Gathering research for a foam build

Ok, I'm gonna post this thread for everyone that has worked with foam and or doesn't know what they're doing with it like me. This thread will be for people to post pics tips ideas and information that people can use for what they're going to make. Now here are some question that I have and most people might have as well.
Is foam expensive?
Is foam hard to work with?
What are some tools needed?
Can you resin foam?
Can you bondo foam?
Will types of paint melt foam?
Are foam suits heavy?
How are way to make templates for suits like war hammer and ironman, i.e pep style?
If anyone wants to add to this thread feel free. I'm looking to have the 405th community as a whole add to this just for everyone I'm hoping this thread will help a lot of people and somewhat turn into a nice sticky or extremely helpful thread for everyone.

Eh... foam is too expensive for my taste. I mean... 40sq feet of foam is $30 here, whereas I can get 60 square feet (roughly) in Cardstock from Walmart for <$5. I also find that foam doesn't give as much detail as pep, but that's merely an opinion.

dang lol well thats alot i love peping i got really good at it and i find it relaxing lol

Same, I feel as though the pepping process makes the whole suit a lot more personal as you've taken a lot more time on every step. But, again, just my opinion I started with pep and I think I'll stick with pep for my IronMan build.

yah i haven't ever done foam and idk if i want to quit yet ... i love pep just time consuming

In regards to the price of foam, yes the initial cost of foam is higher, but taking into consideration the resin, fibreglass and bondo you'll need if you go down the pep route, I was under the impression that they're around the same price in the end.

-Whether or not foam is hard to work with is a matter of opinion. Just depends what your preference is. Foam involves lots of cutting templates, heating, gluing seams etc. you have a bit more freedom in the build stage with foam. I will say you can make a foam suit quicker than pep.
-As far as tools go, blades blades blades! A decent knife is a must with a foam build, else you edges will be frayed and horrible looking. I can't remember the name off the top of my head, but the knives with interchangeable blades are the best. A hot glue gun is useful, and the most common and easiest way of bonding foam. Apart from these, the obvious things like ruler, textas/pens paint brushes etc.
-From my experience, working with Eva foam, you can resin the stuff, though there's no point. So long as you use thicker foam the suit will be sturdy enough, and there are better ways of sealing foam anyway.
-Generally using bondo on foam is a bad idea, as foam is flexible and soft whereas bondo is solid.
-It's possible there are paints that eat away at the foam, but generally you'll always seal foam before painting. Plasti dip is the most popular method for sealing foam, though where I live it can be a bit pricy. A good alternative is a 50/50 mix of wood glue and water.
-Foam suits are usually very light, especially in comparison to pep suits with resing, fibreglass and bondo. IMO, foam suits are a little more comfortable and mobile to wear.
-There are already a few templates lying around for foam build, but I can't tell you much about how to make your own.

Wow, that's a lot of info, sorry for the wall of text Hopefully it'll benefit anyone who can use it.

JayOneSeven said:

Eh... foam is too expensive for my taste. I mean... 40sq feet of foam is $30 here, whereas I can get 60 square feet (roughly) in Cardstock from Walmart for <$5. I also find that foam doesn't give as much detail as pep, but that's merely an opinion.

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Pal, Foam is ALOT cheaper than pepping.
If $30 is too expensive for you then you're gonna have issues down the line, Pep is only used to provide a template for you to build around with fibreglass & bondo. Sure you can get alot of cardstock for $5, but the suit is barely made of cardstock, the rest of the materials will be going into the hundreds of dollars. With 40sq feet of foam you can easily build the base of an entire suit, then detailing can be added with fairly cheap craft foam in pretty much every way you can imagine. Coating is cheap if you go with the popular PVA coating route, then you're left with paint.

If you're lucky you could make a foam suit for under $100, I don't see that happening with pep. Plus that 40ft of foam is enough to get a suit to about 60-80% completion because it already has the smooth surface and stability you need. Pepping all your pieces in cardstock is still only like 10% progress.

@GSR_EK
Most of your questions have been answered by Ed, but we already have a "Help: for Foam" thread, where you can check other peoples frequently asked questions, and ask your own. Not to mention alot of the answers to your questions are available in the sticky threads, which you should have read before posting a topic.

-S420

Spartan-420 said:

@GSR_EK Most of your questions have been answered by Ed, but we already have a "Help: for Foam" thread, where you can check other peoples frequently asked questions, and ask your own. Not to mention alot of the answers to your questions are available in the sticky threads, which you should have read before posting a topic.

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I couldn't have said it much better myself. There is no information here that is not already present in the "Help!: for Foam" thread, or that could not be easily answered in said thread.