JFcustom's FOAM files

So I need to create a neck piece in addition to those 3 in the pic above?

How do you guys usually hold these together? Velcro or buckles or something?

The 3 pieces shown in the original picture are (from left to right) the chest piece, the brace, and the back piece.

The chest and back pieces usually have velcro or buckle attachments holding them together at the sides (under the arms). The shoulder strap section that connects the tops of the chest and back can also be buckled, velcro'd, or in some cases attached permanently if your head will fit through the opening comfortably. JF has examples in his first post of how he attaches the sections together.

The brace serves mainly as the filler piece between the connected upper torso (chest-back pieces) and your neck piece. Without it, there is usually a gap between the top of the front chest opening and the neck piece, so this cleanly fills that area. This is put on first, head through the main hole, and worn like a bib, with the main chest pieces being put on over it.

The neck wrap is then put on, filling any visible gaps between the brace and the bottom of your helmet. A lot of people build the neck section from thinner foam, so that it is more comfortable to wear and has a little more flexibility. There's usually a seam at the side or the back; velcro works well to hold it together, as does magnets if they are installed well.

The separate brace and neck piece allows you to remove your helmet and often uncomfortable neck wrap without having to take off your chest as well if they were connected.


****Just to add, the Robo downloads for MK 4/6 armor in the first post of this thread include both the brace and two different neck seals that can both work. There should also be a collar file in there, i tserves as an extra detail piece and fills in gaps like the brace does if the builder wants it.
 
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The 3 pieces shown in the original picture are (from left to right) the chest piece, the brace, and the back piece.

The chest and back pieces usually have velcro or buckle attachments holding them together at the sides (under the arms). The shoulder strap section that connects the tops of the chest and back can also be buckled, velcro'd, or in some cases attached permanently if your head will fit through the opening comfortably. JF has examples in his first post of how he attaches the sections together.

The brace serves mainly as the filler piece between the connected upper torso (chest-back pieces) and your neck piece. Without it, there is usually a gap between the top of the front chest opening and the neck piece, so this cleanly fills that area. This is put on first, head through the main hole, and worn like a bib, with the main chest pieces being put on over it.

The neck wrap is then put on, filling any visible gaps between the brace and the bottom of your helmet. A lot of people build the neck section from thinner foam, so that it is more comfortable to wear and has a little more flexibility. There's usually a seam at the side or the back; velcro works well to hold it together, as does magnets if they are installed well.

The separate brace and neck piece allows you to remove your helmet and often uncomfortable neck wrap without having to take off your chest as well if they were connected.


****Just to add, the Robo downloads for MK 4/6 armor in the first post of this thread include both the brace and two different neck seals that can both work. There should also be a collar file in there, i tserves as an extra detail piece and fills in gaps like the brace does if the builder wants it.

Ok. I was on the right track, but I was thrown off by the multiple neck files. Two more questions, sorry....

So if I read you right, the collar piece can be used instead of the brace?

Second, does the brace piece also fill a gap between the chest and abs? I'm just trying to figure out why it's so long? Seem like you could get away with just using the upper half and attaching all three together maybe.

I'll be doing a hard suit... I'm using cardboard and hoping to fiberglass it. I've worked with fiberglass before in automotive applications so I'm familiar with the process (although this will be the largest project I've done so far.) Although I want to be able to sit down in this suit, so I may decide to do the cod piece in foam.
 
The collar piece is actually made up of two pieces, and (as you'd guess) the go into the collar area. They do not replace the brace, though.The collar pieces fill in areas around each shoulder strap, but do not connect across the front. I don't use the collar piece, instead just adding details to the brace and making the edges of it longer if needed.
The brace does not need to be as long in the front and back as it is, I think it was modeled that way originally to help with alignment when you put it on. There is a neck detail in the back of the brace, like a 'spine-top' that sits into a niche in the top of the back-piece; having the longer front and back with the arc-cutout makes it sit on you more like a saddle on a horse, with the arc hole helping to get everything aligned. The brace doesn't really fill any gap between chest and ab, the abs should actually mesh up (and even slide into) the chest opening. I always add material at the top of my abs so that it can slide into the upper torso at least a couple of inches.

I don't make my brace front and back that long, I eliminate the 'tails' on the front and back cutting them so they fill the gap in the chest front plus a couple of inches. You could attach the brace to the chest/back combo if you really wanted to, I leave them separate because the brace head opening can get a lot of wear and tear. The brace's hole really should be only big enough to just push your head through, to be sure that there is no gap visible between the hole and the neck piece when wearing. Another option is to use the (I think it's Dancinfool) neck file that already has an extended section that covers the collar/etc., just extend it more to fill the gaps the brace would. The drawback there is that you won't be able to easily remove the neck without taking off the whole chest.

