Beginning New (To Me) Prop Method

[SirRayn0r]

Hey Everyone! I haven't started my first Spartan build, but I have all the supplies and am now practicing on a few smaller props to see how everything works. Right now, I have a Halo Reach Medkit, a Ghost from Destiny, and 2/3 of the Monitor, 343 Guilty Spark. I planned it out so I have pepakura builds, with a fiberglass coating, then plastidip, paint, then finally gloss. Here are some progress pictures of the peps, and ill be working on the fiberglassing later this week.
Ghost:

Medkit:

Part Of The Monitor:


So I bought white Plastidip, a bunch of paint colors, a few cans of gloss, Bondo fiberglass resin, brushes, etc. Any tips or hints for fiberglassing would be appreciated! Thanks! Will post more progress later this week!

 

[ArmoredAmir]

Looks awesome! Seems you got the hang of this already XD

 

[SirRayn0r]

Thanks! I just dont know if I need to add Mat to the fiberglass or not. Is it necessary, or does the strength of the build come from the added support of the Mat or Weaving?

 

[Alkatraz]

The strength of the piece comes from the reinforcement you put on the inside of a Pepakura piece. For armour pieces this can be a couple of layers of resin followed by fibreglass, some people also add strength to their pieces using rondo (a mixture of resin and body filler). When using fibreglass it is important to consider the weave of the glass you are using, mat is made up of many strands all randomly facing different directions, meaning it will have good overall strength in all directions when stress is applied. Fibreglass cloth usually has a weave that goes either diagonally or horizontally and vertically, cloth will have greater strength across these weaves but can be weaker depending on how stress is applied. Rondo will make a piece much heavier but add a uniform smooth hardened coating to the inside, usually this is a faster method, but the strength is far less than fibreglass.
For smaller models and weapons such as a pistol, I just slur some rondo around the interior to add some strength, but it does generate heat and melt some glue seams, so be careful.
For armour I recommend fibreglass with polyester resin, and yes the strength comes from the glass mixed with resin, resin on its own adds a degree of strength but not a lot.
Hope that helps.

 

[SirRayn0r]

So, could I just resin the outside lightly, to keep the shape of the prop, then either resin/fiberglass or resin/bondo the inside? or do I have to resin the inside first? Thanks a lot by the way!

 

[NaasadTal]

you resin/fiberglass the inside for strength first, then use bondo on the outside to make everything nice smooth

 

[FlyinPhil]

Just an added note, don't waste the bucks on plasti dip for a fiberglass prop. Plasti dip is a rubberized coating designed to peel off of smooth surfaces. It is great for sealing foam props as a good amount gets absorbed into the foam, but it won't give you any benefit on a fiberglass prop. Start out with a decent quality high build, sandable primer, and finish with spray paint.