cayman shen
Master Member
But why try? Cardstock is cheap. I've made like four helmets and two Fett guantlets and various other odds and ends and I still have half a pack of it, even with my kids making paper airplanes and so forth.
Pepakura: Alternatives to Fiberglass
- Thread starter cayman shen
- Start date
But why try? Cardstock is cheap. I've made like four helmets and two Fett guantlets and various other odds and ends and I still have half a pack of it, even with my kids making paper airplanes and so forth.
Vinom11
Well-Known Member
I have a question. Will drywall spackle paste work on pepakura? I've used it on a Fett helm with good results, but that was on heavy gauge non-corrugated cardboard.
I can't use anthing toxic ( apartment ), and I'm not too hot for paper mache. I've ordered some Smooth Cast 321 for hardening purposes and i'm thinking I can use it over the Smooth Cast so my work doesn't turn into mush.
I can't use anthing toxic ( apartment ), and I'm not too hot for paper mache. I've ordered some Smooth Cast 321 for hardening purposes and i'm thinking I can use it over the Smooth Cast so my work doesn't turn into mush.
kidUltron
Member
Aqua resin sucks. It will warp your work badly.
Water based resin and paper.....think about it
some have said they have had success but the work doesn't reflect that.
Which is why a layer or two of clearcoat has to be sprayed onto it before using the Aqua Resin. To be honest I can't imagine using anything else. I'll be sure to post up pics of my final piece. I made use of both the Aqua Resin and Aqua Glass and so far the helm's hard as a rock. Only warping was in sections where I goofed up the Pep by rushing.
LeEnfantSamedi
New Member
From the way my cousin was describing it, this is what he was talking about.
Now, my own experience with doing maquette sculpts and such, they do make a smaller gauge type of sculpting mesh(I believe they call it that) that you can get at any craft and hobby store that also may work, though it will likely still be malleable until you overcoat it with Bondo or whatever. I know that I have some of the stuff wrapped over a glass soda bottle that I can take a picture of once I pick it up from being in storage. I know, though, that it'll definitely dent/warp from pressure, so it may not be a good thing to use stability wise.
I believe the auto-mesh is a thicker gauge, since my cousin said you'd have to cut it with something like sheet metal shears. That might do better.
cayman shen
Master Member
Anyone ever traced the patterns onto thin styrene or used the pep files to make styrene templates? That'd solve a lot of this bother, and I just happen to have a crapload of the stuff...I imagine it would be pretty straightforward for my needs, as I'm not planning on wearing it. Ribs for the curved sections skinned in thin For Sale signs, thicked styrene for the flat bits, things like the faceplate assembled just like the regular pep but on the signs, backed with bondo, and smoothed?
Sigma-LS
Sr Member
Sean was going to try that once and I've seen a couple of people go for it. The thing is that retracing all the parts on styrene and then gluing them together actually takes quite a bit longer than just plain assembling the thing and taking 10 minutes to throw a coat of resin on it.
If you can print on styrene then I'd say go for it. I would remove all tabs first though. Not sure how you would make the nice neat folds either. May wind up just having to cut up some pieces.
EDIT: You'll need a decent working knowledge of pep designer to fiddle with the unfolds/folds angles, and tabs.
If you can print on styrene then I'd say go for it. I would remove all tabs first though. Not sure how you would make the nice neat folds either. May wind up just having to cut up some pieces.
EDIT: You'll need a decent working knowledge of pep designer to fiddle with the unfolds/folds angles, and tabs.
Dancin_Fool
Well-Known Member
There's a guy on the 405th, Timecon, who uses cardboard. I believe what he does is print it out on paper or cardstock first and then spray glues it to the cardboard. The nice thing about doing it this way is that you don't need the tabs for support so it's even quicker to get cut out and put together.
I had a go at using this method on a mask and it worked out quite well.
