JFcustom's FOAM files

@Iaellee - when making wings out of foam,where should they pivot in the framework?
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This is just a toy,so I was wondering about the practical approach...

You're going to need a framework underneath to support your wing weight, and also a harness to mount to, whether it be PVC, an Alice pack, whatever. It's all about your foundation, kind of the weakest link rule, so get yourself a sturdy backmount first. After that, I've had the best luck with aluminum stock for the wing arms, with the flats screwed together as pivots points.
Anyways, I know that wasn't quite your question, but you won't be able to get any farther well without a good base. For the actual pivot points, if you want just a simple swing-out, you can pivot both of your wings at the upper-screw point in your picture above. The downside of that setup is that your wing length is limited to how high off the ground that pivot-point is; if the small of your back is 5' off the ground, each wing's gotta be shorter than that or they'll drag on the ground. If you lay out a tape, you can see what your span will look like by doubling that distance from the floor to your pivot point.
If you want to go BIGGER (and cooler)(and more difficult), you can have multiple points so that your wings collapse. This is a great pic to illustrate how a multiple-point hinged wing can be rigged:


Flat stock (like aluminum) is fastened together with washered fasteners that allow the pieces to rotate, and the arms at the inbound side can then be manipulated to extend the wings out as far as the geometry allows.If you want to work your wings yourself, you're going to need either a pulley system or a heck of a strong servo setup.

Well, this turned into a long post lol.... Sorry about that. If you are going to try a multi-point setup, Definitely lay it out on paper (or even better, with pins and straws) first. Everything gets exponentially harder as things get bigger.
 
No no,I don't mind long posts at all.I really appreciate your help and view on the subject.

For this costume I intend to have a set of wings with pivot points along the contours of both arms (above the feathers,where they go into the wings),but not with electronics involved.Like in the '94 spider-man cartoon,the (armored) Vulture has the wings (framework) attached to his arms (I'm contemplating attaching magnets to detach them from the arms when needed),but the support is mounted at his back,like you suggested.He moves the wings by moving his arms.

I appreciate the comments on the framework,since I knew little about it.So whatever backpack is being used,the construction should always include the following?:
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Or does that depend on what is being placed on the back and its weight?
 
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OK guys - well I finally got the Captain America helmet finished (well almost - just some air brushing to finish).

So I documented the process mostly to try to get some feedback and to share my "lessons learnt"

So after cutting out the paper pattern and transferring it to the foam, I had the basic shapes to start working with.

IMG_0571.JPG

First lesson was to keep the knife straight. I had some odd angles to work with while gluing that I had to try to change after the event (I didn't keep the knife straight while cutting so I had to straighten some of the edges with the dremel before gluing). Having already started my next project, I have since gone out and bought a hot knife - makes it a whole heap easier to cut straight edges.

Next was the gluing and putting it all together

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Second lesson learnt here was to take your time holding the joins together. Some went together nicely and others didn't - they left reasonable size gaps. I used hot glue also and it was quite messy to work with (leaving stringy bits and it cools quickly). I am still using it for this next project but I might give superglue a go somewhere along the line.

As the gaps were a bit of a pain, I decided to use this helmet as a bit of a trial and error process. Also, don't use a hotgun over your piece after the gluing - I learnt that the hard way - it pulls the joins apart and they are harder to work back together.

To fill the gaps where the joins weren't great, I decided to try 2 different methods - I filled one side and the eyes with paintable silicone. On the other side I used the hot glue to fill the gaps, pushed the gaps together a bit more and then sanded it back with the dremel (by the way, if you aren't using a dremel during this, you are doing it wrong - it's a god send) Below is the work in progress image. Left side (white colour) is the silicone. Right side is the glue.

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The silicone went on and spread easily, however following the drying process it sank a little into the gap. You would have to put a few layers on to get it to smooth out. I used water to smooth it out (on the tip of one of my fingers) as well as a scraper to see what worked and what didn't. Both pretty much yielded the same results but the water process ensure a very level and smooth finish.

