Best MAterial to make armor out of?

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samwisegamgee

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ok, so im 14 and im trying to make armor before halloween. my mom is willing to help me do this. i want to know whasts the best material to make armor out of other than pepakura and cardboard. also whats should i put on after its done so it hardens like a plasticy feel to it. thanks in advance!
 
Pep and cardstock paper really is the easiest to get started with, it doesn't require the tools, materials and skill that the more serious builders use. If you want this for Halloween then go get some cardstock from walmart and get busy, time is running out. You and mom can team up on the cutting, scoring and gluing the cardstock. The resin (mask and ventilation, fumes are no joke) you and mom will paint on the armor will harden it.

Go over the "pinned" tutorials at the beginning of the Pep section. That info is valuable and this close to halloween you are better off spending some time reading than repeating mistakes for yourself that they already posted in there. Especially the scaling thread because most people spend alot of time making a copies of armor before they get the sizes right.

-dwoo
 
Dude Thanks that was REALLY helpful but i have a couple other questions.


1. What is scoring? (Lol, i don't know what this is, dont laugh)

2. When applyingresin, you have to wear a mask, so when actually wearing the mask should i wear a mask? Respirator?

3. so i can use cardstock. does than mean i can just cut out the parts then glue them?

4. How many layers of cradstock should i use?

5. Can i use cardstock to make weapons too?

Thanks in advance, dude.
 
im doing mine in poster board. I printed out the pep pieces then glued them to the poster board. Then cut out the pieces, then folded them using a ruler, then I used this glue I got from a local hobby shop.
 
If you are willing to go another step beyond the paper products you could buy sheets of syntra at a sign shop for $25 a sheet and put the printed out templates from the pep program on there. You could do it with a straigh edge and a utility knife. Take VERY special care for all the cutting that you will have to do. You can score the syntra, which is to say you can make a light pass once, then another, and by the third you can dig in a little deeper. Syntra can be scored twice then snapped on straight lines. Curves will have to be cut through. It will take some work but it makes good armor. Use CA glue, medium thickness, to put the pieces together. CA is cyranoacrylate and it is in any hobby shop, also get the accelerator spray to help hurry the process. BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL as this is super glue with attitude. Have parents help and supervise! But I think it can be done this way. It will take more time than cutting cardstock but it will be tougher. You can spray the armor down with spray on bed liner that comes in a can to give it texture and strength.

That may work. I built a Boba Fett and a Colonial Marine that way and have used those same techniques in modifying my star Wars armor.

Just remember, this is a suggestion or an idea for you so results may vary. You have precious little time until Halloween.
 
Your way sounds good to. one question, how do you actually use the pepakura. do you have to put number to number and then glue it. Like 34 to 34 then glue that. also, did you glue all the pecies of paper onto one giant peice of poster board then cut it out.
 
I haven't done pep, I am going another way. But from what I know of it, you could do it the exact way you would for paper or card stock. I would use a glue stick to glue the paper to the plastic so that the adhesive is easy to remove and cut one at a time, working through the sheet of syntra. I wouldn't put them all on at once for fear of messing up a piece. Plus, you can do a tetris run making sure to use every single inch of space and not have waste.
 
samwisegamgee said:
Your way sounds good to. one question, how do you actually use the pepakura. do you have to put number to number and then glue it. Like 34 to 34 then glue that. also, did you glue all the pecies of paper onto one giant peice of poster board then cut it out.


Thats what I did. But yes just match number to number then glue.
 
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can i cut from scratch and just do a costume without Pep. like i just use a picture as reference and make it out of cardstock or posterboard
 
If I understand Pep, you print out the templates and then you can use any material you want to match up the templates. Pep is a way of making templates that are complete in a 3d environment. So you could eye ball it and do it with reference pics and your own skill. pep takes that work of measuring out of it and gives you a template that has been done for you.
 
Yeah Firestorm, thats exactly whait i meant. when you said Eyeball it and make it with your own skill without pep. thats what im gonna do. im gonna eyeball it and make it out of cardstock/posterboard.
 
TwitchFMX8811 said:
im doing mine in poster board. I printed out the pep pieces then glued them to the poster board. Then cut out the pieces, then folded them using a ruler, then I used this glue I got from a local hobby shop.
Hey there, wow thats turning out really nice!!! Way to go!! keep it up!!! Can't wait to see it painted!!
 
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