JFcustom's FOAM files

[Looch]

Haha, not what I wanted to hear, but yeah I think you are right, sounds like your hardware That's awesome you've got Dancin' Fool local though, I'm betting he's a heck of a resource for troubleshooting and pep in general. :thumbsup

Yeah, he was a great help. But you have been too, I've asked you questions in the past, and you've been there with an answer, instead of the "use the search thread" answers that some folks give. It's always been appreciated, and now when people ask me questions about my work, I am always more than ready to help out. Thanks again!
Anyway, starting a new project

 

[Durkness]

I've been off in my own little world building stuff..... just so you know I haven't fell of the JFcustom train, I've been just doing my own special stuffs. I can't get over how many Iron Man costumes are in this world because of this single thread and all the work he did. Get your grasp on foam building, then just run with it..... Keep it up everyone!!!!

To give credit -
Artist concept by Caleb Nefzen
Sponsored by Mark Campbell
Photo by Eternal Armory

 

[laellee]

HELL YES!! Durkness is the guy to pester for finishing.....

Glad you're still around. Love that you never cut corners. :thumbsup

 

[Durkness]

HELL YES!! Durkness is the guy to pester for finishing.....

Glad you're still around. Love that you never cut corners. :thumbsup

I cut corners everyday....lol.

But, for finishing, Rustoleum metallics have been my go to for the shine. Can't get away from them, that is why everything is either black, grey, blue, or red.

 

[jmaxwell522]

I know I saw it somewhere but does anyone have a pep for Commando Cody or King of the Rocketmen? Was thinking of doing this and a Rocketeer for my collection.

 

[Apolloflame]

I'm really looking into making a deathstroke cosplay, looking for the arkham origins/arkham knight look. So far I've had no luck, I have looked at other models that have been unfolded to see how to modify; but since this is my first go at it I'm not having luck finding any that are close enough to the models I've been looking at

 

[George]

I would like to ask a question regarding the use of magnets holding foam parts together; is there a difference in strength I should choose for difference in armor part size?
E.g.: lighter magnets for a collar,but heavier magnets for parts forming a chest? If so,what magnets would you recommend?

Thank you so much for your view/advise !

 

[collinE83]

I would like to ask a question regarding the use of magnets holding foam parts together; is there a difference in strength I should choose for difference in armor part size?
E.g.: lighter magnets for a collar,but heavier magnets for parts forming a chest? If so,what magnets would you recommend?

Thank you so much for your view/advise !

100% yes. Also, it depends on how many you use, and the direction they're being pulled. When you slide the magnets apart sideways, it takes a lot less force.

I favor some 3mm x 12mm magnets for larger pieces and 1mm x 8mm for smaller.

However-


Here, I used the 3mm x 12mm magnets because I wanted to have the seam be a little tighter. It's not normally the number and size I normally would use. And it kinda makes me nervous with how strong they are. I kinda cringe because I'm afraid it'll hurt the shape of the foam and the glue holding the magnets, but if I slide it apart sideways, rather than pull the magnets directly apart, then it's fine.

and in case my explanation was hard to understand-

 

[George]

Thank you for clarifying,Collin.
I see that you glue your magnets on top of your foam,rather than "inside" it.

I was told once that the force of the magnets might pull them off of the foam.She told me she would buy stronger magnets that would hold for example 6lbs/3kg,but they were glued inside/under the foam to attract and hold through it,reducing the chance of ripping the magnets off of the foam.

What are your thoughts?

 

[collinE83]

I think ideally it's better to do like she said. The magnets can be fragile and if they snap together, magnet on magnet, too hard, then they can break apart. Having a little barrier between them is safer for the magnet. In JFcustom's Vanquish ARS helmet I did a couple of pages ago, I had a layer of foam between the magnets on the helmet strap, but I noticed the strength reduced quite a bit and wouldn't have been useful for a piece bearing weight.

Having a stronger magnet like you mentioned could be good. It could also be too strong. Depending on how large they are, or how thick of a foam layer between them, will change the hold strength. If they're too strong, maybe layering up craft foam that's only a couple mm will separate the magnets far enough to reduce the strength.

