whereisdanielle's Foam SPI Build

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I return from my long absence with some updates.

Got the shins all finished up, and knee armour sorted out and joined to the shins.
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And then I moved on to the shoes.

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The toe cap and tread piece is sculpted from Foam Clay provided to me by Lumins Workshop, and worked incredibly well for what I wanted.
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I finished off detailing the torso

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So here is some photos of the entire suit so far:
(The white stuff is quick seal gap filler I'm using to neaten up seams)
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(I also built the super simple butt armour which you can see above.)

I finally got my paints too, and will do a test paint on a mock piece soon to get an idea of how I'm going to finish the suit.
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Basically all that is left is to build the Helmet and a prop, and to do a bunch of clean up and figuring out strapping before I can paint it.
 
I return from my long absence with some updates.

Got the shins all finished up, and knee armour sorted out and joined to the shins.
View attachment 268028View attachment 268029View attachment 268030

And then I moved on to the shoes.

View attachment 268034View attachment 268033View attachment 268032

The toe cap and tread piece is sculpted from Foam Clay provided to me by Lumins Workshop, and worked incredibly well for what I wanted.
View attachment 268048View attachment 268040View attachment 268047


I finished off detailing the torso

View attachment 268043View attachment 268045View attachment 268046View attachment 268044View attachment 268035View attachment 268036View attachment 268037View attachment 268038


So here is some photos of the entire suit so far:
(The white stuff is quick seal gap filler I'm using to neaten up seams)
View attachment 268041
View attachment 268037
View attachment 268039
(I also built the super simple butt armour which you can see above.)

I finally got my paints too, and will do a test paint on a mock piece soon to get an idea of how I'm going to finish the suit.
View attachment 268042

Basically all that is left is to build the Helmet and a prop, and to do a bunch of clean up and figuring out strapping before I can paint it.
Very nice progress!! Are your paints latex based like what you would use in your house? I've been giving thoughts to testing latex house paint due to foam flexing, seems like latex base would flex far better than any other paint but I'm not sure if it would peel off or not. It seems like every paint I test whether water base or alcohol acrylic or spray paint likes to crack once it has fully cured and I press my thumb in it. Just trying to find the best option. Thanks!
 
Very nice progress!! Are your paints latex based like what you would use in your house? I've been giving thoughts to testing latex house paint due to foam flexing, seems like latex base would flex far better than any other paint but I'm not sure if it would peel off or not. It seems like every paint I test whether water base or alcohol acrylic or spray paint likes to crack once it has fully cured and I press my thumb in it. Just trying to find the best option. Thanks!

All my colour paints/top coats are just regular old int/ext house paints from the hardware store.
My painting process is pretty simply and I will document down the line, but basically I do my gap filler and then bush straight onto the foam one coat of acrylic paint. I use this layer to find any extra messy bits I couldnt see when it was raw foam and do a second round of filler. I use a fine grit sand paper to sand everything. Once I've wiped away the dust I do 2-3 coats or plasti-dip/rustoleum peal coat or other alternative. After that I airbrush on all my colours, weather with acrylic washes and done. Sometimes I do a light clear coat over this and then some oil paint on top of that, but it depends on the costume.
 
All my colour paints/top coats are just regular old int/ext house paints from the hardware store.
My painting process is pretty simply and I will document down the line, but basically I do my gap filler and then bush straight onto the foam one coat of acrylic paint. I use this layer to find any extra messy bits I couldnt see when it was raw foam and do a second round of filler. I use a fine grit sand paper to sand everything. Once I've wiped away the dust I do 2-3 coats or plasti-dip/rustoleum peal coat or other alternative. After that I airbrush on all my colours, weather with acrylic washes and done. Sometimes I do a light clear coat over this and then some oil paint on top of that, but it depends on the costume.
Very neat! I to follow the same process for prepping the foam to get a smooth surface, lots of sanding, qwik seal, more sanding and leak seal rubeer followed by more sanding. I've been really wondering about using house paint but I haven't seen anyone do it yet besides you, and I've been very interested to try it. Especially most house paints are latex based and I would inagine would be very flexible/durable. How is the flexibility of the paint on your suits? Does it Crack or peel under extreme foam bending? Thank you for the info!
 
