Eva foam ODST build

[KnightMare]

So after a year of watching videos and messing up foam, I finally decided it's better to make a suit and get it out of the way than to wait any longer. I built the helmet today by Andrew DFT's template and ran into a multitude of problems that were mainly fixed with an extensive amount of hot glue and a mild dash of cursing. My two remaining issues are 1: I have open/ugly seems between some of the pieces, and 2: it doesn't go past my chin. I think I have an idea to bead hot glue down the seems to simulate weld lines, but does anyone else have the same problem as me for the chin? Thanks

 

[KnightMare]

Update/edit. Determined that my printer had shrunk the stencils to fit on the 8 1/2 by 11 sheet and when blown up to normal scale, cut bits off. Did some very tedious, very annoying work with paint to clip them back to each other and made a cardboard proof of concept. I really want to put the graffiti on the cardboard concept somewhere...

 

[Rigel17]

This literally looks so much better than my first attempt at a foam odst helmet, so your doing great! I opted for a printed helmet, but made the rest of mine out of foam. One word of advice, assuming you are doing the full outfit. It helps to start with the legs first, and work your way up the body, save some of the more challenging pieces like the forearms and helmet for last. You will get better as you go and it’s easier to mess up on something simple than complex like a helmet.
We all start somewhere though, dont give up, it gets better! And don't be afraid to ask LOTS of questions

 

[Rigel17]

So after a year of watching videos and messing up foam, I finally decided it's better to make a suit and get it out of the way than to wait any longer. I built the helmet today by Andrew DFT's template and ran into a multitude of problems that were mainly fixed with an extensive amount of hot glue and a mild dash of cursing. My two remaining issues are 1: I have open/ugly seems between some of the pieces, and 2: it doesn't go past my chin. I think I have an idea to bead hot glue down the seems to simulate weld lines, but does anyone else have the same problem as me for the chin? Thanks

For the seams, kwik seal is your best friend! Hot glue can work, but is tricky to work with and smooth out, and will rip your foam at the seams if damaged rather than coming apart in a clean cut way, which makes repairs, (if needed) a lot harder to manage. Kwik seal is very easily sanded as well. Hot glue does not sand.
I fill any seams with kwik seal, smooth it out with my fingers and some water, and when it comes time to sand and prep for paint, you will find the seams, even if they seem ugly, are mostly gone!

 

[KnightMare]

This literally looks so much better than my first attempt at a foam odst helmet, so your doing great! I opted for a printed helmet, but made the rest of mine out of foam. One word of advice, assuming you are doing the full outfit. It helps to start with the legs first, and work your way up the body, save some of the more challenging pieces like the forearms and helmet for last. You will get better as you go and it’s easier to mess up on something simple than complex like a helmet.
We all start somewhere though, dont give up, it gets better! And don't be afraid to ask LOTS of questions

I was following Andrews video order, but if you have an easier order to go about it then I'll be forever grateful

 

[KnightMare]

For the seams, kwik seal is your best friend! Hot glue can work, but is tricky to work with and smooth out, and will rip your foam at the seams if damaged rather than coming apart in a clean cut way, which makes repairs, (if needed) a lot harder to manage. Kwik seal is very easily sanded as well. Hot glue does not sand.
I fill any seams with kwik seal, smooth it out with my fingers and some water, and when it comes time to sand and prep for paint, you will find the seams, even if they seem ugly, are mostly gone!

How did you sand your armor? Can I use a 200 grit sandpaper and sand it that way? I have a Dremel but I don't know if it has the right bits.

 

[Rigel17]

I was following Andrews video order, but if you have an easier order to go about it then I'll be forever grateful

How did you sand your armor? Can I use a 200 grit sandpaper and sand it that way? I have a Dremel but I don't know if it has the right bits.

200 is fine to start with but might take off too much material and leave it looking a little rough. I used a dremel for all my edges and it made a huge difference, (i believe my dremel bit was around 300 grit). but i had to go back with a higher grit around 500-600 and hand sand it to smooth it out. I think any grit between 320-700 works well with foam, any higher i think works better with 3d print smoothing, cause with foam, you usually have the ability to go over sanded bits with a heat gun and that “seals” the pores and smooths everything out the rest of the way before you paint. Just be careful to not overdue it with a heat gun if you use it or you could melt your foam!

And you may already know this, but with a dremel, always brush in the direction of the rotation, never against it. I loved this video on how to use a dremel. It was a game changer when i first started!

 

[SpartanEC40]

Après un an à regarder des vidéos et à gâcher de la mousse, j'ai finalement décidé qu'il valait mieux fabriquer une combinaison et m'en débarrasser plutôt que d'attendre plus longtemps. J'ai construit le casque aujourd'hui à partir du modèle d'Andrew DFT et j'ai rencontré une multitude de problèmes, principalement résolus avec beaucoup de colle chaude et une légère pointe de jurons. Mes deux derniers problèmes sont : 1) des coutures ouvertes et disgracieuses entre certaines pièces ; et 2) le casque ne dépasse pas mon menton. J'ai une idée : appliquer de la colle chaude sur les coutures pour simuler des lignes de soudure, mais quelqu'un d'autre a-t-il le même problème que moi pour le menton ? Merci.

Hello ! I built the same armor that you (in Andrew DFT)for the hole you can used the foam clay but the time of drying east of 24-48 Hour.Good luck for you cosplay !

 

[KnightMare]

Little update, I finished building the resized helmet and put all the decals in, now looking at how to do my visor, I like the idea of the window tint mirror from Isaac D. Projects. Wondering if I can cut it to Andrews template?