"Help!" for: Casting

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Hey im new to all of the halo pepakura stuff (thats why im in this thred) and i need a little first timers guidence so if any one could help me with the basics i mean i can build the helmet and armor thats easy but what do i do to stifen the paper and how can i make the armor keep its shape insted of folding over??? if any body can help id me thankful cuz i need this done by november for the relace of halo 4:) thanks to any body that helps!
 
Hey im new to all of the halo pepakura stuff (thats why im in this thred) and i need a little first timers guidence so if any one could help me with the basics i mean i can build the helmet and armor thats easy but what do i do to stifen the paper and how can i make the armor keep its shape insted of folding over??? if any body can help id me thankful cuz i need this done by november for the relace of halo 4:) thanks to any body that helps!

Welcome to the forums.

I highly suggest taking time to look around the different forums and reading through sticky (stickies are found at the top of the thread list in each forum), tutorial, and work progress threads to gain a good understanding of the processes and materials involved with this hobby. This will take some effort on your part but will benefit you greatly in learning how to excel in the armor-making craft. Good places to begin are with Roadkiller's reading list (http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/30542-NOOB-reading-list) and Spitfire22V and company's all-in-one new member introduction guide (http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/34408-All-In-One-New-Member-Introduction-Guide).

Good luck with your build when you get to it and meeting your timeline goal.
 
Has anybody used Smooth-On's VytaFlex® Series urethane rubber? I would like to know if it could be used as a shoe sole. I have searched through the forum and the closest thing I found to this topic was talk about an unspecified urethane rubber from smooth-on being used to casting.
 
Sooo worked on a new Mark V helmet all day tuday and... To small
Snapshot_20120624.jpg
 
Uhm... pretty sure you just posted the image's location on your C:/ Drive...
You'll probably need to upload it to something like Imgr for us to see it...
 
waiting for new camera to arrive after her indoors dropping the other camera :( , done quite a bit on my suit so far and the chest and back is ready to cast .. looking at the smooth on products what would be better for shins and the torso pieces etc .. 65 d or 300 ( smooth cast )

thanks
 
Im planning on doing a split mold for the Halo 4 Railgun. Im doing this kinda ass-backwards, because my master will not be the low res version i will mold, but the detailed cast of the original. My question is if there is a smooth cast product or foam which i do not have to rotate and i can use just to fill the entire mold? This cast will end up being my Master. A solid cast will give me a lot of room to detail, along with some modeling clay. And i shall call it squishy!
 
Does anyone know approximately how much liquid plastic/silicone molding required for an entire suit? The smooth-on quicktools assumes that the model you're working with has no internal cavity (e.g. isn't hollow), and I'd like to get a general idea so I know how much to invest.
 
Does anyone know approximately how much liquid plastic/silicone molding required for an entire suit? The smooth-on quicktools assumes that the model you're working with has no internal cavity (e.g. isn't hollow), and I'd like to get a general idea so I know how much to invest.

That's a hard one to be to precise as each armor/suit can require more than the other. I know for my current suit its about 2 gallons of silicone for just the chest and upper back. 2 more for both boots, about 1-1.5 for the gauntlets...... It builds up and that is just the buildup, then you need the shell and shell material is typically more costly because of how much is used. I personally tend to overkill my needs I know for a fact my current suit has about 3k or more invested in the materials because I keep tweaking the design and or molding process to accommodate new ideas.

If this is something you really want to do It can be quite spendy if you dont have a solid goal.
 
Hey guys. :) What kind of product would be best for a Mk VII undersuit? It should be colorable and stretch fairly well.
Was thinking about making a hexagon shaped pattern from foam (maybe even bondo?) and casting in some sort of rubbery material.
Blue Realm pulled off something like that (Or was it Artem?) So it must be doable! :D

I think Smooth-on's Ecoflex would do or Foam Latex from MM (problem - lots of steps and requirments, it's professional stuff) Maybe even Dragon skin? I've seen people use it for molds and make up, why not cast something? Anybody have experience?
 
Hey guys. :) What kind of product would be best for a Mk VII undersuit? It should be colorable and stretch fairly well.
Was thinking about making a hexagon shaped pattern from foam (maybe even bondo?) and casting in some sort of rubbery material.
Blue Realm pulled off something like that (Or was it Artem?) So it must be doable! :D

I think Smooth-on's Ecoflex would do or Foam Latex from MM (problem - lots of steps and requirments, it's professional stuff) Maybe even Dragon skin? I've seen people use it for molds and make up, why not cast something? Anybody have experience?

