Newb question about foam thickness

[SomeDumbGamer]

I'm doing my first EVA foam build and decided to jump into the deep end with a master chief armor build. I know that is a big first project but I figured what the heck. I'm a disabled OIF Vet that gets full disability and really only goes to the gym and plays video games so I have plenty of time to work on it. I'm also trying to get it done by Halloween but don't expect to finish by then. I will start with the gloves, boots, shins and forearms, and I bought a decent helmet, and if I don't finish the whole thing by Halloween I will just wear all that, a pair of board shorts, Hawaiian shirt, and say I'm Master Chief on vacation. I have done 2 non halo "costumes" in the past, first being a Payday outfit that was just premade stuff put together into a full outfit and the second being God of War Kratos from the newer games which was about half premade stuff and half stuff made by me with materials from Hobby Lobby.

I have so many questions as I have never worked with foam before, or used PDOs and have opened pepakura less than a dozen times to just get my feet wet. But to start out how do you determine what thickness foam to use for each pattern and/or part? I figured that the PDO files would have that in it but not really. I figured out that I could used the measure tool to see how thick the pattern is in the viewer but between scaling and the pattern themselves they seem to be weird thicknesses and even in the same piece can vary from one side to the other. Once piece might be 12.77 mm on one end and taper to 9.21 at the other.

So....is there a decent way of choosing what thickness of foam to use for each part? Or do I just need to wing it? I bought some 1mm, 2mm, and 5mm craft EVA foam and after I learned about the puzzle floor matts for thicker pieces I'm getting some 1/2inch, 3/4 inch and 1 inch of those today along with some paint and misc supplies. Any other advice is also appreciated. Thanks!

 

[JammedMite942]

Congrats on starting the first build, I'm sure it'll turn out great!

To answer your question, it depends, the thickness is entirely up to you. For structural parts such as main sections, I usually use 6-10mm foam, as its strong but not to stiff, which is nice to work with. In terms of details, anything below 5mm is good, but again, up to you!

One month is an incredibly tight timeframe, but your "Master Chief on vacation" idea is brilliant lol. Good luck with the build, and post some pictures once its done!

 

[Cadet]

I would recommend checking out The Foam Guide:

Foam Guide

Contributors: RandomRanger , Fallen Introduction This is a tutorial targeted at beginners to help understand what EVA foam is, the different types of EVA foam available, how and where to buy EVA foam, and some basic tips/tricks/and tools for working with EVA foam. Index What is EVA foam? What...

www.405th.com

And then take some time to read through some Tutorials found in our Tutorial Index:

Tutorial Index

Tutorial Index Who can make a Tutorial? A: Anyone How do I make a tutorial? A: Create a thread in any part of the forum you think your tutorial pertains to such as Costume, Props, Soft Parts etc. How do I get the tutorial in the Tutorial Section? A: start a conversation with me...

www.405th.com

 

[N8TEBB]

Lots of people will choose different thicknesses for different reasons. For myself, I just use EVA floor mats from the hardware store because they're fairly cheap and they're easy to get my hands on. My chief armour is entirely made from 1/2" EVA foam floor mats.

You actually remind me of my first build. I went straight into the deep end by making an entire chief suit right away when I first started cosplaying. If you want, here's the build thread for my project: 1st Build - MJOLNIR MK VI Master Chief Armour (Halo 3)

 

[SomeDumbGamer]

Thanks for the replies, info, and encouragement. I have checked out the provided links as well as other tutorial threads and an absurdly large amount of YouTube videos. I'm starting to get the hang of things and have most of the build process figured out, I now just need repetitions and time to increase my skill, though I'm sure I'll never stop learning and picking up tips and tricks. So any more are always welcome.

I'll probably do some sort of new builder guide/tips post at some point to help out with little peices of advice that most guides overlook but here are a couple things I learned.

I MASSIVELY underestimated the time and effort involved in building the armor. When I started I estimated a month to do the whole build. I am now revising that to at least 3-5 months. So probably a good rule of thumb is at least 3x what you expect for build time starting out.