All my colour paints/top coats are just regular old int/ext house paints from the hardware store.
My painting process is pretty simply and I will document down the line, but basically I do my gap filler and then bush straight onto the foam one coat of acrylic paint. I use this layer to find any extra messy bits I couldnt see when it was raw foam and do a second round of filler. I use a fine grit sand paper to sand everything. Once I've wiped away the dust I do 2-3 coats or plasti-dip/rustoleum peal coat or other alternative. After that I airbrush on all my colours, weather with acrylic washes and done. Sometimes I do a light clear coat over this and then some oil paint on top of that, but it depends on the costume.

G'day Dani, when you say you use the int/ext paints do you mean using this sort of technique?
Do you just get colour swatches and sample pots? My local Bunnings wanted 13 bucks for a sample pot of acrylic.
Really nice work so far mate, keep it up.

EDIT: BTW, whereabouts do you get your foam? I live in the middle of nowhere and don't have a lot of access to anything other than some 12mm thick squares. Do you have somewhere online you get your smaller thicknesses from?
 
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Very neat! I to follow the same process for prepping the foam to get a smooth surface, lots of sanding, qwik seal, more sanding and leak seal rubeer followed by more sanding. I've been really wondering about using house paint but I haven't seen anyone do it yet besides you, and I've been very interested to try it. Especially most house paints are latex based and I would inagine would be very flexible/durable. How is the flexibility of the paint on your suits? Does it Crack or peel under extreme foam bending? Thank you for the info!

Without the layers of Plasti-dip/peal coat ,the paint cracks and flakes off any high stress areas on the costume within the first 18 hours of wear - say two con days or so. With the plasti-dip/peal coat I'm yet to experience and cracking or flaking. Creases are inevitable because of the foam, but can be gently heated out of the paint job with a hair dryer on a low heat. My ODST is yet to have any paint damage and its been to 3 cons and had about 4/5 days wear.

G'day Dani, when you say you use the int/ext paints do you mean using this sort of technique?
Do you just get colour swatches and sample pots? My local Bunnings wanted 13 bucks for a sample pot of acrylic.
Really nice work so far mate, keep it up.

EDIT: BTW, whereabouts do you get your foam? I live in the middle of nowhere and don't have a lot of access to anything other than some 12mm thick squares. Do you have somewhere online you get your smaller thicknesses from?

Eyy its my boi mawrTRON.
And yeah, that is exactly how I choose colours, either go all out and colour match as shown in the video or go down to my local Bunnings and start grabbing swatches. The cost of sample pots depends on brand. British Paints and Taubmans are my go to at Bunnings, and run at less than $6-$8 for a small pot. The sample pots will be more than enough to paint an entire suit, with colours that dont cover as easily such as whites/yellows etc, you may need more than one pot depending on how much surface area you're having to cover.

I used to buy Kmart camping mats, but found buying specialty foam for cosplay makes the build process easier as the foam density is different and nicer to work with.
I currently get all my foam from Lumins Workshop as they are now my sponsor, but I have worked with Hero Studio foam before too.

Kmart foam is cheap and easy enough to work with, but quite soft, only comes in the one size and is textured on one side.
Hero Studio foam comes in every thickness, a variety of sizes, is smooth both sides and is more rigid.
Lumins Workshop is the most expensive but has the most range of colours, thicknesses, sizes, and densities. And honestly if budget is not an issue, there is no substitute for it. Lumins has every foam under the sun you will pay for quality though. They have a super high density foam thats is crazy rigid and doesn't bend or squash easily and they have this really cool 3mm foam with a small tessellating hex pattern pressed into it, precut dowels and bevels, and foam clay. I am incredibly lucky to be sponsored by them and I purchased foam from them regularly before my sponsorship.
 
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Without the layers of Plasti-dip/peal coat ,the paint cracks and flakes off any high stress areas on the costume within the first 18 hours of wear - say two con days or so. With the plasti-dip/peal coat I'm yet to experience and cracking or flaking. Creases are inevitable because of the foam, but can be gently heated out of the paint job with a hair dryer on a low heat. My ODST is yet to have any paint damage and its been to 3 cons and had about 4/5 days wear.



