[tips needed] Iron Man MkVII foam suite

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Hey there, here's another iron man foam suite buiding topic :facepalm

Since this is a new hobby for me, even if I've read lot about it, I need to hear you personally give some good tips to start the work, in order to save time and possibly money :)

Materials: FOAM! I was thinkin of buying gym mats or insulation (or similar) mats or foam sheets (maybe these ones for the details) from local stores. Concerning the thickness, I was thinkin of 1 cm - 0,8 - 0,5 - 0,3 mm in order, but mostly 0,5 and 0,3.

Scaling: I'm 165 cm tall HP0 and I'm TOTALLY NO GOOD AT MATHS even if I almost have two scientific degrees -.-" ... how do I correctly scale the pepakura files in order to obtain a nice looking and comfortable fitting suite? [like a glove]

Glue: is hot glue the best choice to connect the pieces? I have tons of hot glue sticks at home but if there's a better glue please enlighten me. Maybe PVA?

Coating: PVA glue-water 1:1 FIVE layers as Stealth said? or pure PVA + polyurethane resin TWO layers as XRobots said? How many layers is the best solution? The point is that I would like to have flexible hands, feet and pelvis part while all the rest can be as solid as a rock...

Cuts and junctions: from the video I've watched, it looks that pva+resing is a sandable solution so that I can achieve the smoothness I need. What would you do about it?

Painting: plastic primer + spray paint in case of pva+resin......but what about the flexible parts? It's not so clear from the video I've watched. Another doubt is about mixing these two methods! I mean, if I'd want to obtain two different grades of flexibility, I'd have to use two different methods+different primers+different colors... = ... probably crappy results!

Something about the names of the products: I live in Italy and everytime I want to follow a tutorial found online is hard to find even similar products to the ones you use in the US or other countries. And even if I manage t o find em, well, the prices -.-"

That's my knowledge so far. Now I'm totally in your hands. So please dont' be stingy with tips :lol
 
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Go to youtube and look at the hero tutorials. Also in this site search aednything you think that you need and good luck man...GM
 
Go to youtube and look at the hero tutorials. Also in this site search aednything you think that you need and good luck man...GM

You're right mate, that's what I've been doin for a couple of weeks. But in your experience, what I came up with so far is completely wrong or can be a good starting point?
 
First off i am a noob as well. So please get a second opinion. Eva foam 6-10mm, hot glue gun is perfect search dracks tutorial on that very valuable. Scale each piece separate as i am 5.9 165-170lbs but my twin brother is the same height but 185-190lbs everyone has different propotions. Pva glue then a plastic resin of some sort check xrobots tutorial very valuable then painting as long as you stick to the same brand of paint you should be o.k. but it's about trial and error. Please get a second opinion. Good luck man...GM
 
Hope my newbie tips come in handy too.
I'll use 6mm better than 8mm. But for chest and back, if you can, use 8mm. For gloves, I use 3mm. I had a bad experience in 5mm, but since you will resin it, probably still okay.
People do not make tester file anymore, it's good to confirm the scale.

Just do not do the helmet first.
Don't worry about the resin (yet). You will need to do trial and error quite a lot before you finally get it right, so be prepared.

For sealing, it's better using several layers diluted PVA. One thick coat of PVA might causing peeling. You want the PVA to be absorbed inside the foam (which is what sealing is for).

There are still opinions about hardening the foam with resin. You might wanna search more about it. Normally, resin/FB/bondo is for paper build.
 
For a lst of stuff needed I have one at the start of my thread that might help. As for the thickness of foam it's down to personal preference. I use 10mm cause I like nice sturdy armour.
 
I've been working on one as well and have a thread on my site that has some info on your questions and some links to suppliers that I've used. I'm in the US, but most of the things I'm using are available online.

I'm using 6mm foam that comes in 10 pack sheets. Hot glue, yes, and a micro glue gun is best for all the tight corners. For coatings, I'm still working on that, but leaning towards Epsilon which doesn't seem to need an undercoating, is flexible and takes paint pretty well.

The best tip I can give you - LOTS of blades. The foam will eat up blades and the only way to get really clean cuts is sharp blades, especially when you're having to cut angles. If the blade catches in the foam at all, stop and change it. That will happen a lot.

Another tip is to map out cuts ahead of time. Figure out what can be cut straight and what needs to be cut at what angle. This will go a long way in getting clean seams. Also, combine pieces to reduce the number of seams. Figure out with the paper template if there REALLY needs to be a seam there and consolidate as much as possible.