As for fiberglassing and mixing up materials, I would make the abs in something flexible like foam. The cod will likely have to be sectioned to get it on and off, but once it's fitted you should be able to sit. The abs take the most flexing and will limit your mobility more; you can build them from foam/rubber/whatever, and then extend the top (as mentioned above) and bottom. This works well to also eliminate your ab gaps, since the section is tucked into your cod at the bottom and slid into your upper torso at the top. Having flexible abs that can slide into your upper torso will make sitting A LOT easier. You could build the cod in foam as well, but if you plan on sitting I'd just stick with a fiberglassed piece. More durable.
 
As for fiberglassing and mixing up materials, I would make the abs in something flexible like foam. The cod will likely have to be sectioned to get it on and off, but once it's fitted you should be able to sit. The abs take the most flexing and will limit your mobility more; you can build them from foam/rubber/whatever, and then extend the top (as mentioned above) and bottom. This works well to also eliminate your ab gaps, since the section is tucked into your cod at the bottom and slid into your upper torso at the top. Having flexible abs that can slide into your upper torso will make sitting A LOT easier. You could build the cod in foam as well, but if you plan on sitting I'd just stick with a fiberglassed piece. More durable.

I agree with what you're saying about the cod. My major concern though was comfort. I agree that fiberglass is more durable, but I picture sitting on a bar stool and sliding around because fiberglass is relatively smooth once it's been finished. I also figured it'd be alot harder on the arse. I'm glad you brought up the abs, because I didn't realize that. It would be ideal to make that piece out of rubber, which I see as being more durable as foam, but I have no experience working with rubber. You'd almost have to make a mould and pour it yes? It sounds like that could get expensive.
 
Now the question is, "how do I know if it will fit my head".
And the answer obviously is : "measure your head!"

The trick I use :
http://www.wintershade.com/therpf/headwidth.jpg

Once you have the width of your head, add twice the thickness of your foam, add again enough room so you can feel comfortible in your helmet (it's not supposed to fit as close as a coat of paint), and compute your scale factor according to this value. Your helmet should match at first try.

I'm cracking up at the idea of someone walking in on this happening. Great idea though.
 
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I feel like I missed something, but when I downloaded the Hawkgirl helmet that's at the beginning of the tutorial it seems like that all the pieces weren't put in the printable area. I can't move them because I'm only using the free version of pepakura. This is like the best and simplest one I've found too.
 
I feel like I missed something, but when I downloaded the Hawkgirl helmet that's at the beginning of the tutorial it seems like that all the pieces weren't put in the printable area. I can't move them because I'm only using the free version of pepakura. This is like the best and simplest one I've found too.


The pieces off-page aren't needed. Many have been removed because they were needed only for a paper build, and not a foam build.

Also, on foam unfolds, a lot of templates for the left and right sides would be identical identical, but opposite/mirrored. For instance, the templates for the left 'ear' might be on the paper, but the right 'ear' pieces have been moved off. When you finally cut your ears out of foam, you would cut the left by tracing the template normally, and then for the right you would flip the template over and trace again. Same piece, just opposite, if that makes sense. The whole idea is to save on cutting out two templates when you can make one work.
 
The pieces off-page aren't needed. Many have been removed because they were needed only for a paper build, and not a foam build.

Also, on foam unfolds, a lot of templates for the left and right sides would be identical identical, but opposite/mirrored. For instance, the templates for the left 'ear' might be on the paper, but the right 'ear' pieces have been moved off. When you finally cut your ears out of foam, you would cut the left by tracing the template normally, and then for the right you would flip the template over and trace again. Same piece, just opposite, if that makes sense. The whole idea is to save on cutting out two templates when you can make one work.

Ahh I see! I was worried for a moment because one piece wasn't fitting right and was connecting to something off the print area. I'm thinking of cutting this out of 6mm craft foam, would that be too much or just right? I have the foam mats you can buy at the hardware store, but I'm worried that it'll be too thick.
 
Ahh I see! I was worried for a moment because one piece wasn't fitting right and was connecting to something off the print area. I'm thinking of cutting this out of 6mm craft foam, would that be too much or just right? I have the foam mats you can buy at the hardware store, but I'm worried that it'll be too thick.

I build 90% of my regular sized stuff out of 6mm, it is thin enough to be flexible but still hold shape. It also works well for helmets (for me).
 
Here's a question, would you use the foam pdo files for cardboard?

That's what I'm doing. You just need to keep in mind that cardboard doesn't flex as well as foam without beating up on it a bit, which also thins it out. Of course this depends on what type of cardboard you're using. I'm talking about corrugated.

If you've got an up or down fold, then the best way I've found is by scoring the cardboard on the opposite side of your fold. Don't cut all the way through, just cut the top paper layer exposing the corrugated layer. One single cut should do it. You don't have to make a wide trench or anything.

Unless money is a huge factor, I wouldn't bother with cereal box type cardboard for the simple fact that if you're gonna do that, you might as well pay $6 and print the files out for a proper pepakura build on regular card stock.

