"Help!" for: Papercraft or Pepakura

[ventrue]

I don't believe it is your fault on that. I pepped 4 of same gauntlet and I have the same problem. It is because the middle pieces are too large and curved. The gauntlet should have been broken into smaller pieces to enable the curvature to show up better. To fix the problem, just apply more bondo to smooth out the surface.

But that shouldn't really happen, since Pepakura, strictly speaking, doesn't know any round surfaces. Maybe it would help to hide fewer fold lines or none at all.

You can also format fold lines differently depending on their angle, that way you have them all and can fold them where needed. To do that, disable the hide almost flat folding lines threshold and format them all with (for example) lighter shades of red and blue. You can just drag a box around all the pages with the pen tool to do this. Then enable the threshold again and repeat the formatting, this time with darker red and blue. The second time you will only catch the folds that are above the threshold, the ones below it will retain their light red and blue formatting.

 

[CoolC]

But that shouldn't really happen, since Pepakura, strictly speaking, doesn't know any round surfaces. Maybe it would help to hide fewer fold lines or none at all.

I know. After I completed the first one, it looked exactly like the photo shown. When I did the second gauntlet, I did it more carefully. Same result. The 3rd and 4th were done the same and I paid attention to the lining of the numbers and tabs. Same results.

I noticed that the problem seems to lie on how the pieces were broken. Curved surface is better pepped when it is in vertical. The guantlet is curved on both apex at different angle, but the pieces are horizontal.

 

[John13]

Hi, sometimes when i print out pepakura files only some of the papers come out with prints on them and the rest as blanks? and in a complete random order, has nothing to do with the printers ink level. if anyone has a clue to why this is happening a fast answer is more the appreciated.

 

[charlie88]

Hi there u guys , am new to this stuff so yeah lolmy dad finally got me in to this but i have a problem and a big one lol he wont help because he knows that if he helps me hes youst gonna end up doing all my stuff and he gets mad quick soo yeah. Sooo ok, at least he told me everything i have to do and all sort of about pepakura sooo i printed a noob saibot mask and i already build the right side , i wanted to start with something small youst to get the hang of it u know , and i understand eveyrgting and pepakura too the only thing bugging me is the heigh i dnt understand nothing about and some people have tried explaining to me and i still dont get it... My dad didnt scale nothing in his iron man suit but he tells me that not all of the pep files are the same some u have to scale some dont soo can u guys help??? i really need help aaaahhh i am getting frustraded i dnt know how to make the helmet fit my head how u guys make it?

 

[Darkrider9]

Measure your heads height in mm, add a few cm (20-50 mm) to that for padding, etc, and then plug that into the height box. That should give you a correctly sized helmet.

 

[iGrunt]

Is it ok if I freehand bend lines with the back side of my x-acto knife rather than use a ruler to get a perfect bend?

 

[ventrue]

Is it ok if I freehand bend lines with the back side of my x-acto knife rather than use a ruler to get a perfect bend?

If you properly score or indent the fold lines, you shouldn't need any tools to fold them. Just push a little and they'll move where you want them. For the scoring itself I would recommend using a ruler, otherwise you might get "curved" folds that mess your model's shape up.

 

[jhayezr90]

is there any way to add supports to an model in pepakura like a ironman helmet to help it keep shape?

 

[CoolC]

is there any way to add supports to an model in pepakura like a ironman helmet to help it keep shape?

If you did the pep correctly, Iron Man helmet should be able to stand on its own. The problem is during resin, it may warp due to extra weight. To create support, you simply take some card stock paper cut it in size and fold it as a triangle length wise. This will provide extra support. Instead of using card stock, I have a much better method. Take a cardboad tubing from paper towel, cut it to size and insert it in the helmet. See my thread on the Iron Man that I have yet the time to work on.

 

[jhayezr90]

hey thanks and thats the model im working on

 

[Kyre]

Sorry if this question is somewhat self-answering, but how would I get the truescale of the weapons? I plan on pepping the M6 pistol base and some attachments(SOCOM mostly) as well as the MA5B, and I wasn't sure if I should somehow scale it to myself or if the base scale is correct or what, so I figured I'd just ask...

 

[ventrue]

Sorry if this question is somewhat self-answering, but how would I get the truescale of the weapons? I plan on pepping the M6 pistol base and some attachments(SOCOM mostly) as well as the MA5B, and I wasn't sure if I should somehow scale it to myself or if the base scale is correct or what, so I figured I'd just ask...

If the unfolder has done a good job, the weapon is already unfolded in 1:1 scale. If not, you'll have to find the correct size somewhere and scale it yourself.

 

[Shock Trooper 2148]

What's up 405th? I have a problem with the Pepakura program. Whenever I printed out files, some of the lines, most of which were the mountain folds, were faded from view. Does anyone have a solution to this problem?

 

[wrthgdrver710]

Hey guys, I'm very new to pepakura making and my friend and I are going to start making a Recon helmet tomorrow. I've read all of the stickied forums about pepakura and am ready to get started, but before I do that are there any suggestions for a noob like me?

 

[ventrue]

What's up 405th? I have a problem with the Pepakura program. Whenever I printed out files, some of the lines, most of which were the mountain folds, were faded from view. Does anyone have a solution to this problem?

Can you take a picture or at least say which file you're talking about? Might be that the unfolder coloured the lines that way for a reason. Or maybe you're running out of blue ink.

Hey guys, I'm very new to pepakura making and my friend and I are going to start making a Recon helmet tomorrow. I've read all of the stickied forums about pepakura and am ready to get started, but before I do that are there any suggestions for a noob like me?

Work safely!

That's the only thing worth repeating over and over aside from "read the stickies!". All those small tips have already been mentioned a thousand times and you will already have come across them if you really did do your homework.

 

[wrthgdrver710]

Okay, is a Recon helmet a good starting project?

 

[mofioso]

what all do I need to start aproject aside from the fiberglass, cardstock, pepakura designer and the pep file?

 

[ventrue]

what all do I need to start aproject aside from the fiberglass, cardstock, pepakura designer and the pep file?

There's a buying list stickied in the noob forum that should give you some idea. You're missing safety equipment, for example, and some actual resin might be useful, too.

 

[GAMMA NET]

im sorry if this is kinda the wrong spot....

with foam builds, whats a method to heat the foam for molding it into the shape?

 

[CoolC]

Okay, is a Recon helmet a good starting project?

Recon is a good starting project because it is easier. However, the question is do you want to be Recon. I suggest go with what helmet you like. Some helmets are difficult to put together, but with time and effort, you can have your HD helmet in no time. It is better just to go all the way instead of testing the water.

im sorry if this is kinda the wrong spot....

with foam builds, whats a method to heat the foam for molding it into the shape?

You can use a heat gun, but I can tell you that foam is not easy to shape using heat. It will probably start melting instead of being shaped. Most people just bend the foam and shape it by gluing it. You need to plan ahead. You can't take a big piece of foam and hope to bend it to the shape you want. You need to cut them in pieces and glue them to the form you want.