"Help!" for: Papercraft or Pepakura

[NeoKeth]

I completely agree with spitfire. The padding is probably the best idea. It not only keeps the proportions right, if done correctly it can illiminate the need for any strapping to hold it in place. A nice secure fit will allow you to simply slip on and go. Personally I've found cheap memory foam to work very well for this. And if you can find it try for the kind that transfers heat away from your body. That will help keep you cool.

Indeed it can! I personally like Egg Carton foam, even though it's warm, but that's just me. I plan on installing a battery operated fan inside my helmet at least to help keep airflow if I can.
Also, in reply to your signature. You should have had your students pep some pieces for you ^_^

 

[Jake D]

I understand that padding is a must, and I've got every intention of padding out any spare room, but to get the shins to the height I need they are so wide I was unable to stand normally (not being bow legged) without the two hitting each other =/ I was able to get a hold of HaloeGoddess and she had a slim version (female version, oh the embarrassment!) which I'm going to try. Ideally that will work, if not I'll just make a smaller one and call it good.

Thanks for all the help guys!

~Jake

 

[NeoKeth]

I understand that padding is a must, and I've got every intention of padding out any spare room, but to get the shins to the height I need they are so wide I was unable to stand normally (not being bow legged) without the two hitting each other =/ I was able to get a hold of HaloeGoddess and she had a slim version (female version, oh the embarrassment!) which I'm going to try. Ideally that will work, if not I'll just make a smaller one and call it good.

Thanks for all the help guys!

~Jake

I may run into the same problem. I don't know I'm not there yet. My first forearm piece was pretty short so I decided to redo it without scaling. I may just switch to a different version of it.

 

[Jake D]

I may run into the same problem. I don't know I'm not there yet. My first forearm piece was pretty short so I decided to redo it without scaling. I may just switch to a different version of it.

I didn't have too much trouble with the forearms, I think I've got my notes written down with what I scaled them at; what's your build (Height/weight)? Cause we may be able to share our trial & error scalings for various pieces. Which would be pretty awesome, as not having to build 3 of each piece to dial it in would save a helluva lot of time, and paper!

 

[NeoKeth]

I didn't have too much trouble with the forearms, I think I've got my notes written down with what I scaled them at; what's your build (Height/weight)? Cause we may be able to share our trial & error scalings for various pieces. Which would be pretty awesome, as not having to build 3 of each piece to dial it in would save a helluva lot of time, and paper!

I'm about 6'2"/ 6'3" and I'm about 180 I THINK. But I'm not sure. My arms are super skinny and long and my legs are considerably larger. I'm kind of disproportionate like that. (my lower legs by my ankles are 2x's the size of my wrists). I had the forearms by mcprimus but they didn't seem very accurate. Plus, when I printed them out without scaling, they still seemed short for my arms so I switched to HaloGoddess's forearms. If they are just ridiculous, I will switch to the female version, bit I'm not to that point yet. I just started my build today and in my frustration, I have given up for the night. I may just go back to my original idea to do to Youmacon as Master chief and just do that build since I'm more familiar with it. The only thing I don't like about it is all the teeny tiny detailed pieces are hard for me to handle (I have slight to severe tremors, depending on the day. You wouldn't always notice it until you see me doing something that requires a LOT of dexterity. Only time I don't shake is when I have a large blade in my hand, which doesn't make sense, but neither does the fact that I noticed that.) And the low res files I have just seem chunky and unrealistic and may prove to be more of a pain when I reach the detailing Bondo phase. It's a conundrum.

 

[Jake D]

Well Neo K, for the sake of their help sticky (and to not incur the wrath of the mods) lets continue talks in PM's, cause I think I know the problem you're seeing with the pieces.

Thanks for all the help Venture!

 

[LCBeagle]

Hey, before I get the program installed, my dad wants to know if it is okay for the cardstock to make a U-turn inside the printer while being inked. Would that cause any problems with my pepping?

 

[ventrue]

Hey, before I get the program installed, my dad wants to know if it is okay for the cardstock to make a U-turn inside the printer while being inked. Would that cause any problems with my pepping?

No, that should be ok. The diameter of that turn probably isn't small enough to damage the cardstock and if it does leave the cardstock in a slightly curled up state, you can easily bend it the other way or just let it sit for a while to correct that.

