Debate: Foam or Fiberglass

[valkydesigns]

and if the person you throw them at is in pain afterwards too
take that into account

If I throw my helmet at someone I hope it will hurt XD

 

[Dirtdives2424]

Wow.......anger mismanagement much?

 

[valkydesigns]

Wow.......anger mismanagement much?

I mean would you ever throw your helmet at someone with the intention of it not hurting? XD I wouldn't. haha!

 

[Dirtdives2424]

sure.....yeah........whatever you say........

 

[valkydesigns]

 

[Felipe06]

Hey, look who finally made an account !
Foam btw, just ask Ben how much of a pain fiberglass is xD

 

[valkydesigns]

Hey, look who finally made an account !
Foam btw, just ask Ben how much of a pain fiberglass is xD

But its so prettyyyy

 

[FlyinPhil]

My vote goes to foam. I’m on the far left in this picture (the white and red spartan). My suit is almost 5 years old, and does show a bit of wear if you are super close to it, but from 5 feet away, it still looks pristine (the SAW is also foam). My lid is pep’d and glassesd.

Keep in mind that both pep suits and foam suits will require some upkeep. On that note, however, foam will rub, flex, and crease slightly, where fibreglass is far more likely to crack (especially if you go heavy with the body filler). Comfortability is huge as well. I can easily wear my suit for 5-8 hours without it pinching or digging into my anywhere, and I can sit down without any issues. I work with fiberglass and fillers every day (autobody tech), and I would choose foam over fibreglass for armour in a heartbeat. The only downfall are helmets, which have a number of tight curves and minute details, but I see you’ve already decided to go with a resin cast.

As for foam thickness, I would strongly recommend using 10-12mm thick forms for the base of your armour, and stick to 5 and 2mm foam for the details. 5mm is just not strong enough to easily retain its shape and resist creasing/deforming.

 

[master_colt_117]

This beauty is fresh off my work bench. High&medium dense foam mostly using 10mm, 6mm, and some 5mm, & 2mm here there for details

 

[valkydesigns]

My vote goes to foam. I’m on the far left in this picture (the white and red spartan). My suit is almost 5 years old, and does show a bit of wear if you are super close to it, but from 5 feet away, it still looks pristine (the SAW is also foam). My lid is pep’d and glassesd.

Keep in mind that both pep suits and foam suits will require some upkeep. On that note, however, foam will rub, flex, and crease slightly, where fibreglass is far more likely to crack (especially if you go heavy with the body filler). Comfortability is huge as well. I can easily wear my suit for 5-8 hours without it pinching or digging into my anywhere, and I can sit down without any issues. I work with fiberglass and fillers every day (autobody tech), and I would choose foam over fibreglass for armour in a heartbeat. The only downfall are helmets, which have a number of tight curves and minute details, but I see you’ve already decided to go with a resin cast.

As for foam thickness, I would strongly recommend using 10-12mm thick forms for the base of your armour, and stick to 5 and 2mm foam for the details. 5mm is just not strong enough to easily retain its shape and resist creasing/deforming.View attachment 281908

Thanks man I really appreciate your insight

 

[valkydesigns]

This beauty is fresh off my work bench. High&medium dense foam mostly using 10mm, 6mm, and some 5mm, & 2mm here there for details

View attachment 281909View attachment 281910View attachment 281911

Dude this is insane! I wish I had your foam skills O_O Always struggled a lot with foam only so I am indeed of need of learning it more. My foam work is never as clean as that XD

 

[PaiganBoi]

Dude this is insane! I wish I had your foam skills O_O Always struggled a lot with foam only so I am indeed of need of learning it more. My foam work is never as clean as that XD

Don't be jealous of ExCeLLuR8. His work is so perfect because he's a cyborg from the future. He's been programed to be an awesome foamsmith.

 

[valkydesigns]

Don't be jealous of ExCeLLuR8. His work is so perfect because he's a cyborg from the future. He's been programed to be an awesome foamsmith.

If that were true I'd want to have his inner program so i could do amazing work like he does XD

 

[Dirtdives2424]

You don't want to see his innards.......pretty gorse.......

 

[master_colt_117]

You don't want to see his innards.......pretty gorse.......View attachment 281923

"My parts are showing.. oh my!"

 

[PaiganBoi]

 

[RedSparrow]

I prefer foam, myself but totally understand the pain of finding wrinkles/creases from normal wear and light bending.

What helped my build with that issue was sealing and priming with HexFlex brush on paint, several layers of sandable primer on top of that, sand smooth and top coat over. It’s not fool proof but it definitely created a flexible surface that can flex/take some punishment and bounce back with minimal to no creasing.