cost to make armor
- Thread starter NASCARPC
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How much is your time worth to you?
This is a very vague question as, like most things in life, it depends.
Foam floor mats from Home Depot, Harbor Freight, etc are not that expensive but you will need other tools - heat gun, hot knife, lots of glues to get the results you want. Then there are the styrene and craft foam details then the paint......
This hobby is not cheap and there is not really a price tag that can be quoted. You get out what you put in and a set of armor CAN NOT be thrown together in a weekend.
Hope this helps and good luck.
Sent from my iPhone5 using mind control!
This is a very vague question as, like most things in life, it depends.
Foam floor mats from Home Depot, Harbor Freight, etc are not that expensive but you will need other tools - heat gun, hot knife, lots of glues to get the results you want. Then there are the styrene and craft foam details then the paint......
This hobby is not cheap and there is not really a price tag that can be quoted. You get out what you put in and a set of armor CAN NOT be thrown together in a weekend.
Hope this helps and good luck.
Sent from my iPhone5 using mind control!
Dracosfire83
Active Member
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GuitarMaster157
Member
Cost always varies from person to person. Without a doubt, you'll spend a few hundred bucks on this project... And all of your free time.
No - I have never made any armor from scratch - but I will be making a set of Sean Bradley ODST armor from his kit.
Discounting the cost of the kit - I have already spent several hundred accumulating supplies to just FINISH the kit armor. Based on that, I can only assume that since my finishing supplies were averaging in the several hundred range, a scratch build would be similar.
Spartan_127
Well-Known Member
My son's armor that I finished up was in the $300 range. I did however, have all the tools and everything that would be needed. The majority of that cost was for paint, bondo, Smooth Cast 321, Fiberglass materials, LEDs, helmet visor and different foams. Not to mention the software that was bought like pep designer and a couple other things. The build I am working on currently has already hit that mark and I haven't even finished the first piece. . . LOL!!!!! Mainly because I purchased a Silhouette Cameo to help me cut out all the parts and I'm doing a latex under suit so I had to get the latex and a spandex suit to put the latex on. I also made a donation for certain pep files that I want to use. I figure by the time it's all said and done, I'll most likely be spending about $600 - $800 total. I've budgeted more than that because I am going to have some trial and error on some vacuum forming for my current project as well. It's all a matter of what you're willing to spend. You can do it for about $200 - $300 at the cheap end if you have the tools and stuff already.
BuildsByBaz
Sr Member
It cost me around $300 to build my Dead Space Marker Rig build. And about all the spare time I had within a 4 month period. I think it all depends on how well made you want the build to be, if you want it to look great, you'll spend an amazing amount of time, effort and money into it.
WingedAvian
Member
a rough estimate on my mk iv armour is around £50- £100 at the moment, if you can ask around friends and family for tools to borrow and look out for sales/ cheap stores. i managed to grab a dremal for £20 for my last project and the paint cost me £8 as a bundle. from what ive come across using card stock and pepakura is the cheaper method, depending on where you get the card, for instance the price of 25 sheets of 220 gsm card ranged from £2-£4.50 in the first 2 stores i tried.
if you ask around and get lucky you can dramatically reduce the cost of a build, especially if someone you know is into DIY
if you ask around and get lucky you can dramatically reduce the cost of a build, especially if someone you know is into DIY
Ive only spent about $150 so far on my build. I'm using foam and I had all the tools already on hand. So far the most costly thing I've come across has been the plastidip. That stuff costs 7 bucks a can and it took almost 2 cans to basecoat the chest. I havent even touched the rest of the armor yet with paint so I expect I'll spend another $50 or so on plastidip. I think I could reasonably complete the suit for around $200 or so but that does not include electronics. Dont let the costs discourage you though! Take your time and build what you can when you can. This is a great community for encouragement!
For me, the hardest part to construct was the chest. I think thats because it was my first piece and I had no experience with foam. By the time I got to the shoulders I had alot more confidence and skill and by the time I got to the boots I was working with no pattern. Of course now I look at the chest compared to the other pieces and I want to re-do it. Oh well, maybe sometime in the future.
Order some floor mats from Harbor Freight after December 4th.... They'll be $6.99 and you'll need 3 packages of them for an entire suit minus the helmet. Use the white glue watered down to coat instead of the plasti dip depending on if you want some type of automotive finish to your suit. Watch Stealth on youtube for his Iron Man and War Machine build and you can see. You will be able to come under $100 with foam armor with a pepped helmet that's fiberglassed, bondo'd, with visor and LED's anywhere you want.
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