First ever Pepakura creation, I'm tempted to give up. What do you think? EDIT 2: I need help.
- Thread starter SpartanDude
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FalseShepherd
Well-Known Member
Looks fine to me... Pep is hard work and, like most things, you only get good at it if u work at it. Nobody's first pep piece came out exactly as they thought it would but if u expected to be a pro at something your first time trying then you set urself up for disappointment. Of course your first attempt didn't go perfectly. Keep at it and you will keep getting better. If you have questions this forum is a great place to ask them. We have some great builders here and all of them started where u r now. As a relatively new person, I can say that my first pep piece was not great but I have already gotten so much better at it and I haven't even finished my first armor. By the time I finish this suit I am confident that the pep will be good, and I can always go back and redo the early pieces if I feel like I need to.
What did you not like about that piece? It looks like every other hand piece I have seen.
What did you not like about that piece? It looks like every other hand piece I have seen.
Sean Anwalt
Sr Member
- Member DIN
- S530
LOL! Whoa, slow down there, man. I am not sure why you think that came out terribly. Let me assure you, sir (or madam, whichever preferred) this does not look terrible! Do not throw the rest of the papers in the bin.
There is a lot to be said about pepakura. It is a tedious often frustrating process, and it takes much, much longer to get a piece finished than it has any right to, but the end result of that frustration and tedious work is a (admittedly angular and digital) great reproduction of a piece of armor. If only you could see some of the monstrosities I had cranked out my first 10 years on the forum, you'd feel pretty dang good about yourself.
I know you said you've studied pepakura for a while now, so please understand I'm not trying to patronize, but I've only seen your one post, and am not sure your true level of experience. (The hand plate looks pretty good to me.) This is the trick with pepakura: Use cardstock, score your paper with a pen or similar pointy thing, and make sure to take your time on the details. Once you finally have the piece done, which can sometimes take quite some time, you'll want to quickly secure its shape by hardening it. There is a lot of discussion around here about how to do that, but I'll walk you through how I did it:
I use fiberglass resin and brush a light coat inside and outside in small sections in whatever way works best to prevent warping (laying it upside down, propping it up on it's side to prevent warping, whatever) and let it dry. This process can take a day or even up to a week depending how hard you work at it. Once the piece is dry and not toxic (Wear a respirator and do this outside......) use the fiberglass resin to moisten fiberglass cloth (again, outside, wear a respirator. And gloves.... Always use gloves!) and place the fiberglass cloth in the piece, covering the entire interior of the part. You will most likely need more that one piece of fiberglass cloth, although with a piece as small as your hand plate there, you MIGHT be able to get away with one bigger piece. Let it dry, then do it again so you have more than one layer of fiberglass resinned into your piece. You will need a Popsicle stick or similar devise to press the fiberglass cloth into place to prevent nasty brain-penetrating stalactite prongs of death from giving you an un scheduled labotomy, and if you get any bubbles you cannot work out, wait for it to dry, then drill a hole in the bubble and fill it with more resin. I'd add at least 3 layers. Up to 7. personal preference. When you're done it'll be as hard as a rock.
After that, bondo that sucker in small increments to round out all the digital angles (Cuz pepakura can't see round surfaces) and sand it smooth until you almost die of old age! Then paint it your desired colors and you're set to go!
TL;DR
Take your time and pay attention to detail. We don't work like microwaves over here; we're like crockpots! It takes a little longer than we'd sometimes like, but he end result is way, WAY nicer.
Good luck! And don't sell yourself short; your hand plate looks good!
There is a lot to be said about pepakura. It is a tedious often frustrating process, and it takes much, much longer to get a piece finished than it has any right to, but the end result of that frustration and tedious work is a (admittedly angular and digital) great reproduction of a piece of armor. If only you could see some of the monstrosities I had cranked out my first 10 years on the forum, you'd feel pretty dang good about yourself.
I know you said you've studied pepakura for a while now, so please understand I'm not trying to patronize, but I've only seen your one post, and am not sure your true level of experience. (The hand plate looks pretty good to me.) This is the trick with pepakura: Use cardstock, score your paper with a pen or similar pointy thing, and make sure to take your time on the details. Once you finally have the piece done, which can sometimes take quite some time, you'll want to quickly secure its shape by hardening it. There is a lot of discussion around here about how to do that, but I'll walk you through how I did it:
I use fiberglass resin and brush a light coat inside and outside in small sections in whatever way works best to prevent warping (laying it upside down, propping it up on it's side to prevent warping, whatever) and let it dry. This process can take a day or even up to a week depending how hard you work at it. Once the piece is dry and not toxic (Wear a respirator and do this outside......) use the fiberglass resin to moisten fiberglass cloth (again, outside, wear a respirator. And gloves.... Always use gloves!) and place the fiberglass cloth in the piece, covering the entire interior of the part. You will most likely need more that one piece of fiberglass cloth, although with a piece as small as your hand plate there, you MIGHT be able to get away with one bigger piece. Let it dry, then do it again so you have more than one layer of fiberglass resinned into your piece. You will need a Popsicle stick or similar devise to press the fiberglass cloth into place to prevent nasty brain-penetrating stalactite prongs of death from giving you an un scheduled labotomy, and if you get any bubbles you cannot work out, wait for it to dry, then drill a hole in the bubble and fill it with more resin. I'd add at least 3 layers. Up to 7. personal preference. When you're done it'll be as hard as a rock.
