"Help!" for: Foam

[DastardlyEnd]

hey I am very new to the foam building and I would like to know what good kinds of foam I should buy for making halo armor

 

[blackout11c]

hey I am very new to the foam building and I would like to know what good kinds of foam I should buy for making halo armor

EVA foam. Generally, it can be bought as floor mats (the grey ones that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle). For small details, however, use soft, thin craft foam, or Styrofoam.

And, as a side note, what can be used to seal Styrofoam?

 

[Zaff]

I would assume that plasti-dip would work to seal Styrofoam well enough, and is also the preferred method of sealing EVA foam (aka "Foam rubber"). You want to make sure to avoid anything that generates heat (such as hot glue) or uses harsh chemicals (such as most resins, especially fiberglass), as that will quickly eat through, or at least mangle, your Styrofoam projects. Honestly, it's best to stay away from Styrofoam entirely, as Styrofoam is open-celled and not very dense, thus is easy to crush and break. Unless by Styrofoam you mean the high-density foam board used as insulation. I forget the technical name for it. That stuff is far more durable, but you'll still need to avoid high temperature or harsh chemical sealing processes.

 

[Hollowknight]

Also avoid some of the more commercial glues as they will corrode the Styrofoam.

 

[blackout11c]

I would assume that plasti-dip would work to seal Styrofoam well enough, and is also the preferred method of sealing EVA foam (aka "Foam rubber"). You want to make sure to avoid anything that generates heat (such as hot glue) or uses harsh chemicals (such as most resins, especially fiberglass), as that will quickly eat through, or at least mangle, your Styrofoam projects. Honestly, it's best to stay away from Styrofoam entirely, as Styrofoam is open-celled and not very dense, thus is easy to crush and break. Unless by Styrofoam you mean the high-density foam board used as insulation. I forget the technical name for it. That stuff is far more durable, but you'll still need to avoid high temperature or harsh chemical sealing processes.

By Styrofoam, I do mean the fairly high density stuff used in insulation, as that's what it's called in NZ. It's very hard to compress, that's for sure. It's this stuff.

 

[DastardlyEnd]

Does EVA fom work well on building weapons and accessories for the suit as well.

 

[blackout11c]

Does EVA fom work well on building weapons and accessories for the suit as well.

Possibly. I really don't know, as I have not used EVA foam. Yet.

 

[DastardlyEnd]

well I found some Styrofoam but I want a better kind.

 

[blackout11c]

well I found some Styrofoam but I want a better kind.

Styrofoam, the insulation stuff, can be quite good for building the base for weapons, such as MA5's, M6's, Boltshot's, etc. If you want/need to, you can always use soft craft foam for details, and I think that you can use EVA foam for this as well.

 

[DastardlyEnd]

ok good but my first build will be cardboard then foam

 

[tabris89]

hey there 405th

would this be appropriate for filling gaps in EVA foam armor? was workin on a prototype chest piece before i start my real one, just to try my hand, and im not the best at it yet so would this be ok? especially thinkin of when i plastidip it i dont want the two to react.

:edit: and i forgot the link....
http://www.bunnings.com.au/products...searchType=any&searchSubType=products&page=16

 

[blackout11c]

I use Polyfilla on the Insulation Styrofoam, but I don't know if that works on EVA foam. If you know what I'm talking about, do not read this next part.
Polyfilla is a filler that can be used on wood, plaster, and numerous other things (Styrofoam included). When it sets, it basically turns into plaster, or a plaster analogue.

 

[Zaff]

Tabris, the main thing you'll have to watch out for is just how much shrinkage "minimal" means. When it shrinks it could cause warping and/or distortion along the seams you use it on. Also note that while it claims to be flexible, it might not be as flexible as the EVA foam itself, which could cause cracking or peeling in those areas. It could work well enough, but tread carefully.

Blackout, I'd venture to say that using Polyfilla on EVA would be unwise. EVA foam flexes, and from your description of it, Polyfilla does not. It becomes rigid, and thus prone to cracking, splitting, or outright snapping if used on a surface that will flex. It works well enough for the foam board for props and such, as they aren't meant to flex and during normal use they likely never will be flexed, whereas EVA is typically used for armor and other wearable items that will experience a lot me movement and flexing during use, so it's best to use materials (paint, sealing, etc.) that will flex with it to preserve your work.

 

[Harding29]

Back with another question, may be a dumb one but can you make molds from foam builds?

 

[Zaff]

So long as the build is fully coated/sealed first to keep the mold-making agent from bonding to the foam, making a mold from a foam build shouldn't be any different than making a mold from a pep/resin build. I'd check around the forums for tutorials on mold making for any advice or tips form forum members who actually have experience in making molds, as I'm just going off of what I believe to be theoretically plausible.

 

[TheH3llrazor]

Hi my name is Brad and I'm new to all this 405th and pepakura and I want to make my spartan from Halo 4. My helmet is the Warrior helmet and I can't seem to find the pepakura file for it so any leads would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8477/8170742619_e1982e41c4_z.jpg

 

[Zaff]

Welcome aboard, Brad. The first place to look would be the 405th 4shared database. You may need a 4shared account to download the files, but the account is free (unless you choose to pay for a premium account, which isn't necessary). They do their best to keep it up to date with all the files that the community here have created. Another useful tool is the search bar at the top of the page. That will point you in the general direction of anything you want to find, and the "search thread" option (in the tool bar under the thread title) will bring you to the specific posts within a thread that mentions whatever you are searching for. You can use quotations to search for a specific phrase as well.

From the forum hompage "Creation Discusison" and "3D Modeling" are the sub-topics that are most likely to contain threads that showcase the many files available (some of which are not yet in the database or are still in the works). The Noob Forums contains several "stickied" threads chock full of tips, tutorials, and more experienced members willing to offer advice and insight to help you with your projects. The Noob Forums along with the Elite Showcase also contain many threads showing off a multitude of armor, weapon, and prop projects the community members et al are working on, and there you can find other people building similar projects who might offer advise or let you know about areas they ran into problems with and how to avoid doing so yourself. Spartansonny, for example, has a thread here showing his Halo 4 warrior helmet build. You can probably pick up quite a few pointers by reading through his build progress and maybe get some ideas on how you want to make the build your own. Perhaps a non-traditional color scheme or your own created "armor skin."

 

[TheH3llrazor]

Thanks Zaff appreciate the help still trying to get the hang of this.

 

[Zaff]

As with so many other things, the best advice anyone can give is "practice, practice, practice." There are some amazing builds in this community, but none of them got it perfect on their first try.

 

[Harding29]

So long as the build is fully coated/sealed first to keep the mold-making agent from bonding to the foam, making a mold from a foam build shouldn't be any different than making a mold from a pep/resin build. I'd check around the forums for tutorials on mold making for any advice or tips form forum members who actually have experience in making molds, as I'm just going off of what I believe to be theoretically plausible.

Thanks Zaff