MKE-Trooper

Thank you so much for this @Mal86. This is super helpful and exactly the kind of information I was looking for. I have never done anything like this before so I kind of need this information spoon fed to me, lol. I am great with technology, but no so much with handyman stuff. Going to order that Dremel bit tonight so I have it for the weekend. I picked up these gloves today and N95 Mask, but now I am starting to think I need a better mask based on DoggyDoc and your recommendations.

Thank you very much! Just picked up my order from Home Depot.

I am putting together a shopping list and I have a dumb question as I have never this type of work before. Are these the correct items? Bondo | Amazon Link JB plastic weld | Amazon Link Also, any recommendations for a face mask for sanding/cutting the fiberglass armor?

Thank you very much @ChaosI am going to try this first before attempting to make the shins bigger.

I just finished reading through this entire thread. Thank you for sharing your journey. A lot of great information here.

Interesting, I have not heard of this process. I assume it is too late for me to do this as they are already painted and the inside is sprayed with plasti-dip? Gotcha, that should be much easier! Thanks. Thanks, I will check out your build page and let you know if I have any questions. I stumbled into this process yesterday as I was trying to get them on. I feel like I am getting a foot cramp every time I try and slide my foot through, lol. It seems like it would be easier to keep them as two pieces and then connect them together with velco or something. i am guessing someone has already tried this and the seam doesn't look good or some thing.

Thanks Chaos! Your reply brought down my anxiety level What is funny is I always thought I had chicken legs so I never would have guessed circumference would be an issue, if anything I thought it would be height issue as I am 6'3", 185 lbs. I did order the tall size from Jim, so I am going assume the person who finished the armor did not shorten it. What is interesting is that the width (Left to right) of the shin doesn't seem to be an issue but the front to back need to be deeper. When I pull the clam shell apart I can fit it over the left and right side of the boot but struggle with the front and back. So I need to make it deeper, not wider if that makes sense. Your proposed solution seems like it would only widen it. Here are some pictures with it off. I am intrigued about your suggestion on modifying the boot itself. Are you suggesting removing this section of the boot circled in red? Any chance you could snap a picture of your modified boot?

Unfortunately It looks like I will need some guidance on working with fiberglass, which I was trying to avoid. - What is the best way to trim the fiberglass pieces. I recently purchased a rotary Dremel, will that work with the multipurpose cutting bit? - What is the best grit sandpaper to use? Any tips/process I should follow? - When cutting/sanding the pieces, how big of a mess does this create? Should I wear gloves and a Respirator? I am picturing tiny pieces of fiberglass all over the place which I can only imagine is extremely itching and a pain to clean up. I tried searching the forums but didn't see what I was looking for. Please let me know if this information is out there already and I just missed it.

Unfortunately the disappointment continues. Today I finally attempted to put on the shin pieces. I have been afraid of trying them on and breaking them given how much I needed to open it to get it over my foot. Once I was finally able to get them on I quickly realized they were not even close to the right size. I assume the top should go over my knee cap or at least midway up my knee cap? The blue line indicates where my knee cap is. Based on other's suit up pictures and the CLR it looks like they should come down over the boots which I can't do. When I pull the armor down and attempt to cover the top part of the boot I am not able to close them. Not sure how I can make them taller and wider, so I think my only option is to reach out to Jim and see if he will sell me just the shin pieces and try it over myself? Anyone have any thoughts or advise?

I picked up a brand new one on Ebay last month for $650 shippped.

I am excited to say that I finally have an update to my WIP! It has been a very long journey and an exercise in patience and understanding. My original purchase in November of 2021 was for a finished Armory Shop Props kit, which by now we all know that story. Luckily I was within the 6 month window and was able to get a refund from PayPal. At the time, I was not interested in finishing/painting the kit myself as I didn't have space in my home to do so. I reached out to Jim Tripon and asked if he provided finishing services and while he only sells the kit, he did connect me with someone on Facebook who he has worked with in the past for commissioned builds. So on 6/1/22 I ordered Jim's kit and it was sent directly to someone in the US who would be painting and finishing the kit for me. 19 months later and SO many missed deadlines and lack of communication I finally received the finished kit in February (2024). Now the work begins! I have already begun making it my own: I sprayed the inside of every piece with Plasti-Dip to help with the itchy fiberglass Added felt to the areas where the armor overlaps Adding a shelf to the lower abdomen to attach the belt. Thank you @Mal86 for the detailed post in your WIP. I picked up the same PVC board off amazon. Ordered Rubber Wrist bands for the left forearm. (Still waiting on those to ship) Scored a Anovos bucket off of ebay and have been hounding Chaos with questions about how to customize it. Sorry Chaos... As you might be able to tell by now, I am super excited to finally have it in hand and having a blast customizing. Yesterday was my first partial suit up for the upper body and I couldn't stop smiling. My wife just kept laughing at me.