As soon as you say your building armor and start producing recognizable peices expect all your friends (assuming you have any, we are nerds) to instantly ask you to make things for them with zero appreciation of the time, effort and cost involved. I already have been asked for a planetside helmet and 40k mechanicus tech priest outfit.

Practice first if you can. I had no idea how vital making vertical cuts are. I cut out all the peices for the boots first only to go fit them (also dry fit first before gluing) only to discover the they didn't fit because my cuts were slanted. Had to throw everything out and start over. Also angled edge cuts are a pain but with practice get easier. Figure out how plastidip actually applies as well at the paint your using and then practice on peices; seal, coat, paint, detailing, weathering and battle damage.

Anyways I current have the gloves and boots pretty much done. The forearms are build and just need to be coated and painted. My deadline for completion (wearable) is Saturday night so I'm positive I won't get the shins done in time which is a shame. But I'll make it work.

Here are some progress photos. And I will post the full costume when done.

 

[N8TEBB]

your friends instantly ask you to make things for them with zero appreciation of the time

SO TRUEEEE, especially with 3D printing.
Usually, if they want something foam I hit em with "you already have all the tools you need, you can make it yourself!" And then they realize how big of an ask it is haha

Your progress looks great! Excellent work so far.

 

[JammedMite942]

Thanks for the replies, info, and encouragement. I have checked out the provided links as well as other tutorial threads and an absurdly large amount of YouTube videos. I'm starting to get the hang of things and have most of the build process figured out, I now just need repetitions and time to increase my skill, though I'm sure I'll never stop learning and picking up tips and tricks. So any more are always welcome.

I'll probably do some sort of new builder guide/tips post at some point to help out with little peices of advice that most guides overlook but here are a couple things I learned.

I MASSIVELY underestimated the time and effort involved in building the armor. When I started I estimated a month to do the whole build. I am now revising that to at least 3-5 months. So probably a good rule of thumb is at least 3x what you expect for build time starting out.

As soon as you say your building armor and start producing recognizable peices expect all your friends (assuming you have any, we are nerds) to instantly ask you to make things for them with zero appreciation of the time, effort and cost involved. I already have been asked for a planetside helmet and 40k mechanicus tech priest outfit.

Practice first if you can. I had no idea how vital making vertical cuts are. I cut out all the peices for the boots first only to go fit them (also dry fit first before gluing) only to discover the they didn't fit because my cuts were slanted. Had to throw everything out and start over. Also angled edge cuts are a pain but with practice get easier. Figure out how plastidip actually applies as well at the paint your using and then practice on peices; seal, coat, paint, detailing, weathering and battle damage.

Anyways I current have the gloves and boots pretty much done. The forearms are build and just need to be coated and painted. My deadline for completion (wearable) is Saturday night so I'm positive I won't get the shins done in time which is a shame. But I'll make it work.

Here are some progress photos. And I will post the full costume when done.

Wow! Your first pieces are really good! That’s a lot cleaner than my first, keep up the great work!

Estimating time is always the worst part lol, cuz unless you’ve done it before you have no benchmark at all XD! 3-5 months is a good goal, but please for the love of god take your time with it! What’s an extra month when the suit will look so much better. Anyway, good luck with the rest of the build!

 

[SomeDumbGamer]

Again thanks for the words of encouragement. Finished the forearms but didn't get to the shins which is disappointing since I think it would really help pull the look together. With the rushed time-frame of building these parts (probably over a hundred hours over 2 weeks, barely ate or slept) I'm not completely happy with the peices. I'll probably redo the boots or at least go back and really modify them. They feel off and aren't the most comfortable and secure to walk in. I'm doing a pub crawl tonight from 5pm to 8pm and then off to a bar until 2 am for a costume contest, so here's hoping that they hold up.

Oh and another thing I learned with this build is that girls ARE impressed but more in the "oh wow that's neat, you must have alot of free time" and less in the "omg your so cool can I be your girlfriend" lol.

Here's pics of the finished costume for tonight.