Basics of armor Building

Hello Fellow Saber Guild members,

with more and more people looking to make themselves some knights of Ren inspired outfits, I figured I'd open a thread on different ways to go about armor building. I will go about just dumping anything I already have saved or just videos I find randomly and all that I will be posting are approved materials. if a material is not on here I mostly likely have not looked into it much or it is simply not an approved material for Saber Guild. some things to keep in mind as you look at the links:

1- if you plan to be cost efficient and use EVA foam, remember that you cannot use the material unless you cover it in in some kind of finish that makes it look like anything else besides foam.
2- if you plan to use Worbla, keep in mind it is an expensive material. Plan on splitting the cost on a bulk order if you want to get your money's worth. typically when I get worbla I get 3 jumbo sheets and split with one to two other people.
3- A lot of these materials are related by one tool: heat gun! if there is any tool you should make sure to invest in to keep by your side is a heat gun. there are some good priced heat guns out there, but some are also very expensive. Marcus( Saber Guild Prime) uses an Industrial heat gun which I will ask for the actual name of model soon, but it works wonders

ok any other questions please send my way. if you have a question about a particular crafting style, I probably know where to look or already have a video on it. Now let's make some badass armor!

Alright here is the first few tutorial I'll be posting. This is showing a process on carving foam into 3D masses and how to assemble it if you use a lighter assembly approach 
Please keep in mind something this tutorial does not go over is that fact that you need to seal the foam in some kind of finish that makes it look anything but foam. I am currently looking into what works best for that as I am working on some armor at the moment. enjoy!

Here is the link for foam carving:Foam Carving

Here is the link for foam assembly:Foam assembly

Here is another link for foam building basics, but something to mention for this video- do not use Plasti Dip . the main reason being that although it works for foam armor, it will not do well against impact damage and may crack. I will get further insight on the matter, but most likely the spray is not approvable: Foam Building basics Another Foam building basics

Thank you for the info.  I personally was planning on doing some armor out of leather in sort of a Tales of the Jedi/Jedi General style.  I already talked to my costume consular about it with some concept drawings, but It's nice to hear others talk about armor. 

I personally like leather, but if you want to shape the leather it needs to be veggie tanned, and not painted yet.  You cut the pattern you want, then shape by soaking it warm water, and put it under the lowest setting in the oven for several minutes.  Then you paint it with acrylic paints or dye it, seal it, etc.   

I have some sites to share that has some good foam coating, like eva foam:  
http://www.smooth-on.com/
http://hotwirefoamfactory.com/025_All_Purp_FoamCoat.html
It was also suggested by another in our group that clear Mog Podge could work as well: https://blog.adafruit.com/2015/03/04/5-ways-to-use-mod-podge-for-cosplay/ 

Stuff about Thermoplastics (plastic you use a heat gun with to shape): 
http://www.torbandreiner.com/online-shop-1/millinery-supplies/Blocking-Materials/thermoplastics
There is also Terra flux by Tandyleather now.

I had a link to alternative Thermoplastics that were cheaper then Worba and Wonderflex  I can't seem to find it now though.  If anyone happens to know a few please share.

perfect thanks for posting this! this is great links for others

Alright so the next material I'll be posting about: Worbla!
Worbla is a thermoplastic that when heated, has the same consistency of cookie dough( smells like it too ) 

BIG issue with Worbla is that it is EXPENSIVE. most of the time what I get is the Jumbo sheets which run about 74-80 dollars a sheet. most armor( accounting for hiccups) will take about 2 sheets at least..maybe 3. that is also not counting shipping. 

But it makes up for its cost by being a very malleable. Worbla is so flexible when heated that it can even rip apart, like dough..but it also falls apart like dough. you need to be very careful when handling Worbla as when you are paying attention to it, it will just fall into a weird position and sometimes even stick to itself. when Worbla is mashed to itself, 90% of the time it will be a permanent bond. 

the most tools you'll need when working with Worbla:dark marker(or anything to make your measurement marks), scissors, and a HEAT GUN( most important one!) 

optional tools: Dremel, sanding belt, craft foam

Of all the tools, The HEAT GUN is the most important. it is literally the only way for you to activate the worbla. some say you can use an oven or blow dryer but I have had issues with those before. The blow dryer, although not much different from the concept of a heat gun, does not get hot enough for you to work with the worbla. Putting it in the Oven is not a good idea as when you heat worbla, it sticks to MOST surfaces, and will most likely stick to your baking sheet..that will not be fun ti deal with..trust me..

craft foam is on here because of a method of working with Worbla known as "sandwiching". I personally use this method anytime I work with the material as it allows for more diverse thicknesses and detail work. here is a link for some basics in the method: Sandwiching Worbla

Anything that you can use to sand Worbla is always great to use as sometimes you won't get the smooth edge finish. But be warned, when you sand worbla, it has the tendency to heat up again and make more of a mess than what you started with so be gentle when sanding it.

