[WIP] ODST Armor

[llNomadll]

Hello guys! This is my first attempt at doing PePaKuRa craft thingy. And I have to say the folding part is much easier than I expected. I'm pretty happy with my first fold! (ODST Chest Plate)

But I'm wondering what should I do next. I'm supposed to Aqua Resin or Polyurethane Resin the inside and outside. Then Fibreglass mat the inside. Do I really need a respirator to do this? I think a respirator is a controlled item in Singapore Is an M95 Mask sufficient?

 

[Charlieiscool12]

if you use aquaresin or smoothcast 320 on the inside, no respirator is required. But if you use resin or bondo, use a respirator. not sure about that specific respirator though. if it says it filters organic gases, its usually ok.

 

[kenster1000]

looking great so far, very clean pep job. Keep up the good work.

 

[Agent Arizona]

Looking good man. When you resin as long as you cant smell it youll be ok. But you need somthing to filter the air you breath. Being outside is also a must.

 

[Sabre]

Looking good! As those above me said if you use a poly resin
A respirator and being in a well ventilTed space
Is a must

 

[Charlieiscool12]

Looking good man. When you resin as long as you cant smell it youll be ok. But you need somthing to filter the air you breath. Being outside is also a must.

THIS IS INCORRECT!
the fumes that you cannot smell are the ones that are hurtful to you! ALWAYS wear a resirator

 

[Agent Arizona]

THIS IS INCORRECT!
the fumes that you cannot smell are the ones that are hurtful to you! ALWAYS wear a resirator

Thats what i was saying. If your wearing a respirator and you cant smell it your fine.

 

[Charlieiscool12]

oh my bad. the way it was phrased it sounded like you meant that if you couldn't smell the fumes, then it was safe without a respirator. My bad.

 

[llNomadll]

Thank you for the encouraging comments guys! Gonna need that to complete the full set of armor because it can get really tiring! And I'm only at Paperkura Phase!

Okay, In summary I can use Aqua-Resin, Polyurethane Resin or Smooth-Cast® 320 Liquid Plastic. To which I would Fiberglass the insides.

Question 1) Can I use Smooth-Cast 320 with Fiberglass?
Question 2) I want my plates to be as hard as possible. How do I achieve this?

Oh, I completed my Stomach plate!

 

[llNomadll]

Progress Report:

I just compelted my side plates so I am only left with the Belt and Torso folds for the Torso Area.

I used Water Varnish with Polyurethane to harden my models but it didn't work. The paper became softer instead. Advice?

 

[llNomadll]

Finished the pep for the Shoulder Plates!

Next I would be gunning to complete the torso area. Made the mistake of printing the shoulder plates but that's okay. Next I'm gonna be doing the Belt Plate, Groin Plate and L/R Hip Plates (Big thanks for Hugh Holder for the Hip Plates).

I'm contemplating about making the Rib Plate. Hmmm.

Good news, I found out where I can get Fiberglass Mat and Polyester Resin in my country! Hopefully the dude on the phone didn't burn me on "Oh yes yes, we sell both for $35!"

 

[llNomadll]

I just finished resin-ing my Chest Plate and waiting for it to cure. Feel kinda dumb cause I wasted about 10ml of Resin but its okay! I have to say I'm pretty excited right now! I hope nothing bad happens.

 

[llNomadll]

Did I Resin-ed my Chest Plate wrongly?

Right after resin-ing

4hrs later

The biggest difference I see is that my paper became more TRANSPARENT. On top of that, My Chest Plate isn't hard I know I require the fiberglass cloth to reinforce it, but shouldn't it be at least A LITTLE BIT HARDER?

Curing time is 4hrs isn't it?

 

[Hugh Holder]

Na, that's normal.

You'll get that greasy transparent look when you have resin on both sides of the paper. Also, when the resin fully cures it gets that yellowish tint to it.

And it's not going to be super hard, just slightly stiff. Almost like a very thin plastic that can hold it's shape and not much else. The rondo or fiberglass is what's going to make the part hard.

At this point I typically mix rondo or smoothcast depending on how light I need the part to be (wearable or not) and slush the inside. Then I primer the part, so the transparent surface isn't distracting me.

Looks good! Keep up the good work!

 

[Ehekky]

Wow... nothing to add like tips and stuff, but those armor pieces and plates sure look great

 

[llNomadll]

Hugh Holder
Thanks for clearing that up for me. I was starting to get worried because it took a real long time to cure. And that's a decent tip, I'd probably put that to good use Oh, and another thing: THANKS FOR THE HIP PLATES! I was looking around for them to no avail, until I saw your super thread

Ehekky
Appreciate your kind compliments! Saw your Halo weapons they look pretty darn good too. How long did you take to pep the MA5c Assault Rifle?

Update
So I just finished Fiberglassing my Chest Plate I used about 1 - 2 layers depending on which part of the plate. But to my horror, I saw warping -I think. HELP!! The sides of the Plate started to fold upwards or somewhat. How do I fix this?! If I'm already screwed, how do I prevent this from happening in the future?

 

[llNomadll]

I forgot to upload the pics of the warping. so here goes:

 

[leadfarmer01]

One thing that I have noticed is that large flat pieces do not get hard with just resin, and not much difference with fiberglass cloth or matting (Halo also has a lot of these parts). These areas require much more attention but that does not necessarily mean add a bunch of resin (might make it more fragile) I always back it with sintra or some kind of hard plastic. Round areas or corners become more reinforce when resined so no worries there. Hope this helped.

 

[Ehekky]

Appreciate your kind compliments! Saw your Halo weapons they look pretty darn good too. How long did you take to pep the MA5c Assault Rifle?

Thanks!, I don't know if you've already read it here, but it took me about a week, maybe 1 and a half

ps. I used the pep file from the Halo Costuming Wiki (not the HD version)

 

[llNomadll]

One thing that I have noticed is that large flat pieces do not get hard with just resin, and not much difference with fiberglass cloth or matting (Halo also has a lot of these parts). These areas require much more attention but that does not necessarily mean add a bunch of resin (might make it more fragile) I always back it with sintra or some kind of hard plastic. Round areas or corners become more reinforce when resined so no worries there. Hope this helped.

What is Sintra? Hmm. Okay, so you back it with a hard plastic right, how exactly do you do that? Do you glue it there or..? :-S

Thanks!, I don't know if you've already read it here, but it took me about a week, maybe 1 and a half

ps. I used the pep file from the Halo Costuming Wiki (not the HD version)

Yup! I did. Check your thread