ANOVOS issues (ANOVOS ONLY discussion)

That's actually why I wish they'd delayed the OT Stormtrooper til after they released an R1 version. They're doing high-end costumes, trying to find a balance between wearability and accuracy. And if that lay-person gets a warts-and-all Stormtrooper getup without knowing that's how sloppy the originals were, they're going to be miffed. Do the new, idealized R1 first, and then do an OT one for the "purists". None of it's relevant to me, though. I get my OT Stormie armor from RT-MOD, because I'm juuuust enough taller than the height range for the screen-accurate armor to have it look right on me, and he makes a slightly upscaled one that I won't have to fiddle with for fit. I'm hoping he eventually does an R1 version -- but I honestly also can't remember if they went with slightly taller basic Stormies in that film (not just the Death Troopers).

--Jonah

I think from a business stand point though they did exactly the right thing. Even now as they claim they are a small company, they were little more than a start-up when the OT trooper was introduced. They needed something with low r&d, and something that could be relatively inexpensive to produce so they could raise capital and actually *produce* a product. That product still take a year or more to ship but I digress lol. There's no way that dumping the costs into r/d and production into a Rogue One trooper out of the gate would have been beneficial. The OT Stormtrooper served its purpose well, raised lots of money for future products and got them head-first into the market. They needed something "big" and "cheap" for that. A R1 trooper could have never been offered at the pricing the OT one was either. I have an anovos OT suit built from a kit and I personally don't feel any need to get a R1 for differences only myself and other nerds would ever know or care about. Just my take on it though


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Even now as they claim they are a small company, they were little more than a start-up when the OT trooper was introduced. They needed something with low r&d, and something that could be relatively inexpensive to produce so they could raise capital and actually produce something.

That's the thing, though. ANOVOS have been around for quite a few years before getting the Star Wars license. And yeah, they were a very small company up until the Star Wars thing blew up on them beyond all their past experience. Their old model of gauging interest with pre-sales and then making the thing is more difficult to manage on this scale. Plus with the rights-holders of the other properties they do stuff for (Star Trek and BSG), they've had many fewer hoops to jump through than LFL/Disney are requiring. Anything from the older films -- especially the OT -- is going to require a lot more R&D than anything from the new films, right out of the gate. Look at how fast the turnaround has been with all the TFA and R1 stuff, as opposed to the Bespin Luke or Han holster or like that. Theoretically the R&D on those latter items should also be minimal, as they've got them right there in the archives to look at up close.

But since all the OT stuff is dragging out (for whatever reasons), I think a smart call would have been to include an R1 Stormie right alongside their Death Trooper, Shoretrooper, AT-ACT Driver, and Tank Driver offerings. Even if they'd hit at the same time as the OT Stormtrooper they'd started researching years before.

--Jonah
 
I just left a comment on the TK teeth in the costumer service chat box. Amanda understood what I was saying and said she would pass the info along.

- - - Updated - - -

This is the response from Amanda

"Amanda

Ahh yes, I see what you're saying. We ended up making this change based on customer feedback. I will pass along your feedback as well, it's interesting to us to see what everyone prefers"
 
I just left a comment on the TK teeth in the costumer service chat box. Amanda understood what I was saying and said she would pass the info along.

- - - Updated - - -

This is the response from Amanda

"Amanda

Ahh yes, I see what you're saying. We ended up making this change based on customer feedback. I will pass along your feedback as well, it's interesting to us to see what everyone prefers"

The problem is that they completely botched the teeth to begin with. That's like trying to bake a chocolate cake after buying ingredients to make a red velvet!
 
I know we are getting off topic a bit here but I was confused by your analogy because red velvet cake is chocolate cake plus red food coloring.

There's still no chocolate

But I do see what you are saying about the new hero-ish-style teeth paint being weird on top of the already too-sharp stunt teeth shape.
 
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I know we are getting off topic a bit here but I was confused by your analogy because red velvet cake is chocolate cake plus red food coloring.

This is something that's been going on lately that kinda pisses me off. The red velvet cake I know from decades ago was red-brown because it was cherry chocolate. Every red velvet anything I've tried in the last decade has just been chocolate dyed red. :angry
 
It is a PITA, but if you are determined to make the most out of the anovos helmet, you can "de-sharpen" it with a couple of coats of a thick enamel like rustoleum. Be careful to give it a few weeks of drying time in between coats or it screws up immensely.

My RS helmet kit I painted wasn't quite the right shade of white in my opinion but I can't repaint it without completely losing the remaining bumps/sharpness (accurate sharpness) due to the thickness the enamel paint has.

