Hello 405th -- Foam Armor (All Help Welcome)

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Commander Bells

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Greetings to the 405th. My tag is Bells. My name is Will. Either is acceptable. I'm having a little bit of a debate with myself whether or not to tackle creating armor with foam or pepakura. I love the idea of foam armor and have seen it done really well. Foam also does not require the user of fiber glass (which I loathe).

My conundrum is this: With Pepakura I can get a lot more detail into my pieces, but I have to deal with fiber glass. Foam is easier to finish (I believe?) but it does not allow me to have nearly as much detail as I would get from the Pepakura cardstock.

I don't have a picture of my first helmet attempt with pep card stock, but it was a mess like I thought it would. . . Ended up just throwing it out. Gotta get on hand practice right, I can't expect to be Picasso of pep on the first try.

Here are some pictures of my pep work.

ODST Bracer.jpg

ODST Bracer Pair.jpg

ODST Chest.jpg

ODST Shoulder.jpg

My pep work I feel has become very clean and crisp, but I am almost afraid to take it any further and try with more resin and bondo in the fear of ruining the pieces and tight budget. I have personally seen the growth from my first piece to these.
Now some of my testing with foam:

This was my very first attempt at a thigh piece. I blindly threw some plastidip onto it and made even more of a mess.
First Attempt.jpg

My second attempt was cleaner, but it still completely ugly. I still personally can see a huge improvement between the two.
Test 2.jpg

This is my 3rd piece. It's much sharper, so I plastidip(ped) it.
test 3 pre plasti.jpg

(Only had a picture post plastidip) This has 2-3 layers of plastidip, sanded then primer sanded and pre layer 2 on primer.
Test 3 sanded front.jpg

I chose a color, and yes it's blue.
Test 3 Paint front.jpg

At a distance I don't think it would be too bad. However this piece doesn't have a lot of detail. Another problem. . .
Test 3 Fit Paint front.jpg

I kept getting these little bumps no matter how hard I tried to get rid of them or sand them down they just wouldn't go away. The cracks are because the foam wasn't pressed together well enough when gluing. I think I can cover those up with post modifications and brush painting.
Bumps.jpg


I use the pep files for the foam. Is that wrong? What are some advantages to using foam over pep? I would much rather use foam than the pep, but how can I keep the detailing?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks and glad to be here! :)
 
Re: Hello 405th

I have the same idea. Foam over Pep. I imagine you could still keep the detail if you worked longer on it. Just use smaller pieces and if you can, carve out foam with a drimmel.
I don't know if this method works, but I plan on using tools to carve out foam and go over it with the bondo, as well as modifying with smaller foam bits and maybe some foam clay.
It shouldn't be too hard I imagine. At least not harder than normal. Honestly I do not know about Pepakura at all but if you've got it down just keep trying as long as you can.

If you aren't up for trying anymore on the pep, I suggest carving details into a harder stock of foam. It may be just me but I don't mind my armor having a little weight to it.
 
Re: Hello 405th

You can actually achieve a great amount of detail with a foam build, especially with the use of different thicknesses of craft foam. I've seen plenty of foam builds with detail that would blow any pep project out of the water. Just take a look at builds by members like LilTyrant and RoxyRoo.

http://www.405th.com/f19/kat-armor-build-custom-undersuit-35790/?highlight=lil+tyrant
http://www.405th.com/f19/roxyroos-reach-build-undersuit-34127/

And if you're in a position like anyone else in the Midwest this time of year, resin/fiberglass/body filler is difficult due to the cold.

Don't get me wrong, I love working with pep projects, but this time of year, foam makes the most sense.
 
Re: Hello 405th

I see. So foam can have detail but work more on layers rather than intricate folds?

I'm near atlanta, heart of Dragon Con ♡, so it doesn't get too incredibly cold.

Another question. How can i make cover up cut marks like where pieces connect and are glued?

One more. How can I prevent those little bumps from forming when painting?

Thanks :)
 
You can hide the bumps several ways.
One, using contact cement and gluing the very front edge and letting it dry before bending the foam to finish the gluing and corner.
Two, using very sharp knives. Sharpening them often, to get a very smooth cut is important to keep the binding locations from looking bumpy.
Three, doing some of your contouring cuts from the inside of the foam,and bending and heating it to shape it, instead of counting only of the cut through to make your shaping.
Four, Skinning, or putting a very thin layer of craft foam, 2mm thick at most, over the whole piece to smooth out everything.
Five, using something like liquid plastidip, or a sandable and paintable latex caulk in the edges to smooth them out.

