Anovos Stormtrooper.... thoughts?

I never get that "after waiting a year" people tend to use as a valid argument. We all knew when we ordered that it will take this year until they start delivery - and they did it within the promised timeframe. It´s as ridicuolous as beeing upset when a purchase with "delivery in 2-3 weeks" is delivered within 2-3 weeks and not arriving on the door after 4 days.

Why shouldn´t you trim and use it till the replacement parts are available? It should be no difference if the later destroyed part is precut or not.

Their communication indeed seems to be a mess.
 
The indication from their responses seems to be destroy immediately, I could be wrong though. If it's not then who cares, just hold on to it till they contact you saying your replacement is ready to ship. But if they want you to destroy it now then that's just poor form, it shows a lack in faith to customers who put their faith in ANOVOS a year ago (when they had yet to ship a single piece of Star Wars gear and already had big delays with their other licenses like Star Trek).

But fair warning, I've been waiting since early December for my fiberglass TFA helmet replacement to be 'ready to ship'. And I have a sneaking suspicion I won't be receiving it until their new Premiere buckets start shipping out at the end of this year. If at all.

~JJ
 
I never get that "after waiting a year" people tend to use as a valid argument. We all knew when we ordered that it will take this year until they start delivery - and they did it within the promised timeframe. It´s as ridicuolous as beeing upset when a purchase with "delivery in 2-3 weeks" is delivered within 2-3 weeks and not arriving on the door after 4 days.

Why shouldn´t you trim and use it till the replacement parts are available? It should be no difference if the later destroyed part is precut or not.

Their communication indeed seems to be a mess.

To be fair I wasn't arguing over the wait for initial delivery, it was more the extra 8-12 weeks from now, with the destroying bit. Maybe it's me but there wasn't any information on shipping or replacement parts when the original order was placed, that may well have swayed me not to purchase. I agree trimming shouldn't be an issue, to us, but I fear they may say I destroyed a different breastplate, most of us have spares and other TKs.
 
What kind of manufacturer asks you to DESTROY the original defective product instead of exchange or keep it?

Imagine if you bought a defective TV or a laptop that was damaged during shipping, and the manufacturer asked you to destroy it instead of exchanging in order to use it's warranty for a replacement?

I understand ANOVOS' has full control over how it wants to manage it's warranty operations, but I agree this is a pretty strange policy. Clearly they want you to destroy to ensure you're not just in it for two breastplates or to give one to a friend, but if that's the case, why not ask it to be returned? If they don't want it back and you paid for it, what business is there's what you do with something that obv has no remaining value or use to the manufacturer?

Sorry, mini-rant, but this just seems like a really low blow for consumer rights to me ;)

I used to work at a guitar shop and once we had a shipment of Fender entry level acoustics that were all damaged when we got them. They told us to just cut the headstocks off and send them (just the headstocks) back to them.
 
I started trimming and snapping last week. it's a scary prospect. one little mistake could ruin it and the material is pretty thick. right now i'm practicing by cutting far away from the dotted line. If I make a mistake, it won't be a fatal one.....but my motor controls arn't what they once where...so I don't have much hope for when I have to get closer....

hopefully it all goes well fo a finish when I get back..but it's a slow process.
 
I started trimming and snapping last week. it's a scary prospect. one little mistake could ruin it and the material is pretty thick. right now i'm practicing by cutting far away from the dotted line. If I make a mistake, it won't be a fatal one.....but my motor controls arn't what they once where...so I don't have much hope for when I have to get closer....

hopefully it all goes well fo a finish when I get back..but it's a slow process.
I just finished trimming my kit today, and I actually found scoring and snapping pretty easy and straightforward, even without a ruler.

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I started trimming and snapping last week. it's a scary prospect. one little mistake could ruin it and the material is pretty thick. right now i'm practicing by cutting far away from the dotted line.

Yeah, Give yourself some room and if you need to, creep up on it with sandpaper. You got this!
 
Saw someone on YouTube trimming the armor with straight cut aviation snips ($14 from Home Depot). Seemed to cut the plastic pretty easily (basically like heavy duty scissors) and sure seems like a more controlled way of doing it than using power tools or scoring/snapping. I think I'm going to try that method when my armor arrives...
 
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Saw someone on YouTube trimming the armor with straight cut aviation snips ($14 from Home Depot). Seemed to cut the plastic pretty easily (basically like heavy duty scissors) and sure seems like a more controlled way of doing it than using power tools or scoring/snapping. I think I'm going to try that method when my armor arrives...
Aviation snips are usually serrated, leaving a messy edge behind. They're a lot easier on the hands than tin snips, though. The Dremel can do well, but it'll be much slower (and just as prone to disaster) unless you're extremely experienced with them. No other power tools need apply, IMO. (the air-powered saw is just nuts, IMO)

Score and Snap is a tried and true method. I'd study on that as a first choice. (Hint: The Exacto blade is NOT the best choice for this)

If you're extremely bad at this sort of thing, and don't even want to try, go for the Lexan scissors over the Aviation shears or tin snips.
 
Trimming the kit is going to be my biggest hurdle for the Summer I think!

Also, I finally recieved my soft goods. They didn't include the neck seal. >< I'll open a ticket on it tomorrow.
 
Trimming the kit is going to be my biggest hurdle for the Summer I think!

Also, I finally recieved my soft goods. They didn't include the neck seal. >< I'll open a ticket on it tomorrow.

Huh, same here. Anyone else with that problem?
 
What kind of blade did you use. I've been using scissors and a file. Man it's slow!
I found a decent box-cutter works perfectly for score/snap, certainly better than a flimsy xacto. While scoring, I held it in a way that made the "point" of the blade cut, rather than the edge (sort of scraping). Went over each line 2-3 times and I found the cuts are VERY controlled that way. No slipping whatsoever.

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I had considered that but thought it was going to be too large to wield. I'll give that a go now though. Thanks :)
 
I have had good luck scoring plastic using this type of tool.
 

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What kind of blade did you use. I've been using scissors and a file. Man it's slow!

Simple box cutter is totally the way to go. I did my entire suit, no problem. Changed blades once (probably could have changed one more time but I didn't start with a fresh blade, either)

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And remember, you're scoring it, not cutting it. The score line breaks the surface tension and gives the plastic a place to snap when you bend it. It's the "snap" that does the actual cutting.
 
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