Shoretrooper...cardboard scratch build.

J

Johnny Darko

Active Member
hey to all,
can i just say its nice to be back here after a few years absence from crafting...
so, after moving twice, changing job twice & increasing the family clan to 3 children! I thought what better time to start a new project! and its the awesome Shoretrooper that has caught my attention, it has to be my favourite armour so far...its a thing of beauty! 8112cbc9fbdd1a12434e470f0632bc3b.jpg
the build will be a labour of love, having only a few hours in the evening's to get my craft on. as always with me, it will be a cardboard/paper mache build(with some new trial & error ideas thrown in) & a very limited budget for the rest of the outfit(be warned charity shops...i shall be visiting you soon & rummaging through your nooks & crannies!) i have until fathers day to complete the build, when the annual town sci fi convention arrives & I'm treated to a very rare beer or 2!:cheers:thumbsup
ok...enough chat let's get this thang going!
after 3 nights of studying plenty of pictures & fighting spiders to free my endless supply of cardboard from the shed, I've managed to get a few pieces startedView attachment IMAG4046.jpgView attachment IMAG4048.jpgIMAG4055.jpgView attachment IMAG4053.jpg....just some of the basic structures underway, that will all have to have the long laborious method of paper mache & sanding down(repeated at least thricely)before any kind of detailing can be started.
that's it for the first post, as always...comments, suggestions, hints & tips welcome. cheers for taking a look
 
thanks for the subscribes & your comments, i wish all of you scratch builders lots of luck with your Shoretrooper builds, it really is a great looking armour, its really a task to get everything to fit perfectly... but so worth it when it starts to take shape:thumbsup
will be looking out for your threads(Eddie & Alex)...I was going to try this build with foam, but having never used it before & with my limited budget, I decided to stick with what I know, but cardboard can be very frustrating sometimes, when it only wants to bend the one way at a time...grr! is there any kind of spray or paint on product that would make cardboard less fragile & more flexible, but also give a nice smooth finish? I think I may be asking too much perhaps?...will have to do some experimenting along the way.
 
I made a full set of armor out of cardboard and foam for a Dengar costume last SDCC.
ad5f22645223169f2aa6d4636d3b0fcc.jpg


To get it smoother and take out that cardboard texture I wrapped all of the pieces in thin eva foam. I got a huge roll from michaels for 10 bux. Something like 4x8 (i could be wrong)

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that looks great Eddie, did you make it for an event? I like the foam idea, was thinking of something similar, a thin pliable plastic of some sort, like the stuff they use as section dividers in folders?...glued over the top of the paper mache/cardboard.
 
Yeah i made it for comic con. I found the thin foam to work pretty well because i was able to heat it up a little so it would stretch around all the pieces.

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does anyone have the dimensions for the the back box? FB_IMG_1484687362882.jpgtook some photos of it on & I'm sure I've made it far too big, back to the drawing board! if anyone could help with this I'd muchly appreciate it:D:thumbsup
 
as suspected... the back piece is too big, PicsArt_01-22-03.57.10.jpgworking from pictures & not being able to measure your own back has its inevitable problems! so...a complete remake will commence this evening... joy! if anyone has the measurements for the back pack... it would help me out considerably, cheers!:thumbsup
 
thanks Bulldog, this first part is quite slow, getting the proportions right & getting the cardboard into some sort of less fragile state for wearing, but its for a one off event only, so its gotta hold up for one day. looking forward to getting some details added & of course the final paint job...its so freakin cool! lots to do before then though.
 
What event are you making this for? Also you should look up "cardboardking ironman" he used to used resin and bondo on cardboard to make some really awsome ironman costumes.

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Johnny Darko said:
that looks great Eddie, did you make it for an event? I like the foam idea, was thinking of something similar, a thin pliable plastic of some sort, like the stuff they use as section dividers in folders?...glued over the top of the paper mache/cardboard.
Click to expand...
I've been considering doing something similar recently, using Fablon (very thin adhesive-backed plastic) over foam/cardboard to give a plastic finish to stormtrooper armour. Having trouble getting the plastic to bend over a rounded shape without creasing though :(
 
hey rockit, very tricky stuff that fablon at the best of times...but i like the idea, maybe try a small amount of heat over curves...like a hairdryer? still waiting for the day they make an actual product that gives a great finished surface for us cardboard crafter's.
 
thanks Alex & Baron Von Blondie,...its not impressive yet!...but hopefully the end result will be a passable Shoretrooper costume that looks the part.

so...i finally managed to track down the size of the backpack/box...thanks to Mr.Paul who is building his own Shoretrooper from a kit, plenty of pictures & some great helmet painting tutorials, you can find him on Facebook(Mr Paul's Shoretrooper Build):thumbsup
View attachment 701785...finally having the correct size, i rebuilt the whole back piece, it seems much better, not so bulky!...ive nicknamed it the crop top armor.
received_1828332470740014.jpeg received_1828332354073359.jpeg
decided to have a break from the main body pieces & add some detail to the gauntlets, plus I'm playing with the idea of covering the paper mache with plastic from pop bottles, but still in 2 minds about it!?
received_1828332067406721.jpeg received_1828699530703308.jpeg received_1828699580703303.jpeg received_1828332267406701.jpeg .....
well, that's all for now people, keep your comments, pics, new ideas & tips coming, its all a learning curve, cheers!:D
 
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