Warhammer 40k Iron Warrior chaos space marine

[bummer6]

Finally got this project rolling! I'm done with the assembly of the helmet and I learned a lot.
Now I'm just going to clean up the helmet then move on to the chest.

Anyone have any tips for cleaning up the excess glue and correct any asymmetry?

 

[Grimwood]

Reheat it with a heat gun and smooth it out with another piece of foam. Just be careful not to warp the existing foam.

i use contact cement and get pretty good seams without a lot of mess. Others use Barge with great success. Looking forward to seeing wips!

 

[Blackluc]

I am not a foam expert, but what I do if there's excess where I do not want, I heat it lightly with my heat gun, then I remove some with my fingers until it's clean enough. But most of the time I know it's going to be a mess, so I cover it up with sheets of 1-2mm foam.

 

[bummer6]

So I tried to apply "filler", but considering the language gap (I'm Swedish), I wasn't sure what kind to get, so I got regular all-purpose filler that's normally used for car bodies, boats, walls, etc. I also wanted to use it to round out some surfaces, which is why I put it on all over the back of the helmet which was kind of a mess to begin with. So what do you guys say... Should I just start over or is there any way to fix this? When sanding, the PVA glue just lets go of the EVA foam and becomes like a second skin, which causes the filler to crack. Any swedes here? I'd love to get some ideas for better brands and stuff.



PS: I'm perfectly fine with starting over AS LONG AS I know what to do on the new one... As of now I have no freakin' clue what you guys actually use to fill out all the gaps. After this post I'll make another post with some examples of the results I'd like.

 

[bummer6]

Here's the example of the seams that I'd like as opposed to seams I don't like.

 

[Mockle]

And some how you always end up with what you don't want..:lol Good luck...

 

[bummer6]

And some how you always end up with what you don't want..:lol Good luck...

Would you mind telling me what you used?

 

[OldSkoolEffects]

Why use foam for that? Use styrene sheet; it won't sag and it's easy to hide joints.

 

[bummer6]

What use foam for that? Use styrene sheet; it won't sag and it's easy to hide joints.

Cause foam is easier to work with in my opinion? Also, why the heck would foam sag?

 

[OldSkoolEffects]

EVA foam is extremely soft (comparatively) and its stiffness swings far more wildly than styrene. I'm at a loss as to how EVA foam is that much easier to use than styrene for flat, angled parts, but what do I know?

 

[Mockle]

Would you mind telling me what you used?

I used Cross Linked Polyethylene Foam is extremely fine-celled foam, ideal for projects and applications that require thicker foam. With a smooth, pleasant feel combined with superior physical and chemical properties, glues easy shapes easy, you can even sand it for shaping..

 

[twofour878]

I used EVA foam for my space marine build and that seperation is kinda normal. It doesn't look nice at first but if you take a good long time it will blend right out. I used two coats of filler and A LOT of sanding in between coats, then brushed on 2 coats of plasti dip and it turned out pretty good. Up close you could still see the seams but it passed the 6 foot test beatifully.

 

[bummer6]

I used Cross Linked Polyethylene Foam is extremely fine-celled foam, ideal for projects and applications that require thicker foam. With a smooth, pleasant feel combined with superior physical and chemical properties, glues easy shapes easy, you can even sand it for shaping..

I used EVA foam for my space marine build and that seperation is kinda normal. It doesn't look nice at first but if you take a good long time it will blend right out. I used two coats of filler and A LOT of sanding in between coats, then brushed on 2 coats of plasti dip and it turned out pretty good. Up close you could still see the seams but it passed the 6 foot test beatifully.

What I am trying to find out is what kind of filler you guys are using... I don't know why, but for some reason no-one seems to think it's worth mentioning in their build logs.

 

[bummer6]

EVA foam is extremely soft (comparatively) and its stiffness swings far more wildly than styrene. I'm at a loss as to how EVA foam is that much easier to use than styrene for flat, angled parts, but what do I know?

I don't know what build you're looking at, but this build has very VERY few flat, angled parts. And no, I'm not going to use styrene sheets just for those small details that are flat, because those areas aren't even that difficult to do with EVA foam. I asked what kind of filler other foam builders used for their seams.

 

[The martin]

Paintable caulking. Make sure it's paintable. Not all of it is.

 

[bummer6]

Paintable caulking. Make sure it's paintable. Not all of it is.

THANK YOU! Finally someone answers my question.

I've started over on another helmet, taking my time and being very careful with all the cuts this time. Got a good feeling about this now! I also bought a bunch of different brands of caulk that I'm gonna try.

 

[bummer6]

Here's some progress! I finished putting together my second helmet, and this time I got latex caulk that seems to work pretty for the seams.

 

[Mithosphere]

That already looks better than the other one you posted.

Perhaps a bit of practice?

 

[bummer6]

That already looks better than the other one you posted.

Perhaps a bit of practice?

Deffinately! I learned a lot from the last one and this one turned out way cleaner and stronger. Tomorrow I'm going to be cutting out the pieces for the chest, we'll see if I have time to assemble it all or if that'll have to wait until thursday.

 

[Flrock]

DAP makes some paintable caulk that works great with foam, it's called "Alex Plus". You'll definitely want some kind of paintable caulk to cover any imperfections you don't want to show.