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Author Topic: Anyone done pepakura before?  (Read 22914 times)

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Offline ANAKIN SKYWALKER

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Anyone done pepakura before?
« on: January 09, 2012, 10:03:08 AM »
starting a master chief costume and it is going quite well. Just wondering if anyone had any tips from their experiences.  I'll probably start posting build pics this week at some point. Been browsing 405th for info.  This really isn't all that hard, it just takes time.  And of course i strted with the helmet.  Bad idea, but the helmet itself is turning out well.


Offline Satele Shan

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Re: Anyone done pepakura before?
« Reply #1 on: January 09, 2012, 10:30:53 AM »
Are you going to resin/bondo it? Make sure you wear a respirator. I've worked with resin in the past, it's nasty smelling and toxic.

Offline ANAKIN SKYWALKER

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Re: Anyone done pepakura before?
« Reply #2 on: January 09, 2012, 10:55:01 AM »
Yeah, resin/bondo is pretty necessary.  Going to fiberglass the inside too. 


Offline LadySythe

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Re: Anyone done pepakura before?
« Reply #3 on: January 09, 2012, 10:58:44 AM »
This is my friend, Skip. He also has a facebook profile too. He's done quite a bit of pepakura. I don't know if there's anything pepakura on the site he gave me so you'll have to look while I keep trying to find the bookmarks for the sites he gave me links too lol

http://skipspepakuracostumes.blogspot.com/
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Offline Satele Shan

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Re: Anyone done pepakura before?
« Reply #4 on: January 09, 2012, 11:05:11 AM »
Yeah, resin/bondo is pretty necessary.  Going to fiberglass the inside too. 

Cool. Also make sure you wear rubber gloves... preferably the thicker ones (not the thin nitrile ones) - filling your fingers with fiberglass splinters is not fun. I've done it. For about a week afterwards, it just hurts whenever you touch anything.

Offline ANAKIN SKYWALKER

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Re: Anyone done pepakura before?
« Reply #5 on: January 09, 2012, 12:03:21 PM »
Yeah, resin/bondo is pretty necessary.  Going to fiberglass the inside too. 

Cool. Also make sure you wear rubber gloves... preferably the thicker ones (not the thin nitrile ones) - filling your fingers with fiberglass splinters is not fun. I've done it. For about a week afterwards, it just hurts whenever you touch anything.

I work at a ski resort with fiberglass tops of skis and ski pole shafts.  I'm immune to fiberglass splinters.  Lol, but thanks for the tip, i'll keep it in mind. 


Offline nartules

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Re: Anyone done pepakura before?
« Reply #6 on: January 09, 2012, 12:36:18 PM »
Yeah, resin/bondo is pretty necessary.  Going to fiberglass the inside too. 

Cool. Also make sure you wear rubber gloves... preferably the thicker ones (not the thin nitrile ones) - filling your fingers with fiberglass splinters is not fun. I've done it. For about a week afterwards, it just hurts whenever you touch anything.

Used to work at a boat shop (Fathers) making boats from the ground up, so I've had my fair share of fiberglass splinters and it isn't fun at all. Fibers are too small/fragile to pluck out either :(


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Offline ANAKIN SKYWALKER

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Re: Anyone done pepakura before?
« Reply #7 on: January 09, 2012, 01:06:09 PM »
Got a few paint brushes of various sizes, some more cardstock, spraypaint in a greenish color, black, silver, and clear, a gallon of fiberglass resin, a pack of fiberglass cloth, a respirator, bondo, and some gloves.  My mom wanted to go to the store and i decided to just go with her rather than make a special trip myself.  I have everything to finish the armor now, i will just have to worry about electronics and attaching the armor when i finish it. 