Riceball
Master Member
Even easier than tracing on styrene would be to just print it out on paper and then glue it on to the styrene and go from there.
fabrik
Active Member
Plasi-paste would work really well for strength but would banjo any details. If you've room on the inside then i reckon this could be a decent call (just don't get any on your jeans it'll make then snap in two!)
cayman shen
Master Member
How about on the inside? Say I do the pep on thin styrene and then put bondo on the inside so I can sand the styrene smooth? Would the bondo adhere to the styrene and make a hard inner surface, or would that not be appropriate for the reinforcing?
Riceball
Master Member
I'm no expert on this but as I understand the Pep method and styrene there would be no need for Bondo on the inside of the styrene. The Bondo isn't so much for reinforcement as it is for a sandable and malleable surface to create a smooth and/or rounded surface that you can add fine details to. So Bondo on the inside of a styrene Pep model would be rather pointless, unless the styrene has been rounded you'd only need to add Bondo to the outside. Fine lines can be simply etched into the styrene directly and there are putties that would easier (and probably) cheaper to use for adding detail parts to the styrene.
Just to be clear, I'm no expert on the matter and I haven't created anything yet from Pep or sculpting from clay. Everything I've stated above is based primarily on things I've read here and elsewhere and I'm sure that somebody more knowledgable will chime in and confirm or correct what I've stated above.
cayman shen
Master Member
The inside needs to be stiffened with something, or the bondo will crack. I'm taking about pepping some parts with very thin styrene, so they'll still have the geometric shapes to be smoothed out on the dome or whatever. You see what I'm saying, or am I being unclear?
Automotive filler (Bondo) is not strong it's used to finish a piece. You can get fiberrglass filler that is strong, evercoat and US chem make short strand and long strand. But if you can't use resin because of it's smell/toxic nature I can't see how you would use filler anyway it's the same thing (Polyester filler) just thickened for filling??
cayman shen
Master Member
Bah, you're right. I might have to find a friend's house to do this. No matter how I slice it, I'm not sure I can think of a way to avoid that outer bondo layer.
Riceball
Master Member
Well, it's not exactly necessary, it's only necessary if you want a nicely detailed and smooth/rounded surface. If you don't mind an angular surface with minimal details then there's no need for Bondoing, just stiffen and paint.
Thinking of it, there might be a way of getting a smooth/rounded surface without resorting to Bondo. You might be able to get away with gluing a layer of thinnish card stock over the finished Pep model, you'd just lay it over the model so that it sits over all of the edges that need to be rounded out. I'm not entirely certain that it would work but it's an idea that may or may not be worth trying. The only thing is, even if it does work it still won't do anything for you as far as fine details are concerned.
Sigma-LS
Sr Member
You can use Apoxie Sculpt for the outer layer (just a big bucket of your standard 2 part epoxy putty). Milliput is the same too but a little finer grade.
Smooths like clay, sands like bondo.
"Tastes like crab, talks like people." Sorry, couldn't help it.
EDIT: If you go with the glue paper to styrene route, invert the model. That way the paper winds up on the inside and your unmolested sandable styrene on the outside.
Smooths like clay, sands like bondo.
"Tastes like crab, talks like people." Sorry, couldn't help it.
EDIT: If you go with the glue paper to styrene route, invert the model. That way the paper winds up on the inside and your unmolested sandable styrene on the outside.
cayman shen
Master Member
Well, I bought a big for sale sign. I'm thinking I'll make it in sections and reinforce it as I go, probably with a few good coats of that bed liner, and then the foam if need be. Once that's done I'll ponder the whole bondo/apoxie on the outside, but let's see if mt styrene experiment works before I stress over that.
Wish me luck. I'll start a new thread with pics and updates if it's successful.
Wish me luck. I'll start a new thread with pics and updates if it's successful.
Neon Sentry
Sr Member
That's what I've been planning on doing! I figured I'd use the SmoothCast 321 followed by 320 reinforcing, finished off with an Apoxie-Sculpt outer skin. I've been working on some custom figures using the stuff and I just love it. The limited working time is a hassle, but I imagine that it'd work as a benefit when it comes to Pepakura.
Weight could be an issue, though...
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