Pep tips: A must read for people new to pep

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Xavier

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1-I've tried two different methods, in the first method, i scored the paper with red/blue pens accordingly BEFORE i cut them out, this made it less stressful for me and u can finally color outside the lines, then after i had scored everything i cut it all out, the down side to this, is i missed cutting a few release cuts, which i was forced to discover while half of the piece was glued in (the pen goes over them in most cases, so u cant see them well enough to know to cut there.

2-cut out, then score, i found this to be most effective, although more time consuming, you have to press hard on the ruler or else the paper will slide out from under the ruler while your scoring.

3-USUALLY, the edge your cutting on is a flap, and will not show on the final product, so if u screw up a little, as long as there is some room to put glue down, you should worry too much, unless its a showing edge, then u might need to reprint.

4-If your using a hot glue gun, try to use one that says "low temp" because you WILL end up touching hot glue eventually, and with the low temp version of it, although you will feel like your getting burned, you wont get blisters or marks of any kind, just grit your teeth and stick it out. It does cool/dry faster because its low temp, but if u don't like how it looks, u can just pull it off (without THAT much trouble) and just reglue it, also low temp guns are A LOT smaller, therefore more maneuverable

5-Although not necessary, i picked up an Xacto knife pen for this project, it helped a lot in the tight areas.

6-Chances are, if your making you'r pep helm out of cardstock, the rim of your visor will bend up, you can cut a piece of cardboard in the same shape as the visor, then cut off the flaps and cut off about a cm off each side, stick it up there with glue and it will help a lot.
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7-Resin, weather your wearing a mask or not (and i really STRONGLY suggest you do, smells like you sniffed some gasoline and its coating your nose, but worse, if u like sniffing paint, then your in heaven, if not, i suggest u do this in a VERY well ventilated area, wear a mask, and walk away from your project for a few min every time u run out of resin (therefore u wont waste it)

8-If your living with ur parents, its a really good idea to not do it in the garage, even with the door all the way open, just cuz ur most likely gonna get flack for the smell

9-Never bring any open Resin inside, even if you've got a little on your hands, wash up outside, once this stuff dries, it doesn't come off, i went to down the street to a gazebo to do it, once i got there, i poured the resin, and took the top of the hardener off, only to find that i needed a knife to open it, so bring your Xacto knife with you.

10-Its probably a good idea to bring everything u need for the entire project with you the first time, because like I've said before, u don't want to be running about the house with resin covered gloves/hands.
(Heres what u need, u might want to bring some newspaper too)
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11-When you scale your pep, REMEMBER the number you scaled to, write it down or else you'll be very frustrated, also, for testing scale, build a bicep piece, if that fits, you should be fine.

So, this is what I've learned from my mistakes so far, i hope no1 makes them again, I'll defiantly be screwing up more as my project goes on, and you'll hear about them here.

Also, if you know some random tip that u think every1 should just know already unless they're stupid, please share, because some of this stuff isn't as obvious as it might seem

Hope it helps

X
 
The only gripe I have with your list is your suggestion of low temp. When you use low temp the glue drys a whole lot fast making you more prone to screwing up, then having to rip the paper and re-glue. While if you use high temp you have more time. But otherwise nice list, it will definitely help those new to pep.
 
i find this pen to me most effective at scoring, just because its tip comes to more of a point, when u press hard, u can hear it crushing the paper, and when u fold it, it goes really easy and clean

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Looks pretty good.

I would also add that it might be a good idea to have some tape, at least to help hold trouble spots in place as well as other pep models may not have flaps for everything like the Mk V helm.
 
true, what ive always done is just cut up a small piece of scrap paper, then glue it on the inside, instead of tape on the outside
 
Something Ive learned about pep is, especially with the helmet is, do not assemble it from the bottom up, because if you do the crown is going to insanely difficult and possibly deformed...
 
drgon47 said:
Something Ive learned about pep is, especially with the helmet is, do not assemble it from the bottom up, because if you do the crown is going to insanely difficult and possibly deformed...
the first piece i start off with is the crown and build onto that
 
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