Vacuum/Thermoformed Plastic Dr. DOOM Costume/Armor/and Mask - FINISHED PICS!!! Page 4

[Psicorp7]

I have always wanted a Dr. Doom costume but having been suckered into the world of Iron Man and Captain America costumes I have put this costume on the back burner. So when the gentleman that does Vader for our local 501st approached me to build him a Dr. Doom costume I jumped at the chance!

We are using these images for a guide.



The plan is to make the rough templates out of cardboard and then resin and bondo them to make bucks for vacuum forming HIPS plastic. Larger pieces will be made with MDF if needed. This will allow us to make matching left and right arms and legs with less time and money. We will do a breast plate but no back plate. I did a arm test and we will do a test fitting tonight. I will use this thread to document the progress for him and for anyone looking to make a Doom using this method.



Enjoy!

 

[Cadeus]

Re: Vacuum/Thermoformed Plastic Dr. DOOM Costume/Armor/and Mask - for a friend....

Be sure to post plenty of progress an pics. I am not a big Doom fan, but I love a good build... and the 501st!

 

[Psicorp7]

Re: Vacuum/Thermoformed Plastic Dr. DOOM Costume/Armor/and Mask - for a friend....

Slow but sure progress on the forming bucks.

The forearms have been split in half and then braced with more cardboard and then given a coat of fiberglass resin. To help with the forming I mounted the split halves on MDF to bring them up and get some cleaner pulls.



The abs received the same treatment but since it was already raised it did not need the MDF platform.



Both pieces are currently in various layers of bondo and sanding to get them smooth and ready for forming.



Time for more bondo and the rest of the arm parts!

 

[Psicorp7]

Re: Vacuum/Thermoformed Plastic Dr. DOOM Costume/Armor/and Mask - for a friend....

Guess what???/

More bondo and sanding......yeah!



I did a couple of test pulls from the yet unfinished forearms to have my friend try them on to determine the opening size for the wrist. These will be our test bed for glues and paints as well. I have four 4x8 sheets of HIPS ready to pull and should have the bucks for the arms done very soon.



Then onto the chest, legs, shoes, gauntlets and mask. Plus the soft goods! Long way to go but still on track.

 

[Psicorp7]

Re: Vacuum/Thermoformed Plastic Dr. DOOM Costume/Armor/and Mask - for a friend....

Sometimes you can spend hours and hours getting a buck ready for forming. Other times you can just run to the hardware store and get 3" and 4" PVC ends caps, grind off the letters and ridges and voila! Instant rondels for the elbow cops and knee cops! Simple easy and durable forms. I wish the rest of the pieces were this easy.



I will fill the pulls with expanding foam and then trim them flat and put a backplate of HIPS on them before mounting them to the cops. I might also use the 3" ones for the the clasps on the cape chain. Waste not, want not!!

 

[Psicorp7]

Re: Vacuum/Thermoformed Plastic Dr. DOOM Costume/Armor/and Mask - for a friend....

Well I needed to see some progress so I spent an afternoon pulling a bunch of plastic in the forming machine.

My setup. It is an old AV cart that many of you will remember as the best part of any school day when one of these showed up! I added a box and drilled holes in the center shelf for the vacuum table. The top part houses two heating elements in a custom metal "oven". The vacuum is provided by my 5HP shop vac who does double duty cleaning up all my messes. It was a really affordable way to build a table. One day I will build a better one but for now, she works just fine.


One of the shoulder bell bucks on the table.


One bell pulled.


Then the forearms. (forgot pics of the elbow cop)


Next the biceps.


The pulls are quite tight and compressed air does not always blow the bucks back out. So I have a handle that can be drilled into the base and the buck can be pulled out with alot of wiggling!


Free at last!


One afternoon of pulling and I get a pile of plastic to make a set of left and right arms with shoulder bells!


Now onto the abs and work on the chest plate.

 

[Cadeus]

Re: Vacuum/Thermoformed Plastic Dr. DOOM Costume/Armor/and Mask - for a friend....

I love your vacu-form rig. Could you give us some details of its construction and operation?

 

[Judge Spartan]

Re: Vacuum/Thermoformed Plastic Dr. DOOM Costume/Armor/and Mask - for a friend....

