Pepakura: Alternatives to Fiberglass

[cayman shen]

Is apoxie sculpt a two part thing?

 

[jaymay023]

Is apoxie sculpt a two part thing?

Ya Apoxie Sculpt is two part so are SmoothCast products, Ive used something similar from a local plastics place.
Wasn't too happy with the end product, IMO. Properly layed fiberglass is way stronger I think. Don't get me wrong its nice to have a quick set up time (liquid to gel in 4 to 5 minutes, demold in 10) with the "urethane" plastics, and it would work well if you wanted a one off pep helmet. But if you drop it I think its really more prone to breaking then compared to a fiberglass helm, which would most likely chip rather then crack or break.
here are the differences in appearance of out of the mold pieces using both methods smoothcast/plastic (white) and fiberglass(black)

Fiberglass looks shiny, it will be tacky til its primed or filled, just like finhead said earlier.
I'm wondering if you could lay fiberglass in the two part plastic method. It starts out in a water consistency lay some glass in and then let if sit.

 

[cayman shen]

Too early to start a new thread, but I did part of the dome and faceplate in the thin styrene last night, and so far I'm quite happy with the results. It will at least minimize the resin nonsense. Now, if you try this, glue on the pep template, but remember to write numbers on the plastic afterward so you don't get lost! I almost forgot that...what a puzzle that would have been.

 

[Finhead]

I'm wondering if you could lay fiberglass in the two part plastic method. It starts out in a water consistency lay some glass in and then let if sit.

Sure why not, I would use glass cloth instead of mat (or I have). Same kind of deal as carbon fiber, just different.

 

[cayman shen]

OK, another experiment. Hot glue method...eh. A bit too flexible. Using styrene didn't work on small, fiddly parts. I've read a few things on expanding foam (again, presuming I'm not wearing this but making a statue). One poster above suggested it might warp the pep. I saw things on the 405th that some use it, carefully, to fill closed shapes, like rifles and so on.

Anyone have experience?

 

[cayman shen]

Still experimenting. Wasn't nuts about papier mache. Neat things can be done with it, but I need something that I feel like I have more control over, if that makes sense. I can't explain it, but it was just kinda fussy for my tastes.

How about slathering the inside with two-part epoxy? That's be a bit expensive I guess...

 

[idonutn0]

Might try this stuff:
Donald Durham Company -- Makers of Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty (tm).

Its a powder that you add water too and mix. Its supposed to be sandable and hard like bondo. You might try it out. Its about $6 or $7 for a can of it. You can get it at Home Depot or Lowes it the paint/caulk section.

 

[themanwoaname]

i was wondering, since ive heard around here you can add acetone to bondo to thin it out, could you add acetone to resin to make it thinner and easier to paint on?

 

[BlindSquirrel]

A few thoughts as I've done a ton of Pep models.

I use Staples brand cover stock as it cuts and folds easier than card stock, accepts glue readily but it's still thick enough to hold shape. You have a lot of cutting and folding to do so why fight the paper?

I've had really great results by slush casting Polytek 15-6 resin in small sections on the inside. The resin kicks in 3-4 minutes so your arm won't fall off rotating the thing and you can move quickly to the next coat. You can quickly build up a solid 1/8" thick shell without having to use fiberglass. The outside facets and paper easily sands off.

The stuff will leak out of any tiny hole (and even soak into the paper) so you'll want to wear gloves...you don't want that stuff on your skin.

Here's my Kroenen mask that I built using this method.

 

[pharon66]

Sounds interesting. I might have to try that.

 

[Vinom11]

Might try this stuff:
Donald Durham Company -- Makers of Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty (tm).

Its a powder that you add water too and mix. Its supposed to be sandable and hard like bondo. You might try it out. Its about $6 or $7 for a can of it. You can get it at Home Depot or Lowes it the paint/caulk section.

I've used this stuff before. Rock hard is accurate. The stuff is like steel and somewhat difficult to sand. Not impossible but difficult. Anyway, if you want to put in the time i'm sure it will work just fine. :cool

 

[CB2001]

One of the PDFs from the 405th suggested using Resin and Hot Glue as an alternate to Resin and fiberglass.

 

[elijahdprophet]

After reading this thread and some others around the net I am going to be ordering some Aqua Resin when I get paid next to try out on some pep parts that I am working on for a Fallout costume.

I picked up some stuff called Amazing Casting Resin at the hobby store and it is oder free and fine for indoor use, but it thickens in about a minute so using it on the outside seems like it would be really tough. I used it on the inside of a piece and it is really solid though, so I am going to use the remained of what I bought for that.

 

[almayben]

I'm using epoxy, it is type of resin when it hardens the color changes to pink and it is hard like a rock

 

[Judge Spartan]

You can add acetone to resin to thin it out, just add very little or you may have problems. Make sure to stir it thoroughly at the same time as adding the activator.

 

[elro]

OK, another experiment. Hot glue method...eh. A bit too flexible. Using styrene didn't work on small, fiddly parts. I've read a few things on expanding foam (again, presuming I'm not wearing this but making a statue). One poster above suggested it might warp the pep. I saw things on the 405th that some use it, carefully, to fill closed shapes, like rifles and so on.

Anyone have experience?

Have sprayed EXP foam inside the base of my Thane head. Had ripped the model from the game, pepped it, spray exp foam, then covered with plasticine before molding and casting.

In terms of warping, This only usually happens with a terrible unfold + improper support struts on the piece. The weakest part on any pep is where there is an edge with no adjacent face. Using triangles here make life much easier whether you are using Fglass, exp foam, etc.

Some people like to paint resin on the piece first - But Ive found using high density / low expansion foam to work perfectly. Just make sure you've glued the parts together well. The most important thing really is to just keep an eye on the piece. The outer ring will cure first, and if you have a large hole in the piece, prod through it to release gas that is building up inside. If it is a closed piece, use a skewer stick and jam through a flat face, then mush around like a bayonette to release gas.

Hmmm. I have a Headcrab to do this on soon, i might make a tutorial for it so there are picture to make it easier to see

 

[terryr]

Experimentally I've tried resin and felt. I had some resin left so soaked it into craft felt. I'd say 1 layer of felt is stronger than 1 layer of fiberglass. Really soaks up the resin though.
Didn't try sanding it or anything.
Cost wise, a small square of felt is a buck, while several yards of fiberglass is 10 bucks.

 

[Weapioneer]

what is the difference of Aquaglass vs Polyurethane resin? is aqua glass a brand name or type? Which of these can you get in dubai?

 

[kry10]

I have a question about this, I am making a Kryten head from Red Dwarf to wear, as this is not a metal helmet like Iron Man, it is flesh but basically a mechanoid head, I have tried to fibreglass it, but, that has made it virtually impossible to wear due to it being rigid and personally I don't want to risk putting anything with fibreglass onto my head/face.
Would the head be strong and stiff enough if I just coated it with epoxy resin on the inside and outside ?

 

[Weapioneer]

well, I don't think putting fiberglass on your head is harmful, as long as you wear an 'arming cap' or put some cloth padding. However, if the mask is more organic than armor, then you might want to consider using latex or the hot glue method.