What is Sintra???

Belfast Neil

Well-Known Member
Hi guys, I'm planning to remake pretty much all my armour this year and was going to use the temlates Vinman has kindly started posting. He amongst others has used Sintra plastic which is supposedly a sign making material. I worked in the sign game in the UK for a few years and never heard of it, though hopefully I should be able to get some sort of plastic for free from my old workmates. Is it just perspex or is it foamex which we used a lot of?

Thanks for any guidance.
 
Sintra looks just like a sheet of styrene plastic. I'm using pvc tubing sliced in half and flattened out with a heat gun. Works the same and cheaper.
I can't get any sintra but i can get the pvc tubing across the street from my place. Go to Youtube.com and look up sintra boba fett armor.
There's a guy on there that works it like magic plus he polish it with some silver rub n buff.
 
finnally a thread i can be useful in....

ive been working sintra as an armour making material for around 2 years now, its a brilliant material, relatively cheap, incredibly easy to work and can look brilliant as armour with a little work

my pred armour will be sintra

it also goes under foamex

it is an oxygenised plastic...making it a very dense voam...much easier to work than pvc

and as uratz said if you can get some rub n buff on it it will look insane!!!

if u wanna know anything else shoot me a pm

EDIT: seen as you are in the uk i can sort you out with some cheap suppliers..i'll put together a list and pm it to ya...im in wales btw
 
Cheers guys, I actually had some offcuts of foamex in the house last year when I was making everything from foamies but didn't realise what I could do with it. Made my gauntlet blades from it. I do some freelance stuff for a sign makers still so should be able to tap him up for some offcuts. Wasn't sure I could be assed making everything again but seeing some of the results on here has convinced me to give it a go.
 
Sintra looks just like a sheet of styrene plastic. I'm using pvc tubing sliced in half and flattened out with a heat gun. Works the same and cheaper.
I can't get any sintra but i can get the pvc tubing across the street from my place. Go to Youtube.com and look up sintra boba fett armor.
There's a guy on there that works it like magic plus he polish it with some silver rub n buff.

This was brought up on another forum I participate in when someone mentioned PVC not to be a killjoy but it's worth mentioning :)

PVC - The Poison Plastic

PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plastic, commonly referred to as vinyl, is one of the most hazardous consumer products ever created. PVC is dangerous to human health and the environment throughout its entire life cycle, at the factory, in our homes, and in the trash. Our bodies are contaminated with poisonous chemicals released during the PVC lifecycle, such as mercury, dioxins, and phthalates, which may pose irreversible life-long health threats. When produced or burned, PVC plastic releases dioxins, a group of the most potent synthetic chemicals ever tested, which can cause cancer and harm the immune and reproductive systems.

New Car or Shower Curtain Smell? The Smell of PVC

PVC is useless without the addition of a plethora of toxic additives, which can make the PVC product itself harmful to consumers. These chemicals can evaporate or leach out of PVC, posing risks to children and consumers. New car smell? New shower curtain smell? That’s the smell of poisonous chemicals off-gassing from the PVC. One of the most common toxic additives is DEHP, a phthalate that is a suspected carcinogen and reproductive toxicant readily found in numerous PVC products. Children can be exposed to phthalates by chewing on vinyl toys. While it is still legal for US retailers to sell PVC children’s and baby toys containing dangerous phthalates, the European Parliament voted in July, 2005 to permanently ban the use of certain toxic phthalates in toys. One EPA study found that vinyl shower curtains can cause elevated levels of dangerous air toxins, which can persist for more than a month.
Resin is not "much" better, pretty much all plastics are hazardous by nature.

Info from this site: http://www.besafenet.com/pvc/about.htm

Nasty stuff!

Sintra is cheap, easy to work with and can be formed using hot and cold water and retains it's shape, it does however become brittle with age and exposure to UV light.
 
Hey you two! Be sure post pics of this stuff. I'd love to see how you guys make stuff with it. :) I'm always interested in alternative materials to make the best stuff!

Good luck !
 
i have a template made up of an elder sword for my pred!!! will be making it in sintra probably on tuesday...i'll post it up when its started! gonna be a slightly custom version of the P2 sword

oh and about pvc being very dangerous!!!


sintra is too...when i started working with sintra i SERIOUSLY damaged my lungs while heating it...i gave myself a very serious chest infection, the doc said if i didnt smoke it would have been worse...but cause i smoke my lungs are used to a bit of punishment lol..i was still out of work for a week seriosuly ill....so my advice for everyone HEATING sintra is wear a mask cause sintra gives off toxins when heated...also if you boil it NEVER use what you boil it in for anything else as it also leaves a nasty residue on whatever you boil it in (pan, bucket, ECT...) so just be safe guys cause sintra can be nasty....imagine a chestburster and you might be able to image what it felt like LOL

i'll post up the progress on my elder sword and i believe that when i first joined i posted a video of some sintra pred armour i made but i think thats been updated now lol...i'll have to dig em out and dust them off!!!!
 
Hi guys, I'm planning to remake pretty much all my armour this year and was going to use the temlates Vinman has kindly started posting. He amongst others has used Sintra plastic which is supposedly a sign making material. I worked in the sign game in the UK for a few years and never heard of it, though hopefully I should be able to get some sort of plastic for free from my old workmates. Is it just perspex or is it foamex which we used a lot of?

Thanks for any guidance.

If you check the thread with the templates I have added some photos of the shoulder bells done in Sintra. The material does very well to add to the realism of the armor.
I will be posting the Chest armor templates very soon. I want to be sure to work out all the kinks and do a full size mock up before I post them. I hope to finish the mock up very soon.
 
Speaking of poisons and PVC. I've worked with plaster powders - if u don't wear a dust respirator the dust will go into ur lungs bond with the water and form hard plaster. Casting with PU resin - super poison, I wear respirator plus ventilation with a fan blowing outside. While heating with PVC - also wear a chemical gas respirator in a ventilated room. Pretty much all the materials we work and live with is poison. Why do u think there are more cases of people with cancer today than people say 50 years ago? Even Stan Winston died of a blood cancer caused by the materials he worked with years ago.
 
Cheers for all the advice guys. As I mentioned, I used to work in the sign game so am well used to the dust and mess plastics bring so will heed the warnings. One final question though, are you guys using 3mm or 5mm? I'me buying an 8x4 sheet on Friday so need to make sure I get the right one.
 
the sintra armour!!!!

predarmourupdate.jpg


was fun updating the old armour!
 
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