1/2 scale foam ironman build

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Inviktus

New Member

• Oct 4, 2012

• #1

Hey everyone, first off I'll introduce myself. I go by Inviktus, Inviktus00, or TheInviktus00 all depending on the forum. The name is Kerry, I am a 24 year old father. I messed with pep a couple years ago and found the task too daunting to be reasonably fun.

So now onto what I am attempting.

I am going to attempt and build a 1/2 scale ironman full suit... 1/2 scale you may ask, ahh but I'll tell you. I am not so much into wearing items I make, rather set them out as a show piece. So that is that.

Now onward we shall embark down this build. I plan on using 2 or 3 mm foam as I am not wearing the suit it will not rip from use. I am this morning after I finish work stopping a couple stores and getting supplies for this build.

My hope is that by later this evening I will have pics to post, I am not expecting perfection from this first foam attempt but I have high hopes. I have watched tutorials and read countless threads from multiple armor forums. I have the general idea down and willing to give it a go. Well as i am at work I must return to work. But I will update ASAP.

Also thoughts, comments, and tips are greatly appreciated.

 

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Inviktus

New Member

• Oct 4, 2012

• #2

So i just got home from shopping and this is what i ended up with....

- Some 6mm foam
- Alot of 2mm foam
- Hot Glue Gun
- Hot Glue Sticks
- Popsicle Sticks
- Card Stock
- Xacto Knife
- Xacto Knife Blades
- Xacto Compass Cutter
- 2 Packs Break Blade razors
- 12in Metal Rule
- Small Tackle Box
- Organizer for templates that have been cut out
- Also 2 army helmets, one kids and one adult
- USB Powered Light
- Computer Mic
- Pencil Holder (For The Frosted Plastic)

Already Had a cutting serface

 

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Inviktus

New Member

• Oct 4, 2012

• #3

So an update, i am finding that using parts this size is very challenging and i am going to need to use "cold glue". i saw some special foam glue but i am going to try elmers glue...

but foam is a million times easier than classic pep methods.

 

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PigBenis

Well-Known Member

• Oct 4, 2012

• #4

cant wait to see some piccehs :O
i wish you good luck with ur project mate !

 

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Inviktus

New Member

• Oct 4, 2012

• #5

i am uploading some now, these are the results of hot glue to bond the foam together.

the helmet when all assembled should be in the range of about 5in tall. so you all have an idea.

First off sorry for the crappy pics, i am using my iPad2 camera. it isnt as good as i thought. but the seams are not glued that well and have major gaps in them.

I am not super happy with the results, but first attempt with foam, and using 2mm at that i am not really that upset. i am having trouble with the glue wanting to make glue "strings" everywhere. and that i am attempting to glue a small (2mm surface) to another small surface.

if i stay with the hot glue method i will make small tabs from paper to put behind the foam in the adjoining areas. that should help with the glue seeping out the front. also after work tonight i am going to use elmers glue all and see where that leads me. I also am thinking about using cad stock for the backing of the whole helmet, like pep out the major foam pieces and glue the foam to the card stock.

Right now i am in trial and error bc i havent seen anyone do a build this small. any advice or tips are greatly appreciated. thanks all.

 

Spartan_127

Well-Known Member

• Oct 4, 2012

• #6

Welcome to the 405th and I wish you success and luck with your project.

You're right about the challenge with smaller parts. The smaller they are the harder they get with adding all the little details. Your pics don't look crappy to me. You can see what is there and they are in focus. It looks like you've definitely done your homework and researched everything that you'd need. To help with forming the foam I'd recommend a heat gun. It could save you a little time with parts that have multiple pieces to make a curve or bend if you use heat (even a good hair dryer on high would work on the thin foam you have) on a larger piece to make the same shape instead of cutting out all the little pieces and gluing them together.

Again, good luck with the Iron Man. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

 

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Inviktus

New Member

• Oct 5, 2012

• #7

Thank you Spartan_127, for the advice and kind words. Your build was one that I researched and gained knowledge from, thanks for putting that up there.

I have been doing a bunch of hw. I am also researching places to buy foam in bulk (minicell and volara) and neoprene. And as for a heat gun I am picking one up tmrw, along with Elmer's glue all, id like to see if I can find 4mm foam as it would be a bit more rigid and easier to work with. I am at work yet again, and have to be back at noon for an overtime shift. I have also decided i will start with slightly less complex part to get the technique down better. But I will update as soon as I make any changes and/or progress.

Inviktus

 

drack

Well-Known Member

European Regiment

• Oct 5, 2012

• #8

Hey and welcome Invikus.

I second what Spartan_127 said about the heat gun. It means 2 directional curved parts can be made with out having to cut out so many sections. Check this video by James aka Xrobots as he explains it best.
XRobots - How to modify pepakura templates for foam.

 

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Skullptura

Member

• Oct 5, 2012

• #9

Man I love watching scratch builds keep it up dude.

 

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Inviktus

New Member

• Oct 5, 2012

• #10

Drack and Skullptura, thank you for the motivation and advice. And Drack thank you for your video they have helped out a lot.