Offline shef

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Re: Anyone done pepakura before?
« Reply #8 on: January 09, 2012, 01:13:09 PM »
Got a few paint brushes of various sizes, some more cardstock, spraypaint in a greenish color, black, silver, and clear, a gallon of fiberglass resin, a pack of fiberglass cloth, a respirator, bondo, and some gloves.  My mom wanted to go to the store and i decided to just go with her rather than make a special trip myself.  I have everything to finish the armor now, i will just have to worry about electronics and attaching the armor when i finish it. 

You'll likely want fill putty.... and a range of grits of sandpaper.
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Offline LadySythe

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Re: Anyone done pepakura before?
« Reply #9 on: January 09, 2012, 01:23:48 PM »
Not putty - Bondo and a lot of it!! lol
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Offline shef

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Re: Anyone done pepakura before?
« Reply #10 on: January 09, 2012, 01:27:48 PM »
Not putty - Bondo and a lot of it!! lol

Actually, I do mean putty.  He said he already bought bondo.  Putty fills in the little air bubbles and surface scratches.  But ya, if he's buiding a full suit, that's going to take quite a bit of bondo, and elbow grease.
“The Dark Side of the Force is the pathway to many abilities some consider to be… Unnatural.”
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Offline LadySythe

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Re: Anyone done pepakura before?
« Reply #11 on: January 09, 2012, 01:36:04 PM »
Ah... see, I'm kinda sleepy so  :D :P Then again, Bondo is a kind of putty...

*cringes at remembering all the sanding it took and all the layers just to fill in dent in Boba Fett helmet...*
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Grayven "Original"
"The Chosen" by Ben Kenobi
Static RLSA "Nameless" (gift from Vosk)

Offline ANAKIN SKYWALKER

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Re: Anyone done pepakura before?
« Reply #12 on: January 09, 2012, 06:27:15 PM »
finished the helmet.  didn't scale it since it was the helmet, but I'm gonna start with a bicep tomorrow for the scaling.  I think it is my height/ master chief's height * current scale factor.  I have it written down, but if I know my math, that should be correct. 

I'll post pics of the helmet soon.  I didn't realize the helmet was one of the hardest parts until the 4th day I was working on it, when I read someone saying not to start with it.  I'm hoping to have a whole arm done tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath. 

I'm also not planning on waiting until all parts are done being folded to resin them.  I can be cutting and folding while resin is drying, and I can be applying resin while paint is drying if I offset it. 


The helmet is a bit warped, but it looks like I will be able to hold it when the resin cures for it to setup in the right place.  Should I do the inside or outside with resin if I need to bend it back into place?



Also ordered one of these http://www.westerfieldstudios.com/visor.html

and one of these

http://www.westerfieldstudios.com/goldvisor.html

I'll make it fit one way or another.  worst case I make the whole body of armor and have to buy one of their helmets down the road.  I don't want a crappy visor though.  especially since I plan to put a voice core and crazy lights and fans in the helmet.  plenty of room for batteries all over the helmet. 





« Last Edit: January 09, 2012, 06:45:44 PM by Alex Gordon »


Offline shef

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Re: Anyone done pepakura before?
« Reply #13 on: January 09, 2012, 06:50:36 PM »
My advice:  If it's warped, start over again.  Start with as perfect of a base as you can make.  Yes, you can correct some things later with the body filler, but you DON'T want to go through the time and expense of resining, glassing, and bondoing a project, just to find you are not happy with the shape.  It's much more cost effective to just start over at the build stage.  Plus, if you build a 'prototype' first, then build a second model, you can account for scaling, as well as approach your build with knowledge about the model that will (9 times out of 10) result in a superior model because you will avoid any pitfalls you may have encountered the first time around.
  I have built a few PEP projects, and every one I prototyped at least once before moving forward to the hardening stage.  But, of course YMMV.
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Offline ANAKIN SKYWALKER

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Re: Anyone done pepakura before?
« Reply #14 on: January 09, 2012, 06:55:24 PM »
I'm gonna move on before i do a helmet again.  20 hours is a lot.  The basic shape is right, it just needs braced from the inside.  I'll definitely have to consider your advice though. 


 

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