Hi everyone. My friend and I are building armors and we are both new to this. He wants to make his armor for show, but i want to make mines fit for paintball. I was looking around, and i'm torn between using kevlar or fiberglass. I've been told that carbon fiber is too expensive and it shatters easily, so i shouldn't use it. Any suggestions as to which one i should pick? Also, how many layers of kevlar/fiberglass/carbonfiber should i add to make the armor shatterproof against paintballs?
Paintball Armor
- Thread starter hydraz2
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Gokussj5okazu
Well-Known Member
Fiberglass, when applied correctly, will be more than strong enough for paintball. Unfortunately, armor makes for terrible paintballing. All of the hard edges, and the lack of maneuverability typically make it a poor choice for the sport.
Snortellini
New Member
Naw this guy doesn't care, he just wants to be the most badass looking guy there.
snortellini is right. we are working on our armors together, and i've been brainstorming ways to make the armor more maneuverable. i just wanted to know if it is possible or not before i start making the modifications. Also, if you reccomend fiberglass, how many layers should i add. I was thinking 4, but idk if its too much.
- Member DIN
- S613
Look around a bit. I don't recall where I saw it maybe on youtube. But there is some footage of a game of paintball being played with armor on. Spartans vs. Spartans.
RTWHOCKEY
Active Member
I would ditch the fiberglass route alltogether and go for a foam suit. Eva foam is more lightweight, mobile, and would take a paintball much better than fiberglass because it wont crack on impact.
Regardless, I wouldn't recommend using halo armor as paintball or airsoft equipment in any way because of safty regulations and because of the fact that you would probably ruin the paint job and look of the armor and just overall, ruin the effect. For the time any money spent in building a costume, it doesn't seem safe or smart to me to use it in that way and potentially ruin the costume and hurt yourself. These are costumes, they are ment for looks, and to tell you the truth, I can hardly even run in my suit, so I don't know how you expect to play paintball.
Regardless, I wouldn't recommend using halo armor as paintball or airsoft equipment in any way because of safty regulations and because of the fact that you would probably ruin the paint job and look of the armor and just overall, ruin the effect. For the time any money spent in building a costume, it doesn't seem safe or smart to me to use it in that way and potentially ruin the costume and hurt yourself. These are costumes, they are ment for looks, and to tell you the truth, I can hardly even run in my suit, so I don't know how you expect to play paintball.
I'm building my suit for paintball. I've gone the foam route for the reasons above and modified it so I can still have pods and stuff on my back and a proper mask in my helmet. have a look http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/39730-Modified-ODST-armour
The foam will also help with bounce over the other materials, and I will be using plastidip to paint it so that the paint will at least have a bit of give when shot
The foam will also help with bounce over the other materials, and I will be using plastidip to paint it so that the paint will at least have a bit of give when shot
Dystorted Props
Jr Member
I have seen people wanting to attempt this build but Is it possible?:confused
BiGHARYSCOTSMiN
Member
I've tested many materials and different pellet types... for Airsoft use.
I can tell you this much though:
1 layer if Fiberglass isn't enough. 2 withstood a 400 fps rifle with 0.3gram pellets... but it left a dent.
Also with "lightweight" thin armor types if you move in a weird way or even flex the surfaces can break, bend, deform, etc. I tried out a whole leg section consisting is ODST thighs, shins, knees, and sandals... and the back of the shin piece broke when I crouched a section of the front caved in and shattered... putting splinters in my skin.
After that I tried 3 layers of fiberglass and 4 layers of Rondo. This withstood my rifle up to 0.45 gram pellets... but was iffy when it came to mobility... not to mention it started to get heavy on me.
Some key things to remember...
- If your armor is too thin it will crack when you do anything other than walk.
- If your armor is too thick it will become heavy and too stiff to flex when you need to get into awkward shooting positions and prone.
- If your armor is too thin it WILL NOT withstand even a small plastic white ball coming out of an Airsoft gun. Bummer.
- If your armor is too thick... well actually ballistics wise it should stand. If you use fiberglass it can warp... however.
What you want is armor that is thick enough for you to at least run in and not be too heavy. Also consider breath-ability. You don't want a solid ODST helmet with no vents... like what I did. It fogs up your visor and makes you really really hot.
Thing is, Halo armor isn't... realistic. At least in Halo 4 the possibilities are greater than say Halo 3, but Bungie/343's image of metallic super-suit that can withstand a drop from space doesn't go well with on-ground action we face today.
- First of all, you can't shoulder your rifle with bulky shoulder pieces and shiny breast pieces. Just look at yourself in Halo 4. Your character shoulders their gun WITH THEIR SHOULDER. Bye bye Chris Costa, everything you taught me is invalid.
