Iron man Build Preparation

[Vsim]

So,
Few weeks ago (while searching for iron man cosplay- tutorials etc) i wandered around this awesome site. I lurked around a bit, and now i've got myself to making an
account.

I've started to gather around files of different Iron Man's from various 3D Modellers (DancinFools, MZX, and some other's i will look up later, but dont remember the names)
And got myself something to call a beginning of a plan.

But, as i've noticed, there are MANY ways to build an iron man costume. EVA foam, foam casting and moulding, pepakura, etc.
And i was wondering, what were the differences between these all? (I have done few helmet prop's with pepakura ( on cardboard tho) But they didnt turn out good)
So, if there were some who would care to tell me about these, i would be more than happy,

And so on, to the main topic of this thread (I suppose, unless it is taken over after some time)

I will post my progress here, from the planning -> all the way 'till the finished product.
I am not going to build some percise Iron Man Mark or Model, but some kind of Mashup. Or i think i could call it 'Hybrid'
Any ideas or hints and tips are more than welcome!


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Here would be all the stuff i will / have used.

Designs / Plans

For the Helmet;DarkSide501st's Iron Patriot Helmet;
http://www.wintershade.com/therpf/Darkside501st's iron patriot helmet - foam unfold JFcustom.pdo

Chest; Iron man Mk 43 - Helagak (http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=176505&highlight=Foam+pep+iron+man+helmet)
Back; Iron man Mk3 - DancinFools (http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=101543)
Shoulder; -Yet Unknown
Neck; Iron Man Mk3 - DancinFools (http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=101543)
Abs;
Cod;-Yet Unknown
Shin;-Yet Unknown
Thights;-Yet Unknown
Arm;-Yet Unknown

Overall for the leg's i had a plan to take a closer look at MZX's Mashup of Hulkbuster and Mk43

That's it for now, i guess i'll see you later guys




and oh! Im terribly sorry for every foolish mistake i might make, as for english is not my mother tongue, thus l might not know the correct form of particular and certain words. I hope you can forgive me after this humble apology. In other term's, Sorry For My Bad english

 

[George]

Hi Vsim ! Welcome to the RPF opcorn Good to see you are fired up to start crafting your favorite hybrid Iron Man suit.

I'd say there are roughly 3 categories that I came across on the website:

-Cardstock building; build it in cardstock,then treat it with resin and bondo to make it tougher.
-Foam building; foam by itself is already strong,but to finish the product,people often treat it with plastidip to make it strong yet supple,or with plastic coating to make it hard as plastic.
-3D printing; a 3D printer melts bits of plastic and builds your suit layer by layer until you have armor parts that you have to connect by gluing.

Don't worry about your english; it's good enough to understand you and it will get better the more time you spend with us
Looking forward to your project !

 

[Vsim]

Hi Vsim ! Welcome to the RPF opcorn

Hi George! And thank you.

So, first off,
I do not own a 3D printer, and it's quite hard to get a decent one with decent price here where i live.
I've seen some people first make the 'part' or 'prop' they want to create with foam, and afterwards using it to make a mould with silicone. What's that about? And what kind of foam should i use, in the case i wanted to harden the final product, and in case i would not?
And with paper and resin (Well, overall with resin) i'm having hard time understanding / finding the information, how and what resin i should use.

 

[Ikras]

From what I've seen with people hardening the part for a mold they tend to coat it with bondo or some kind of clay maybe to get the detail, while the foam gave the general structure. I may be wrong on that though. I've never tried that approach myself.

In terms of foam type, everyone will throw the name EVA foam around. I've been using anti fatigue mats for my build which is full foam. I've no clue though how it would work with trying to take a mold (Edit: seems like there might be something about it here. Not looked through it fully myself though, http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=240976). I plan to use a resin to harden some parts after, like the helmet, look for mention of smooth-on 65D and similar things on the forum and that should give you an idea. Think it originally came from Xrobots. Crosslinked polyethylene seems to be a pretty popular foam type as well depending on how easily/cheaply you can source it.

There should be plenty of info for the paper and resin approach, it's not paper exactly, but card stock that people use and there should be details of the exact weight people use. Paper itself would be too flimsy to hold the shape. The resin gets used to harden the piece and attach fibreglass typically from what I understand, then bondo on the outside to smooth out the shape and add the details.

I can offer the most advice with a direct foam build I guess as that's what I have the most experience with. If you want more info on this I can recommend reading through the info here (http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=148889) to get started. Might give you more of an idea.

Hope this all makes sense and is helpful

 

[Vsim]

Ikras Thank you!

I found this very helpful!
I wonder why everyone uses eva foam? I've seen some stuff that were made using yoga mat's or such.

 

[Ikras]

Vsim Happy to assist.

Don't get me wrong, it is still EVA foam to an extent. It's hard to explain but the understanding I've picked up is that EVA (EthyleneVinylAcetate) is an additive used in these kinds of foams and has been picked up as a name but it isn't the actual material name as such. It seems to be used as an umbrella term for all the different things, yoga mats, anti-fatigue mats, etc. I think some thinner sheets are possibly fully EVA though.

I think that it's just been picked up as a popular material and is fairly easy to get hold of. Just be aware of any patterns on either side if you do give it a try. I've personally found 6 mm or 10 mm to work the best depending on the kind of intricacy or detail needed. As an example, in my build I have 10 mm for the chest, legs and arms and 6 mm for the helmet, abs, neck, things that need a bit more movement.