If I were you I would look up EVAkura and his build threads. He also has several instructables on Youtube.
 
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If you're looking for a way to cover up the seams with something you can go to the store and get same day, you can buy bondo at an auto parts store - usually in the paint area. It's about $30 for a one gallon bucket. Follow the directions on the bucket. Apply, smooth, let it dry. Then you can sand it. You can imagine the level of detail you keep since it is used in vehicular body work. They make other kinds of fillers as well, but the auto body filler works just fine for covering seams.


It's perfectly fine to put gloss and paint over. Since it is auto repair filler. Not sure if other kinds of coats are available like that where you live, but I plan on using bondo. It's easy to access, not too deadly, and safe to get on your hands.
 
Cool thanks a lot for this advice. I didn't think about contact cement, but that sounds like a really good idea. Would it work just by applying it over the front where the seams are, then sanding it down? I think I will give that a shot. :)

I do need to find a knife sharpener, buying new blades can add up D:

And I did do undercutting, but I'm still inexperienced. I'm sure that will come with practice.

I'm going to go out and get craft foam over the weekend :)

I'll check him out. Thanks a lot!

- - - Updated - - -


Meh. I've played with Bondo, and I just don't get along with it. I'll use it if I run out of other options, but it'll probably be a last resort.
 
DaFrontlineTrooper has a great ODST Foam build over on youtube. The techniques can be transferred over to other styles and types of armor very well, and I would recommend watching them to get a basic idea on how to do details and other fun stuff. The compiled tutorial is here. The last two videos are how to make good visors for cheap. Just a roll of shrink wrap for color
 
Hi
I was making halo master chief armor in pep >> bondo and cast resin and foam . Now I preffer foam bcs is easier, not soo expensive and almoust look like from cast resin
WP_000155.jpg
WP_000148.jpg
 
Yes, you will need to pick up a blade sharpener (I prefer the stick style - like butchers use). Keeping ultra sharp blades is so very important! Sharpen often, be happy :)

Now that you have sharp blades and are ready to cut your foam, keep your angles and cuts consistent. The more consistent the angles of the edges that are to be glued together are, the cleaner the finished product will be. I use multiple adhesives, and never rely on just one. There is a time and place for each, and learning when to use which will come with experience. But, here is a simple run-down of some instances. Contact cement is fantastic for adhering panels and zero to low stress seams. Hot glue is great for reinforcing high stress seams. Super glue is great for high stress seams, small detail pieces, and super-fine lines... and sticking your fingers together :) There are others out there, like Super 77, Barge Cement (a heavy duty, yet expensive alternative to contact cement), and Shoe Goo to name a few.... but the list continues on, and I could write a book trying to list them all :)

Use a Dremel! The most important bit you will find for the Dremel is the barrel sander (and the rubber drum that holds the sandpaper barrel in place). Use the barrel sander to make your heavy "cuts", and follow up with the rubber bit by itself to smooth everything down to near perfection.

Seal your foam before painting! I find that using a spray on polyurethane coating applied in several light passes works fantastic at sealing the foam in preparation for plasti-dip. Most of the little pin-holes you showed in your pictures was from the foam soaking up the plast-dip in some places, and repelling it in others. Heat seal first (with a heat gun), spray on the polyurethane in light coats (this can be sanded lightly when cured too, if needed), apply plasti-dip sparingly (multiple thin coats so as not to kill any detail), and then finish up with either primer and paint, or just paint. The plasti-dip is important, because it helps reduce the possibility of getting the dreaded "EVA wrinkle" when the piece is bent convexly... as well as gives the piece a "hardened" look.

Don't be afraid to use other mediums! I have found that adding balsa to my builds has given me an incredible edge on creating fine tuned and intricate details. But, I won't stop there, as other mediums - like plastic bits and pieces, casted rondo pieces, hex cap screws, and many other things can help make a build so much better!

I hope you find this bit of info useful. Keep up the great and diligent work!
 
Also You can put glue by brush in side the armor so will be in one shape. I made like this with iron man but with poliuretane glue. no smell after 2 houres.
 
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So figured I throw an update out here. It's been a good bit, but I finally got something that doesn't look horrendous.

Gotta remove the residual hot glue, but I like this a lot better than the thigh piece.

It's heat sealed. So I gotta get a coat of something on it. I'm going to run a few tests on scrap pieces between plastidip and gesso coating to see which I like better.
 
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