After that, bondo that sucker in small increments to round out all the digital angles (Cuz pepakura can't see round surfaces) and sand it smooth until you almost die of old age! Then paint it your desired colors and you're set to go!
TL;DR
Take your time and pay attention to detail. We don't work like microwaves over here; we're like crockpots! It takes a little longer than we'd sometimes like, but he end result is way, WAY nicer.
Good luck! And don't sell yourself short; your hand plate looks good!
FalseShepherd
Well-Known Member
My first pep piece turned out so bad I'm thinking of making it into a model of the destroyed helmet in the sand from the end of reach. It's warped all to hell and just generally looks beat to sh*t. I wish I had started with something smaller than a helmet. Would have saved a lot of time, but here we are...
tahu505
Well-Known Member
- Member DIN
- S505
My first pep was my helmet and I ended up with a massive dent on the top back left of it. Stuff like that you can always either fill and sand with bondo (that will add some weight) or what I did was put some extra weathering in that spot and boom, now you've got extra battle damage and a story. Either way practice makes perfect and just like everyone else in this thread, I'm also not seeing anything wrong with that hand plate
SpartanDude
New Member
Update 1: Ze sound of progress.
SpartanDude
New Member
I purchased the strongest wood glue I could find and mixed it with water, I waited a full 12+ hours for it to dry and it isn't any harder or stronger. What did I do wrong? I used only a tiny bit of water.
Sean Anwalt
Sr Member
- Member DIN
- S530
I don't understand the wood glue... you can do that to help seal foam, but for paper is not going to give you the structure you need. It can also warp your piece if you're not careful.
SpartanDude
New Member
What else do I use? I can't afford resin or fiberglass and they aren't even sold in my country. Online shopping isn't an option because my credit card doesn't work online.
GMer56
Sr Member
Not sure where you live, but fiberglass/resin should at least be available at an auto part store (unless they regulate stinky stuff where you live).
SpartanDude
New Member
Even if they did sell it, I'm as broke as the McDonalds Ice Cream Machine and the nearest auto parts store is hours of driving away and I don't have a car.
GMer56
Sr Member
Try bondo, paper mache, or even just soaking newspaper in a mix of flour and water and layering it on.
Just be careful about the flour thing, don't paint it and it might get moldy and carried off by ants!
SpartanDeadlock
New Member
It wont get moldy if you add a couple spoons of vinegar in the mixture.
Yes, paper maché is a good alternative to resin, but I'll take longer since it doesnt cure as fast as resin (might take 2 days per layer, and you'll need at least 3 layers)
I have a Daedric helmet from Skyrim made with paper maché, it looks pretty good and it is on my shelf since 2013, so it lasts a long time too.
Yes, paper maché is a good alternative to resin, but I'll take longer since it doesnt cure as fast as resin (might take 2 days per layer, and you'll need at least 3 layers)
I have a Daedric helmet from Skyrim made with paper maché, it looks pretty good and it is on my shelf since 2013, so it lasts a long time too.
- Member DIN
- S111
It might help to get better suggestions if we know what Country you are from? Then our members could offer advice specific to that Region, especially if we already have members there.
If you can't use or don't have access to Resin and Fiberglass, two other things to consider are to strengthen your armor using Hot Glue:
www.405th.com
Or consider shifting your build away from traditional paper Pepakura to working with EVA foam using modified pepakura templates.
If you can't use or don't have access to Resin and Fiberglass, two other things to consider are to strengthen your armor using Hot Glue:
TUTORIAL: The Totally Offical "Hot glue Method" Method.
So Mom and Dad wont let you use fiberglass because it's "dangerous", your "allergic", it's "toxic", it's "too expensive", or "you're too young"? Look no further my friend, because I, Frost, have created the cheap DIY armor reinforcing method which will keep your wallet (or parents wallet) semi...
www.405th.com
Or consider shifting your build away from traditional paper Pepakura to working with EVA foam using modified pepakura templates.
Sean Anwalt
Sr Member
- Member DIN
- S530
Super glue and baking soda, but that'll get way expensive.
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