Update-
I did some shopping today between shifts at work. I found 3mm foam and a 45 deg angle cutter at hobby lobby. And as you said Drack, never enough blades. So I bought some more blades. I need to just order a 100pack lol. Also stopped into harbor freight and picked up a heat gun, a multipurpose soldering iron/ wood burner that also doubles as a hot knife, a platic welder kit, plastic welding rods, latex gloves and a set of helping hands (two gator clips with a magnifying glass).

I bout the 3mm foam because compared to the 2mm it is a lot sturdier and should be a bit easier to work with, without being to rigid. I have to stop at a Walmart tonight bc I forgot to pick up some darn foam glue, or just some Elmer's glue all aka pva.

I am hoping to make some progress tonight when I make it home and tmrw. I will post pics as soon I have something started or done.

Thank you all for the support.
Inviktus

 

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Inviktus

New Member

• Oct 5, 2012

• #11

Ok so in my research last night I have founda place that sells neoprene, minicell, and volara foam for reasonable prices. I just got off the phone with them and they are sending me samples of all three. Neoprene would not be what I build my armor from, but the underarmor layer. As for the volara and minicell they are both closed cell foams like EVA, but seem like they might have a stronger rigidity to them. Both state uses include floor mats and or camping mats, also minicell is not "sun proof" like EVA but as it will be painted it will not get direct sunlight. But as soon as I get the samples I will make a thread to examine the differences between all of them.

Inviktus

 

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Inviktus

New Member

• Oct 6, 2012

• #12

so i have been sleeping all day as i spent the previous day at work for 22 hours... tonight at work is gunna be a slow night so i have decided to begin work on the boots... i scanned through all the pep files and it looked pretty easy compared to the helmet, i will be using the 3mm foam i purchased and elmers glue and a hot knife this time. so wish me luck and i will post pictures later this evening early tmrw morning.

keep those builds going,
Inviktus

 

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Inviktus

New Member

• Oct 7, 2012

• #13

Alright so a slow night at work leads to work on the ironman build. this is what ive got so far, and Elmers glue was drying way to slow, i went a purchased crazy glue. worked like a charm. and fyi this is done with 3mm foam.

doing a build of this skill is extremely challenging but fun. its hard to get good 45 deg cuts everytime and to even get angled cuts that well at all. this is alright but not the best i could do, so saying that i am going to redo the foot again. and again untill i get the process do well.

 

Spartan_127

Well-Known Member

• Oct 7, 2012

• #14

Love the boot. Keep up your awesome work.

 

drack

Well-Known Member

European Regiment

• Oct 7, 2012

• #15

Looking good man. One thing I was wondering are you going for the stood up straight stance or some kind of signature pose? Or even better still ball joints or similar so it is posable.

Keep up the good work,
Tom.

 

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Skullptura

Member

• Oct 7, 2012

• #16

That looks so awesome. I'm really hanging out for this one. Keep it up mate!

 

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Inviktus

New Member

• Oct 8, 2012

• #17

Thank you to everyone's for the kind words. It is a slow process learning to make foam into a 3d object. But I am loving it.

The last two days have been hectic at work as I start a new position next week, that is a regular 40 hour job. So I will have more time to get this all down next week.

@Drack - I am thinking of something similar to ball joints as I would love to be able to hang him from the ceiling in a flying stance with one hand forward. And also be able to have Hume standing on a shelf. So I am looking into different ideas with that.

Thanks all for the kind words,
Inviktus

 

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Inviktus

New Member

• Oct 8, 2012

• #18

Also a ill bit off topic but I have had a few minutes of down time here and there at work and I have thought about a hot wire for cutter. It doesn't look to complicated to build and I was wondering if anyone has used such an item to cut there foam pieces.

Pros
- at right cut speed and temp you would get clean cuts every time and it would seal the edge of the foam.
- perfect angle cuts and notches for angled pieces with metal guide.

Cons
- to fast would leave the cut edge all ragged and nasty, to slow and the foam would melt and warp.
- could easily destroy a piece in seconds


Thought concerns and comments are completely welcome.
Inivitus

 

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Skullptura

Member

• Oct 8, 2012

• #19

I just read this thread from start to finish again. I came across something interesting. You mentioned you had a slow night at work which led to working on a boot. Are you saying you are working on this project at your place of employment? Lol because that would be funny

 

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Inviktus

New Member

• Oct 8, 2012

• #20

@Skullptura - its funny you mentioned that, and that no one has yet. And the short answer is Yes. My current position is one that can leave you with a lot of downtime, and a lot I mean 8 hours of nothing to do but sit and wait. So as I was sitting and waiting I started the boot. I have done all my research via my iPad while at work. I read all tutorials, view YouTube tutorials, even post on here.

But so no one thinks I'm a lazy and not doing my job and getting away with it. My job is simple I maintain a system that is already in place, if there is a problem we resolve the problem. It can be busy as hell or slow and boring. My new position will be more demanding of me while I am at work but I will be at work less so I will have more time at home to dedicate to my projects as I find all sorts of cool projects to do and never have time bc I am at work a lot.

So in short yes it is funny, my coworker the other night was asking what in the hell was I doing with red foam sheets and lines on paper and a knife... I said sit and watch you will see.

Inviktus