Need help on scaling issues.

jhferero

jhferero

New Member
I started my first build on my war machine from foam last week. I got some of the non fatigue foam from sears, which looked like what Stealth was using, but after further research I realized I couldn't do as much with it as I should and i think it was 1/2". I managed to finish the chest, bicep , wrist and the handguard. The wrist seemed a little short as well as the bicep. Bicep actually felt a bit snug as well. I'm not the biggest guy in the world but not the smallest either, not trying to flex my ego here. (no pun intended) I'm 5'11", athleti build and I was hoping someone could shed some insight on what scaling i should be using.

Any help from the expertise of the community would be greatly appreciated.

-Jim
 
Also, when dealing with foam builds, do most people resin inside and outside, then fiber glass / bondo the outside to get those not hard smooth lines and great paint job? or on the inside, and just bondo the outside on top of the resin coat?
 
Think the best advice when it comes to scaling is if your using pepakura that you right click the 2d picture and use the measure between 2 points option. that way you can see the actual size of the part where you need to fit into.
 
im the same height as you and muscular as well for example 5'11'' 36'' waist 11 shoe 24 '' head. but im also 250 lbs! 52'' chest 20'' neck 19'' bicep so scaling is tricky to say the least...scaling and maintaining proportion even more of a pain in the ass. but no worries ths is doable bro. it took me a while. learning from the tutorials put out by stealth and jfcustoms i finally figured it out.
-ok 1st things 1st lets figure out your basic scale based on your height.
thank you Darkside501st for this awesome scaling chart:

5'3" - 5'4" try in between scale 22 - 23
5'5" - 5'6" try in between scale 23 - 23.5
5'7" - 5'8" try in between scale 23.5 - 24
5'9" - 5'10" try in between scale 24 - 24.5
5'11" - 6' try in between scale 24.5 - 25.5
6'1" - 6'2" try in between scale 26 - 26.5
6'3" - 6'4" try in between scale 26.5 - 27.5

this is an excellent starting point. but your still not out of the woods. because were built like gorillas we have to slightly scale up the upper torso to accommodate the extra muscle size. for your height start with a 25.4 as a base.

I. chest shoulder brace and back : scale up to at least 26 but no more than a 10% increase in scale depending on how built you are.
II. bicep forearms abs cod thigh shin and boots: keep at the 25.4 scale. if you go up in scale they will be too long!!!!! just trust me ok.

at this point we transition into the test piece stage!
- simply assemble the foam pepakura templates you just cut out with scotch tape and try it on. make adjustments
-how the hell do i do this?
here you go. the wizard as kind enough to explain his tuning technology:
http://www.therpf.com/f24/howto-fine-tuning-pepakura-foam-parts-size-161530/

you can either do this the hightech way on the computer like the master does or the lowtech way i do it by doing it manually with scissors adding panels and taping them in. i also like making test pieces in cardboard it gives you a chance to "practice" how to assemble this thing, in addition to letting you check for size fit and mobility oh and also lets you trim/doctor up pieces to fit you better before you actually go to foam.

note: in general this works with the scales in the chart (ex: 25.4). however if the scales on your file are larger numers (ex. 425)
then we must go with plan b. cerealkiller put together this awesome tutorial that explains what we must do. watch it several times.
How To Scale Pepakura.mp4 - YouTube

to be continued...
 
Last edited:
and by the way i actually prefer using 1/2 antifatigue foam puzzle mats. i feel it makes a sturdier more durable cosplay...i actually use different thicknesses but mainly the 1/2". you just have to be good with mountain cuts!!!!
read this:
How To Make Halo Spartan Armor
 
Mektar said:
Think the best advice when it comes to scaling is if your using pepakura that you right click the 2d picture and use the measure between 2 points option. that way you can see the actual size of the part where you need to fit into.
Click to expand...

yes this is awesome. make sure you have the latest version of pepakura...
 
Mig407 said:
im the same height as you and muscular as well for example 5'11'' 36'' waist 11 shoe 24 '' head. but im also 250 lbs! 52'' chest 20'' neck 19'' bicep so scaling is tricky to say the least...scaling and maintaining proportion even more of a pain in the ass. but no worries ths is doable bro. it took me a while. learning from the tutorials put out by stealth and jfcustoms i finally figured it out.
-ok 1st things 1st lets figure out your basic scale based on your height.
thank you Darkside501st for this awesome scaling chart:

5'3" - 5'4" try in between scale 22 - 23
5'5" - 5'6" try in between scale 23 - 23.5
5'7" - 5'8" try in between scale 23.5 - 24
5'9" - 5'10" try in between scale 24 - 24.5
5'11" - 6' try in between scale 24.5 - 25.5
6'1" - 6'2" try in between scale 26 - 26.5
6'3" - 6'4" try in between scale 26.5 - 27.5

this is an excellent starting point. but your still not out of the woods. because were built like gorillas we have to slightly scale up the upper torso to accommodate the extra muscle size. for your height start with a 25.4 as a base.

