Mitcheg1
Active Member
It's been a while since I've done any costume work, and after tackling Iron Patriot on my first outing, decided to step back and try something a little simpler! My daughter wanted a Captain America helmet so I gave JFCustom's Foam Cap helmet a try. I think it came out alright! Though it was pretty simple, I did try a few things and learned some tips that I'll use next time around (I'll share those shortly). For now, here's the finished product.
So this was my first time trying 3mm foam. I had tried 2mm before for the Iron Patriot neck piece, but it was too thin and fell apart quickly. The 3mm was a better compromise. I did have to learn how to cut the mountains and valleys, because it didn't take much to cut through. I learned that I barely need to put any pressure on the blade, and never two passes.
I also decided to try rubber cement instead of hot glue. I keep hearing about folks using Barge contact cement, but I couldn't find any at my local hobby shop. Though rubber cement and contact cement are not the same product, I was very pleased with the results! Made for very clean edges and was super easy (no burnt fingers)! I did still use hot glue to hold the valleys open and keep the mountains closed!
Another trick I learned was to put down Parchment paper when I'm using my hot glue gun. Normally I lay it on a paper plate or worse on my cutting mat. Then I get hot glue everywhere. The parchment paper allowed everything to stay nice and clean! The glue gun didn't stick to it and I was just very pleased with how well it worked.
Well that's about it! Like I said, it was a simple build, but it was a good learning experience. Next project will probably be a mini Master Chief for my son and possibly Bo Katan (from Clone Wars) for my daughter!
So this was my first time trying 3mm foam. I had tried 2mm before for the Iron Patriot neck piece, but it was too thin and fell apart quickly. The 3mm was a better compromise. I did have to learn how to cut the mountains and valleys, because it didn't take much to cut through. I learned that I barely need to put any pressure on the blade, and never two passes.
I also decided to try rubber cement instead of hot glue. I keep hearing about folks using Barge contact cement, but I couldn't find any at my local hobby shop. Though rubber cement and contact cement are not the same product, I was very pleased with the results! Made for very clean edges and was super easy (no burnt fingers)! I did still use hot glue to hold the valleys open and keep the mountains closed!
Another trick I learned was to put down Parchment paper when I'm using my hot glue gun. Normally I lay it on a paper plate or worse on my cutting mat. Then I get hot glue everywhere. The parchment paper allowed everything to stay nice and clean! The glue gun didn't stick to it and I was just very pleased with how well it worked.
Well that's about it! Like I said, it was a simple build, but it was a good learning experience. Next project will probably be a mini Master Chief for my son and possibly Bo Katan (from Clone Wars) for my daughter!