I also chose the magnet I use because you can get them in bulk for pretty cheap. The stronger the magnet, the higher the cost, so best not to get magnets that are stronger than what you need. It will probably just take some experimenting. Hope that helps.

 

[laellee]

Just to throw in my two cents, I was typically using neodynums (1/4"x1/8" discs)... I bore out my holes, use an old soldering iron to cauterize the edges (hardens the foam up), then glue the magnets in. e6000 and barge cement are better than hot glue, the heat can demagnetize, and if the magnets weaken up you are going to have fun getting them back out. Anyways, after they're glued in, I then cut thin piece of styrene and glue that right OVER all of the magnets and the foam to cover the mating surfaces.... It distributes the magnets' pull over a much larger area, and (for me anyways) looks like a much cleaner mating surface, even if you're the only person to see it

 

[George]

Thank you both for your view and the feedback on this subject,Laellee & Collin :thumbsup

 

[JesterPoet]

Does anyone out there happen to know where to find Clone Trooper (helmet and armor) files unfolded for foam? I've found Firefek's pep files, but I have no idea how to convert them to foam, which is the only thing I know how to work with, and my son now really wants a clone trooper costume for Halloween.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[TalonSword]

Does anyone out there happen to know where to find Clone Trooper (helmet and armor) files unfolded for foam? I've found Firefek's pep files, but I have no idea how to convert them to foam, which is the only thing I know how to work with, and my son now really wants a clone trooper costume for Halloween.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Could you use the Jango Fett template on the 1st page as a basis and amend from there?


Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

 

[JesterPoet]

Could you use the Jango Fett template on the 1st page as a basis and amend from there?


Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

That's a great idea! I forgot that he's basically wearing clone armor. Plus it will force me to start practicing making modifications.

I see the helmet, but have you ever seen armor templates anywhere?

Thanks!

 

[TalonSword]

That's a great idea! I forgot that he's basically wearing clone armor. Plus it will force me to start practicing making modifications.

I see the helmet, but have you ever seen armor templates anywhere?

Thanks!

I was actually thinking about this link:
http://www.wintershade.com/therpf/BSD - rex.rar
not sure if it's just the helmet, or the full suit... quite clone trooperey

 

[Dropkick404]

I've never worked with "Pepakura" patterns before, how large should I scale the Embo pattern? I tried to save the file but either my computer was having a hard time saving and uploading it, or the link was busted.

 

[George]

@Dropkick404: some files open up on a page full of gibberish when you try to save them by left-clicking; right-click and save these as (...).
Measuring armor pieces comes down to measuring your own body and then matching the pepakura file with these measurements.When in doubt about the results/design,paper-build it first.

 

[darkside501st]

Just to throw in my two cents, I was typically using neodynums (1/4"x1/8" discs)... I bore out my holes, use an old soldering iron to cauterize the edges (hardens the foam up), then glue the magnets in. e6000 and barge cement are better than hot glue, the heat can demagnetize, and if the magnets weaken up you are going to have fun getting them back out. Anyways, after they're glued in, I then cut thin piece of styrene and glue that right OVER all of the magnets and the foam to cover the mating surfaces.... It distributes the magnets' pull over a much larger area, and (for me anyways) looks like a much cleaner mating surface, even if you're the only person to see it

I haven't noticed that heat has any effect on a magnets strength. If it does then it is negligible. I often use hot glue for temporary/semi-permanent bonds with magnets and not just that but I use a small heat blower to further melt the hot glue and spread it very thinly over the magnet (400 degrees). This causes the magnet to heat up a great deal more than just the hot glue on the magnet itself and often takes several minutes to cool down. The magnets seem to have the same pull that they did before. I would have to use testing equipment to tell if there is a difference.

 

[laellee]

Long time no talk, Mike!

I guess my approach has been, better safe than sorry, especially in working with foam, just because it's not as easy as just 'reheat and remove', you know? I have lost magnetism on non-neodynums both from hot glue and from soldering leads, but I'm thinking maybe it becomes negligible on neodynums because they are already pulling at such a higher rate.