Mass Effect Armour: EVA Foam Alternatives

[Natesaurus]

Hi everyone, first time using the RPF so here goes nothing!
I'm planning to make femshep's Mass Effect 2 armour, my first armour cosplay, and I've run into a brick wall planning wise.
Most examples I've found on the internet use EVA foam flooring mats and thermoforming them to some degree
Now while I have no problems using EVA foam it's just that my mum's completely adverse to the idea and well won't let me use the stuff at all.
I'm only 16 so it's her way or the highway (and yes I am pretty pissed at her but that's irrelevant I guess.)


So I need some advice on alternatives to EVA foam that don't require heating up any forms of plastic and is relatively cheap.

 

[Gee2]

You could try something completely out of the box; use fabric for everything. Consider pleather types that could be fabric painted to resemble the carbon fiber look of the armor once you get it together. You may even consider using thinner craft foam under the fabric as a binding to create panels. Either way, good luck!

 

[arctrooper]

Hold on. Is your mom against EVA because she thinks you'll be exposed to fumes from melted eva? Because heating the EVA foam is unnecessary in some techniques. The only hot thing you'll be using is hot-glue.

Here, this outlines the process used to create EVA foam armor, maybe it can be of some assistance
http://www.therpf.com/f24/jfcustoms-foam-files-148889/

Out of any process I can think of off the top of my head EVA is unquestionably the safest.

And honestly, the worst side affects you'll ever see when it comes to heating foam is slight light headeness, and that's if you go out of your way to snuff the fumes.

If you still can't convince your mom that EVA foam is ok against a flame or oven or heat gun, I've heard of people softening their sintra by boiling it in a large prop-devoted pot (only use said pot for this process) and then bending it the way they want to. You could probably do that same process with generic foam from Harbor Freight. Cut out the pieces, plop 'em in for X amount of time, pull them out and push them against a round object. (You'll want to keep them pressed for a while otherwise they'll never keep the bend). But seriously, hot glue does WAY more to keep foam bent and curved than heat has, as far as my experience goes.

Hope some of this helps! Sorry I couldn't think of any real alternatives.

This outlines the safety of it all.
EVA foam safety? - Cosplay.com