Then you can file the frown holes to perfection, hand paint the details and stripes etc, touch up the eyes and get a more accurate helmet overall. IMO part of having an accurate helmet is having one that looks painted in gloss enamel, plain white plastic just ain't the same.


Btw, someone mentioned the various bumps etc such as the forehead bump on the RS helmet as being "moulded paint", that bump and others on that kit are actually from the plastic of the original helmets, something to do with something in the original buck form acting in an unplanned manner once heated.

I believe the new moulds created to replicate the RS helmet are impressions taken from the negative, inside of the helmet (like an ice cube tray being used to make an ice cube, so that the ice cube can be used to make more ice cube trays) and the original helmet used had had its screen-used paint stripped before it was replicated anyway.

Basically they all had those bumps in the plastic, but some original production helmets probably had it worse than others, if the plastic used during the vac form pull had been heated for a little longer, became more pliable and was therefore stretched more thinly over the form (thinner plastic = sharper detail = the bumps being exaggerated).
 
I know we are getting off topic a bit here but I was confused by your analogy because red velvet cake is chocolate cake plus red food coloring.



But I do see what you are saying about the new hero-ish-style teeth paint being weird on top of the already too-sharp stunt teeth shape.


What I'm saying is that they have all the ingredients there to make a cake (the stormtrooper helmet), and you want a chocolate cake (accurate ANH Stunt) but they went and only got ingredients to make a red velvet cake (they made it more like the Hero TK instead of the Stunt). It's still a cake at the end of the day but it's not the one you wanted

Now I want cake
 
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Lucky me, got an update on the shipping, but we'll see. However, Anovos still has not updated the "stand alone" helmet pictures. This is going to confuse a lot of people who ordered them, especially if they're using this still on the packaging box it's sent in.


ANOVOS snowtrooper please fix this.jpg
 
Why doesn't the Anovos shipping calendar list the Luke Skywalker Bespin holster rig? Last I heard was to be delivered second quarter 2017. What's even more interesting is that it is no longer in my order history. Was this product cancelled and no one told me about it?
 
The (2017) version of the Anovos Stormtrooper helmet looks like it's trying to be two different helmets at once: An original ANH TK, and shoehorning into a Rogue One TK helmet, without actually making a new mold.

The shape of the voice coder, the black mic tips, and the thinner painting of the grey teeth, all point to the Rogue One - the general shape (sharpness aside), and painted decals point to the ANH helmet. Wish I could find a good straight-on shot of the production/screen used Rogue One helmet.


Screen Shot 2017-09-14 at 6.01.10 AM.png Star_Wars_Imperial_Stormtrooper_Helmet_05.jpg


That overly straight sharp line under the eyes, and the sharp point at the tip of the outer eyes of the Anovos helmet... just ruins this helmet for me.
 

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Another factor is cost. The Anovos is pretty reasonably priced compared to other completed helmets.


You're always going to get a cheaper price when the product is produced in China with poorly payed labor. I'd rather support the guys at RS Prop Masters (hoping they're making a 'reasonable' wage), hand crafting their helmets in the same way as the originals. ...or I'd rather support the smaller individual artisans like Mac and Bookface, Mark/CFO, SL, VaderMonkey, DCarty, VillainWorks, SuperJedi/Eric, etc - where they're being paid what their worth for an item that is far more accurate.

However, if you're into the Rogue One/TFA, TLJ props, then Anovos is a great choice in terms of accuracy, as they've sourced/digitally scanned the screen used items and have figured out how to produce these pieces quickly, although they're not exactly inexpensive, or what some people would call 'reasonably priced' - which makes me believe Anovos is more than just a costume company. ...just wondering if they pay their labor a reasonable wage for producing the more expensive pieces.

Thankfully I'm not interested in anything beyond the original trilogy helmets - I just don't have the room for all this stuff like Sarge. :D
 
I can see why you feel this way, but that helmet was designed/produced long before Rogue one and is not a mix/match. ANOVOS has yet to produce an R1 stormtrooper helmet.

The (2017) version of the Anovos Stormtrooper helmet looks like it's trying to be two different helmets at once: An original ANH TK, and shoehorning into a Rogue One TK helmet, without actually making a new mold.

The shape of the voice coder, the black mic tips, and the thinner painting of the grey teeth, all point to the Rogue One - the general shape (sharpness aside), and painted decals point to the ANH helmet. Wish I could find a good straight-on shot of the production/screen used Rogue One helmet.


View attachment 758647 View attachment 758649


That overly straight sharp line under the eyes, and the sharp point at the tip of the outer eyes of the Anovos helmet... just ruins this helmet for me.
 

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