Latexing Foam Armor To Mr.i Suit

[CalgaryBound]

Most likely someone has tried this and was wondering how well it worked.Makeing your armor out of foamies and attaching it and then latexing over it.Or would the foamies be to stiff to do this and just be a pain.

 

[mikeincan]

i don't think there is a reason why you wold want to latex the foamie armour and then go through the steps of painting the latex. just have to prime it maybe and then paint, and you do not have to attach it to the suit at all and actually wear it like armour over top the suit.

 

[CalgaryBound]

Was just curious if it would even work or look good.Just seen how some guys mold the armor into the skins they make so thats how I came up with the idea.So its just best to make the armor and use the velcro or earth magnet technic to attach the armor.

 

[Double H]

Was just curious if it would even work or look good.Just seen how some guys mold the armor into the skins they make so thats how I came up with the idea.So its just best to make the armor and use the velcro or earth magnet technic to attach the armor.

I'll be honest with you I have considered going down this route, and had the same thoughts as you. I decided that if I did go this route, you would probably lose alot of the details that you add on the foam i.e. dents, scratchs etc when adding the latex over the top. You would also probably have to use a couple of layers of latex to make sure you have a good bond (obviously you would need to glue the armour in place first before latexing) and that if the glue did become unstuck, the layer of latex wouldnt be that thin that it begins to wear and tear slightly.

Also, the positive on this is that latex pieces, if painted and sealed correctly, will not need continuous repaints etc unlike with foamies armour, you can do your best to keep the paint on but eventually it will wear and crack and peel off and then a repaint is in order. I have to repaint the edges of my armour nearly after every hunt. If it was latexed, painted and sealed this problem would probably never occur and if it did it would be after several hours of wearing the suit.

Personally, I think it is a good idea.

 

[mikeincan]

there you go two opinions both have positive and negative, for me it would depend on how big the armour is or where it needs to be placed before i concider attaching it with velcro or magnets or barge contact cement as some would point out, i am using leather straps on my armour and have cut out slits into my armour (which is fibreglass/resin) to feed the strap through and loop it around so i can take it off and on as i please and won't have to worry about the glue or latex wearing out, but it is also just more work to do if you need a bathroom break. but with foamies you have to repaint yes but then again any damage done to the foamies you can incorporate that into your armour as battle damage, you can also stiffen up the foamie armour with some glue.

 

[CalgaryBound]

The costume I did this year was the full AVP armor so there was alot.I covered everything in black plastidip then used the hammered spray paint and black acrylic to weather it.By the time it was all painted up it seemed so stiff and seemed like it wanted to crack wright away.This year I thaught about doing a P1 style suit so not as much armor and thaught it might work by latexing.But like Double H mentioned if the glue holding the armor broke loose than It could be a mess.I would like to do your idea mikeincan with the leather straps but with makeing the armor out of foamies It would just tear.I thaught about useing the floor mats like people use for there lifts since there thick and then I could use the straps.

 

[wonko]

I've been using foamies on my current build because I'm anxious to get something done. The next set of armor I'm making will be all fiberglass. Easy, light weight, and very durable. I coated a few pieces of craft foam with epoxy resin, and although it worked okay, it didn't bond to the foam very well. I would love to sculpt and cast it, but I'm sticking with what I know. Maybe in the future.

Brian

 

[TokyoRose]

I was considering this method as well but like you and DoubleH, I couldn't decide if it was a good idea or not... I still haven't.

I agree that it depends on which armor pieces and where they're placed. The only ones I was considering at this time were pieces on the side of my thighs. I figure there wouldn't really be a whole lot of movement there, so it would be a good place to test it out. The biggest thing keeping me from it, was that I want to do a mesh bodysuit over my suit at some point. That would mean I'd have to cut holes in the suit where i wanted the thigh armor to show through- the thought of having to try to secure the mesh without screwing up too much seemed like a really big hassle. But really that was my biggest argument behind it.

I don't know man... It should work. I mean, it's just foam being covered in latex. And that's the entire idea behind a Mr. I build. It't just slightly stiffer foam that has the potential to kink?! And you would have to pump up your texture and damage detail a bit to read through the multiple layers of latex. But it should work? I'm still up in the air.

I'm really interested to see what happens if you do attempt it though.

 

[mikeincan]

hmm if you wanted to use my idea you can always double up on the foamie where the strap will be going through, or using epoxy putty to stiffen/reinforce up the spot where the strap is going through.

what about fibre glassing the armour, would that work?anyone know? or even fibre glassing for reinforcing the hole for the strap.

 

[QCVader]

Great ideas.

Let's not forget about sintra foam. It's cheap, plyable and paintable. It's also a lot more durable than foamies. I've made my AVP chest armor out of it and it's holding up fine.

Just a thought....