Should I give up on foam and try pep instead?

[ThePhillyMan00]

Based on my previous experience with crafting foam, I decided to use foam for my first Spartan armor build. My past foam projects were smaller, but good crafts, which include a Bane mask and an Infinity Gauntlet. I knew that the Spartan armor would be challenging, but I continued on. I started the armor and created Halo 4 Recon shoulders and ODST gauntlets, all of which can be seen in my previous thread titled "Halo 4 Recon/ ODST Foam Build". But recently, I decided to scrap the custom armor to create a Spartan Buck set after seeing the new game trailer. Let's just say it didn't work out and really pissed me off. I knew that I wasn't ready for a foam build on this scale, which really made me mad since I invested a lot of money into this. I'm wondering if I should try Pepakura for my armor, because it doesn't look as challenging. The only problem is that I don't know how to scale the files, and ink is so expensive nowadays. What do you guys think I should do? I hit a wall and don't know how to recover without help. Any input and advice will be appreciated. Thank you, and I'm sorry this thread post is so long.

 

[BuildsByBaz]

Mate, hate to be the bringer of bad news, but each of the differing styles of building presents it's own challenges. Pep/bondo/fibreglass is smelly, dusty and dangerous, as well as expensive. Well worth it in my opinion, but in this day of instant gratification in society, it's notoriously slow.

If you search for HaloGodess she has a fantastic thread on scaling pepakura.

I hope this helps mate.

SB

 

[NaasadTal]

I had a similar set back when I built my Halo Marine armor last year. The build went really well & I was able to complete construction in about a week & then I set out to seal the armor, I did a lot of research into this process, the results were less than inspirational & I HATED the end result.

Fast forward to a couple months ago when our local Halo group received a request from the Microsoft stores in town for us to make an appearance on the night of the Halo 5 launch. I decided to start on my Reach armor. After the debacle with the Marine armor, my original plan was to make my Spartan out of 6mm & 3mm sintra (a form of plastic that can be heated & shaped easily), but after a little more research I decided to do a hybrid build. I am using EVA foam as a base for the thickness & comfort, but the detail layer & outer shell is 3mm sintra. I am MUCH happier with the current progress the 3mm sintra is providing the strength that foam lacks as well as a much better base for paint.

Good luck & if you're interested, feel free to take a look at my build & hopefully you'll find some inspiration there.

 

[rorywatts]

I've only got experience in pep, i would say that it takes a lot longer and you must be really dedicated to put in possible days of cutting and gluing to make your pieces. However i feel that its easier to get the detail in pep armour over foam armour and I'm super happy at how each piece of mine turns out

 

[RobTC]

I don't really understand this "one or the other" attitude in cosplay. As Naasad relates above, different materials are good at different things. Hybrid material builds are traditionally standard in any kind of fabrication, and tend to look the best since each material is playing to its own strength. Sure, you have to become familiar with several workflows, but isn't learning and acquiring skillsets an integral part of the hobby?

 

[Alkatraz]

I don't really understand this "one or the other" attitude in cosplay. As Naasad relates above, different materials are good at different things. Hybrid material builds are traditionally standard in any kind of fabrication, and tend to look the best since each material is playing to its own strength. Sure, you have to become familiar with several workflows, but isn't learning and acquiring skillsets an integral part of the hobby?

I agree, either way you will most likely end up doing some form of foam work to get it to look right, my spartan build has plenty of foam components through the joints and undersuit. Knowing how to use more material types is awesome, it means you have less and less limitations on what you can create.

 

[ThePhillyMan00]

I don't really understand this "one or the other" attitude in cosplay. As Naasad relates above, different materials are good at different things. Hybrid material builds are traditionally standard in any kind of fabrication, and tend to look the best since each material is playing to its own strength. Sure, you have to become familiar with several workflows, but isn't learning and acquiring skillsets an integral part of the hobby?

I was deciding which to use as the main basis. I've started to look into pepakura, bonding and so forth. Since I'm a rookie, I needed tutorials/templates, and i feel like I have more of these with pep. I'm aware of the patience I need. After countless YouTube tutorials and guides, I really feel like pep is what I wanna use for my main component, with parts of 3mm foam. I plan to start printing and folding sometime this weekend. As always, help will be appreciated and gracefully accepted.

 

[RobTC]

I was deciding which to use as the main basis. I've started to look into pepakura, bonding and so forth. Since I'm a rookie, I needed tutorials/templates, and i feel like I have more of these with pep. I'm aware of the patience I need. After countless YouTube tutorials and guides, I really feel like pep is what I wanna use for my main component, with parts of 3mm foam. I plan to start printing and folding sometime this weekend. As always, help will be appreciated and gracefully accepted.

Fair enough. I'm comfortable with breaking down complex objects into components at this point, so it's easier for me to just "engineer" a solution rather than try to follow someone else's specific workflow.

I'm planning on building a relatively quick (maybe custom/mix&match) H4 Marine upper-body (don't need the boots) for a shoot, and my intent is to use a mix of EVA and upholstery foam for the under armour, since it all looks like padding or ballistic protection, probably fiberglass for the hard plates (shoulder, chest, back, forearms), and then mostly EVA for the helmet since it's easy to make up as you go along (see: Evil Ted).

There'll probably also be Bondo involved somewhere since it's super easy to sculpt and machine, though. The hard plates may end up being fiberglass blanks with Bondo detailing, if that's the quickest and easiest way to do it. Can use short machine screws in from the back to hold the Bondo in place. There may also be corrugated cardboard- as ribs and spars for depth-holding, or as "pep" with polyester resin as a base for Bondo surfacing.

That's my thought process, if it helps. I don't see "pep base" or "foam base", I just see different materials with different requirements for replication.