Eyy its my boi mawrTRON.
And yeah, that is exactly how I choose colours, either go all out and colour match as shown in the video or go down to my local Bunnings and start grabbing swatches. The cost of sample pots depends on brand. British Paints and Taubmans are my go to at Bunnings, and run at less than $6-$8 for a small pot. The sample pots will be more than enough to paint an entire suit, with colours that dont cover as easily such as whites/yellows etc, you may need more than one pot depending on how much surface area you're having to cover.

I used to buy Kmart camping mats, but found buying specialty foam for cosplay makes the build process easier as the foam density is different and nicer to work with.
I personally get all my foam from Lumins Workshop as they are now my sponsor, but I have worked with Hero Studio foam before too.

Kmart foam is cheap, easy enough to work with, but quite soft, only comes in the one size and is textured on one side.
Hero Studio foam comes in every thickness, smooth both sides and is more rigid.
Lumins Workshop has every foam under the sun, all thicknesses, different rigidities too. They have super high density foam thats is crazy rigid and doesnt bend or squash easily. You will pay for quality though. Lumins is the most expensive but has the most range of colours, thicknesses, sizes, and densities. And honestly if budget is not an issue, there is no substitute for. I am incredibly lucky to be sponsored by them and I purchased foam from them regularly before my sponsorship.
That's all super great info, really appreciate that! TurboCharizard recommended rustoleum leak seal to me a while back for its great durability. That stuff is incredibly! It doesn't hardly wrinkle at all and it sands very well to. It does dry with an orange peel texture, but can be sanded out with say a 320 grit no problem. I've been using it on props and test pieces but yet to paint my actual suit as I want to test and be as certain as possible I won't have paint cracking or peeling on my suit. I will be heading to a hardware store to checkout color swatches and give some house paint a shot! Thank you
 
Eyy its my boi mawrTRON.
And yeah, that is exactly how I choose colours, either go all out and colour match as shown in the video or go down to my local Bunnings and start grabbing swatches. The cost of sample pots depends on brand. British Paints and Taubmans are my go to at Bunnings, and run at less than $6-$8 for a small pot. The sample pots will be more than enough to paint an entire suit, with colours that dont cover as easily such as whites/yellows etc, you may need more than one pot depending on how much surface area you're having to cover.

I used to buy Kmart camping mats, but found buying specialty foam for cosplay makes the build process easier as the foam density is different and nicer to work with.
I currently get all my foam from Lumins Workshop as they are now my sponsor, but I have worked with Hero Studio foam before too.

Kmart foam is cheap and easy enough to work with, but quite soft, only comes in the one size and is textured on one side.
Hero Studio foam comes in every thickness, a variety of sizes, is smooth both sides and is more rigid.
Lumins Workshop is the most expensive but has the most range of colours, thicknesses, sizes, and densities. And honestly if budget is not an issue, there is no substitute for it. Lumins has every foam under the sun you will pay for quality though. They have a super high density foam thats is crazy rigid and doesn't bend or squash easily and they have this really cool 3mm foam with a small tessellating hex pattern pressed into it, precut dowels and bevels, and foam clay. I am incredibly lucky to be sponsored by them and I purchased foam from them regularly before my sponsorship.

Thanks for the quick reply mate. Ironically, my current supply is Kmart foam from the last time I went through the nearest big city hahaha.
I've just popped off an order from one of your sites tonight though, so a little excited to see how that goes. That colour matching is trickier than it looks. But I like the accuracy it can possibly offer, so I've been trying to spread it a little since finding it a few months ago.

Keep up the great work mate,
Squish
 
Thanks for the quick reply mate. Ironically, my current supply is Kmart foam from the last time I went through the nearest big city hahaha.
I've just popped off an order from one of your sites tonight though, so a little excited to see how that goes. That colour matching is trickier than it looks. But I like the accuracy it can possibly offer, so I've been trying to spread it a little since finding it a few months ago.

Keep up the great work mate,
Squish
Thanks man for the video, it helped me alot! Color matching is definitely tricky. I'm going to use this method to hopefully get close!
 
Thank you all for your kind words! Been working my lil butt off over here which means I'm back again with some more updates.

