Foam Builders! Help!

On a rainy day, I decided to start work on my armor. Doing it in foam, as I won't have time to do an entire suit before Halloween in cardstock and fiberglass.

I'm having a devil of a time. Two main issues I'm hoping for some tips on.

1) 45 degree angles. I bought the xacto 45 degree cutter, but the thing is garbage. It has difficulty starting a cut ( brand new ) and even if I manage to keep it held at the correct angle, I cannot get the cuts right. If it's just a straight cut, I can use a straight edge, and the cut is perfect. But Rarely is anything a straight line in pepakura. I can follow curves, but it seems as though I always lose stock off the leading edge. I either cut to deep into the face, or not enough. Causing HUGE gaps that I need to squeeze together when gluing, which warps the piece. It's absolute rubbish.

2) I start making the chest piece, and I found that there were TOO many lines in the pepakura file. Looking at Mr.Bibous work on Dancin' Fools peps ( the ones I'm using ) Located herehttp://www.therpf.com/f24/dancinfool-iron-man-mark-3-pepakura-foam-150333/index3.html it looks as though to make a great looking suite, you must combine pieces so as to remove extra lines.
I did that. And well...what a horrible mess. Are there any good guides on making foam armor out of pepakura that I may have missed? I'm watched Stealth's, Xrobots, you name it...I watched it all. And I just can't get any of it.

Help!

Bump. Really need help here.

If you're using the files you linked, they are already converted for foam so you don't need to worry about converting anything.

As for the 45 degree cuts, if you're having difficult with the cutter you can make all of your cuts at 90 degrees and go back after the fact to bevel them by using scissors turned at an angle, or using a rotary tool to sand down the edges (given your foam is dense enough to not just shred)

Thanks Kevin, but even though those files have been converted for foam use, there are too many individual parts. Meaning, some can be combined to reduce seams.

As for the 45 degree angle idea, I never thought of dremeling them. Seems like a lot of extra work though, not to mention messy. I cut all my pieces out at 90 degrees to begin with. But I can't get a 45 degree cut going around corners and stuff. I just don't know how you guys do it! LOL

I'm going to try a woodburning kit tonight after work. One with the blade attachments. Maybe that will work?

Just free hand your 45° cuts. That's what I do, and so far it worked pretty well.

For my build I used RoyalDump's foam converted files of DancinFool mkIII. i posted the link on the thread you posted.
I didn't change or cut anything to get this result. Just look at the 3D model and glue everything together
The deep lines details were done after with a soldering Iron, but before I traced them, the lines were pretty much unnoticeable.

As for the 45 degrees angles, I just used a pair of scissors to cut the edges. It's a lot easier to follow and to cut a curved piece with scissors than a knife. A lot faster IMO too, for foam cutting at least
I would recommend you to buy a small but sharp pair of scissors, it's a lot easier to work with

MrBibou said:

For my build I used RoyalDump's foam converted files of DancinFool mkIII. i posted the link on the thread you posted.
I didn't change or cut anything to get this result. Just look at the 3D model and glue everything together
The deep lines details were done after with a soldering Iron, but before I traced them, the lines were pretty much unnoticeable.

As for the 45 degrees angles, I just used a pair of scissors to cut the edges. It's a lot easier to follow and to cut a curved piece with scissors than a knife. A lot faster IMO too, for foam cutting at least
I would recommend you to buy a small but sharp pair of scissors, it's a lot easier to work with

Click to expand...

EXACTLY what I was looking for kind sir. Will get on that this evening. You rock!

hey Triton, I experienced a lot of the same problems you are when i first started my build. I looked at those dancing fools files. they seem to still have more cuts than nessicary for foam (excuse my spelling. im not dumb. i just cant spell! :lol) I used robos foam files (for mark IV/VI) They seem more foam friendly. I am not sure if there is a better alternative for the mark III (no offense, DancinFool!)
as for your 45 degree angles, what i have found to work the best is throw out the angle cutter. once you figure out which edges need to be angles, mark those with a series of dots along that line on your foam so you wont forget when you start cutting. when you do cut those lines, hold your knife (a good EXACTO knife!!) at about a 45 degree angle and lightly cut along that line only cutting a couple mm into the foam. after that go back and cut all the way through at about a 45 degree angle. that first cut helps guide your second deeper cut. remember, the angle of the cut doesnt have to be perfect, you can adjust that when you glue them. what has to be perfect is that you cut perfectly along the line so all the shapes fit together good with no gaps. take your time and cut SLOWLY. its something you get a feel for and every piece you build will be better than the one before. It is disheartening when you see some of the guys on here building amazing foam suits in a week. but make no mistake, even foam building isnt EASY. you will get it. just stick with it. post some pictures of your work so far. maybe I can give you some more.
also check out this thread. IMIM2 has some very nice tips for new builders!
http://www.therpf.com/f24/tips-newbie-newbies-foam-build-now-154310/

Np mate
Post you progress on DF thread so we can all see how it will turn out !
I did a test fit with mine but the legs came out a bit to short.. I'm working on to fix it the best I can, don't feel like re doing them again :lol

@Helagak: I don't have anything on this case.

http://www.therpf.com/f24/foam-speed-building-filesntricks-added-dancin_fools-iron-148889/

Two issues answered in one thread, isn't it nice?

For up to 6mm, use scissors for angle cut. Beyond that, cutter is cleaner. I just bought a cutter with triangle ruler attached to it. It supposed to be wallpaper cutter, works fine with me, and cheap.
Send your garbage X-acto to me :lol

Number of parts can also be reduced by "shaping mountains and valleys" technique. I learned to master it, even when using 3mm foam. Much cleaner results. Not a single excess glue on the outside seam.

And yeah, need your WIP pictures.

IMIM2 said:

@Helagak: I don't have anything on this case.

http://www.therpf.com/f24/foam-speed-building-filesntricks-added-dancin_fools-iron-148889/

Two issues answered in one thread, isn't it nice?

For up to 6mm, use scissors for angle cut. Beyond that, cutter is cleaner. I just bought a cutter with triangle ruler attached to it. It supposed to be wallpaper cutter, works fine with me, and cheap.
Send your garbage X-acto to me :lol

Number of parts can also be reduced by "shaping mountains and valleys" technique. I learned to master it, even when using 3mm foam. Much cleaner results. Not a single excess glue on the outside seam.

And yeah, need your WIP pictures.

Click to expand...

My build thread is located here: http://www.therpf.com/f24/tritons-iron-man-build-156378/

No pics on the armor yet. As I've been chucking it all out. LOL Gonna try those files Mr.Bibou suggested tonight. Will definitely keep you guys posted on my luck. LOL

Hey man its also my first time building a suit out of foam as well and trying to rush it to get it done before halloween as well... ive been having the same issue and what ive done to fix it is to use denser foam it makes things more stable to work on although it is harder to cut so in that make sure u always use a sharp blade if its not cutting like butter it needs to be replaced. As for the angles I use an X-acto as well and had the same issue... just keep practising you will start to get a better result after a while.

Just remember the first few parts of the suit are the hardest. you will get better and quicker... well thats what i have in mind to keep me going

ps. sorry bout the spelling im just lazy and cbf correcting myself