For an upcoming project I am needing 6-8 sets of stunt-grade custom full body armour similar in overall concept to Spartan IV armour (more chest coverage of plates, however, as seen in this concept). Every resource I have found points to pepakura or EVA foam armour, none of which will hold up to the use we will be putting them to. It is for a live-action video which will involve a lot of running, a couple of rolls, shouldering open a door and two melee/hand-to-hand encounters. Does anyone know where a newbie tutorial can be found to produce much more rugged armour than cosplay use, or someone who produces custom sets of that quality?
Stunt-grade armour
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Carpathia
Sr Member
If you watch any of the behind the scenes of the live action Halo shorts, you may notice that the hard spartan armor isn't hard in real life (in particular, I'm thinking the behind the scenes video of "Delivering Hope"). It's usually a rubberized material that will flex to allow movement and withstand impact. Your best bet is to build the armor you want with whatever method you like, create molds and cast copies in a durable, flexible material. Smooth-On has a variety of materials that will fit the bill.
rickrtickr
Active Member
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if you are looking for durable armor it will be a long process.
pep models for detail (step 1)
molds for replacements (step 2)
casts in durable materials (poly-foam rubber, etc.) step 3
this is the process that the halo FUD armor went through an they produced a highly durable model.
hope this helps.
Our stunt coordinator mentioned using fast-cast urethane for the hard plates and such. However, I've only made one chest piece in foam before, so I am completely ignorant of how that process works. Hence why I was feeling out to see if there were tutorials or the like for that
Carpathia
Sr Member
Since this is more of a costume/cosplay focused forum, I am unaware of any such tutorials. There have been a few people try to make armor that would withstand extreme situations (one even attempted bullet-proof ODST armor), but those sort of builds are actually discouraged since we are costumers, not safety equipment manufacturers.
Actually, with the FUD armor, step one was to 3D print the pieces; but the rest of the process is pretty much right.
I, too, suggest watching the behind the scenes of Forward Unto Dawn, when they talk about building Master Chief's armor.
Actually, with the FUD armor, step one was to 3D print the pieces; but the rest of the process is pretty much right.
I, too, suggest watching the behind the scenes of Forward Unto Dawn, when they talk about building Master Chief's armor.
If you want something that will hold up to that kind of abuse, skip resins. Nothing styrene or nitrocellulose based will be flexible enough to do exactly what you want it to do.
Here's what you want to do. Kydex. Make your positive out of whatever method you choose, Makerbot, Pepakura, foam carving, whatever. Then make a negative cast of your part in plaster.
The next step is where the magic starts.
Use 0.187" Kydex plastic and a toaster oven to thermally cast your plates. Fill these blanks with latex foam and mount them to a Nylon vest. The Kydex gives you a leather-tough shell that won't crack or shatter or chip, and the latex foam prevents extreme deformations and gives it some structure, forces it to stay solid despite pressure from the outside. This is how many semirigid police riot armors are made.
Also, side note. If people are having their threads locked and being chastised for asking about airsoft and paintball safety, it is my opinion that there should be a permanent ban and IP block for anyone posting material on making legitimate bulletproof equipment. Not only is this vastly more dangerous than paintball or airsoft armor if the product fails, but ownership of body armor is a crime in some states in the US, and allowing posts like that smacks of a massive double standard.
Here's what you want to do. Kydex. Make your positive out of whatever method you choose, Makerbot, Pepakura, foam carving, whatever. Then make a negative cast of your part in plaster.
The next step is where the magic starts.
Use 0.187" Kydex plastic and a toaster oven to thermally cast your plates. Fill these blanks with latex foam and mount them to a Nylon vest. The Kydex gives you a leather-tough shell that won't crack or shatter or chip, and the latex foam prevents extreme deformations and gives it some structure, forces it to stay solid despite pressure from the outside. This is how many semirigid police riot armors are made.
Also, side note. If people are having their threads locked and being chastised for asking about airsoft and paintball safety, it is my opinion that there should be a permanent ban and IP block for anyone posting material on making legitimate bulletproof equipment. Not only is this vastly more dangerous than paintball or airsoft armor if the product fails, but ownership of body armor is a crime in some states in the US, and allowing posts like that smacks of a massive double standard.
Carpathia
Sr Member
If you are referring to the bulletproof ODST thread, I agree wholeheartedly. I would have locked that thread (no, deleted that thread) in its inception, had I been a moderator at the time.
I don't really think kydex is what you want to try with. You are dealing with 1) a lot of heat to liquify it and then the obscure mold making and lining.