I covered the armour in a layer of paint and then sanded it smooth for an even texture ready for pealcoat/plastidip. They had white on clearance so white it was.
IMG_9150.JPGIMG_9193.JPGIMG_9215.JPGIMG_9195.JPG

I did a small and rough test piece for my paint just by brushing it on, but you can see the effect I'm going for with highlighting.
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I also made some little hand pieces I'm going to glue to the gloves.
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And hit the finger sections with some paint
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And then I broke out the airbrush for the base coat of green, didnt quite manage to get it all done today, but its a solid start. Will continue tomorrow and move onto the highlights before I block in the black and silver to make clean up a non issue.
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More to come as I keep powering through the paint job, Im on a real tight schedule now and have to spend time working on some other costumes as some opportunities have come up over the last week. So I'm stress level max, but doing my best. Just hoping the weather holds out so I can continue to airbrush outside.

If I get the time I'm going to rebuild the thighs, I'm super unhappy with the finish on them, and will most likely attach pouches and stuff to them rather than keep them bare, and make a second set of thighs to run without add-ons.
 
Thank you all for your kind words! Been working my lil butt off over here which means I'm back again with some more updates.

I covered the armour in a layer of paint and then sanded it smooth for an even texture ready for pealcoat/plastidip. They had white on clearance so white it was.
View attachment 268409View attachment 268414View attachment 268417View attachment 268416

I did a small and rough test piece for my paint just by brushing it on, but you can see the effect I'm going for with highlighting.
View attachment 268410View attachment 268412View attachment 268411View attachment 268413

I also made some little hand pieces I'm going to glue to the gloves.
View attachment 268419View attachment 268418View attachment 268427View attachment 268428
View attachment 268420View attachment 268430View attachment 268432View attachment 268434
And hit the finger sections with some paint
View attachment 268425

And then I broke out the airbrush for the base coat of green, didnt quite manage to get it all done today, but its a solid start. Will continue tomorrow and move onto the highlights before I block in the black and silver to make clean up a non issue.
View attachment 268421View attachment 268422View attachment 268424View attachment 268423


More to come as I keep powering through the paint job, Im on a real tight schedule now and have to spend time working on some other costumes as some opportunities have come up over the last week. So I'm stress level max, but doing my best. Just hoping the weather holds out so I can continue to airbrush outside.

If I get the time I'm going to rebuild the thighs, I'm super unhappy with the finish on them, and will most likely attach pouches and stuff to them rather than keep them bare, and make a second set of thighs to run without add-ons.
This is fantastic!! So I've been testing house paints and yeah they are super durable and flex amazing! I was twisting foam and could not get the paint to break or crack. My only struggle now is finding the depth in the color. Are you spraying your light color paint first then layering over with the darker green to get the depth in that color? This green looks great!
 
It's not the mistakes you make, it's how you fix them. Pouches on the outside of thighs sounds like a great solution to an unsatisfactory surface finish. :)
 
This is fantastic!! So I've been testing house paints and yeah they are super durable and flex amazing! I was twisting foam and could not get the paint to break or crack. My only struggle now is finding the depth in the color. Are you spraying your light color paint first then layering over with the darker green to get the depth in that color? This green looks great!

They will crack over time unless you plastidip. I got more painting done today; 4 coats of dark for a real nice even coverage, 1 washed out light coat on edges, covered the light coat with a washed out dark coat so its subtle.
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Tomorrow I will mask and spray the black and silver. I will the probably have to put this project aside for a bit while I finish some other stuff off. Basically will just need strapping, weathering, and the helmet. Which still hasnt been 3D printed.
 
They will crack over time unless you plastidip. I got more painting done today; 4 coats of dark for a real nice even coverage, 1 washed out light coat on edges, covered the light coat with a washed out dark coat so its subtle.
View attachment 268467View attachment 268468View attachment 268469

Tomorrow I will mask and spray the black and silver. I will the probably have to put this project aside for a bit while I finish some other stuff off. Basically will just need strapping, weathering, and the helmet. Which still hasnt been 3D printed.
Looking great! Yeah I use a method similar to yours for prepping. Quik seal seams, acrylic coat, seal seams more if needed, than coat with Rustoleum Leak Seal rubber coat. That stuff is so strong. Doesn't wrinkle at all. I'm really impressed with how durable the house paints are. Being latex based, they flex incredibly well! I was twisting foam and could not get the paint to crack at all. By far the most durable paint I've tested. I'm just trying to satisfy my color with it now. I really like your green in the pics, looks fantastic!

I'm curious, what are you using to thin the house paint? Regular paint thinner or something more water based?
 
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