Materials Thread - With Where And What To Buy?

[Magnus1]

Just wondering if there was a thread which listed what types of materials, such as latex, resin (including brand names) and where to buy it for various parts of the suits?

 

[scanff]

Don't know if there's a thread.  So I'll start.

On the West Coast of the U.S.  You can pretty much buy all plastics, liquid latex and resins you need at tap plastics. (http://www.tapplastics.com/)

 

[Magnus1]

Is there a particular type of clay to use for sculpting? I know you need a 2 stage poly-urethane resin for the casting process. What about a release agent for inside the silicon? And is plaster usable for a mother mould?

 

[Chasing Coyote]

like most of us mate  we all want this info best thing for you to do is read peoples build Alpha's topknot build talk about talks about his materials a basic starter suit is talked about in the mr incredible suit thread by macguyver your best bet is to hunt  the treads that spill the beans the search button is your friend  as many of us are from far and wide a lot of the mats in the us are not available here is aus so ive had to do my own research contact other studios in hope they can give me advice on the exact materials the latex here in au is actually  a softer compound than the latex in usa  still not as soft or durable as silicone or has the uv resistance but most ppl for there first suit will try star with the cheaper materials reason No. 1 you dont want to make mistakes with something that costs alot only in time of practice and doing will you learn how to make the perfect predator suit. 2. it doesn't need to be perfect  as long as your having fun and happy with it its all that matters like any cosplay,  
Now all i can say is welcome to the forum follow the rules goto the stickied thread  important links  and the noob thread  it will help you a lot  as it has me then build friendships here  were all pretty friendly and willing to share out knowledge. just dont  be coming to spam the threads, as some of us dhave questions and would like em seen by other members.  what i do just try keep the one thread and search and use the search button that way if you have a question you've at least checked for the answer i'm active here 3 to 4 hours a day  back n forth so if you need a general chat buddy u can find me here most days our time slot might be diffrent tho so cant guarantee ill be here all the time sorry for all the typos and grammar inaccuracies to also if youd like you can follow my progress at www.facebook.com

 

[Chasing Coyote]

oh as for sculpting im using monster makers  a lil expensive but less chance of drying out and then also use youtube and google there are alot of places with info these days from  simple masks to advanced film set props painting guides i recommend  stan winston's school of character arts tutorials at $20 each per unit for digital or $40 dvd it is the most diverse  tome of knowledge at any sort of that u could get your hands on  but if you only want the basics  the movie geek offers some good tips on youtube but  as i said everything is here use the search button and you will find what you seek

 

[Magnus1]

Thanks for the advice. I'll check out topknot thread. The issue I have found with a lot of build threads or tutorials on YouTube is that they don't go into a lot of detail into material types, and the advantages of one over the other. I tried searching for specific material names on the forum here but my searches were too general and I had too many results lol.

I'll keep looking though. I've been a lurker for a long time and am just looking at starting over the summer.