The Paper Mache Experiment!

[Killer Koala]

Hi all!



So let me introduce myself real quick. I'm Killer Koala and I joined the 405th back in 2007 with dreams of being good ol' chiefy for Halloween. It didn't work out so well and I had a bad scuffle with superglue so I never really got past the pepping stage. BUT NOW I'M BACK WITH A VENGEANCE TO FINISH THIS FIGHT ONCE AND FOR ALL!!!



So since I'm not a fan of evil fumes and whatnot, I decided to try the paper mache way. I understand that it may not be as solid or durable as fiberglass resin, but I'm not in a good position to be using those materials right now. With paper mache, its super cheap, easy to use, and makes me remember my preschool days . I know there's a few members like Enrisan who have played with it and preached it to the community, but I haven't seen that many armor pieces made from it so there isn't much to compare to. I hope this topic acts as a tutorial or maybe reference of sorts.



So where to begin? I started with my horribly pepped Rookie helmet that I started a while ago.







Uploaded with ImageShack.us



I HATE TINY FOLDS!!! I wasn't very proud of this one, but I couldn't let him go to waste after all those hours. So I dubbed him Teh Test Dummy Rookie N00B!

By angrygoat44 at 2010-05-28





So I did a bit of research and forum surfing and found that mixing white flour with a little bit of water makes a super strong mache. So here's what I used:

By angrygoat44 at 2010-05-28

By angrygoat44 at 2010-05-28





I don't remember exactly how much flour/water I used :unsure but if I had to estimate I'd say it was a 3:1 flour/water ratio.

By angrygoat44 at 2010-05-28

Mmmmmmmmmmm





At first, I dunked each piece of newspaper into the mix and placed it onto the armor. It worked well, but I really felt it soak into the card stock and weigh it down. It started to warp a bit after I put on a few more pieces. Plus it got much more messier and annoying to work with.

By angrygoat44 at 2010-05-28





So then I started spreading the mache onto one side of the newspaper and stuck that side onto the armor. It'd soak through to the other side and works just as well.

By angrygoat44 at 2010-05-28





As far as drying goes, I was afraid that all those creepy crawly insects would eat poor Rookie alive. So when I was done I covered it in a plastic bag and sat him in my garage on Wednesday night. On Friday morning I took him out and felt that he was still pretty moist. SILLY ME! I sat him on the deck to dry in the sun. When I came home from work that night, he was solid like a rock :lol No damage done.









Uploaded with ImageShack.us





I was pretty impressed by how hard the mache had made it, but it's not something I feel safe punching or wearing to a party. This was just the first layer after all. But it was hard enough to play as a bongo :lol



Some warping did occur though.

By angrygoat44 at 2010-05-28

By angrygoat44 at 2010-05-28

By angrygoat44 at 2010-05-28





Overall, I'm pretty impressed by this method and it seems promising. There are some trade offs though. It can be quite difficult to retain all that detail from HD pieces, and if it's not well pepped (like mine!) or supported, it can easily warp. I think I'll add another layer on the inside and maybe one more on the outside. After that, it's off to the sanding block and I'll seal it up with some Mod Podge.



So what do you guys think?

 

[ChaoBreeder]

Hmm, seems very interesting. I was thinking about using paper mache, but never thought it would work well. I'll be watching this topic.

 

[HaloGoddess]

Personally, I don't think I would do the paper mache route since I can be a klutz and I would hate to see my armor ruined! XD



If you like and prefer the non toxic route and have about $90 to spare (or save up for it ), then you can get some smoothon products! You can buy a 1 gallon kit, BUT since there is a part A and part B, you are getting 2 gallons worth of material and you don't need to use a whole lot of it to finish a piece.



I have been looking more and more into this stuff and it looks like a good way to go. It's expensive at first, but cheap in the long run, plus it's non toxic and can easily be done indoors too!



Smooth cast ROTO and smooth cast 320 & 321 are what I have been looking into. Right now, I am starting to lean more towards the ROTO, but I will only settle on that once I have a straight answer if I can use it for the outside as well. I know it's good for the inside!

 

[DylanMarx]

I wouldn't use paper mache for my armor but there is Aqua Resin or what HaloGoddess mentioned.

 

[MasterShake]

Looks nice so far, good luck.



I might be wrong, but isn't using flour dangerous? Won't it mold over time?

 

[Xbox Fanboy]

I think paper mache takes away the details and still doesn't reinforce a pep like Resin does. You should look into Aqua Resin, like DylanMarx mentioned

 

[chwbcc1]

The Idea of Paper Mache is sound. My mom used it to make all of my halloween costumes back in the day.



But I would have Mache'd the inside of the helm so to keep the sharp edge details of the Pep. And then used white glue to seal the outside.



Good luck and welsome back.

 

[ChaoBreeder]

Would be nice for a fan-film stunt suit.

 

[RoboTrap]

You can use watered down PVA glue (white school glue) instead of flour & water for paper mache, to alleviate the risk of molding. And the cool part is that you can brush on thin layers of glue onto the model beforehand to reinforce the corners so it doesn't become as warped when laying on the paper.



And seconding the suggestion to paper mache the inside instead of the exterior. You get to keep all of the pep's detail, not have to worry about wrinkles or air bubbles between the layers.

 

[Charlieiscool12]

Smooth cast ROTO and smooth cast 320 & 321 are what I have been looking into. Right now, I am starting to lean more towards the ROTO, but I will only settle on that once I have a straight answer if I can use it for the outside as well. I know it's good for the inside!

i just bought a trial kit of smoothcast 321. ill be using it on inside and outside. ill tell you how it works out goddess!

 

[sik1276]

Nice to see you started on paper mache as well. Like previous posters noted, I would suggest to reinforce the inside instead to keep some of the details; that's what I did on mine. I mostly only used thin strips on the outside to cover up noticeable gaps, cut/glued lines, etc. I've also experienced some warpage on mine, especially the top, round part and had to print that part and make it on cardboard and foam sheets to fix it.



Here's a picture of my helmet:

I didn't completely mache the inside of the vents or the "ears," just went over the ridges and it's still fine. I tried using paper clay (mushed-up paper) to fill them but it took forever to dry.



I agree on it being very solid, having accidently dropped it once with no noticeable problems.



As for the flour/water mixture, I think that if you add some salt, it shouldn't mold.

Good luck!



P.S. Idk if you've seen Ruze's helms which I believed he's done with paper mache and spackle.

 

[fat hi555]

i did my odst with paper mache.

The place im living, bondo's like a freaking myth!

 

[Dancin Fool]

If you're going the paper mache route, I'd recommend trying out wallpaper paste. It's what I've used in the past for paper mache on my costumes and its worked great. It lasts forever, I did my Optimus Prime costume using that method over 5 years ago and it's still going strong.



If you're up for trying something a little different, one of my latest experiments in non toxic hardening was to use wood glue and cheese cloth on the inside of the pep, it actually works quite well.

 

[009 SPA]

Please resize your pictures; your post is huge and unreadable.

 

[Killer Koala]

Wow thank you guys for all your suggestions! I have considered Aqua Resin but I shall also look into Smooth cast as well.



As for molding, I don't really think it's going to mold as long as it's dry but I'm not entirely sure. This is a test after all so I'll probably scrap this helmet when I'm done.



There is certainly a trade off when it comes to flour paper mache's strength over the loss of detail. I viewed it as an advantage to hide all my pepping mistakes but now I see that macheing the inside may be better in the long run. I think I'll also give the PVA glue a try as well. Perhaps on my next piece I'll start out with a few layers of Mod Podge to reinforce it and then mache in the inside.



More to come!