majority of the clear did come off, but there was a lot of very careful sanding involved for any spots that were a little less cooperative.. Of course you don’t want to lose a hair off the original cast, so it’s a very slow and delicate process.

I sure wish they sold unpainted or even straight up raw kits. Not sure where that would fall under licensing though. It would certainly make my job a LOT easier!

 

[darthjones]

That looks great now!!!!! And this will become quite the piece with your paint job I'm sure.

If I had limitless funds I'd cast it and send out copies for free.

 

[darthjones]

Wow, awesome.

I kinda share James Kenobis view. BUT I always had the montra, "If a fellow member can make item X with high quality for a reasonable price...ill buy it. Sure I can scratch make stuff, but my time is worth money as well. With that said, you never get the satisfaction of saying, " I made this" by writing a check.

From what I have seen so far the costumes will be a hit if there is enough preorders and the quality control is kept high.

Congrats guys, looking forward to some high ends costumes!

LOL!!! You also dont get the product by writing a check!!!

 

[ggriffaw]

Unfortunately it isn’t quite as simple as just pulling the paint off. The majority of the clear did come off, but there was a lot of very careful sanding involved for any spots that were a little less cooperative.. Of course you don’t want to lose a hair off the original cast, so it’s a very slow and delicate process.

I sure wish they sold unpainted or even straight up raw kits. Not sure where that would fall under licensing though. It would certainly make my job a LOT easier!

Anovos sells some items as kits like the OT and ST Stormtrooper armor, OT Stormtrooper helmets, Fett jetpack, and blasters. They have sold the AT-AT helmet and TIE.pilot armor as kits as well.

It may be more of a problem with fiberglass helmets though. Don't you need to be careful with working on the rough parts like the edges and inside? Did you remove the liner?

I would think your version will look much better than the Anovos or efx because of the time your taking and material you will use. Unfortunately mass produced versions can't meet that level and keep the cost reasonable.

 

[Mr Mold Maker]

It may be more of a problem with fiberglass helmets though. Don't you need to be careful with working on the rough parts like the edges and inside? Did you remove the liner?

I would think your version will look much better than the Anovos or efx because of the time you’re taking and material you will use. Unfortunately mass produced versions can't meet that level and keep the cost reasonable.

Raw fiberglass casts certainly can cause some problems if the edge is left raw. The inside is a little easier to control, the people they have fiberglassing them certainly know what they’re doing. I removed the liner in the helmet that I’m reworking and the inside seems very nice and smooth. I’m certainly not being grabbed by any sharp points like you see in more amateur castings. They could run the casts, buzz off the bottom edge, and be good to go more or less.

Anovos actually takes all the same steps. The material quality is what lets them down.. they just need a better metal paint. It doesn’t have to be Alumaluster, but anything better would have been great. They need to lay off on the final clear coat too, the things are absolutely drenched in it. EFX is another story, I have to wait for photos to confirm it but from what they’ve released, I’m fairly certain they aren’t even attempting to follow the original process. Luckily I will be doing a few EFX helmets. I will gladly be posting photos of the stripped helmet, as well as before/after photos.

 

[AJK001]

Replacing items gets tricky. Are you saying anyone should be able to say they are not satisfied and get a second helmet without returning the "bad" helmet? Luckily I have never had to return an item like a helmet. I'm not sure how that is normally handled. I think some require proof the "bad" item has been destroyed.

I mostly agree, but scratches could be intentional for weathering some items. It depends if it is intended to be part of the weathering or was a mistake.

What I said was the customer shouldn't have to send back the item before a new one is sent out. Once they get the new one they can send the old one back and if they don't make it clear they will be charged for another one. When HGC had some problems with the first batches of the Fifth Element Blasters they sent out new ones and all the customer had to do was show them a picture of the old one destroyed even though it wouldn't surprise me if some took advantage of this. That is the kind of customer service that gets people coming back.