You can also just print something from Word or any other program to see if printing on the cardstock works.

 

[NeoKeth]

Hey, before I get the program installed, my dad wants to know if it is okay for the cardstock to make a U-turn inside the printer while being inked. Would that cause any problems with my pepping?

No, that should be ok. The diameter of that turn probably isn't small enough to damage the cardstock and if it does leave the cardstock in a slightly curled up state, you can easily bend it the other way or just let it sit for a while to correct that.

You can also just print something from Word or any other program to see if printing on the cardstock works.

Excellent Idea. Your cardstock may survive the turn in the printer, but it's always good to print a test page or check the manual to see if it will even run through or if it's too thick for the printer to register.

 

[Brokenchord]

Question

Hello everyone!

My question is simple and clean!
How I can export 2D parts from pepakura in a printing format end be able to save it as a different file.
For example I am running out of ink in my printer. Why not be able to go in a printing store with a data traveler end print them. With out them having pepakura in their computer!

Can be done? End if so how!
I am looking forward for an answer

Thanks for you valuable time ! Keep it up with your projects!

 

[ventrue]

Hello everyone!

My question is simple and clean!
How I can export 2D parts from pepakura in a printing format end be able to save it as a different file.
For example I am running out of ink in my printer. Why not be able to go in a printing store with a data traveler end print them. With out them having pepakura in their computer!

Can be done? End if so how!
I am looking forward for an answer

Thanks for you valuable time ! Keep it up with your projects!

Read this on how to post pictures: http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/30673-How-to-use-Photobucket-to-include-pictures-in-your-threads

You can also run Pepakura Designer without installation and/or from removable media. You can also print stuff into PDFs if you have a PDF printer. You can also export various formats, but that requires a license.

 

[Brokenchord]

Thanks for your answer!

I have the full version of pepakura 3 designer!
Pepakura appears to offer this formats

>Pepakura Designer 2 Format (*PDO)

>Bitmap (*.BMP, *.PNG etc)…..

>Multi-Files bitmap (*.BMP, *.PNG etc)…..


>Vector format àEncapsulated Postscript (*.EPS),
Drawing Interchange Format (*.DXF), Enhanced Windows Metafile (*.DMF)

>Texture info (*.BMP)…

>3D Model/UV Info (*.OBJ)

I just don’t know witch format suits the best for the job!
I am designing my own models in sketchup end i export them in pepakura.

Anyway Thanks again !

 

[Dark Star]

Question about the program, not the process. My PDF converter is giving me trouble, but I have the full version of Pepakura, does anyone know if Fedex/Kinkos will print any of the filetypes it can normally save them as?

Another question: How much do you add on to your scaling measurements to account for an undersuit? (Im using the robogenesis method)

 

[NeoKeth]

Question about the program, not the process. My PDF converter is giving me trouble, but I have the full version of Pepakura, does anyone know if Fedex/Kinkos will print any of the filetypes it can normally save them as?

Another question: How much do you add on to your scaling measurements to account for an undersuit? (Im using the robogenesis method)

Your Specific Fedex/Kinkos would be able to answer the printing better, you should call them and find out. You don't need a PDF converter, however, as Pepakura has a "print to pdf" option. Though I forget exactly how to do it. I am working on figuring that out, however. Though there is a converter on the Pepakura FAQ page :
http://www.tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/user/userqanda.html select: Q3-5. Pepakura Designer does not print templates correctly.
Though, again, after time and gas spent going back and forth to make sure you have the scaling right for the different pieces, plus the cost of printing, it may be cheaper to go buy that $30 HP Printer from walmart. That's what I did and it works great so far. It comes with 1 black and 1 color ink cartridge, though you'll need a USB to Printer cable... $15 at meijer or $2 off amazon or free if you already have one or go beg at a computer store that might have used ones.

