NEED HELP, Noob in peril

[KaustiC]

Hey guys, I'm kinda new here still been off in on in the shadows here and there, but I've started working on my first real armor project: Titan Fall. I might be posting this in the wrong section but its an in between. I've watched a lot of videos and read a lot of the forums but I think I am missing a vital detail that has been bugging me. So I have the helmet 90% assembled in card stock. I know the next step is resin/ fiber or smoothcast the inside and then bondo blah, blah, blah. However I know you can add details in the bondo stage or more interestingly with sticky foam. There in lies my question, how/when do I go about doing that detail work? Is it right after i resin the paper or do I do it before hand? Also when the detail is added do I add bondo onto of the foam to make it all flush? I am hoping you guys who have already had experience with this can point a noob down the right path.

Also I hopefully will post pics of my progression if and when I get a chance, first builds always can use some encouragement.

 

[kokiri]

from one first build noob to another :
stay inspired. Whenever i get a little burned out i would look at other people's finished products.

for your foam detailing questions, I had this video bookmarked, good stuff, figured it might be exactly what you're looking for.

your hopes and dreams

 

[PolyEngineer]

Honestly, and this is just a personal opinion (I am by no means an expert), I think it's all a matter of personal preference. There is no best or better way, unless you personally decide on what you like! I started with the helmet and simply did pep and bondo work. Lots and lots of sanding, and then more sanding, and more bondo. In the middle of the work I realized that it would be easier to just cut the small detailing work off of the pepakura folds and add it in later with either bondo or foam. I nearly decided that skipping the bondo work and going full foam would be better, but I'm not a fan of how straight foam work looks. I've seen some decent work done with foam, but when it's done well with bondo it looks so much better! Once again, just opinion.

BUT, aside from personal opinion, you also need to decide how much effort you want to put into it. With this in mind I went towards a mix of both hard fiberglass/bondo and foam. I just finished the forearms doing it this way. I did a very very simple pepakura base, and then layered it with foam to add detailing. I used white glue to seal the foam before layering it with spray-on plastidip and then painting it. The only time I touched the pieces with sandpaper was to add the worn look to the paint. I didn't use ANY bondo!! just a few layers of fiberglass resin and some matting on the inside to make it more rigid. It cut the time in half. If I would have detailed it with more pepakura detailing and bondo it would have taken much more time.

But, with all that being said. The best thing to do is to dive right in and just go! You will make mistakes, and you will more then likely have to start over on a something. I myself got the entire chest piece pepped, fiberglassed, and was about to go at it with foam and bondo, but realized it was just too small, and there was way to much bondo work to do. So… I dumped it. Just have to keep up the work and keep pushing forward! It will all be worth it once it's finished!

 

[KaustiC]

Kokiri-
ah so i see, the foamy is just used as a barrier not really a permanent part of the detail like how I thought? Well that makes me feel a little better about bondo since I've never done that before. Still I thought there was a way that the foamy just stays on there almost as a guarantee for a flat surface.

Regardless that video was super helpful and I will definitely be referencing it when I get to that point.

PolyEngineer-
That is some great advice for sure and I agree completely that it boils done to preference. I looked at your thread on your build, super clean armor man, really great job. Your helmet is all bondo and sanding or did you use foam to help? There is some pretty complicated planes on this helmet that I would like to make as clean as possible.