ANOVOS issues (ANOVOS ONLY discussion)

[Inquisitor Peregrinus]

Also find it interesting that both companies are based in California. Wonder how much cross-pollenation there is between the two -- if Joe and/or Dana know th efolks running xCoser and this might be a way to circumvent losing the Star Wars license with Anovos...

 

[ggriffaw]

Also find it interesting that both companies are based in California. Wonder how much cross-pollenation there is between the two -- if Joe and/or Dana know th efolks running xCoser and this might be a way to circumvent losing the Star Wars license with Anovos...

I see the California area code, but most of the website looks like it has been poorly translated into English. This is from the Jango Fett helmet page. "This item is in development and may be available for sale in Nov. please add to your wish list, don't buy it after in Sep. we will see if have 50 people like we will do and the price below"

The vast majority of the Xcoser products are at a lower level than the Anovos items. The Anovos-like items seem out of line with what Xcoser normally offers. It is similar to how people were concerned about Neca/Rubies taking over the higher end Anovos items.

I don't believe any of the Anovos-like items on the Xcoser website are currently in the product list Denuo Novo provided. Maybe excluding or delaying certain items was part of the agreement with Denuo Novo allowing for items to be sold through other channels.

There appears to be some kind of connection. It's hard to know if Xcoser is selling these items on their own or if there is an agreement.

 

[Jagjaguwar]

I had always assumed that Xcoser was just one of the many Chinese companies who produce low quality stuff and use pics taken from elsewhere. That Vader and jango helmet are definitely just Anovos product photos. I’d be interested in seeing if the actual product you’d receive would look anything like that. Impossible to make any conclusions based on the photos they have on the site- they could be selling anything. Also very very common on eBay and elsewhere for Chinese companies to have “addresses” in California. So that’d be another red flag for me, along with the poorly worded product descriptions.

edit: Whois search of their xcoser.com domain shows a registration out of Hong Kong.

 

[Jagjaguwar]

Also, I tried taking a look for any sort of screen caps from TFA of the flame trooper and found this, I’m assuming from launch bay or something, and so maybe it’s screen used or production made and maybe it’s something else, but the black lines look similarly rough:

Closer Look at The Force Awakens Flametrooper, Snowtrooper and More! - Star Wars News Net

An even closer look at TFA Stormtrooper, Snowtrooper, Flametropper, Kylo Ren and more… From nerdyorkcity.tumbler.com: And

www.starwarsnewsnet.com

 

[drftfan]

Something is up for sure. I will say though I have not heard of Xcoser pulling a bait and switch before. I mean they seem like one of the more legit China based companies selling cosplay items.

 

[Halliwax]

This story just keeps on getting stranger and stranger…

 

[Inquisitor Peregrinus]

Huh... When I was first researching them, it looked like they were an American company with manufacturing in China. Wonder what I missed. At any rate, yeah -- they're like a cheaper Rubies. Very hit-and-miss. I learned the hard way to not trust any description of their product until I have it in hand. And yeah, the original film costumes for the various First Order troops was made using new techniques. Time balance meant focusing on the extra time needed to make the up-close ones look good. The background troopers really don't stand up to close scrutiny.

 

[ggriffaw]

The finish on that flametrooper looks terrible. Maybe just the one slipped past QC?
Will you be contacting them about that or are you happy with it? Would be interesting to hear if DN class that as passable product.

I sent Denuo Novo an email with photos of the lines on Dec 6th. No response yet. I will add another post when there is a reply.

Does anyone have a suggestion for cleaning up the edges of the black lines if I do it myself?

 

[ggriffaw]

I received an email from Denuo Novo stating the Luke Skywalker Rebel Pilot helmet is in production and will be ready to deliver to customers in Q1 2022. This is the email asking you to confirm your address.

If you had one of these on order from Anovos and have not contacted Denuo Novo with your order number, I would recommend doing so.

STAR WARS™ Luke Skywalker™ Rebel Pilot Helmet (Pre-Order)

 

[34k]

I received an email from Denuo Novo stating the Luke Skywalker Rebel Pilot helmet is in production and will be ready to deliver to customers in Q1 2022. This is the email asking you to confirm your address.

If you had one of these on order from Anovos and have not contacted Denuo Novo with your order number, I would recommend doing so.

STAR WARS™ Luke Skywalker™ Rebel Pilot Helmet (Pre-Order)

I also received this email and replied. I ordered this April 18, 2018 and had basically written it off.

 

[H0llyw00d]

Got the email as well. Trying not to get my hopes up but...