- Also, obstructive helmets... You know those huge hazop breathers on the front of your helmet? Yeah they block your sights. I needed three risers moving my Eotech up 2 1/2 inches for me to see. It's ugly and impractical.
I'm currently building a Dead Space 2 Earthgov Security Suit. Take a look at it's armor design. It doesn't have huge obstructive panels all over, and flexible materials where lots of action happens. Now I have to figure out how I need to feel or hear my hits. I don't want to be a cheater not calling my hits after all.
So. What is there to be learned here? Well... ODST is possible. I've done it before. It didn't last though, because unlike my skin which can regenerate when hurt the suit is brittle and worst of all uncomfortable. I went back to my FAST Helmet and Plate Carrier after two days of gaming.
What I'm trying to say is... it's difficult. You need flexibility if you are being shot at or shooting back. Visibility can be a problem for some helmets as well I just noticed, for example the soldier helmet. It has a super skinny visor. I may be Japanese but that's taking it too far lol. For every suit functionality is different and takes a lot of work to get it to work. just getting a hard enough visor took me a week to do, not including the mounting nightmare.
It's possible, get creative.
I should make a full fledged report on it's own thread shouldn't I...
I can tell you this much though:
1 layer if Fiberglass isn't enough. 2 withstood a 400 fps rifle with 0.3gram pellets... but it left a dent.
Also with "lightweight" thin armor types if you move in a weird way or even flex the surfaces can break, bend, deform, etc. I tried out a whole leg section consisting is ODST thighs, shins, knees, and sandals... and the back of the shin piece broke when I crouched a section of the front caved in and shattered... putting splinters in my skin.
After that I tried 3 layers of fiberglass and 4 layers of Rondo. This withstood my rifle up to 0.45 gram pellets... but was iffy when it came to mobility... not to mention it started to get heavy on me.
Some key things to remember...
- If your armor is too thin it will crack when you do anything other than walk.
- If your armor is too thick it will become heavy and too stiff to flex when you need to get into awkward shooting positions and prone.
- If your armor is too thin it WILL NOT withstand even a small plastic white ball coming out of an Airsoft gun. Bummer.
- If your armor is too thick... well actually ballistics wise it should stand. If you use fiberglass it can warp... however.
What you want is armor that is thick enough for you to at least run in and not be too heavy. Also consider breath-ability. You don't want a solid ODST helmet with no vents... like what I did. It fogs up your visor and makes you really really hot.
Thing is, Halo armor isn't... realistic. At least in Halo 4 the possibilities are greater than say Halo 3, but Bungie/343's image of metallic super-suit that can withstand a drop from space doesn't go well with on-ground action we face today.
- First of all, you can't shoulder your rifle with bulky shoulder pieces and shiny breast pieces. Just look at yourself in Halo 4. Your character shoulders their gun WITH THEIR SHOULDER. Bye bye Chris Costa, everything you taught me is invalid.
- Also, obstructive helmets... You know those huge hazop breathers on the front of your helmet? Yeah they block your sights. I needed three risers moving my Eotech up 2 1/2 inches for me to see. It's ugly and impractical.
I'm currently building a Dead Space 2 Earthgov Security Suit. Take a look at it's armor design. It doesn't have huge obstructive panels all over, and flexible materials where lots of action happens. Now I have to figure out how I need to feel or hear my hits. I don't want to be a cheater not calling my hits after all.
So. What is there to be learned here? Well... ODST is possible. I've done it before. It didn't last though, because unlike my skin which can regenerate when hurt the suit is brittle and worst of all uncomfortable. I went back to my FAST Helmet and Plate Carrier after two days of gaming.
What I'm trying to say is... it's difficult. You need flexibility if you are being shot at or shooting back. Visibility can be a problem for some helmets as well I just noticed, for example the soldier helmet. It has a super skinny visor. I may be Japanese but that's taking it too far lol. For every suit functionality is different and takes a lot of work to get it to work. just getting a hard enough visor took me a week to do, not including the mounting nightmare.
It's possible, get creative.
I should make a full fledged report on it's own thread shouldn't I...
Carpathia
Sr Member
Identical? No offense meant, but there's a difference between your armor (which isn't bad)...
...and what I consider convincing...
...which would be terrible to try to use for airsoft/paintball, but is a great costume.
Honestly, when I look at your helmet, I think Gears of War.
BiGHARYSCOTSMiN
Member
You can do with a bigger visor though... and yeah that kinda does look like Gears armor. just the helmet though...
I think that's fine, I don't think your armor should be 100% accurate because that can negate from the functionality of your mask for example.