LOL!! That vac form rig looks so much like the one I built years ago and works great!

 

[Psicorp7]

Re: Vacuum/Thermoformed Plastic Dr. DOOM Costume/Armor/and Mask - for a friend....

After a loooooong break I am back at this costume!

I filled the rondels with expanding foam to help them keep their form.



I trimmed the pieces to size and smoothed out the foam.



Plus I have been trimming and glueing tons of arm parts.



Then onto the legs, gauntlets and mask!

 

[Psicorp7]

Re: Vacuum/Thermoformed Plastic Dr. DOOM Costume/Armor/and Mask - for a friend....

All those parts are starting to come together to look like a set of arms!



I hope to have a full setup of the arms and shoulders done by this weekend.
Plus I am on to a set of pointy 'choos!

 

[Psicorp7]

Re: Vacuum/Thermoformed Plastic Dr. DOOM Costume/Armor/and Mask - for a friend....

Well, the arms are done for now until I get to the strapping of the whole suit. Plus we got a chance to do a test fit!



We were also able to get measurements for the breast plate and the mask. Onto those next while I work on the molds for the shins, knees and thighs. Oh, and the pointy shoes!

 

[Psicorp7]

Re: Vacuum/Thermoformed Plastic Dr. DOOM Costume/Armor/and Mask - for a friend....

The bucks for the thighs and shins are in process and coming along quickly. So are the buck for the shoes.



I started on the mask. I will be making the first master out of foam and plastic. It has a ways to go but you can start to get the idea. I will make a waste cast and then clean it up for a final. Due to the detail I will most likely have to cast the final in resin versus doing a vacuum plastic.

 

[montified88]

Re: Vacuum/Thermoformed Plastic Dr. DOOM Costume/Armor/and Mask - for a friend....

looking good........subbed for progress!

 

[ahoudini]

Re: Vacuum/Thermoformed Plastic Dr. DOOM Costume/Armor/and Mask - for a friend....

Amazing! Craft foam (red) over a white Jason Voorhees hockey mask?

 

[Psicorp7]

Re: Vacuum/Thermoformed Plastic Dr. DOOM Costume/Armor/and Mask - for a friend....

Amazing! Craft foam (red) over a white Jason Voorhees hockey mask?

Something like that! It was the fastest way to check the eye placement and determine the face shape on my buddy. I made marks for the ears, eyes, nose and mouth and then added the foam over the top. Speaking of which!
More mask progress. I still need to thicken the jaw and add the ears and cheek details.



Most of my time is spent cutting, layering and glueing the plywood for the shin and thigh bucks.



- - - Updated - - -

looking good........subbed for progress!

Thanks man! It's nice to see some of the pieces come together. I get sick of seeing just the forming bucks!

 

[ahoudini]

Vacuum/Thermoformed Plastic Dr. DOOM Costume/Armor/and Mask - for a friend....

Plywood rather than MDF because you happened to have some, or because you got tired of that god-forsaken MDF dust? [emoji4]

 

[Lord Magneto]

Re: Vacuum/Thermoformed Plastic Dr. DOOM Costume/Armor/and Mask - for a friend....

Nice man. I always love a good doom build

 

[Psicorp7]

Re: Vacuum/Thermoformed Plastic Dr. DOOM Costume/Armor/and Mask - for a friend....

Plywood rather than MDF because you happened to have some, or because you got tired of that god-forsaken MDF dust? [emoji4]

God I HATE MDF dust!!! :lol

I used MDF for some of the base risers but I had a ton of 1/4" plywood scraps from other builds. Waste not, want not!!

- - - Updated - - -

Nice man. I always love a good doom build

Thanks! This was one of my "bucket list" costumes. It was moved to the top when my friend said he wanted one!

 

[ahoudini]

Re: Vacuum/Thermoformed Plastic Dr. DOOM Costume/Armor/and Mask - for a friend....

Great work!

 

[Psicorp7]

Re: Vacuum/Thermoformed Plastic Dr. DOOM Costume/Armor/and Mask - for a friend....

Pretty boring, but progress non the less! The latest round of shin, thigh and shoe bucks in progress (mid-bondo stage).