When I first started reading these forums, I was completely lost. The language here has a life of its own, and much of the terminology being used is unique to this site, or at least to armor costumers. I thought I'd write a little guide to help new members translate, and I'll try to keep updating it as learn new things myself.
Armor Permutations:
Here is a good sampling of the different armor permutations that you will see people talking about.
What were you confused by when you were new, or what are you still confused by? Let me know and I'll add it.
- Blender -
Blender is a free open-source 3D modeling software, that people use to digitally design or edit 3D models of things they intend to unfold with Pepakura.
- Bondo -
Bondo is actually a brand name, that people generally use to specify a particular "Bondo body filler" putty material that hardens and is traditionally used for automotive body work. Once it's hardened, it can be sanded smooth and easily painted. Costumers layer it over paper models to smooth out the facets, and add extra details. It's available from most hardware and automotive stores for about $10/qt. Wikipedia entry.
- CA - Abbreviation of cyanoacrylate, which is the chemical name for super glue.
- Cardstock -
Cardstock is a type of thick paper, similar to what a common index card is made of. Cardstock comes in many colors, sizes, thicknesses, and densities. In the USA, densities are expressed as a basis weight per ream (500 sheets), such as "65lb" / "65#" / "65 pound". In countries that use the metric system, densities are expressed as a "grammage", which is the weight in grams of a square meter of paper, such as "244g". It is generally accepted that the appropriate paper for making paper model armor is 110lb cardstock [NOT the lesser 65lb cardstock]. 110lb cardstock generally costs about $15 for a pack of a couple hundred sheets.
- Casting -
Also called a cast. The casting is the finished result ("positive") that comes out of a mold ("negative"), or the process of creating a casting from a mold. You [typically] pour a hardening liquid material, "casting material", into a mold cavity, and have created a solid casting once the hardening time has elapsed. "Rough castings" are those freshly removed from the mold, and most likely include excess material, called "flashing", and superficial marks from the mold seams and defects, that must be manual removed by tools and sanding. "Finished castings" are those that have received treatment to remove flashing and defects.
- Catalyst -
A catalyst is a chemical that changes the speed of a chemical reaction, and in our context is referring to a small amount of a special chemical that is used to activate fiberglass polyester resin, and cause it to begin generating heat. The heat causes the resin to turn from a liquid into a solid, in as quickly as a few minutes (although some are formulated to take much longer). With epoxy resins, the catalyzing agent is usually called hardener instead, and is typically mixed in much larger ratios such as 1:1 resin to hardener. Polyester resins typically require only a tiny amount of catalyst to initiate the reaction, such as a few drops of catalyst per ounce of resin.
- Dremel -
Dremel is a brand of rotary tool, but the name is typically generically used to describe any type of hobbyist's rotary tool. Dremels can use a variety of spinning bits to drill, sand, cut, grind, wire brush, polish, engrave, and shape materials. They typically cost $30-100, depending on the brand, model, performance, and included accessories.
- Hardener -
See Catalyst.
- Hub -
Referring to the Pepakura Download Hub on this site, or the Pepakura File Index on the costuming wiki. These are repositories for many of the Pepakura files for 3D models that have already been unfolded, and that can be loaded and printed using Pepakura Viewer.
- Impression Mold -
Flexible mold materials, such as latex and silicone rubber, are able to accurately reproduce surface features of original items that include fine details, concavities, and undercuts. Rigid mold materials, such as plaster, can not reproduce undercuts without destroying the mold (or casting) to separate them. A mold made with a flexible material has two components (but possibly several physical pieces), the flexible impression mold that sits against the surface of the original and castings, and the rigid mother mold that supports the impression mold.
- Jacket -
See Mother Mold.
- Milkshake -
See Rondo.
- MJOLNIR -
MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor is the armor worn by Spartan soldiers, like Master Chief. There are several revisions, and a number of different styles or permutations that are similar.
- Model -
Refers to a digital 3D model. 3D models are a mathematical representation in the computer of a real, or imagined, three-dimensional object. People use special software called "3D modeling software" to design models that represent items, such as a helmet or weapon. Those models are then unfolded by Pepakura software, to create a 2D version that you can cut out of paper and assemble back into a tangible paper object.
- Mold -
A mold is the "negative" impression taken of an initial object. The mold is typically a hollow cavity that can be filled with material to make a casting. Molds can be made from one or more sections, and can be open or closed. An open mold is typically one piece, does not include mold surfaces that reproduce every surface of the casting, and is used in roto-casting/slush-casting. A closed mold is typically two or more pieces that assemble together, with a small opening for the addition of casting material, and has mold surfaces that reproduce every surface of the final casting. Flexible molds are typically made from either latex rubber, or silicone rubber. Latex rubber is more economical, and is the most commonly used material. Silicone is the Cadillac of mold materials, because it requires no mold release agent, is extremely durable, is extremely heat and chemical resistant, but costs significantly more than latex materials.
- Mold Release -
A compound applied to a mold, before making a casting, to ensure that the casting material does not adhere to the mold itself. Castings that adhere to the mold are difficult to remove at best, and will likely be permanently bonded to the mold resulting it being unable to remove the casting at all or destroying the mold in order to remove it. Most types of molds require the use of a release agent before each casting, although silicone molds typically require no mold release at all during any casting. Read the instructions for the product you are using to be sure.
- Mother Mold -
Molds made of flexible materials, such as latex or silicone rubber, accurately recreate fine details in complex shapes, but are not strong enough to hold the overall shape without collapsing or deforming (Imagine how a water balloon deforms when you set it on a table). A mother mold is an encasing shell of a rigid material, such as plaster, Plasti-paste, or hard foam. The flexible impression mold is placed inside this rigid mother mold, and the casting is made.
- Mud -
See Rondo.