The glue levelled out OK with the sanding and it felt pretty smooth. But until you paint you can't really see the results.

So after applying the gap fillers the process was as follows:

1. 2 coats of PVA glue (around a 50/50 consistency
2. 3 coats of Plastidip
3. 1 coat of Grey Enamel primer
4. 2 coats of the Blue Enamel
5. 2 coats of airbrushed acrylic for the logos.

The results are as follows:

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You may not be able to see it in the pictures but the silicone was a much better result (picture on the left). If you spent the time adding the silicone into the gaps to smooth it out you should get a pretty good finish. The glue, as I said before, felt and looked OK after applying and sanding, but the end results were really rough and stood out much more.

So the almost finished result:

IMG_0600.JPGIMG_0604.JPG

The final lesson to be learnt here is the tape that I used to shape the A. I used painting tape (like you would when painting walls etc) to restrict the airbrushing, but after peeling it off it seems to have left some marks - more like removed some of the shine around the A. I'll have to look for another option next I head into the Hardware store.

Overall though, good fun and am well on my way to making the next one. For someone who has only made the plastic scale models before, I'm really getting into this and enjoying every minute.

EDIT:

Final result

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So, Upon watching the new Avengers trailer, I decided to jump feet first into armor crafting. I found the "Iron Man mark7 by Karol Siemieniago - minor edit and foam unfold by JFcustom" on here & decided to try my luck. I'm no artist by any means, but the files & prep work done by the people that assembled this file made it all very easy to understand & multiple videos watched on youtube & various other websites about armor crafting, foam makeup, pepakura, etc. helped as well. I've lurked the ironman forums for a few weeks while amassing my foam & materials, I used Sharkhead7854's helmet file. Here is my 2nd attempt, I'm planning on scaling it down to fit my son, so we can both have suits in time for Halloween next year.
helmet.jpeghelmet & collar.jpeg
 
Looks awesome :cool I hope you can create both costumes before next year! Fingers crossed...
 
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I'm lucky, in that all files I had were pre-scaled for a 6' man, The head I just went by a measuring tutorial here on the RPF and added an inch.(I measured from bottom of chin to top of head in inches, converted to mm, & in
put the Height, & pepakura scaled the rest.
I have a split on the lower last 2 levels of foam just above the neck/spine connection. Looking into some 1/16" dia. x 1/16" thick magnets to line the split.
it's a snug fit, but enough room for electronics in the future....
 
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This is what I'm wanting to do, what size of foam should I use? And does anyone have any other tips? Ive ton tons of research but this will be my first foam build.
 
I'm going with a 7mm foam for the majority of my suit, however I do have multiple foam thicknesses just in case I need a 3 or 5 mm for some detailed parts.
As far as pep files for iron/bat I haven't seen much on that, although I suppose you could kinda merge some batman cowl forms & an ironman suit & just wing it from there.
good luck!
 
I'm going with a 7mm foam for the majority of my suit, however I do have multiple foam thicknesses just in case I need a 3 or 5 mm for some detailed parts.
As far as pep files for iron/bat I haven't seen much on that, although I suppose you could kinda merge some batman cowl forms & an ironman suit & just wing it from there.
good luck!

Lol yeah that's what I'm gonna do Its my first foam build but I've done cardboard before so it shouldn't be to bad. How much harder is it, do you know?
 
Have you checked the search function? There have been a few iron bat crossovers, not sure if anything was ever released.
 
I would assume that foam will be a bit easier to work with than cardboard, being you can get some good curves with foam & not need multiple pieces to form the curve as you would need with cardboard. Then again, I am assuming...& ya know what that leads to. lol. The closest I've come to using cardboard is the cardstock I pep to check sizing, I have seen some very nice looking cardboard creations, not knocking cardboard. I just don't have those skillsets.
 
What would the maximum weight be that a (rotation) servo motor can carry?
Any suggestions for the type of servo motor?
 
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Although I am not familiar with this type of armor for Batman,it looks great; especially the silver-metal look.
 
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