Also, when you hot glue it's very hard to glue two pieces together end to end, and even when you do it doesn't have a lot of strength. The way to combat this is to glue a "patch" on the backside of the two pieces you're trying to glue. I hope that makes sense. You can't really bevel the edges like you can with foam to hide the hot glue. Unless your pieces fit really really perfect, you're going to have glue leak through the cracks some.

As far as finish goes, you're going to have to coat it with something or else fiberglass it.

I highly recommend you don't just slather it with bondo. It was never really made to be applied heavily. In automotive applications (which is what it's used for mainly), it's recommended you try to keep your bondo to about 1/16" appliclications, 1/8" max. It's made as a final finish coat for minor imperfections. If you apply it heavily you're eventually going to run into issues with cracking. Not just because of flexing, but also because bondo expands and contracts at different temperatures. Which is why it's meant to be used lightly.

If you don't want to fiberglass it and you absolutely want to use a body filler type application, I'd recommend something closer to Duraglass, which has more of a fiberglass composition.

You could probably also get away with just finishing the seams with an air drying clay or an epoxy putty and then painting, but I've not tried this. It's just something I think would work well.
 
i've done this and it works great

That's what I'm doing. You just need to keep in mind that cardboard doesn't flex as well as foam without beating up on it a bit, which also thins it out. Of course this depends on what type of cardboard you're using. I'm talking about corrugated.

If you've got an up or down fold, then the best way I've found is by scoring the cardboard on the opposite side of your fold. Don't cut all the way through, just cut the top paper layer exposing the corrugated layer. One single cut should do it. You don't have to make a wide trench or anything.

Unless money is a huge factor, I wouldn't bother with cereal box type cardboard for the simple fact that if you're gonna do that, you might as well pay $6 and print the files out for a proper pepakura build on regular card stock.

Also, when you hot glue it's very hard to glue two pieces together end to end, and even when you do it doesn't have a lot of strength. The way to combat this is to glue a "patch" on the backside of the two pieces you're trying to glue. I hope that makes sense. You can't really bevel the edges like you can with foam to hide the hot glue. Unless your pieces fit really really perfect, you're going to have glue leak through the cracks some.

As far as finish goes, you're going to have to coat it with something or else fiberglass it.

I highly recommend you don't just slather it with bondo. It was never really made to be applied heavily. In automotive applications (which is what it's used for mainly), it's recommended you try to keep your bondo to about 1/16" appliclications, 1/8" max. It's made as a final finish coat for minor imperfections. If you apply it heavily you're eventually going to run into issues with cracking. Not just because of flexing, but also because bondo expands and contracts at different temperatures. Which is why it's meant to be used lightly.

If you don't want to fiberglass it and you absolutely want to use a body filler type application, I'd recommend something closer to Duraglass, which has more of a fiberglass composition.

You could probably also get away with just finishing the seams with an air drying clay or an epoxy putty and then painting, but I've not tried this. It's just something I think would work well.



Thank you. I just want to fail (practice) on cardboard before jumping in to foam.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
 
Thank you. I just want to fail (practice) on cardboard before jumping in to foam.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

Maybe someone who has worked with both can verify this or no, but I think you will find that foam is a lot easier to work with. It's flexible, whereas cardboard can be stubborn and take a lot of force to put into place. This isn't a huge deal except that you have to keep it in place while you hot glue it. Two people working on it would be easier. It can be done by one person, but I find it takes a long time.
 
Maybe someone who has worked with both can verify this or no, but I think you will find that foam is a lot easier to work with. It's flexible, whereas cardboard can be stubborn and take a lot of force to put into place. This isn't a huge deal except that you have to keep it in place while you hot glue it. Two people working on it would be easier. It can be done by one person, but I find it takes a long time.



OK I think I might have to just dive right in. Hope it comes out as good as some of the stuff I've seen on here.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
 
OK I think I might have to just dive right in. Hope it comes out as good as some of the stuff I've seen on here.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

That's about all you can do. I highly recommend JFC's files from this thread as he has done a great job of simplifying the pepakura files and removing a bunch of stuff that quite honestly isn't necessary.

Also, remember to always build in pairs if there's two sides because it'll be fresh in your mind how you do the other side.

Lastly, the best method I have found for scale is to use the "measure distance between two points." It doesn't hurt to plan your attachments either. I found that the back piece for example fits me great, but the space for your head isn't large enough for me to use it like the t-shirt plan on page 1. So I'll be using those plastic buckes to attach the front and back armor pieces if it doesn't work once I make the center piece rather than remake the whole thing.
 
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Maybe someone who has worked with both can verify this or no, but I think you will find that foam is a lot easier to work with. It's flexible, whereas cardboard can be stubborn and take a lot of force to put into place. This isn't a huge deal except that you have to keep it in place while you hot glue it. Two people working on it would be easier. It can be done by one person, but I find it takes a long time.

cardboard is great if you have a zero budget, but i'd definately agree with ging straight to foam, the simplicity in comparisson to paper/card/board is insane, you will never go back
 

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