Some Basics To Pepping

[bobafett97]

Alright everyone getting ready to start my armor and I had a few questions.



1. Do most of you use hot glue for with pepakura, or something else?



2. Why bondo over something like drywall spackling?



3. how much are weapon props?



Any info you guys can help me with is greatly appreciated, and if you think there is somehting else i sould know before diving into this that is greatly appreciated too.

 

[sierra092]

I'll try and answer your questions the best I can.

1) I use super glue on my pep; if you use it Don't use the gel kind. Hot glue is fine for pepping, most of the people on here use hot glue i bet.

2) I dont know, you'll have to ask someone else.

3) They go for pretty high prices. They may seem expensive but when you think about all the hard work the maker had put into that piece and the cost of materials to make it, then you realise your getting a good price.



Hope i answered them okay.

 

[JSwift]

1. Not everyone uses hot glue. I use regular elmer's glue. Some people use super glue. It's all in what you like to use.



2. Bondo won't crack as easily as drywall spackling. It has a little bit of flexibility. Now if you plan to make a mold and not wear the helmet I don't see why spackling couldn't be used. It's just really brittle and can come off in chunks (I know from personal experience)



3. We don't discuss prices around here. The best thing to do would be to talk to Lee himself via PM.

 

[Tafumi]

1) Most people use hot glue because it's easy to undo a mistake without chancing a tear in the pep. Just hit it with a heat gun or with the hot glue gun's nozzle and you get a free do-over. As well, hot glue provides a very strong bond between the two surfaces. A plus and a minus is, that when it dries, it actually helps reinforce that seam. If you viewed a pep only by the seams where it was glued together, it would look like a wire-frame model. So by having hot glue on all of those seams, it's like having a skeleton integrated into the pep that helps reinforce it. Supposedly this helps to reduce warping during the resin process. The downside is that you should have hearty fingertips to take the constant singing and burning of skin. Even on the standard low setting, hot glue is - hot.



I personally use super glue. It dries really fast and it doesn't take much to provide a strong bond. However, it's also pretty easy to get your fingers glued to the paper and it gets stuck there and you have to rip it off. I found that if you twist your finger side to side instead of trying to pull it straight off, it helps reduce any tearing or paper coming off with your finger.



As for your more elementary adhesives (ie: white glue or glue sticks) I've always been under the assumption that they have long dry times comparatively and they don't provide the same kind of bond that the others do. As well, with many of the white glues, it can cause mild warping in the paper at the tab as the glue is water based and will saturate into the cardstock.



The rest were answered better than I can answer them~

 

[Nintendude]

1. I don't use hot glue or superglue I use a cement in a black and yellow tube.

2. I don't use bondo either I use enough resin on the outside in layers to not use bondo and I make a mess with bondo.

3. no clue

 

[kensai111]

1. This can be answered by reading the stickies located here in the noob forum.

2. Spackle will crack and fall off over time - consider this a personal lesson learned.

3.*Sounds buzzer* Negative my good sir. 405th.com or any non-classified section of the forums are NOT allowed to discuss buying or selling of props and especially not prices. Topic and responder both reported. We'll be cracking down on this hardcore.. we have too much of a Bungie following and there are both Microsoft/Bungie employees who are forum members.



Cheers,

Kensai

 

[Belakor]

Sierra092 don't discuss peoples prices openly on the forum, if someone wants to know how much something is they can PM the person.

To the OP, buying and selling is restricted to the classifieds section, please don't discuss those types of things anywhere else.

 

[bobafett97]

Thanks everyone for the tips, really helps.



I had another questions wear are some places that one could get different types of visors for all the different helmets?

 

[sierra092]

Sorry about that, my bad. Thanks for editting my post for me Belakor.

The visor depends on the helmet. People use gold tinted motorcycle helmet visors for the mark VI generally. Look around ebay and motor shops for different prices and varieties.

 

[bobafett97]

Ok I will look into that. Is there anyone who makes EVA helmet visor by chance?

 

[Arithen]

1. Do most of you use hot glue for with pepakura, or something else?

I dont know if MOST people use it or not, but i havent and probably wont. I preffer nice, overly priced "Krazy" glue it hasnt failed me yet and i doubt it ever will.



2. Why bondo over something like drywall spackling?

As someone said before me, bondo doesnt crack as easily.



3. how much are weapon props?

That all depends on the quality, the seller the size and what it is or where it is from. Some actual props that have made it on to a set and used by a main character can cost over $30,000!!! But generally speaking, a lot of average joe's sell there's anywhere from just under $100 to over $400.

 

[Boba Fett]

Ok I will look into that. Is there anyone who makes EVA helmet visor by chance?

Actually, it should be pretty easy to DIY. There's some peps in the download hub. MAke it, smooth it out, and then the tricky part, Vac-forming. if you've got a big enough grid, it should work. Not to mention a TON of clear placstic...

 

[Xtreme TACTICS 101]

1. Do most of you use hot glue for with pepakura, or something else?

I dont know if MOST people use it or not, but i havent and probably wont. I preffer nice, overly priced "Krazy" glue it hasnt failed me yet and i doubt it ever will.



2. Why bondo over something like drywall spackling?

As someone said before me, bondo doesnt crack as easily.



3. how much are weapon props?

That all depends on the quality, the seller the size and what it is or where it is from. Some actual props that have made it on to a set and used by a main character can cost over $30,000!!! But generally speaking, a lot of average joe's sell there's anywhere from just under $100 to over $400.

Bolded: Thats how much a cast of a weapon could run for. It could run for a lot more for the master.

 

[vector499]

1) USE ELMERS GLUE! the kind labeled "mufti purpose" the school glue kind takes too long to adhere to the piece

as for hot glue the tiny strings that come off annoy the crap out of me although i do recommend it for attaching round objects that you cannot hold onto well (barrels)

also a recommendation look through the stickies in ALL the foroums to answer your questions. i recommend starting with frag grenades to get the basics of pepping down.

GOOD Luck

 

[bobafett97]

Hey guys some more questions for ya.



When it comes time to fiberglass, can u speed up the process of drying it or is that just asking for trouble, and likewise for the bondo-ing?