Total noob, want to make an armor, need help deciding method/style

[Tanker Mech 16]

Alright, first things first, I'm brand new to this, but I'm not mechanically inept. I have a few years in the Marines as a metalsmith and fiberglass and carbon fiber mechanic.

I want to build a full suit, I'm not sure which style. Foam sounds appealing because Pep looks difficult. I'm a muscular build so I'm not sure how the default settings will effect my build.

So to sum it up, help me out.help me choose.

 

[Chainer Cygnus]

It seems to me like a lot of this is entirely personal preference. I am really new and haven't even started my build quite yet, but from what I gather, like with most things, it's best to figure it out for you.

I wouldn't want someone to tell me what to make, so I am making my Reach MP character. I would say, get an idea of what you want to build, dig around through the archives and find if the pep files exist for it, and then pick a piece and follow the newbie starting guide on how to scale it (it's Pep based, so if you do go with foam, then it may not be as helpful, but I am sure you can find guides with a bit of searching, or the links in the sticky up top) and then make that piece and see how it fits.

I would pick a decent sized piece like the helmet to get a good idea of how the process works for building and if the material and experience is what you want, and then you also get an idea of where the sizing may be wrong for you.

 

[Tanker Mech 16]

Maybe a stupid question. But will the pep program work on a tablet?

 

[Chainer Cygnus]

From what I read, it is windows only, so I suppose if you are running a windows 8 tablet, then yeah I suppose it would.

I would definitely recommend checking out http://www.405th.com/showthread.php?t=10744 and http://www.405th.com/showthread.php?t=34408

I went from 0 knowledge last friday to feeling ready to tackle my first ever fiberglass anything ever in no time. The community has a great amount of knowledge to draw upon with a bit of research.

 

[Tanker Mech 16]

From what I read, it is windows only, so I suppose if you are running a windows 8 tablet, then yeah I suppose it would.

I would definitely recommend checking out http://www.405th.com/showthread.php?t=10744 and http://www.405th.com/showthread.php?t=34408

I went from 0 knowledge last friday to feeling ready to tackle my first ever fiberglass anything ever in no time. The community has a great amount of knowledge to draw upon with a bit of research.

Thank you for the good info, ifyou need any fiberglass help just ask, I've done everything from car bumper to helicopter blades.

 

[FlyinPhil]

Personally, I like the pepakura method for helmets, and scratch built foam for the rest of the armor.... as a rather lanky guy, I find it easier to scratch build parts that would look out of proportion otherwise.

As for the helmet, it only takes one or two attempts to figure out the scaling, and it's easy enough to go from there. Your background should have you all set for that!

 

[Frozensnot]

I agree with FlyinPhil. I used to stick with all of my armor being pepakura. Lately I have been using foam for re-scaled armor pieces and I'm glad I did. Just making a couple of foam parts has me convinced to use pepakura for the helmet and foam for the rest.

I'm not a fan of stiff solid armor like pepakura. Foam is easily forgiving when it comes to bends and moving around, but fiberglass...not so much. Then again, learning to use foam may be a major road block for some people. It really depends but give foam a whirl. You'll never know until you try .

 

[Tanker Mech 16]

Alright so I have a helmet printed and I'm going to start the cutting and folding tonight.
Doing a Mark VI helmet as my first project. I had a hell of a time getting the scaling figured out and I'm sure I messed it up anyways. Oh well, onward and upward.