Thanks as always @Chaos, I really appreciate you taking the time to put this information together. This is extremely helpful! Any chance you still have a link to the hard hat liner you purchased?

Thanks @Chaos

Thanks @ChaosI really appreciate the VERY detailed response! A couple follow up questions: - When you removed the inside lining of the Anovos helmet, are the side vents already cut out? Assuming you placed the speakers for the audio system behind the vents. - I noticed that the Anovos helmet rests on my nose and gets uncomfortable quickly. Did you have this issue also, and if so did the hard hat liner help? - You mentioned that the "tusks already have the pre-drilled holes for the 5mm LEDs", does that mean you just needed to feed the LED through from the inside after removing the inside lining? Sorry for all the questions Chaos, just want to make sure I do it right the first time and not have to redo something later.

Originally I was going to use the Jim Tripon's helmet but I was able to find the 2018 Anovos helmet on Ebay for a reasonable price which I am super excited about. I picked up Ukswraths LED lights and Audio System awhile back and would really like to add it to my Anovos helmet, but I really don't want to mess up a $600 collectible helmet... @ChaosI saw you posted awhile back a link to some youtube videos on adding LED lights. Has anyone else tried this? Also curious if anyone has added an Audio system to an Anovos Helmet, and if so can you share your experience and photos? Thanks in advance!

Thank you @DoggyDoc I really appreciate it!

@DoggyDoc What did you use for the rubber seal around the lower opening of the helmet? From the CRL: "There is the appearance of a flat black rubber seal around the lower opening of the helmet neck tube which stops at the flat edges of the snout assembly."

Thank you very much @DoggyDoc

Looking for recommendations on how to finish the inside of my helmet. I purchased Jim Tripon's kit and as you all know this kit is made of fiberglass which tends to be very itchy. Anyone have any links or guides on how to finish the inside of a helmet or make the inside of my bucket more comfortable? The rest of the armor I sprayed with plasti dip, put thinking maybe the helmet I should line with cloth or something like and the Anovos helmet is. As for the progress of my DT build, it has been a LONG journey, but hopefully I will have updates soon.

I contacted Jim via Facebook and he responded very quickly.

@TookBreaker My order was still showing as "Order Processing" and still is actually. I never received any communication about my order being cancelled. I tried reaching out via email and Instagram but didn't hear back. If you are thinking about cancelling your order and requesting a refund from PayPal, you may want to look into what the PayPal buyer protection window is. I think saw somewhere it is 6 months. I submitted my case just a few days before the 6 month date.

Small update for those following my build. After ASP’s post on May 4th on Instagram I decided to submit a case in PayPal requesting a refund. After review, PayPal decided in my favor and issued a full refund. I really want to support Denis but based on his post those funds were frozen in the European banks and he may never see them anyway. After doing some research on others builds, I have decided to purchase Jim Tripon’s kit and commission someone to Finish/paint it for me. I would love to do this myself, but I just don’t have the space or tools do the work. For those who have ordered or plan on ordering from Imperial Arms. I purchased a fully finished and built version of the SE-14R blaster and E-11D blaster on 12/15/22. I reached out to Imperial arms on 5/9 and received the following response “I apologize for the delay. I am still working by myself due to the virus issues. I appreciate you patience. I'll be in touch with tracking info. Thank you, Trevor”

After seeing the Instagram post from ArmoryShop on May 4th I decided to open a case with PayPal. I put a link to the Instagram post along with screen captures of messages I sent to ArmoryShop in the PayPal case notes. On 5/17 received an email from PayPal that my case was decided in my favor and that I would be getting a refund from PayPal. While I have my fingers crossed that ArmoryShop will re-open some day I don't think it will be anytime soon

Hey @creokc I did try reaching out to ArmoryShop via Instagram but never heard back. (I have had success via Instagram in the past). On 5/7 I ended up opening a case with PayPal due to the post ArmoryShop made on May 4th. I put a screen capture of the post and link in the PayPal case notes and on 5/17 received an email from PayPal that my case was decided in my favor and that I would be getting a refund from PayPal. While I am very happy to be getting my money back, I also feel really sad for everything ArmoryShop is going through. I don't know what this means for my build as I now have everything but the actual armor.

If anyone with an outstanding order with ASP gets a response or update from them, please keep us updated. I feel really bad from Denis and would love to continue to support them.