The PEPAKURA question thread - PLEASE READ RULES IN FIRST POST!

[Fenris]

Dunno if this is where I should inquire about it, but since this is stickied...

Does anybody have a Pepakura version of the Indiana Jones Fertility Idol they could share?

[jerclay]

I have a couple of questions, one being specific to the Sharkmark 6 Iron Man helmet:

- I've been using hot glue to put the thing together, since it appears to be the most recommended gluing material Problem is, just about every pic I've seen of the model on the internet doesn't look like it's using hot glue at all. Hot glue has a depth to it that would make extremely intricate parts misaligned. How do I get that precise look? Should I use a tape, a different type of glue, or is there some type of glue gun that's made for details like that? I've been using a standard glue gun - is there some type of "detail" glue gun out there?

- The Sharkmark 6 Iron Mask has lots and lots of layers in the eye sockets, and end up covering the entire holes for the eyes. What is that detail for? Am I supposed to cut it out once I'm done with the resin and fiberglass?

[themanwoaname]

i used superglue for my rocketeer helmet. the first time i used double sided tape because someone here swears by it, but i like the results of superglue.

[familyman]

Anyone know of a good General Grievous mask?!?

[PepMaster]

As for the links on the first page I'm glad to see that my pepakura wikia for star wars and other files made it. And familyman I have the files needed to make a complete Grevious just have'nt posted them onto the wikia yet.

[iuli4n]

so. after spending a while around the forum I decided to give robo's mark vi a try. I pepped the chest and almoast done the back. I wil upload photos of it after I fiberglass it in the weekend. can someone please first tell me how thick should the fiberglass mat be? I have 100 and 400 thicknes( dunno what that means, got it for free from a friend who can get loads of it)

[crabbyjay]

Hello I am new to these forums, and I have been searching and searching but I haven't found answer so I figured I would ask, my question is after printing out the pepakura and cutting them out how do I know where to glue or attach them? is it number based? I am not sure where each piece goes? can someone please help me out?

[themanwoaname]

you match up the numbers to the tabs that are numbered.

[crabbyjay]

Thanks a lot, wow, can't believe I didn't realize that!!

[Hebinator]

For all of you Mac boys out there, if you guys find a Pep file that you like, I will gladly print it to PDF format for you so you can print it off of your home computer.

[crabbyjay]

So I started today on the helmet and I have to admit that its a bit tougher and more time consuming than i thought it would be. After getting a few pieces cut and glued together I went to my softball game and managed to dislocate and brake my right middle finger so now I'm struggling to cut and glue. this is just my luck!!

[crabbyjay]

I am doing a mark 6 pep and I about to print out the back but I see there are two backs in this download pack that I downloaded from ROBO one is unfolded by Jason and the other is by BALMUG. Which of these is the better one to use?

[Rick Hanson]

The one unfolded by Balmung is laid out on A4 sized paper, and Jason's is on letter size. Being here in the US, you'll want to go with letter size unless you happen to have a pack of A4 paper laying around.

[Rick Hanson]

I've had an epiphany.

As I sit here picking away at an Iron Man foot, I finally realized that I'm being WAY too anal retentive about glue flaps. Having been a paper modeler for so long, I've just become used to making sure each tab goes completely underneath the edge it's meant to mate up with. Sometimes this involves some pretty hilarious acrobatics on larger pieces, flipping the thing every which way trying to get tools and glue and such in the right places.

And just now it hit me like a ton of bricks. I can't believe I've been this blind. It doesn't matter if they're on top or on bottom...they're all getting resin and Bondo-ed over anyway. Ugh. How much time have I wasted trying to be so "perfect"?

I'm sure plenty of you already figured that out, but I'm working against ten years of modeling habits here. In case you hadn't figured it out yet, give it a try. Go ahead and stick that flap down on top of the sheet instead of under it, or vice-versa. It's very liberating.

[themanwoaname]

imagine my surprise when i had to mirror a side for my rocketeer helmet and come up with flaps that didnt exist before. i was like "why didnt i think of this before?"

[crabbyjay]

Originally Posted by Pilot

The one unfolded by Balmung is laid out on A4 sized paper, and Jason's is on letter size. Being here in the US, you'll want to go with letter size unless you happen to have a pack of A4 paper laying around.

thanks a lot for helping me out!!! I greatly appreciate it!!

[BubbaHoTep]

Thanks to everyone for the tips and help posted here.

[Xris]

I installed Pepakura today and my windows are black. I cant open or create my own drawings. I read somewhere it was a graphics issue although I haven't found a solution. I'm running win 7 with a fairly new graphics card. Any ideas?

[Rick Hanson]

Hmmm, haven't heard of that issue before. I'm running Win 7 (x64) and a somewhat older nVidia 9400GT card, and I've never experienced any display problems myself.

A couple of quick things to try:

1) Make sure you have the absolute latest driver for your video card, preferably from the chip manufacturer's web site (gonna be AMD/ATI or nVidia most likely).

2) Update DirectX with this Microsoft updater.

Aside from that, I don't have any immediate suggestions, but be sure to post your findings/results here. Lots of us are pretty darn good at remote troubleshooting.

[Xris]

Pilot thanks heaps! I updated both GPU driver and Direct X and it works fine.

[Rick Hanson]

Glad it worked for you, Xris!

[crabbyjay]

I have another quick question if someone could please help me it would be greatly appreciated, I have just pepped the mark IV front and back armor and i am ready to resin them both, should i attach them together then resin and seperate them when I am done or should i do them seperatly??

[Rick Hanson]

After constructing dancin_fool's torso pieces, I decided I was going to do the attach -> resin -> detach thing with them. Of course, that was before robo came out with the MkVI files (which I'm working on now) and I'm not sure how those line up because I haven't made the chest and back yet.

If you make both pieces separate with the supports, in theory everything should line right up after slapping the resin on. In practice these are still pretty flimsy pieces until they've got a couple of coats on them, but other folks seem to be having good luck doing them separately.

I guess I'm saying that I don't have any real advice for you, but I'll certainly support whatever decision you make.

[SaberFreak]

Originally Posted by SaberFreak

Didn't read through all the posts so if this has already been asked I apologize.

I would like to know how you guys go about the printing part.

My printer can not print any paper thicker than 150grams, so I've been printing the pages on 80grams A4 paper, cut each piece out roughly (with some allowance on all sides), gluing them on card stock, then cut out the exact shape. Its both time consuming, and frustrating, because after everything is assembled, I have to remove all the paper from the card stock before applying any putty on it, or risk areas flaking off because the putty only stuck to the paper and not to the card stock.

Just curious how others do it...

Any help with my question? Anyone?

[Rick Hanson]

Do you have anything that would be equivalent to a Wal-Mart in Malaysia? Honestly, your best bet would be to go buy the cheapest ink jet printer you can get your hands on. Even the most basic of Lexmark printers will easily feed 110 pound (200 gsm) card stock. Here in the US, a base model printer and an extra black ink cartridge would set you back about US$75, not sure what the differences would be for you. I think a little bit of investment would save you a _lot_ of labor, compared to what you're doing now.

Also, you can get 67 pound (148 gsm) card stock - not as sturdy as the 200gsm, but still sturdy enough if you're careful with your build and are willing to work with something slightly more delicate.