Snortellini
New Member
BiGHARYSCOTSMiN, You should definitely make a thread about armor thickness, I'm not making paintball armor but I would prefer having armor that doesn't shatter if I make a movement that I shouldn't do.
kingair983
Jr Member
Hey couldnt help but notice the thread...the word paintball always jumps out at me XD! But I thought I might be able to help a little. One, fiberglass will, in fact work for paintball. But not airsoft. I use a custom made mask from a company in Thailand that specializes in Army of Two masks. For paintball the mask is used with three layers of fiberglass and it withstands paintballs with no problem. http://www.coldbloodartpaintball.com/file/ColdBloodArt___GALLERY/ColdBloodArt___GALLERY.html As I play both airsoft and paintball I opted for a mask which is a blend of carbonfiber and an armid carbon (Kevlar) mixture.
Id say your fine with either fiberglass or kevlar, provided you use at least 3 layers of each. However this will be extremely cumbersome, not to mention hot. I think someone mentioned EVA foam. This is a somewhat viable option and would definitely be lighter than 'glass but has a few problems. Think about how a paintball behaves in terms of ballistics. You're firing a semi-solid gelatin paint-filled capsule designed to dispense all of its kinetic energy upon impact so that it breaks up and thus 'marks' someone with said paint. EVA foam is made to absorb energy, in most cases weight. A paintball fired at EVA foam is less likely to break because the EVA foam absorbs the energy and redistributes it through the foam. In the best case the paintball simply will bounce, but in the worst and more often, especially if at close range, the foam will split at the impact sight, and god help you if you're hit where the armor is glued together. What you want is something rigid enough to allow the paintball to impact and break apart i.e. multi-layered fiberglass. If I can get a hold of a camera capable of doing multi-frame per second shots, then ill try and upload a video of testing guns on different materials, but if and until then I would cautiously say, stick with the fiberglass, testing all along the way, but be prepared; you're not gonna be too mobile, and everyone is going to want to 'shoot the spartan.'
Hope this helps, I'll make sure to keep and eye around this thread, and I REALLY look forward to seeing what you come up with, who knows, do it right and you may be the first functional paint balling spartan to hit the forums. Good Luck!! -KingAir
Id say your fine with either fiberglass or kevlar, provided you use at least 3 layers of each. However this will be extremely cumbersome, not to mention hot. I think someone mentioned EVA foam. This is a somewhat viable option and would definitely be lighter than 'glass but has a few problems. Think about how a paintball behaves in terms of ballistics. You're firing a semi-solid gelatin paint-filled capsule designed to dispense all of its kinetic energy upon impact so that it breaks up and thus 'marks' someone with said paint. EVA foam is made to absorb energy, in most cases weight. A paintball fired at EVA foam is less likely to break because the EVA foam absorbs the energy and redistributes it through the foam. In the best case the paintball simply will bounce, but in the worst and more often, especially if at close range, the foam will split at the impact sight, and god help you if you're hit where the armor is glued together. What you want is something rigid enough to allow the paintball to impact and break apart i.e. multi-layered fiberglass. If I can get a hold of a camera capable of doing multi-frame per second shots, then ill try and upload a video of testing guns on different materials, but if and until then I would cautiously say, stick with the fiberglass, testing all along the way, but be prepared; you're not gonna be too mobile, and everyone is going to want to 'shoot the spartan.'
Hope this helps, I'll make sure to keep and eye around this thread, and I REALLY look forward to seeing what you come up with, who knows, do it right and you may be the first functional paint balling spartan to hit the forums. Good Luck!! -KingAir
BiGHARYSCOTSMiN
Member
My Airsoft source Evike.com sells these... Master chief helmets...
http://www.evike.com/product_info.php?cPath=30_152&products_id=37442
Hit the link, do me a favor and check it out.
I haven't seen a single user play with it yet (since it's pretty impractical and such)
It isn't as great as for example Kill Kill Kill's MC helmet but if you have 110 to burn there it is
They say it's made out of fiberglass, and yeah it'll withstand airsoft pellets but paintball paint will go right thru the mesh "visor"
ALSO!!!
A little comparison I made showing the difference between halo 3/4
That's why I love Halo 4's armor so much more than any other video game besides Dead Space 2.
The point I want everybody to understand: The more skin the better XD
http://www.evike.com/product_info.php?cPath=30_152&products_id=37442
Hit the link, do me a favor and check it out.
I haven't seen a single user play with it yet (since it's pretty impractical and such)
It isn't as great as for example Kill Kill Kill's MC helmet but if you have 110 to burn there it is
They say it's made out of fiberglass, and yeah it'll withstand airsoft pellets but paintball paint will go right thru the mesh "visor"
ALSO!!!
A little comparison I made showing the difference between halo 3/4
That's why I love Halo 4's armor so much more than any other video game besides Dead Space 2.
The point I want everybody to understand: The more skin the better XD
Walter Spase
Well-Known Member
We do not discuss topics here relating to the creation of safety equipment for paintball or airsoft. We make costumes, not safety equipment.
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