I personally would go with foam latex since it's tried and true. The bat suit in batman begins was made from it. A gallon of dragon skin/ ecoflex will cost you about 200 bucks. which is more than the materials to do foam latex will cost you. You can pick up stand mixer at wal mart for less than a hundred bucks.

mixer: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Hamilton-Beach-6-Speed-Stand-Mixer/16503559

And you can get a gallon of liquid latex for 50ish:
http://www.monstermakers.com/product/Mask-Latex-for-Black-Masks.html

Since your mold could be made with plaster, it could most likely be done for around 50 bucks as well, but I would find a local artist supply store. Not chain store, like michaels, ac moore, or ben franklin crafts. You need a place that will sell you a big bag of it, that wont gouge you.

A problem that I see some people run into when using dragon skin/ecoflex, is that sometimes they just go and mold their clay piece not realizing that the clay contains sulfur, which inhibits the cure of platinum cured silicones. Sulfur really doesn't seem to bother tin cured silicone which is what is primarily used for making molds.
 
For helmets, do you guyz use the slush casting technique, or jsut the pooring technique?

Slush casting. I'm not sure what you're referring to as the pouring technique, but I'm assuming you mean, filling the mold with casting material, and then pouring the excess back out. That's just fine for things that air dry like latex. But, with resin that would be incredibly expensive and wasteful. Since, once you mix it, it's all going to cure.
 
I'm not sure where to ask this, but casting seems like the most apt description of what I'd like to do.

I made a pep Daedric dagger (from Skyrim) and I would like to fill it with something to make it more solid. I am thinking about filling it with expanding foam (carefully), but it seems like it wouldn't feel heavy enough, and the expanding sounds dangerous.
So, any other recommendations? Also, would this belong better in another help forum? I am new to this, as well as 405th.

Thanks for any help you can give!

Hey mate,
Not sure if anybody hit on this, but I would not use the expanding foam. For not a lot more than you would pay for foam, just get some auto resin and bondo (or straight resin), mix them, and pour them into the hilt with the blade tip securely facing down to make sure the liquid settles in all the appropriate nooks and crannies.

You can get filler (the pink bondo stuff) that isn't bondo for pretty cheap, and the same goes for the resin. I wouldn't go to an auto parts store to buy it, at least not here in RI because it's less expensive at Lowe's or those weird discount stores like Benny's. The Rondo mix is really easy to work with (golf ball of bondo, 6 tablespoons of resin (or less, that's just the mixing measurement on the container), then add the bondo hardener and the 1/4 teaspoon (or less again) of the resin hardener, and pour it in. It sets quick, heats up, which makes it nice to remove the hot glue while it's curing, and you can sand out any imperfections as pull it out. You can also mold it to make more if you like, which will be more difficult with the foam.

I wouldn't use the foam for fear of blowing out your pep work, and you're right, it will feel flimsy because it is a porous material and may be more prone to breakage.

Hope this helps and sorry for the late response. Finally joined myself.
 
I was looking at 3D printing my helmet/armor and was looking at doing the same for the visor (separate from the helmet). How feasible would it be to mold the visor and then cast it in a clear resin? This question was asked previously, but nobody responded to it.

This would work for all of the various visor forms, especially some of the high-detail H4 visors (Warmaster, anyone?). Also, for some of the hex detailed visors, you could include the light inset of the hex on the visor.

It can be tinted before casting and a mirror tint added on the inside afterwards, too.

Would this be viable?
 
Okay so I was curious about casting, when I get to this stage what all will I need and how will I do it, because I've read a bunch of different ways to do it and non of them were very helpful. So if someone who knows what they are doing or has a better grasp of it then me could tell me, it would be greatly appreciated.
 
Okay so I was curious about casting, when I get to this stage what all will I need and how will I do it, because I've read a bunch of different ways to do it and non of them were very helpful. So if someone who knows what they are doing or has a better grasp of it then me could tell me, it would be greatly appreciated.

This is actually asking quite a lot. You're essentially asking someone to hold your hand through the process. Rather, make a decision which method you'd like to try and learn everything you can about that method. There are tons of tutorials out there (beyond the confines of the 405th). Then, when you've chosen and done some research, you can ask more specific questions about a specific method. What you're asking now is far too broad.
 
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