ODST Foam Scratch Build

Mangos · Aug 29, 2012

So this is my first build, and my first time ever working with foam, so any tips or trick would be much appreciated

So like all foam builds, it starts with the foam,

Without any real knowledge of how to start, I just picked an image of the lower legs and started going for it. They progressed rather quickly and I got both legs done in a day.

They started with just the lower curved part,

Then quickly grew to whole completed fronts (with lack of a heat gun, I used a lighter to shape the foam, so excuse the carbon residue)

Once the template for the back-of-the-leg was cut out, I cut the foam and had trouble with it keeping the shape, so I heated it and rubber-banded the two halves together and that did the trick fairly well

Next was strapping! I added 4 straps to one side as "hinges" to allow the piece to go onto my leg easier. The other side has two buckles.

All that is really left is to fill in the seams and paint them up. I do have a few questions for those interested in answering.

What is the best method to fill in the seams?
What's the best way to reinforce the foam and make it more rigid?
What exactly is this "plasti-dip"?

Thanks for looking guys and I will try to update once a day, if not every other day.

wiezel · Aug 29, 2012

Wow that turned out pretty sweet for a first attempt at a foam scratch build. I have personally never used plasti dip however from what I gather here on the forums it's used to seal the foam and rubberize it. Whether or not it makes it more rigid is beyond me. I'm certain there are much more qualified people to address your questions.
To fill in the seams...
...silicone cocking maybe?

Mangos · Aug 29, 2012

That just might work. I might pick up some "shoo-goo". I used the stuff for other things and it works fairly well, so that might be an option. Thanks for the input though.

wiezel · Aug 29, 2012

Anytime Mangos! and yeah I wonder why I didn't think of shoo-goo. I used to use that stuff a lot when I used to skateboard. Good idea!

Dh748 · Aug 29, 2012

The silicone is pretty alright for filling seams lil tricky but good. The best way is to avoid gaps completely, you can use scissors to cut angles so the pieces will fit together good. the foam will never be "rigid" The way it is, will be the way it is going to be. it's too dense for plaster or aqua resin, and if I'm not mistaken polyester resins eat the foam. Plasti dip is a kind of rubber product....if you have a pair of pliers with rubber grips, that can be done with plastidip. We use it to seal the foam so paint doesn't get soaked in, causing a very flat color. It comes in a spray and a mix. I prefer the spray, they both do the job fine.

Mangos · Aug 29, 2012

Thanks Dh748. Could you explain more on how the silicone is "tricky"? This is my first build, so any tips would help a lot.

Dh748 · Aug 29, 2012

It's a lil sloppy, you ever caulk something before? It's not hard, but you need a wet edge to help it set to the angle of the groove. You could actually even use hot glue if you were ever so inclined. I'd suggest (for the caulk) licking your index finger and thumb and forming a edge and sliding along the side you need to, at the angle you need to...That sounds confusing.I think you get it though....

DBmike · Aug 29, 2012

Good work there on the first part of your build!
To answer your questions a bit as Dh748 said you should aim to have no gaps at all so before cutting anything make sure the template you make wil be an accurate representation of the foam piece ie when you cut the foam piece out from template and put it in place it'll be perfect. Don't cut it out till te template is just right!
You can also use rubber body filler. This is better than normal filler because when it sets, like the foam, it won't be totally hard.

There is a substance similar to plasti dip that completly hardens foam but off the top of my head I can't tell you what it's called. But I know it's expensive and you may as well use plasti dip because foam doesn't really need hardening, it's tough stuff!

And plasti dip is as Dh748 said a plastic coating paint. Just seals up the foam and gives a nice surface to paint on but also does add some strength to the foam when it sets. Personally I prefer the paint on stuff because it comes in bigger quantities, none is lost through vapour as you spray and it's thicker so it can help fill micro gaps better.

When it comes to cutting those angles you need to score a shallow angled cut first then make the deeper angled cut. The blade will follow the score line.

Hope that helps a bit. Again nice work, if you need help ever give me a shout and I'll do my best!
Also check out my tutorial for some tips and also try Dracks tutorial. You'll find him in my friends list.

DBmike

Mangos · Aug 30, 2012

Thanks so much! That will really help when I start on the rest of the pieces. I'll be sure to check out your tutorials. Thanks, mate.