I also understand weathering can be in the eye of the beholder and not liking the weathering on your particular helmet is not grounds for a replacement while fingerprints and mistakes, if you can show it was a mistake, are another thing altogether.

 

[masterjedi322]

My unboxing of the Mandalorian helmet:

Sean

 

[Pepperbone]

My unboxing of the Mandalorian helmet:

Sean

Thanks for the video!
It's interesting how yours looks like it has a generally cleaner surface than the ones RSutter and I received, except for that cheek demarcation line which looks pretty rough here.

 

[RSutter]

My unboxing of the Mandalorian helmet:

Sean

Glad you received yours. It's definitely in a much better overall shape than mine. Almost looks like a completely different overall paint job to me when comparing the two.

 

[iCEM4N]

It is bad that there is such a problem at all. apparently there is no quality control. Of course, this can always happen, but it is not the first time that the great high-quality anovos products have problems here. I only say the defective cracking paint on the Phasma helmet, unibrow paint on the second Kylo batch and now the fingerprints on the Mandalorian. The general delivery problems not even mentioned ...

 

[Synz314]

My unboxing of the Mandalorian helmet:

Sean

Yours looks good minus the apparently poor masking on the cheeks.

Is the second visor removable? I feel like that visor would make the helmet even tighter for people with big heads. Not sure why they don't just use a darker lens.

 

[Mr Mold Maker]

My unboxing of the Mandalorian helmet:

Sean

That is honestly the best Anovos Mandalorian I’ve seen to date. It is not even comparable to the stock finish that the one sent to me on commission had.

You should be able to remove the weathering on those cheeks with some 99% alcohol so you can reapply to your own to your liking. Just be careful of the matte areas, I’m not sure if those are solvent resistant. I didn’t test that unfortunately, I should have.

 

[ggriffaw]

Here are photos of my Anovos Mando helmet. I don't notice much as far as defects. There are a few light scratches.

 

[AJK001]

The last 2 helmets look great. It really makes you wonder how they can mess up so badly with some of them when you see that they can sometimes still do good work.

 

[ggriffaw]

The last 2 helmets look great. It really makes you wonder how they can mess up so badly with some of them when you see that they can sometimes still do good work.

The Mando helmet is the first for Anovos in their Texas facility. We have no idea what the experience level is of the people finishing the helmets. There may be a learning curve for the individuals and the processes of the facility.

I'm not trying to justify some of the issues getting through and being shipped to customers, but hopefully this will result in changes to their procedures to improve quality control. It's a very different situation than having a helmet built by a factory in China that has been doing similar work for many years.

 

[masterjedi322]

Thanks for the video!
It's interesting how yours looks like it has a generally cleaner surface than the ones RSutter and I received, except for that cheek demarcation line which looks pretty rough here.

Glad you received yours. It's definitely in a much better overall shape than mine. Almost looks like a completely different overall paint job to me when comparing the two.

Thanks, gents! Overall, I think the it's a relatively good paint job. I recognize how difficult chrome finishes are, so I get it. Agreed yours don't appear to be even close to this one, so I feel for ya...

Yours looks good minus the apparently poor masking on the cheeks.

Is the second visor removable? I feel like that visor would make the helmet even tighter for people with big heads. Not sure why they don't just use a darker lens.

I believe the inner visor is removable. It's held in place by screws at multiple locations within the helmet that are readily accessible. I actually had recorded a clip showing this, but it ended up on the cutting room floor.

That is honestly the best Anovos Mandalorian I’ve seen to date. It is not even comparable to the stock finish that the one sent to me on commission had.

You should be able to remove the weathering on those cheeks with some 99% alcohol so you can reapply to your own to your liking. Just be careful of the matte areas, I’m not sure if those are solvent resistant. I didn’t test that unfortunately, I should have.

Thanks for the tip! I'll check it out. Not sure if I have the courage to take alcohol to it just yet...

Sean