I. chest shoulder brace and back : scale up to at least 26 but no more than a 10% increase in scale depending on how built you are.
II. bicep forearms abs cod thigh shin and boots: keep at the 25.4 scale. if you go up in scale they will be too long!!!!! just trust me ok.

at this point we transition into the test piece stage!
- simply assemble the foam pepakura templates you just cut out with scotch tape and try it on. make adjustments
-how the hell do i do this?
here you go. the wizard as kind enough to explain his tuning technology:
http://www.therpf.com/f24/howto-fine-tuning-pepakura-foam-parts-size-161530/

you can either do this the hightech way on the computer like the master does or the lowtech way i do it by doing it manually with scissors adding panels and taping them in. i also like making test pieces in cardboard it gives you a chance to "practice" how to assemble this thing, in addition to letting you check for size fit and mobility oh and also lets you trim/doctor up pieces to fit you better before you actually go to foam.

note: in general this works with the scales in the chart (ex: 25.4). however if the scales on your file are larger numers (ex. 425)
then we must go with plan b. cerealkiller put together this awesome tutorial that explains what we must do. watch it several times.
How To Scale Pepakura.mp4 - YouTube

to be continued...
Click to expand...

Awesome, very helpful. I'm not as big as you and again im not super muscular, just a little bigger than average? ill have to get a cloth measuring tape today and start measurements before my foam comes in tomorrow.
 
Mig407 said:
and by the way i actually prefer using 1/2 antifatigue foam puzzle mats. i feel it makes a sturdier more durable cosplay...i actually use different thicknesses but mainly the 1/2". you just have to be good with mountain cuts!!!!
read this:
How To Make Halo Spartan Armor
Click to expand...


I'm going to be using plasti dip / resin / fiberglass, so im not concerned with it being sturdy or durable tbh. Thank you so much for the help though.

In the tutorials, theres was not mentioning of the helmet. I will be doing the same as the rest of the suit as with the helmet, so ill need a little bit of extra space inside for the added layers. But i want a nice snug fit from my helmet, i see lots of people in their helmets and they look way too unproportionate to the rest of their body. what measurements should i really focus on to get that nice neat tight fit with a little room for the extra layers and servos
 
jhferero said:
I'm going to be using plasti dip / resin / fiberglass, so im not concerned with it being sturdy or durable tbh. Thank you so much for the help though.

In the tutorials, theres was not mentioning of the helmet. I will be doing the same as the rest of the suit as with the helmet, so ill need a little bit of extra space inside for the added layers. But i want a nice snug fit from my helmet, i see lots of people in their helmets and they look way too unproportionate to the rest of their body. wihat measurements should i really focus on to get that nice neat tight fit with a little room for the extra layers and servos
Click to expand...

if youre going to resin and bondo save the money youd spend on foam and just build it out cardboard (pizza box thickness) the foam templates work great with cardboard. this is how i make my helmets

- - - Updated - - -

if you use jfcustoms sharkhead ironman helmet...go up 10%

- - - Updated - - -

oh forgot you were building war machine...id make a test piece but im willing to bet 10% up would work
 
Mig407 said:
if youre going to resin and bondo save the money youd spend on foam and just build it out cardboard (pizza box thickness) the foam templates work great with cardboard. this is how i make my helmets

- - - Updated - - -

if you use jfcustoms sharkhead ironman helmet...go up 10%

- - - Updated - - -

oh forgot you were building war machine...id make a test piece but im willing to bet 10% up would work
Click to expand...

The WM files I have from stealth arent scaled by 25.blah blah blah is like 1.8. Tried building another chest at 1.89 and was way too big. This is really frustrating and wasting materials. Ill have to scale it down a bit but i dont want the chest looking undersized.
 
i built my 1st mk4 using stealths files...im also a big fan of jfcustoms speed build files. try them out. http://www.therpf.com/f24/foam-speed-building-filesntricks-multi-hero-cowl-added-148889/

hes got a warmachine file on there sized for someone 6ft. that should work ok for you.

- - - Updated - - -

the more you build the better you get

- - - Updated - - -

some scales are weird...when that happens the "measure distance between 2 points" function is valuable.
 
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