DBmike · Aug 30, 2012

No worries

Hyperballistik · Aug 30, 2012

If you use caulking to fill the seams make sure you use a caulking that is paintable, most silicone caulkings are not able to take paint. I always suggest using Alex Plus Window and dorr caulking, its an acrylic/silicone based caulking that is paintable also make sure its flexible or the caulking will crack away from the joints in the foam, I just take my finger and apply the Alex Plus caulking to all the gaps, seams and pits in the foam, then take a damp sponge and smooth out the Alex plus let it dry asnd its ready for paint, this process will also seal your foam if you rub the watered down version of it all over the armor part, you can skip the Plasti Dip if you want to but I always spray plasti Dip anyways for extra measures. I have use my armor for several cons and so far its holding up with no cracks in the seams so I know it works if done correctly

I wouldn't say that I am a foam build expert and my first foam build ended up loking like I knew what I was doing lol because the caulking helped to hide my mistakes, also here is a link to my build thread you can see in some of the pics where the Alex plus was appled into the seams fo a clean look, good luck on your build looks like its turning out well
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/34564-Hyper-s-Noob-Foam-Reach-Armor-Build

Mangos · Aug 30, 2012

Thanks for the response. I really appreciate all the tips you guys are giving me and I'll be sure to try everything and see what works the best.

Mangos · Sep 1, 2012

Double-post/mini update.

I went to the store today and pick up a 40 pack of small EVA foam sheets and silicone caulking, so I can do the small details and try my hand at filling in the seams on the legs. Unfortunately, I forgot to pick up hot glue and I'm completely out, so anymore fabrication is on hold until I can get back out to the store. Tomorrow will be my real first update after I try my hand at the caulking and we will see how that goes. For whoever is reading this, thanks for following.

Mangos · Sep 2, 2012

Triple post, sorry guys. But, Update #1

I siliconed all of the seams on the shin pieces and started fabrication of the knees today.

I started with a paper 3D model for the knee

I was then able to cut it into a 2D template to minimize seams. I learned my lesson the first time

I cut out the knee and use the thin EVA foam to add the raised part. I know they aren't the most accurate, but I am doing this from scratch and I did want to increase my mobility while wearing the suit.

Here's a shot I took before I glued 'em on (shin on the left was my failed attempt at using bondo to fill the seams. :/ )

I glued 'em on, test fitted them and they fit fantastic! The mobility is more than I expected, and I think they look great.

What do you all think so far?

DBmike · Sep 2, 2012

Looks great and really coming along now. Good job thinking about mobility, I gotta tell ya it is an issue in my suit lol
Great work, can't wait to see more!

Mangos · Sep 3, 2012

Update #2

I had a busy day today, so by the time I could do any work it wasn't worth it to bust out the foam. Because of this, I decided to work on a combat knife.

I started with a paper model of the Reach version of the combat knife.

Then I busted out the uncorrugated and corrugated cardboard and started cutting and gluing. I plan on bondo-ing it for shaping/strengthening tomorrow. This product of today was this though. I was rather impressed with my own work, haha.

What do you guys think?

DBmike · Sep 3, 2012

What do you guys think?

I think it looks nice! But scale it up a bit.
And instead of foam use MDF or something similar because you can then sand the blade edge so you get that nice rounded shape as you come from the main body of the blade down to the sharp edge.

Mangos · Sep 3, 2012

It fits my hand perfect I think it's a comfortable size. It's bigger than the picture shows. I also plan on putting on Bondo and sanding it to give it the "sharpened blade" look. That's why there is the gap between the colored cardboard (uncorrugated core) and the brown cardboard (corrugated "slice" for dimension) if that makes sense. When it's all bondo-ed up you will see what I'm talking about.

On another note, thanks for following! You really keep me motivated to keep going.

Mangos · Oct 5, 2012

Double post, sorry.

It's been a while with the update and when the forums went down for a while, I completely forgot about posting about it. I will post an update later tonight, as soon as I finish my thighs.

Mangos · Oct 9, 2012

Triple post. But it's worth it!

Update #3

So I finally put a coat of paint on the shins and gave them some great battle damage! I'm really happy with how these came out.