For scaling, you can buy a license to Pep Designer that's like 35USD. You can then scale each segment to your dimensions and save them. You can scale with the free version of Pep Designer, but you can't save the changes - so if you go that route, be prepared to scale and print all in one go.

Here's a link to the thread SMP Designs | EVA Foam Experiment

Hope that helps and good luck (and have fun)!
 
I've been working on one as well and have a thread on my site that has some info on your questions and some links to suppliers that I've used. I'm in the US, but most of the things I'm using are available online.

I'm using 6mm foam that comes in 10 pack sheets. Hot glue, yes, and a micro glue gun is best for all the tight corners. For coatings, I'm still working on that, but leaning towards Epsilon which doesn't seem to need an undercoating, is flexible and takes paint pretty well.

The best tip I can give you - LOTS of blades. The foam will eat up blades and the only way to get really clean cuts is sharp blades, especially when you're having to cut angles. If the blade catches in the foam at all, stop and change it. That will happen a lot.

Another tip is to map out cuts ahead of time. Figure out what can be cut straight and what needs to be cut at what angle. This will go a long way in getting clean seams. Also, combine pieces to reduce the number of seams. Figure out with the paper template if there REALLY needs to be a seam there and consolidate as much as possible.

For scaling, you can buy a license to Pep Designer that's like 35USD. You can then scale each segment to your dimensions and save them. You can scale with the free version of Pep Designer, but you can't save the changes - so if you go that route, be prepared to scale and print all in one go.

Here's a link to the thread SMP Designs | EVA Foam Experiment

Hope that helps and good luck (and have fun)!


For sure it helps :) The problem in my crappy country is that it's so hard to find the materials I need at decent prices. SO I ended up buying these mats Domyos - TG 100 - PROTECTION - SIGNALLING protective access-security mat - Designed for  floor exercises at home. instead of eva mats that are super expensive! I've also tried to call industries that work with this kind of expanded materials but their prices are much higher than these carpets. They clearly said to me: we can give you the same material but it will cost you double, go and get it at a fitness store.

The same for the coating! Nobody knows what could be the best choice to coat and paint the foam, even asking at local stores is useless. It's so damn frustrating!
 
These TG100 mats, aside from being cheap, allow the use of self-leveling polymer resin directly onto this foam without any preliminary coating. It sticks perfectly well, the foam doesn't melt down at all and remains unspoiled.
 
These TG100 mats, aside from being cheap, allow the use of self-leveling polymer resin directly onto this foam without any preliminary coating. It sticks perfectly well, the foam doesn't melt down at all and remains unspoiled.


you mean "SINTO polyester resin" as you told me in your topic? And which side should I leave outside to be painted? Cos these mats have a rough and a smooth side :)o
 
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I guess it all depends of which surface texture you expect. To get a smooth surface leave the smooth side out, and for a ribbed surface flip the foam...
 
So! Here we are!

After a traumatic first hit, I took a little break to think about the whole project and I decided to build only a MKVIII helmet. It turned out a little bit too small -.-" a +10% should solve the problem next time. The thing I cannot figure out at the moment is how to avoid it to collapse in the center. To stabilize it I have to mount the faceplate with some sticky tape but I don't know how and if it will work in the new one I will build. Anyway, this will be the last piece I will make.

After making the helmet I had some material left so I decided to make one of the arms. I had to scale everything -20% to get the right lenght...........but I also had to enlarge some of the pieces so that my forearm and bicep could fit. The bicep needs to be reduced in width and under the armpit, while the forearm is quite ok even if I will have to cut out again the upper part that connects to the bicep because I messed up with the junctions :)

As you can see from the pictures, the pieces are not finished yet. Some details are still missing since I didn't want to risk to complete a piece of armor I could not wear...and some others are different from the pep file and the armor from the movie.....

Finally I took my decision: let's do the whole suite! It's gonna be a mix between a MKVIII and a MKVII suite [the same for the paintjob: no more cappuccino look :) ]

It's my first build and even if I'm tryin to make it as simple as I can, it's not se clean. That's why I hope I'll be able to fill the seams with some paintable silicon before coating everyting.

Stay tuned :)
 
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.....I'm starting the legs. I have some problems with the boots! What kind of shoes are the best to fit in?

Do you have examples of how to build durable and flexible boots?
 
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