Foam Building Advice

[GustaBiri]

I've been building armor through the only way I know very well, which is card stock and Pepakura. I noticed that people that build foam armor have better fits and control on detail, compared to people that build with paper. You can probably move around better with foam armor than you can with armor thats been covered in resin and bondo. I'm very interested in building with those EVA foam mats, but I have NO idea how or where to start.

Does anybody have some friendly advice and tips for this newbie? Like essential tools and such.

Please and thank you!

 

[Termhn]

There's this, which is a pretty thorough list of supplies:
http://www.405th.com/f19/foam-guide-list-options-supplies-tools-methods-used-foam-builds-42014/

Basic supplies:
1. Foam. There's a couple options but the best are 1/2 inch foam flooring mats which you can buy cheap in packs of 4 from harbor freight. http://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-anti-fatigue-foam-mat-set-94635.html
2. Hot glue gun/sticks. Any can work, just make sure you buy the high temp only glue sticks.
3. Something to cut the foam with. My preference is a scalpel handle/blade which is used by several others here as well.
Handle: http://www.amazon.com/SCALPEL-HANDL...=1408933279&sr=8-1&keywords=#3+scalpel+handle
Blades: http://www.amazon.com/100-Scalpel-B...8-4&keywords=scalpel+11+blades#cm_cr_dpwidget
4. (optional) heat gun to mold the foam with. There's a bunch of different options but don't use a blow dryer. Heat guns are pretty inexpensive at somewhere like Harbor Freight.

 

[colbs]

Use some forms of contact cement glue it's cleaner looking thrn hot glue and better for Foam work imho either m3 or barge cement is best

 

[Termhn]

Contact cement is cleaner looking than hot glue but there's a few disadvantages especially for a beginner
1. You can't re-heat and pull something apart if you screw up
2. you can't "fill" gaps to make a stronger connection if the angles on your pieces aren't quite right
3. Toxic, you have to wear a respirator and you don't want to work in your house really.

 

[GustaBiri]

Thanks guys I will definitely go out and buy the necessary tools. I already have a heat gun and a good supply of foam, so all I need is a respirator and newer knives. Does Home Depot sell Barge? I've checked their online store, but it wasn't listed.

And how do I make a good connection with hot glue? I've tried just putting some on one side, and then sticking it, but it'll just come apart.

 

[hidoikoroshi]

Check out Punish Props online. The guy is called Bill Duran and he is a god among mortals. He does an amazing amount of foam armor and has a couple of ebooks up that go over the basics on how to paint, prime, etc.

 

[m00sem4n]

I'd like to chip in my 2 cents as I consider myself a fairly competent foamer.
On the topic of glue, I've gotta disagree about the contact cement, particularly for beginners. If you just apply the same patience you would anyway when using cement to your hot gluing technique then the results are very similar. Except that as previously stated it is easier to reinforce with hot glue and is more forgiving, the reasons I prefer it. As far as the bonding capabilities I've actually found that hot glue has held up better on seams that undergo constant tension to hold a complex shape.
Also, I highly recomend using a mixture of 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch EVA when building where the thicker foam is used to preserve the eveness of larger surface areas and the thinner for everything else since its substantially easier to work with in all respects.
Sorry if this came off long winded or unhelpful! Have fun :thumbsup

 

[GustaBiri]

Thanks for the tip! So I would need to put hot glue on the seams of the pieces I need to glue together?

 

[m00sem4n]

As Termhn said, using high temp glue is important. Some people choose to go over the outside of their seams with glue or silicone caulk, personally I avoid this because it can look messy even after applying a sealer like plastidip. I only apply glue from the inside of an edge and when pressing the pieces together, I do so at an angle in a way that forces excess glue inwards in order to leave a clean edge. That first line of glue I put on very close to the edge and its just to get a nice edge, I go back after and strengthen from behind with more hot glue all sloppy like, haha

 

[Termhn]

Yup I use a similar technique. If I got my angles right on both pieces then I can get it in one shot, just apply the glue to the outer-ish part on one side and then push them together so that it gets spread throughout... If there's too big of a gap then I go back in after on the inside and fill it some with glue.


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