Foam Armor

[Gizmologist]

Hello Everyone,

I was recently thinking about making my set of Halo 3 Mickey armor and about how much time i have on my hands. I don't have very much time on my hands and I'm not very good at Pepakura, and then I remembered this video from Kre8 Fx were they make an elite costume

.

I saw within the video they make the armor for the elite out of interlocking foam floor mats http://www.buy.com/prod/24-sq-ft-fo...q/listingid/50406518/loc/66357/211951900.html. All they used to make the armor was a dremel and a utility knife. Recently i have had a lot of time working with foam on separate projects. I never really thought about using it for my armor, and I was just wondering if is is a good idea. Another question is if you could harden it, or would it melt with the reaction to the resin, and what spray paint would you use to paint it.

I have a picture of what i want my armor to look like.

The armor in the picture i drew is a mix of Odst, Marine, and Mickey armor. It has a lot of curves to it and when i think about it foam might be the easiest way for my to go. Please reply if you can help me with my questions.
Thanks,
Gizmologist

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[The ODST Guy]

Hmm... Foam armor. Sounds like it could work! AND LOOKS TOTALLY SICK!!! I happen to have a few matts lying around. To harden it, I have no idea but, I do know the spraypaint you want: Krylon Fusion. It's meant for plastic and it should work fine with foam. Keep in mind, in the video that foam is slightly harder than normal foam. I have those kinds of matts and they are harder than they look. It seems in the video he didn't use anything to harden the foam. Either that or he just left it out but, I doubt that so I think you can skip the hardening process. If this doesn't work the next best thing is Pepakura. Here are the materials:

Krylon Fusion: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...21x00003a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=03076085000P[

Foam Matts: http://www.softtiles.com/

Hope this helps ^_^

The ODST Guy

 

[rvb18]

cheapest mats that I've found http://www.amazon.com/Sell-Mats-Ant...e=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1274832786&sr=8-9

 

[RadioactiveMicrobe]

I seem to remember a vid of Pmander making his elite. Wasn't there some pieces he made by cutting out parts from matts like those and forming them with a heat gun?

 

[RoxyRoo]

I've seen that video. His elite is amazing.
If you need some smaller foam to work with for the smaller details, try Craft Foam (aka foamies or fun foam). That's what I'm using for my spartan. You can buy it at any craft store.

 

[The ODST Guy]

Plus, not only have most of us already seen this video but, I think its been on the site before! Except it wasn't a video but rather pictures. Here is the post:
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/20621-Animatronic-Elite-Costume/page5?highlight=elite+costume

WOW That's sick!

 

[Gizmologist]

Thanks ODST Guy that has some really up close shots of the armor.

Gizmologist

 

[amancue]

it works well for amor, I've been following EvilFX of Bioweapons.com's work he uses it for various comissions, and lately he using it to build Mass Effect N7 Armor its incredible, and on a less extreme venture Im using it for some parts of my Space Marine

 

[Gaming Geek]

Does anyone know what he was using to mold and bend the mats? I know the tool he used to detail it, but did he just heat it up to bend it, or what?

 

[rvb18]

heat gun and bend it, yep

 

[Gaming Geek]

Huh. There really is a tool called a 'Heat Gun'. I had no idea. Learn something new every day.


Heh, thanks. ...I might have to think of using this tactic. The product that came out on the other side is what I wanted to do with mold foam, only I don't have to figure out how to pour a mold and still get an arm inside it...

 

[Dano32839]

I was also inspired by that awesome Elite costume. I'm using that foam along with my pepped Hard armor for a ODST costume.
It works pretty good, easy to shape with a heat gun.

So far I've made a foam shoulder piece that my hard armor attaches to. Kinda like part of the undersuit. It looks SO MUCH better than just attaching the hard armor directly to a shirt.
I also plan on using the foam for the big thick straps that come over the ODSTs shoulders, and the inner parts of the thighs...and maybe a few parts of the chest armor.

Just keep in mind that anything that you can find that makes you costume look great is fine. Don't limit yourself to one type of material.