As far as scaling goes. The general consensus is to add 2-3 inches to your overall height when you create your scaling factor. (I believe that is stated on the robogenesis thread, but correct me if I'm wrong?) This will allow for plenty of room to fiberglass as you need to fiberglass the INSIDE and NOT THE OUTSIDE of the pepakura model. The outside is only Bondo'd or Rondo'd for detailing purposes after you have reached the desired strength of your pep+fiber-glassing. This should also allow plenty of room for padding and an under-suit. [please dear god wear some form of an under-suit, the COD is not enough and will be embarrassing, disturbing, and I'm sure the foam will probably be itchy. ]

 

[Eternal Phase]

Quick question concerning the general size of Pepakura printouts: Are the Pepakura files designed to print out on a regular sized sheet of printer paper, or should I try to locate a large one? I checked the print preview for a helmet and it seemed like it could print on a normal printer... but I'm not sure about the other, larger body pieces.

 

[Spitfire22V]

Quick question concerning the general size of Pepakura printouts: Are the Pepakura files designed to print out on a regular sized sheet of printer paper, or should I try to locate a large one? I checked the print preview for a helmet and it seemed like it could print on a normal printer... but I'm not sure about the other, larger body pieces.

Most Pepakura files are designed to be printed on the 2 most common, standard paper sizes: A4 and Letter (8.5" x 11"). I've seen some files that have two different versions for each of the paper types. I think this is simply a courtesy by the author so that the parts are organized to minimize extra space for each of the paper types.

However, if I'm not mistaken, you can print one whatever size paper you want as long as you arrange the pieces to fit. In Pepakura Designer, you should be able to view the parts and page layout on the right-side window. The dotted lines represent the page limits, so as long as the parts are within those dotted lines, it will print fine. Don't forget you can move them around yourself so they fit.

Hope this answers your question.

 

[Eternal Phase]

Most Pepakura files are designed to be printed on the 2 most common, standard paper sizes: A4 and Letter (8.5" x 11"). I've seen some files that have two different versions for each of the paper types. I think this is simply a courtesy by the author so that the parts are organized to minimize extra space for each of the paper types.

However, if I'm not mistaken, you can print one whatever size paper you want as long as you arrange the pieces to fit. In Pepakura Designer, you should be able to view the parts and page layout on the right-side window. The dotted lines represent the page limits, so as long as the parts are within those dotted lines, it will print fine. Don't forget you can move them around yourself so they fit.

Hope this answers your question.

Excellent, that's exactly what I needed, thankee Sai

 

[NeoKeth]

Most Pepakura files are designed to be printed on the 2 most common, standard paper sizes: A4 and Letter (8.5" x 11"). I've seen some files that have two different versions for each of the paper types. I think this is simply a courtesy by the author so that the parts are organized to minimize extra space for each of the paper types.

However, if I'm not mistaken, you can print one whatever size paper you want as long as you arrange the pieces to fit. In Pepakura Designer, you should be able to view the parts and page layout on the right-side window. The dotted lines represent the page limits, so as long as the parts are within those dotted lines, it will print fine. Don't forget you can move them around yourself so they fit.

Hope this answers your question.

Excellent, that's exactly what I needed, thankee Sai

Actually, it's not just the dotted lines you have to fit it into. There are also margins to worry about so the inside lines you'll have to estimate your margins.

 

[Catfetus]

Yellow and Pink MMPR helmets?

Hello! I am new here planning to use pepakura patterns for the first time. Armor I have made in the past was just free-hand patterned but I am experienced with using fiberglass, resin, bondo, and a variety of other materials.

I want to make a couple of power ranger helmets, the yellow and pink ranger original Mighty Morphin Power Ranger helmets, and I figured pepakura patterns were the way to go for these relatively complicated designs. However, I can't find free patterns for them anywhere online (I've run in to quite a few Red and Green ranger helmets, but no pink or yellow).

I did read that often times people have trouble finding their patterns because they are expecting them to be free. I am willing to pay some money to have these patterned out, approximately how much would that run? Also how do I go about finding a reliable person to do it for me?

Thanks for the help!

 

[ventrue]

The dotted lines represent the page limits, so as long as the parts are within those dotted lines, it will print fine.

Actually, it's not just the dotted lines you have to fit it into. There are also margins to worry about so the inside lines you'll have to estimate your margins.

You don't have to estimate any margins, the program hides them everywhere except on the outermost pages of your design, so whatever is between the dotted lines is the actual printable area. If your printer has large margins, it's best to increase the respective setting in Pepakura Designer.