One thing I'm considering is slicing some old, worn out tires and cutting the tread to shape for the soles of the boots. If it works, would provide much better traction than fiberglass-bottomed boots and quite possibly more durability than EVA foam boots. Only thing I'm worried about is whether or not they'd scuff and leave marks on tiled floors.
"Help!" for: Misc...
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Yeah the tires might leave marks but that was the other thing if I do keep the peped buttons they will be flat and slippery, I ultimately want to put some metal on the bottum so I get that nice metallic sound when I walk, but haven't figured how to do it just yet, the thongs ( flip flops) idea is pretty good Carp, would you then resin the bottom after adding the thong parts or just leave them as is?
AgentSushi
New Member
What would be better buying a full faced motorcycle/bicycle helmet and using it as a base for pepakura, foam or whatever I decide to use to build my suit or just building from scratch?
I would personally build from scratch as building around the other helmet will make your end product massive, think bobble head.
Carpathia
Sr Member
Once glued on, I would just leave them as is.
Chainsaw ninja
Jr Member
That's an excellent idea carpathia has anyone done the same with reach boots?
That's awesome I'm going to give that a whirl if you don't mind? Also is your boot built around a shoe or?
Carpathia
Sr Member
Take a read through my Mk VI build thread. I cover everything I do fairly well. I didn't build them around a pair of boots, but I do use a pair of boots; the armor just straps onto them.
Thanks heaps ill give it a look over, I also have a build thread I don't use how do I go about getting it removed or closed?
Carpathia
Sr Member
PM me with a link to it and I'll close it.
Had a thought occur to me, and as it technically could fit into at least two "Help" topic categories, figure putting it here in a "neutral territory" would be best.
Has anyone attempted or even considered the possibility of using vacuum forming (or similar plastic shaping techniques) to apply a hard shell over a foam-built piece? I mean the obvious issue right off the bat would be needing to support the foam piece so it isn't squashed or warped by the pressure, but if that could be properly accounted for, would this work?
This idea came out from the often posed question of how best to seal a foam build and hide all the seams, cracks, and other imperfections. I was also thinking this could bridge some of the gaps between foam and fiberglass builds by having the lighter weight of a foam build combined with the semi-rigid construction that comes from a fiberglass build, but without the additional weight that comes with it.
Having no experience whatsoever with foam or vacuum forming, I honestly have no idea if this would even be feasible, and perhaps that is why I haven't seen it brought up before. Perhaps someone tried it, and it failed, so it's been left off the table. Or maybe not. I really don't know. So, anyone have any opinions and/or feedback on the concept? Do you think it's workable? If it hasn't been attempted already, is there anyone willing to test it out? I certainly don't have the means nor the know-how to do it myself, unfortunately.
Has anyone attempted or even considered the possibility of using vacuum forming (or similar plastic shaping techniques) to apply a hard shell over a foam-built piece? I mean the obvious issue right off the bat would be needing to support the foam piece so it isn't squashed or warped by the pressure, but if that could be properly accounted for, would this work?
This idea came out from the often posed question of how best to seal a foam build and hide all the seams, cracks, and other imperfections. I was also thinking this could bridge some of the gaps between foam and fiberglass builds by having the lighter weight of a foam build combined with the semi-rigid construction that comes from a fiberglass build, but without the additional weight that comes with it.
Having no experience whatsoever with foam or vacuum forming, I honestly have no idea if this would even be feasible, and perhaps that is why I haven't seen it brought up before. Perhaps someone tried it, and it failed, so it's been left off the table. Or maybe not. I really don't know. So, anyone have any opinions and/or feedback on the concept? Do you think it's workable? If it hasn't been attempted already, is there anyone willing to test it out? I certainly don't have the means nor the know-how to do it myself, unfortunately.
You could vacuum form, but I will tell you now that it's an incredibly time consuming method. I think that the setup and cost required would offset any benefits.
I saw another member spray expanding foam underneath in order to reinforce it, and it worked okay, but it's very difficult to properly back. Do too much and it blobs it and makes it hard to keep the plastic stuck to the foam, do too little and it'll collapse. If you can get it nailed down it's viable (on parts that ARE vacuformable), but R&D can add up.
Plastic is expensive. Unless you have a good warehouse supplier, you're going to be spending like 5-10$ per each small piece, 10-30 for each medium and large piece, and that's for cheap-o plastics like polystyrene. It will add up quickly especially if you have failures along the way! Plasti-dip is a lot safer and tried and true so there won't be as many failures with it.
I saw another member spray expanding foam underneath in order to reinforce it, and it worked okay, but it's very difficult to properly back. Do too much and it blobs it and makes it hard to keep the plastic stuck to the foam, do too little and it'll collapse. If you can get it nailed down it's viable (on parts that ARE vacuformable), but R&D can add up.
Plastic is expensive. Unless you have a good warehouse supplier, you're going to be spending like 5-10$ per each small piece, 10-30 for each medium and large piece, and that's for cheap-o plastics like polystyrene. It will add up quickly especially if you have failures along the way! Plasti-dip is a lot safer and tried and true so there won't be as many failures with it.
Austuck117
New Member
What is the quickest method of armor building? Would it be best to mix techniques for different parts or a constant technique throughout?
Austuck117
New Member
Thank you.
tippmannrunner
New Member
hey im planning to make night digi camo odst armor. does anyone know where i could get night digital fatigues? For the under suit///
Carpathia
Sr Member
"Night digital fatigues"?? Camouflage patterns have specific names. Do you happen to have a picture of the pattern you'd like? ODSTs generally wear black BDUs, while the urban pattern is painted onto the forearms and thighs. If the armor is built right, you barely see the BDUs anyway.
As far as a location to purchase a set of BDUs, the best place I can advise is Ebay. Just do a search for "black BDU pants" and "black combat shirt." Be sure to include the size you'd like to get in the search parameters; keeping in mind that military pants usually are in sizes like "Medium regular" or "Medium long."
As far as a location to purchase a set of BDUs, the best place I can advise is Ebay. Just do a search for "black BDU pants" and "black combat shirt." Be sure to include the size you'd like to get in the search parameters; keeping in mind that military pants usually are in sizes like "Medium regular" or "Medium long."
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