Vacuum forming your arm for armor?

[tictoc]

I think the duct tape dummy idea with bondo is a good one

 

[mirsylus]

Dang, you mean I can't vacuum form my junk and make a reusable condom and ED device all in one? :lol

you could always get a 'clone-a-willy' kit and build from there....

uh.. yes.. google it... its real.. hahahahahahaha...

 

[Xillra]

Sorry for the late response, BUT thanks! :3 all good idea's. I hope to try one in the near future.

 

[cavx]

2. cover body part with thick towel to help insulate and wrap heated plastic (use oven and a wood frame to evenly heat styrene or ABS plastic sheet) around body part (you'll need a couple of helpers to handle the plastic) to form armor (should be cool enough to remove after 20 seconds). DO NOT USE WET TOWELS - this will create steam and scald the model.

Given the surface of the plastic can reach 130 degrees C, I don't think you would want to be wrapping this around your body or parts there of.

 

[cavx]

End cost on these was probably $20 or so. I ended up sculpting over these then cutting them in half for vac form bucks. Not perfect, but they worked great for my purposes.

These look really cool. How thick is the wall thickness of the part and what was the sheet thickness before the pull?

 

[Volpin]

These look really cool. How thick is the wall thickness of the part and what was the sheet thickness before the pull?

Sheets were .10" styrene, final wall thickness varied from .080 to .060, I would guess. Never really cut one in half to measure it!

 

[madmikeee]

Don't listen to Munson... Vac-forming actual body parts is fun... and educational.

and don't forget to take videos and post them here, the more tutorials the better.

 

[Idaho Jones]

If you seal the paper, could you use a pep build to pour in the plaster to get a buck for vacuforming? You will need to smooth the plaster, but would it work for a helmet half like a Xwing lid?

Actually, this would not work at all, unless you are going to cast a SOLID resin copy of your arm, which would probably be about fifty bucks in resin. Even worse, pouring resin into a mold made of plaster bandages would be like using screen doors on a submarine.

That is, of course, assuming that you want to vacuform your armor on TOP of the buck. (that's the actual name for it, not a plug )

However, if you were to make a plaster bandage mold of your arm, then fill it with plaster, that would make an AWESOME buck, and you could probably do it all for under 40 bucks.

Though I'm going to guess that fifty bucks is out of the budget, which is why a duct tape dummy was my recommendation. It's literally a roll of duct tape and an old long sleeve shirt.

 

[sleepalot]

 

[Crank729]

Best thread evar.

 

[brandomack]

Dang, you mean I can't vacuum form my junk and make a reusable condom and ED device all in one? :lol

If you did, you would have to start wearing a gold tracksuit.

"I lost my genetalia in an unfortunate schmelting accident."

 

[madmikeee]

If you did, you would have to start wearing a gold tracksuit.

"I lost my genetalia in an unfortunate schmelting accident."

lol:lol

 

[cavx]

If you seal the paper, could you use a pep build to pour in the plaster to get a buck for vacuforming? You will need to smooth the plaster, but would it work for a helmet half like a Xwing lid?

So long as the paper held up for the pour (not just moister, but weight), yes this could work. Even if you did a slush cast first, then went back and filled it later after it dried. I've not done a PEP yet, but I think smoothing plaster would be easier than gluing small bits of card stock together.

 

[Idaho Jones]

I'm going to have to try it out. I think you could even build up the surface of the plaster with spackle to help smooth it out.

 

[cavx]

Don't most guys use Bondo on their PEPs? Plaster could work so long as it was not too wet and soaked the card stock. Having made several bucks from plastic, wood and Bondo, I think plaster would be an ideal medium to sculpt with. I am actually looking for Hydrocal as apparently it is stronger than standard plaster as plaster bucks can crack over time.