The PEPAKURA question thread - PLEASE READ RULES IN FIRST POST!

Hey Peps!!!

I just wanted to pass along some information I found with the help of Shadowman...the product name is Gesso, this product can be applied to seal your foam costume (not to make it hard, use plasti-dip for that), anyways in other words it works like Bondo for foam, it is applied by brush and can be sanded to give the foam a better finish, they used this product back in the day to make canvas have a better texture to be painted on...Also it is flexible, tons of old masterpieces were rolled and put away and the paint still good with no cracks on them...


Thanks Shadowman fro bringing this up on his thread...



Cheers brothers!!!!

Wow thanks for the tip. I actually have a bug ass container of gesso from my art days. I will definitely be trying that out
 
I was wondering what the pros and cons were on paper vs. foam prep?
Like others have said, the paper and resin method will net you a much more detailed piece. It will also be nearly indestructable if done properly. Things that really, REALLY need to be hard are best done in paper and resin. I'm building a set of Halo spartan armor in paper and resin because I want it to be able to take a TON of abuse, and there are a ton of realy fine details. Paper and resin is extremly tedious and time consuming, but worth the effort IMO. Another benefit to the paper and resin method is the ability to fix imperfections with fillers and sculpting tools.

Things that are very form fitting and need to be flexible are usually a good candidate for foam. Iron Man armor is very popular for foam builders because it has to be tight to the body, but you still need to be able to move. Another upside is that you see results very quickly. A foam piece may only take a few hours to get to a base form on a large piece. Repairs can be a bit more difficult, and cracks on harsh flex points are almost inevitable.
 
I was wondering, if I use some clay on top of fibreglass, can I still put bondo on top of the clay? Will it still be as strong and is their a certain clay better for this then others? I have a very "blocky" mask I am doing and want to smooth it out with clay before the bondo so I was just wondering if this will work before I ruin it.
 
I was wondering, if I use some clay on top of fibreglass, can I still put bondo on top of the clay? Will it still be as strong and is their a certain clay better for this then others? I have a very "blocky" mask I am doing and want to smooth it out with clay before the bondo so I was just wondering if this will work before I ruin it.

You could use Super Sculpy clay, but I tend to use the oil based clay for sculpting (positive) before making a plaster (negative) mold. I then paint in a 50/50 mix of Bondo and fiberglass resin, then add fiberglass cloth and resin on top of that. This will give you a sand-able layer to make a smooth finish after pulling it out. Orbital palm sanders are your friend on large flat surfaces, and hand sand nooks and crannies.

Granted, it does depend upon what you're doing and what materials you're using. If you're going to wear the mask and not just display it, then fiberglass and vacuum-formed plastic are your friends. If you want to do a test in paper mache, paper or cardboard-fold construction mask then you can find several water based clay-like materials at better art supply stores. You might even be able to make a mold from your piece afterward...
 
Rescaling

Does anyone know a good way to scale the file down to the size needed for the pep costume being made im having so much trouble figuring this all out right now.
 
I have a question. If I made my ironman helmet out of foam is there any way to get it hard, like if I were doing it the paper/resin way?
 
OH AWESOME!!! MY DAY HAS JUST BEEN MADE!!!

I sent a request to Tamasoft a while ago to improve the scaling on pep. Will check out the feature when I get home, but it basically allows you to measure a distance between two points (VERY useful for collars on chest pieces etc).

Another awesome feature is to detect for overlapping pieces.

So, 3.1.0 is out, here are the improvements :

  • A menu to export the unfolded pattern separately into multiple DXF files was added as [File]-[Export]-[Vector Format]-[Multi-Files DXF].
  • The part which is selected on the 2D Window is highlighted on the 3D Window.
  • A menu to check the overlapping parts was added as [2D Menu]-[Check Overlapping Parts].
  • Double-clicking an edge on the 3D Window before unfolding selects multiple edges on the edge-ring at a time.
  • An edit mode on which measures the distance between two points was added as [2D Menu]-[Edit Mode]-[Measure Distance between Two Points].
 
Ok so here is a quick tutorial of the feature I requested :

1. Once the Model has had the intial scale and Unfold applied you can then detect the distance between two points on the model.
d3Acb3mk


2. The option is located here :
p2EkxiRg


3. Moving the mouse across the surface of the model will display a red dot. You can then click, then find a new point on the surface of the model :
7N0Of0qE


4. Finally, after clicking on the second point a little box will appear giving a readout of the XYZ + The distance (in MM) between the two selected points.
z6n6zNnE



Well there you guys go! I didnt think they would even add the feature! Its good to see that Tamasoft do take their customer feedback seriously and implement changes based on the feedback. Im so stoked right now! :D
 
Wow that Brilliant Elro, thats what ive been hoping for all along.. im only new to pepakura and this really is a life saver, thanks for sharing hey. cheers.
 
Wow that Brilliant Elro, thats what ive been hoping for all along.. im only new to pepakura and this really is a life saver, thanks for sharing hey. cheers.

Well yeah, its great to be able to check the inside distances before unfolding, then printing and wasting a few hours xD


And seeing as they listen to requests, I urge ANYONE with great ideas to send them through to Tamasoft because they evidently do listen!!!
 
Help needed with Pepakura model!

I have a Custom 3D model of Masterchief that I need to have modified, so that it is Pep-Ready.

Please only reply to me if you are an experienced modeller who can undertake this type of task.

Thank You.
 
Last edited:
Re: Commission: Need Pepakura Modeller

What all do you need done? If its something simple or improvements I'm sure the 405th have done it all ready. All the armor is on the halo costuming wiki
 
And seeing as they listen to requests, I urge ANYONE with great ideas to send them through to Tamasoft because they evidently do listen!!!

I am gonna send them one that says........

Make me a mac version!!!!!!!!!!!

:facepalm:facepalm:facepalm:facepalm:facepalm:facepalm:facepalm:facepalm:facepalm:facepalm:facepalm:facepalm:facepalm:facepalm
 
Help. No pepakura for Mac

I recently upgraded to a Mac and I want to make foam Halo Mark V armor for my kids. Pepakura is only for windows unfortunately. I was wondering if someone could size the files and put them in a printable format. I know I'm asking a lot and I apologize.

Charles
 
Re: Commission: Need Pepakura Modeller

I have gaps in between all the faces of each mesh. When I try to pep-it, i'm left without the connecting tabs, because Pepakura thinks that that particular part isnt supposed to join to the adjacent poly face.

In this picture, I put a light INSIDE, so that it beams through the gaps i'm talking about.

Gaps-1.png


The WHOLE model is like this. I dont know if the poly faces can be stretched, or if they will have to be replaced, or wat...
 
Last edited:
Back
Top