Making Pieces of Plasteel Armor without Vacuform

I was wondering if there were ways of making pieces of plasteel armor (maybe smaller pieces not quite as big as say a stormtrooper chest piece) without having to use a vacuform table. I'm starting pre-production on a fanfilm and was curious about methods for doing this that didnt involve such an aparatus.

 

Elemental Fantasy posted a cool little tutorial over on the fanfilms board months ago...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjxWzjyLpao&feature=related

Hope that helps...

 

You can also try this website.

http://amethyst-angel.com/armormaking.html

Good luck!

 

You seek Sintra. Be shaped with hot water it can.
http://mercs.firespray.net/forum/index.php?topic=1396.0

 

Search the web and the forums for "Pepakura" or "papercraft".

You can get good strength from paper with papiér maché (done properly) or just laminating pieces of card together.
I have seen many very nice armour pieces and helmets done in paper.

 

Non vac forming molding is going to be something like pepakura, fiberglassing or bondo. Those are going to be your best bets, there.

If you already have molds, then heating up Sintra and forming it to those molds would be another viable option.

Personally, I think vacforming is the best way to go.

 

By the way, I have also seen armor being made from household items of plastic.
There are people with Clone Trooper armor, where most of it is was from a vacuuformed kit, but they had used a trash can for the abdomen and it worked great.
I know a guy who has made the arm pieces of his Obi-Wan Kenobi - Clone Wars armor out of toiled brush holders ... and he has won several costuming competitions with it!

 

I've seen the same thing. That is ingenuity at its finest, right there. There was a time when Sintra was looked down upon because of it being a cheap grade plastic. But when you look at how it can be used for a quality build (same with trash cans), it really goes to show that it really should matter what material was used, but what the costumer did with it to make it into an awesome costume.

- Bill

 

How about plastic underneath and use of bondo and fiberglass like we use on body work. Then use some spray paint and presto.

use the fiberglass for as much as you can then use the bondo for the stuff overtop that.