- PDO -
.PDO is the extension of Pepakura Designer files. These files are the output of breaking down a 3D model for folding, and can be opened by the free Pepakura Viewer, or edited further by Pepakura Designer.
- Pep -
Short for "Pepakura", which is Windows software that takes 3D models and breaks them down into 2D paper pieces that can be cut out, folded, and assembled back into a real 3D object. People use it loosely as a noun and a verb, to describe a 3D paper model, the Pepakura software itself, and also the actual act of making a paper model out of the cut out paper pieces. The sofware comes as the $38 Pepakura Designer, which lets you actually "unfold" and save 3D models, or the free Pepakura Viewer that only lets you view and print models that other people have unfolded for you using the full version.
- Primer -
Primer is a special type of paint. Typically, primer is applied to surfaces because it adheres better than normal paint (but isn't as pretty), and then following paint coats adhere better to the primer than they would to the surface alone. This increases adhesion, and durability. There are also "high build primers", also called "sandable primer", that build up a small amount of additional material thickness to allow final touches to be made to surface smoothness and shape via sanding.
- Recasting -
Recasting is the unethical practice of making a new mold from a casting of someone else's creation, and then typically trying to pass it off as your own, especially for profit. This is evil, and Santa and the Easter Bunny will refuse to bring you presents if you do this. DON'T DO IT.
- Resin -
Refers to fiberglassing resin, or as a verb to describe having applied layers of resin to a paper model. Typically, dry cloth or mat made of fiberglass strands are wetted with liquid resin, which then hardens to give strength and rigidity. However, costumers often also use it without fiberglass, and apply it to folded paper models, to temporarily increase the strength, rigidity, and resistance to deforming. In this case, it "toughens" the paper model, so that fiberglass strengthening, Bondo shaping and sanding, and other tasks can be completed more easily. Fiberglass resins typically come in two kinds: Polyester resins and epoxy resins. Both types of resins are "thermoset", which means they turn from liquid to solid because of heat, which is usually generated in a chemical reaction. Polyester Resins are styrene based products, that require tiny amount of catalyst chemical to be added, and are an economical alternative to using epoxy resins. Epoxy Resins are a two-part resin system used when high strength, low shrinkage and low brittleness are required. Epoxy resins outperform most polyester(orthophthalic) resins, but can cost significantly more. The Bondo brand also makes polyester resin, that is typically for sale in the same hardware and automotive stores that you can find Bondo body fillers in, for about $20/qt.
- Rondo -
Rondo is a homebrew mixture of Bondo body filler and fiberglassing resin, usually in a 1:1 ratio. It's also called mud or milkshake, because of the resemblance. It's usually used to smooth paper models before painting and final finishing. Using Rondo adds another tool to your smoothing arsenal, by giving you a material that is thinner than Bondo putty and more pourable, but not as thin and runny as fiberglassing resin alone. There are several sticky posts, and videos, about how to make and use it.
- Roto-casting -
Rotational casting is the process of taking a mold, adding a liquid casting material that thickens gradually over a short period of time (several minutes), and continuously rotating the mold until the material hardens, in an effort to build up thickness of all surfaces equally. It is a time-efficient and more economical way to cast concave or hollow objects, such as helmets and armor, especially when there are no significant interior surface details to reproduce, since it requires smaller and less complex molds. A common casting material used for rotational casting is Smooth-Cast ROTO Liquid Plastic, which costs about $85 for a "1 gallon kit" (makes 2 gallons total).
- Scoring -
Scoring is the process of weakening a line in paper, where you intend to fold an edge, without cutting through it. This enhances the accuracy of the fold, which is critical to producing a high quality paper model. There are a number of common methods to score a fold line, including lightly cutting it with the dull backside of an Xacto knife, or tracing over it with a ballpoint pen. Almost all methods should be done with the aid of a metal straightedge or ruler.
- Slush-casting -
See Roto-Casting.
- Smooth-On -
Smooth-On is a company that sells quality mold and cast making supplies, at some of the most affordable prices for such materials.
- Sticky -
Stickies are posts that are set so that they "stick" to the top of the list. In any particular forum section, the stickies will stay in place at the top position, regardless of who posts in them or any other thread/topic. Moderators set posts to be stickies because they contain extremely relevant or important information, or otherwise describe answers to frequent questions or common problems. You should make an effort to read through the stickies, because it will usually answer a lot of questions that new people have.
- Support shell -
See Mother Mold.
- Tut -
Short for a tutorial.
- Unfold -
Unfold is used either as a verb for using Pepakura software to break down a 3D model into 2D paper cutouts, or as a noun to describe a file that is the result of someone unfolding a 3D model and saving it.
- Vacu-forming -
Vacu-forming is a way of making things where you make a solid heat-resistant form of the item [usually out of wood], heat a sheet of styrene plastic until it is soft and pliable, then lay the hot soft plastic over the form and use vacuum to suck the plastic tight down to the form. The initial creation of the vacuum table and forms can be expensive and time consuming, but later the forming of finished pieces is typically much faster and easier. The disadvantage of vacu-forming is that small details are lost because the thickness of the plastic material "blurs" the features of the form underneath. Stormtrooper armor, from Star Wars, is almost always vacu-formed, because the originals were too.
- Wiki -
A wiki is a type of website that usually acts like an online collaborative encyclopedia. Most wikis allow users to easily create and add new content, as well as edit and remove existing content. When you see people say "Read the wiki", they are generally referring to the Halo Costuming Wiki, or the Halopedia Wiki.
- WIP -
Acronym for "Work In Progress". People usually put this in the title of their post, where they intend to showcase the construction of their projects.
Armor Permutations:
Here is a good sampling of the different armor permutations that you will see people talking about.
What were you confused by when you were new, or what are you still confused by? Let me know and I'll add it.
