First time making an armored character, need some guidance

[Bizarro Lois]

I think thin T6 Aluminum would look best and be easy to work with. People in the SCA make armor from it all the time as it's a material anyone can work and produce the look you want.

How expensive is this compared to the other plastic/foam materials that were suggested? Where do you get it?

I was thinking about just sculpting the helmet to get started, but haven't decided how to get the plastic hollow version. If I decide to have it vac-formed, what material should I use make the piece that will actually go in the machine? Would it work to sculpt, make a mold, then fill the mold partially with resin and kind of roll it around? (I'm assuming this is what people mean by "slush casting.") I don't have a vac-form machine, so I'd have to find someone else to do it. Or would I be better off getting a large amount of air-dry clay for the sculpt? I could probably lay the sheet of plastic on top of the dried clay, and use the heat gun to shape it around that before cutting eyeholes and such.

 

[themanwoaname]

i want to tackle that armor too, but i was going to use the smaller scale iron man toy as a reference. for the most part i was going to use sort of the pepakura method, paper then fiberglass for the helmet and whatever i couldnt get out of rubbermaid trashcans.

 

[Bizarro Lois]

i want to tackle that armor too, but i was going to use the smaller scale iron man toy as a reference.

The sculpts are comparable. Pretty similar except for a few minute details, plus the paint jobs. I think the big one shows off details a little better.

I'm getting an early start on this one, because I think there's going to be a lot of trial and error.