Freehanding templates?

[Cosmonaut]

(I think this is the write place for this post)

I'm planning to do a Kensei build and I really want to do it justice by having it accurate to how it is in the game For Honor. The piece I'm the most concerned with is the menpo; all I have found on it is a 3D model that is too high resolution for pepakura to handle and a guy who did freehand it but there are no templates.

So,
is there a definite way to achieve the level of accuracy of this without a template? how do you guys go about it? Or maybe there is a way to make the 3D model compatible with pepakura?

 

[TurboCharizard]

If you're dead set on doing the manpo as a pep it's possible but a definitely painful process. It's not the first way that I'd choose but since that's the subject of the thread lets go with it.

Making Pep Pattern Digitally
Take that model from MyMiniFactory or find a similar one in Thingiverse, Yeggi, the depths of the web, etc. and chuck it into Blender. In Blender you can run the decimate tool a few times to reduce polygon count and smooth the model to a level that it's possible to create a pep from. I doubt this will work well and maintain accuracy but it might be worth a shot to maintain sanity.

Making a Master Positive
Most masks like this were carved from a block of something at some point or shaped on a form. Start with a block of XPS foam and shave it down to the shape you need, make a tin foil and duct tape pattern off of that and create your basic shapes for pep/foam from there.

Using Your Head
Make a tin foil and duct tape pattern of your face so that you know the manpo will fit. Use the pattern as a base to build up details such as the cheeks and nose and use this built up piece as your master to make your pep pattern from. Either of these methods that use a master would also be a good fit for worbla or similar thermoplastic forming since the manpo shape is a fairly decent buck with very little overhang and you'd probably be able to get a couple good pulls from the master if you and your friends wanted to make a large For Honour group.

True Freehand
Cut out a bunch of triangles with pep tabs. Dive into insanity. Embrace the darkness. Become the lord of shapes.

Easiest Way
You already have the files and could easily get the size of your head for scaling purposes, there's a bunch of people on the 405th with 3D printers that would be able to print you the manpo if asked nicely. Alternatively there's services such as Shapeways and 3D Hubs that are great for one-off prints that get delivered to you. Super accurate, super convenient.

 

[Cosmonaut]

If you're dead set on doing the manpo as a pep it's possible but a definitely painful process. It's not the first way that I'd choose but since that's the subject of the thread lets go with it.

Making Pep Pattern Digitally
Take that model from MyMiniFactory or find a similar one in Thingiverse, Yeggi, the depths of the web, etc. and chuck it into Blender. In Blender you can run the decimate tool a few times to reduce polygon count and smooth the model to a level that it's possible to create a pep from. I doubt this will work well and maintain accuracy but it might be worth a shot to maintain sanity.

Making a Master Positive
Most masks like this were carved from a block of something at some point or shaped on a form. Start with a block of XPS foam and shave it down to the shape you need, make a tin foil and duct tape pattern off of that and create your basic shapes for pep/foam from there.

Using Your Head
Make a tin foil and duct tape pattern of your face so that you know the manpo will fit. Use the pattern as a base to build up details such as the cheeks and nose and use this built up piece as your master to make your pep pattern from. Either of these methods that use a master would also be a good fit for worbla or similar thermoplastic forming since the manpo shape is a fairly decent buck with very little overhang and you'd probably be able to get a couple good pulls from the master if you and your friends wanted to make a large For Honour group.

True Freehand
Cut out a bunch of triangles with pep tabs. Dive into insanity. Embrace the darkness. Become the lord of shapes.

Easiest Way
You already have the files and could easily get the size of your head for scaling purposes, there's a bunch of people on the 405th with 3D printers that would be able to print you the manpo if asked nicely. Alternatively there's services such as Shapeways and 3D Hubs that are great for one-off prints that get delivered to you. Super accurate, super convenient.

Ah I don't believe I'm competent enough to do most of those ways! The Easiest Way and Making Pep Pattern Digitally Way are really the most viable options to me; especially the latter because I'm just used to doing foam work from a pep model. Although unfortunately as you have stated, the digital pattern way didn't work well. Even when setting the ratio of the decimate tool to 0.008, the exported model still wasn't compatible with pepakura. I just wish there was a way to maintain accuracy but get rid of those pesky polys.

What a headache! I guess I'll have to try some of these other methods

 

[Cosmonaut]

It turns out being stubborn works out sometimes? I've been converting the Blender file to a Collada which for some reason wasn't compatible so I switched it over to an STL.

And it's accurate too, all I need to figure out is how to change the orientation of the model and unfold it! I'll be uploading that as well if any of you are interested in that.

 

[Cosmonaut]

Alright so I got busy but I finally finished it!
At the current scale, it is still a little big for my face so adjust accordingly; also since the mustache and soul patch just came with the model and I had no idea how to remove it, it's going to be a little tricky to get a proper template. To help with this I unfolded a back part of the mask (it'll all make more sense when you view the pep for yourself) With the unfolded back part used with the front facing parts, you're just gonna have to fill in the blanks that the facial hair make.

 

[PerniciousDuke]

Oh wow! That is a lot of cuts and folds! At least it's not very big. Good luck, my friend