 

[ggriffaw]

I sent the below email to info@xcoser.com.

Several of the items on your website appear to be the same items that Anovos used to sell or had listed on their site for future sales. Are these the same Anovos products?

Xcoser STAR WARS First Order Snowtrooper Helmet
Xcoser STAR WARS Darth Vader Premiere Helmet plus Voice Changer
Xcoser STAR WARS Crimson Stormtrooper Trooper Red Helmet Mask Cosplay
Xcoser STAR WARS Jango Fett Cosplay Helmet
Xcoser STAR WARS: AT-AT Driver Helmet

I received the below response.

Thank you so much for your interest in our products, these helmets you sent are Star Wars.

The email contains characters that appear to be Chinese in addition to the English text. They may have a US address listed, but it appears the emails are not handled by a native English speaker.

 

[drftfan]

I sent the below email to info@xcoser.com.


I received the below response.


The email contains characters that appear to be Chinese in addition to the English text. They may have a US address listed, but it appears the emails are not handled by a native English speaker.

Good lord... lol

 

[JoeG]

Gizmodo article on the Denuo Novo Mandalorian helmet.

Was This $700 Mandalorian Helmet, Years in the Making, Worth the Wait?

After the Star Wars prop replica license left Anovos—and left customer preorders in the lurch—a new company stepped forward to fill the gap.

gizmodo.com

 

[darthjones]

That Xcoser Kylo costume does not look as good as what Anovos had originally posted. And the fabric is a little bit off to the psycho fan eye, myself having looked hard into it last year.

The hood too on the Xcoser is flimsy compared to the doubled-over fabric of the original and Anovos.

Like a total fool I have decided to wait for the Dunovovo Kylo becuase I'm an idiot.

But it had better look an F load better than what Xcoser has up there.

I'll send an inquiry to Dunovovo

 

[Jagjaguwar]

Disappointing that instead of ever writing the article about Anovos’ issues with customers, Gizmodo decided to wait until there was another company’s wares to provide free advertising for.

 

[darthjones]

Disappointing that instead of ever writing the article about Anovos’ issues with customers, Gizmodo decided to wait until there was another company’s wares to provide free advertising for.

Gizmodo also goes into the "feel" of the helmet which has always bugged me. Fans don't get that all of the masks are either too heavy or too light. The real stormtrooper helmets from ANH looked heavy but that was all paint and finishing. They were super light and flimsy.

Gizmodo says that, for the price, the piece needs to feel overly substantial but I so totally disagree with this. Stable and sturdy enough, sure - but accuracy does not mean reproducing something that never existed.

Yeah this comes up all the time but it needs to.

 

[Jagjaguwar]

Yes and I can say, sometimes heavier weight works against the idea of durability. One of my anovos helmets, I’m convinced, has two cracks in it located in the spot where the majority of the weight of the helmet rested (FO TIE, displayed sitting on a shelf (albeit padded underneath) instead of up on a stand.

 

[r2019g]

I got the AT-ACT and Shoretrooper form BBTS today. Overall, the quality is good, and on par with my first Shoretrooper (no longer have to compare side by side).

Packaging is not as polished as Anovos was. I hate packing peanuts, but they seem to do a great job protecting the helmet. The helmet actually comes in two boxes, both with packing peanuts. The beauty card is also packaged to protect it. The black bag is nice.

The pads provided with the helmet are not as customizable as the Anovos pads.

The paint and overall quality of the helmets is good, although some of the paint lines aren't perfect, one spot on the Shoretrooper has visible blueish glue clumped, and the interiors aren't consistent.

My main gripe would be the interior of the helmets seems to be spotty as far as quality and finish. The AT is nicer inside but seems tighter than the Shore. I also noticed the screws holding the forehead plate (not sure of the official name, sorry) protruding deeply into the forehead area of the wearer on the Shore, but less deep on the AT.

Overall, I'm happy with these.

 

[ggriffaw]

Anovos also used packing peanuts and did not have a glossy box for the products produced at the Texas facility. I am fine with those changes. The peanuts seem to do a good job of protecting especially when they use a second inner box.

Denuo Novo increased the weathering on the AT-ACT from the original Anovos which isn't surprising since the later Shoretrooper produced by Anovos had increased weathering.

I'm not sure the AT-ACT should be heavily weathered. The below which taken from a Rogue One screencap shows the helmet as fairly clean and glossy. It looks like there is a little weathering along the horizontal ridge. I don't think the Anovos or Denuo Novo helmet is glossy enough. I have the Anovos version.