Newby at foam: Foam chest armor

[Miharichu Emi]

Hi guys!

I've made a couple of cosplays before but never had the opportunity to work with foam. Also I've been very affraid of it, due to the massiveness of the projects I see around here. But in order for me to get used to this stuff, I challenged myself making a cosplay out of foam.

Cosplay I want to make:


But here's the thing.. I have absolutely no idea how to start on this massive thing! How do I make the chest armor that big and wide? And how do I keep the massiveness of the armor and still being able to put my own arms through?

And is woodglue enough to seal/smooth out/prime my foam armor?

If anyone has some tips for me, I'm all ears, because I have no idea where to start..

 

[HammyDribbler]

Hi, if it was me I would look to make the piece as a frame that fits my body and a skin that goes on the frame. This is complex but will reduce the weight, the cost and you will have loads of air space to keep you cool (full foam is warm to wear).

The alternative would be to use much thicker foam or expanding foam.

Wood glue is fine for sealing foam. I would run a heat gun over it prior to close the outer cells then use straight wood glue for the first few coats followed by a final coat using watered down wood glue to remove any marks etc. Just watch out for runs, drips etc. Many thin layers

Also make sure you use good glue. I use Fixoflex in the UK which is our version of the US Barge (the UK blue Barge is terrible) rather than hot glue which makes me want to punch things every time I use it. If you do use hot glue be wary of the seems opening when you seal it via the heat gun. You can of course not do the heat gun step.

The swirly detailing I would apply that as 2 or 3mm foam rather than a paint effect to give it some depth. Use masking tap to get the exact shape you want, transfer it to your foam, bevel all the edges (annoying but it will look much better) and stick it on to the constructed piece.

Hope this helps, I'm sure a few other people will chip in shortly and good luck with your build.

Ham out!

 

[RocFoamArmory]

I would recommend building the piece as one complete piece to start. Don't worry about extra space between you and the armor, at least not yet. When I build chest armor, I use 1/2 inch(~12mm) foam. It's still plenty flexible and would be sturdy for such a big piece. I build it all as one piece, then I cut it down the middle so you have the front half and back half. I'd create some sort of hinge using nylon straps on the shoulders and then velcro straps along the two sides. This tends to make it really easy to put on. After that, you may have to freehand some sort of support foam pieces to pad it so it fits snugly on you.

 

[DMTDeadpool]

To expand on Ham...

You can run a heat gun over each piece before gluing, to avoid seams coming open by sealing after.

Quite often, though, you will find yourself having to heat the foam to bend into shape. Thus you will be heat sealing the piece at the same time.

 

[amedcalf]

Hi,

If your after some good tuts head over to Evil Ted Smith's channel on YouTube. Gave me loads of help

 

[George]

Hi Emi and welcome to the RPF.

there's a Sticky post all about Pepakura,the free software from Tamasoft you can open 3D models on your computer and print out (2D strips) to reassemble.You put the paper strip on foam,trace and cut it out.I would start with downloading that program and reading as much as you can on working with foam.
Another helpful thread is the "JfCustom's foam files" thread with lots of tips,tricks and .pdo files to open in pepakura.I bet you can find a file or two you can use pieces from for your armor.
Also,check out minque.nl for foam,paint,glue and workshops.I order my foam with them; they're decent and polite.
Good luck with your project !

 

[Dezziedc]

Actually, I was about to post a question about the same thing - I'm not worried about working with foam as I have built a few helmets from the pep side of things and feel pretty comfortable working with it. The only thing I have an issue with now is working on items that don't have pep files - and funnily enough it is very similar to the build Emi is working on.

I am struggling with getting the helmet right and have tried a number of different options - modifying an existing pep, constructing a basic frame etc. Nothing seems to be working - I am finding the enclosed face plate difficult to get right - sort of like a Helm of Yngol with a partially enclosed face. Any tips on this would be appreciated as well. I'm at the stage where I am looking to find a 3D program that I can learn and utilise to build the model and then have it unfolded. Not sure what other options I have.

 

[HammyDribbler]

Pop a pic of the helmet on here and we can have a go at it

 

[Miharichu Emi]

Wow!! Thank you everybody! First, sorry for the late reply, I have been ill and I'm still trying to find my way around on this forum :3

Thank you so much for your help already! I'll try to find some pep files that will help me make my armor. The only thing I'm still a bit worried about, is that it's so massive and huge on the top side XD But I hope I can figure it out. Also thanks for giving some tips to watch Evil Ted Smith on YT! I definitely am going to look in to that

So for me to start on this, beginning with an inside frame would be the best way to make this? I can't use patterns directly of my body since it has to be massive and huge of course. Of just make everything out of foam in one piece? This sounds better to me, but how am I going to make patterns for that then?

Is working with puzzle mats a good thing? I've been working on an Axe as we speak and that's made out of puzzle mats. But I see a great difference in quality, since the puzzle mast have more little holes in it, than expensive eva foam.

Thanks again for the great help!