Comic Style Body Armor... how to make is strong??

Ive recently started a project that ive been thinking about for many years now. Mostly thanks to all of you here who offer such great information about how you do some of these amazing things i see here daily. My question is for casting materials. My project is for a full set of personalized body armor, but i want to make is so it will hold up for really stressful use. Is there a product out there that is very damage resistant? Ive heard of a resin that is supposed to be very strong and fire resistant... but i have no idea what that is or where to find it? If anyone has any information on this topic i would love to hear from you. Thanks in advance, and i cant wait to see more of all of your work . - Allfate

I'm not sure about the resin. I'll have to see what I can find out on that. What about fiberglass? It's strong enough for autobody work. If you're wanting to go stronger you'll need to look into something like kevlar or carbon fiber or spectra type materials or maybe something like aluminum or heavy duty ceramic plating. Depending on what kind of applications you need it for will really determine what to use I suppose. Urethane I think works fairly well and from what I've seen may be a bit easier to work with, especially if we're just looking at a costume and not a functional suit. As far as fire resistance you could always go with maybe a layer of nomex or you could spray the armor with a fire resistant coating. Cost of course will also be a big factor in what you're wanting to do in addition to how much comfort you're willing to sacrifice.

Steve

Are you wanting to make body armor for costuming or for airsoft or for real protection? If just for the first 2 then maybe look at dragon skin that can be molded to what ever shapes you sculpt then maybe attaching hard plastics to that which is cut to shape. for the latter I would look at professional retailers.

For the upper body, you could modify motocross armor. There lots of choices out there. You can get some pretty good prices at Rocky Mountain ATV.

thanks for the replys so far... i have actually thought of the modification of motocross armor, but still looking for something that really fits the bill. ive never heard of the Dragon Skin before so i will also check that out.

I hope you don't trying to make REAL body armor. But if you do you should really check out the link i have in my signature..
The "MY homemade Advacnded action suit" link

Fire resistant?

If you're worried about it getting burned in a house fire, store it in a fireproof safe when not wearing it.
If you're involved in some sort of theatrical fire sports (poi spinning, etc) you'll want to connect with other like-minded folks, such as the various Burning Man groups.

If you're .. well, planning to run into burning houses and save people or withstand bullets and explosions.. that's beyond the scope of this prop and costuming board. You'll need to do a lot more independent research than anyone here is willing to assume the liability for. And you'll be mocked.

What are you designing, specifically, and what do you want it to be able to handle.

Knowing that will help us make recommendations.

-Nick

contec said:

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"homemade advacnded action suit"

My first thought.

carbon fiber.

contec said:

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I hope you don't trying to make REAL body armor. But if you do you should really check out the link i have in my signature..
The "MY homemade Advacnded action suit" link

no worries... im not looking to become Batman or anything like that, but i was hoping to construct something that could stand up to a beating. there is concept in mind and a purpose, but nothing involving fighting crime . i havent finished reading your thread, but i will go through it a bit later today. i have conceived several ideas that might be of assistance in your quest... and i would love to be of any assistance i can. Carbon fiber seems to be a popular idea... i was thinking maybe of a aluminium frame work with carbon fiber panels, but ive personally never worked with carbon fiber or fiberglass. - Andrew

rollerboi said:

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Fire resistant?

If you're worried about it getting burned in a house fire, store it in a fireproof safe when not wearing it.
If you're involved in some sort of theatrical fire sports (poi spinning, etc) you'll want to connect with other like-minded folks, such as the various Burning Man groups.

If you're .. well, planning to run into burning houses and save people or withstand bullets and explosions.. that's beyond the scope of this prop and costuming board. You'll need to do a lot more independent research than anyone here is willing to assume the liability for. And you'll be mocked.

no bullet dodging in my future, and no fire fetish . that was just something a friend mentioned to me about a new resin product he got an email about. i think i would like to just make something that is not going to crack and break if it takes a strike. Not talking bullets and laser beams... just maybe something that could take an extreme paint ball game without breaking into pieces. i would love to go into more details about the exact purpose, but ive never seen anything like what im wanting to create, and theres so many talented people here that im almost afraid to state my complete idea so early into this project.

im currently working on the clay sculpt for the helmet... it will be designed to fit minor electronics like communication, ventilation, and a few other minor things, but nothing fancy. maybe in a day or two i can get a pic up here for comments.

I was kinda hoping you were looking for something like this...



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ps that "MY homemade Advacnded action suit" thread is full of epic win... although that is an hour of my life I will never get back