Studios like Legacy Effects that did the Halo ODST live action trailers used cast urethane rubber for the armor pieces as the urethane takes paint better than silicone and comes it tougher ridigity levels (shore hardness). So you are looking at best either pepakuring/sculpting your pieces, then hard form casting those, and copying them in a hard urethane rubber medium.
Studios like Legacy Effects that did the Halo ODST live action trailers used cast urethane rubber for the armor pieces as the urethane takes paint better than silicone and comes it tougher ridigity levels (shore hardness). So you are looking at best either pepakuring/sculpting your pieces, then hard form casting those, and copying them in a hard urethane rubber medium.
It wasn't a problem when I played with it, Gilmore. You don't need to liquefy and extrude it, the manufacturer has already done that for you; that's why it's called a thermoplastic and not a thermoset or resin. Just trim, soften, press and fuse the edges. I was able to make a holster for my compensated Radom TTC pistol in a couple of hours start to finish using Kydex sheeting and a $14 toaster oven from Goodwill, and the base shape for an ESAPI armor plate using a heat gun and a plywood cutout stencil.
frozenottsel
New Member
I've done a few productions with friends before, and one thing I've learn with acquiring props and costumes is that if you can't get something strong and durable (and usually expensive). Get lots of something that isn't.
I would personally recommend making some type of resin or foam negatives then vacuum forming the armour pieces. That way if they do break, they can be easily replaced, both in terms of time and money.
I would personally recommend making some type of resin or foam negatives then vacuum forming the armour pieces. That way if they do break, they can be easily replaced, both in terms of time and money.
Depending on how much full-on contact the armor will be taking, one possibility (purely a concept I've had floating around in my head, nothing I've actually tested yet) would be to build the armor out of EVA foam,as many here do, paying extra attention to reinforcing the seams on every piece. Then, coat the whole piece, inside and out, with white or light colored flex-seal, plastidip, or any other flexible rubber coating to seal it completely, further reinforcing the piece. Add any color, lines, or other such "painted on" details using more plastidip (which comes in a variety of colors and I imagine those could also be mixed to create different colors and/or shades). Seal over the whole thing again with a coat or two of clear rubber coating (I believe both Plastidip and Rustoleum brands offer clear rubber coatings in semi-transparent, clear mat, and clear gloss). This final layer should help protect the underlying color from minor nicks or cuts, and using rubber coat/plastidip as the base coat, top coat, and clear coat theoretically will not only offer flexible reinforcing (and no cracking, chipping, or flaking as some regular paints are known to do), but will also be more resistant to light scratches and scuffs than typical paint. The downside is 3+ layers (at the very least) of rubber coating will add a bit of bulk to the piece, so it might be necessary to make the parts slightly smaller from the start to compensate for the added mass of rubber. That also means small details can get tricky to retain, short of trying to build them up later by framing a template on the piece and using that to "mold" the detail on with the plastidip (obviously this will be easier to do with the non-aerosol variety). The clear coat, if applied in thin coats and slowly building up coverage rather than laying it on thick, should still allow the details to show through without obscuring them too much. Very, very light buffing might improve transparency, but that's definitely something to test first on a scrap piece.
As I said, this entire process is all theoretical concept. I haven't tested any of it, and I haven't seen anyone else mention using such a method. I don't know if that's a matter of this being something no one else thought of or if it's already been attempted and dismissed as not even worth mentioning. If someone does try this, I would love feedback on how it turned out, any obstacles that needed to be worked around or methods that needed to be tweaked to get the best results. If someone else saves me hours of trial and error to get it done right, I'd say that's well worth the trade off of sharing the "trade secrets" of a potentially original and unheard of concept (although I'm sure someone else has thought along these lines at least once or twice before me).
As I said, this entire process is all theoretical concept. I haven't tested any of it, and I haven't seen anyone else mention using such a method. I don't know if that's a matter of this being something no one else thought of or if it's already been attempted and dismissed as not even worth mentioning. If someone does try this, I would love feedback on how it turned out, any obstacles that needed to be worked around or methods that needed to be tweaked to get the best results. If someone else saves me hours of trial and error to get it done right, I'd say that's well worth the trade off of sharing the "trade secrets" of a potentially original and unheard of concept (although I'm sure someone else has thought along these lines at least once or twice before me).
You can check out Xrobots work. http://xrobots.co.uk/coating/ He goes over a method of coating foam armour with urethane resin to give it a rigid finish. I built a set of space marine armour using this method (link in my signature), and it holds up pretty well. You could also make molds of the armour and cast it in more durable materials. Best of luck.
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