Pros and Cons of Vac Forming?

[BAMF Cosplay]

Hello everyone, recently I've been looking into making a vacuum former and I'm wondering some of the best uses for it.
So, How does the level of detail on the outside of the plastic fair? Is it terribly different from what's on the inside or the uhm... thing I'm forming over?
I'm working on a bunch of armor builds so I was thinking this would be a convenient way to turn sculpts into something wearable. Is this logical? Is there a better way to do it?
P.S. I'm an unemployed college student so cheaper is substantially better for me :rolleyes

 

[Pro Mod]

A vac former is a great tool for producing multiples of objects quickly.
Main thing to remember is to make a quality tool (your sculpt).
Any imperfections in the tool may show through the front of the moulding - particularly if you're only using thin plastic.

The tool needs to be good and solid so as not to collapse under the pressure of the vacuum - this is probably more of a factor if you are using a commercial machine - it’s happened to me.

The other way to make armour is using fibreglass.
The disadvantage is that you would first have to make a mould from your sculpt and then fibreglass into it to produce your piece.
Fibreglassing can be a messy process, takes practice and involves buying a lot of different materials.

Hope this helps.

 

[BAMF Cosplay]

So it's a tool! Good to know xD
I guess I'll just have to try both to see which works best for my situation, thanks for your input!

 

[defstartrooper]

The vacuum formed piece will never be as sharp as the piece youe are forming over.
Basically you're stretching material over the form so any sharp edges will be softened to some degree.
How much depends on the thickness of the material you're forming with, the thinner the plastic the sharper the pull.
The advantages are the formed piece will be lightweight and quick to produce.

 

[nickytea]

The vacuum formed piece will never be as sharp as the piece youe are forming over.

Unless you're able to use a negative buck.

 

[defstartrooper]

Unless you're able to use a negative buck.

Even so it's not really possible to get as sharp a definition as you would from resin or fibreglass, edges will always be slightly rounded.