Best thing to keep in mind when working with Worbla: it's like putting together a puzzle. Anytime you cut a piece of worbla, it's far too thin to use for any practical use. you need to bind it to another piece in order to start working with it as armor. it also is very unlikely you will get one solid armor piece with just one cut out shape of worbla. If you plan to make big chest pieces with it or just large armor in general, break the armor into sections. trust me when I say it will NOT hold up if you try to make one big chest plate with it. THis also something to keep in mind when you consider buying worbla as when you need to make a piece, it will need two cut out pieces to make it..and it will start to add up so plan out your design way in advance!

A fun trick to keep in mind when working with Worbla is that since it takes a lot of heat to mold and shape, it will also take some time to cool down. that means holding your piece in place while it dries. AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT! The best way to deal with this problem is to keep cold water near by or even better keep a running faucet next to you as you work so you can quick dry it in the water an ensure that the shape keeps to what you wanted right from the start

Now I don't want to talk about all thermoplastics on here,as most work the same way or are unable to work with our line of work, but this is a special thermoplastic that has been recently released to the public..Clear thermoplastic. its official name is Transpa Art and it is a thermoplastic that is completely transparent. I have not had the chance to use this material yet but it definitely is something to look at possible if anyone plans on oddly shaped visors. link is here:Transpa Art

Alright well I hope this helps some of you out that may consider using this material. please feel free to message me if you have any other concerns with the material

Just my 2c, but EVA that is properly sealed and painted will almost always look better than Worbla unless you've worked with the material extensively. It is also prone to coming apart under heat if bound to itself. I've seen and fixed many-a-worbla malfunction at different conventions.

I have some of their new BlackArt brand that I haven't tried to use yet, its supposed to be a little more user friendly, but after all the experience I've had I would definitely lean more toward making EVA work. Alternatively, if you have your heart set on worbla, don't rely on it to bind to itself. Make sure you reinforce it with something else.

I completely agree with that post Kayleesi! This is something I did not touch on that I wish I had.

Worba does have an issue staying attached to itself when subjected to high temperatures. A big reason I suggest using Worbla is because the texture of worbla does a pretty good job of looking like metal which is the type of material most are thinking of when making armour. this means that you can paint directly onto the worbla and put a few coats of sealers on top of that. but you must always remember to use light coats of paint as with any prop.

There are many ways I get around securing the worbla without just relying on the adhesive side of the worbla but the most effective is rivets.

rivets: this is the most effective method that I use as it is the most adjustable to the worbla work method. the typical way i go about using rivets is to actually plan out what armor im going to connect to what and then I'll go ahead and rivet the pieces BUT ONLY once I have sanded and cleaned up the full worbla piece( if you plan to use sandwich method, you would do that and clean up edges before this process). once everything is secured by the rivets, go ahead and form the piece(s) to what ever shape you plan them to be in. NOW something to note for this method is that it ONLY works if you plan to have pieces in the same directional transformation. this means that all the pieces are going to be formed in the same way. something is this look is what I mean: Layered armour piece

if you plan the separate armor pieces to be formed in different ways then go ahead and form the pieces as you wish to have them formed and then proceed to rivet them afterwards. this way will require more cross checking and double measuring so you do not punch multiple holes into your piece by mistake.

when it comes to covering up the rivets, you can normally just use a smaller piece of worbla cut to the size just big enough to cover up the rivet and then heat it up, slap it on, and use a small sanding bit to smooth out the edges. another way of covering the rivets is to actually use small doses of super liquid glue. doing it this way is not as clean and is normally reserved for emergency fixes. when using super glue you want to build it up slowly by putting one layer around the edge of the rivet, let it dry, then put on another layer. soon after only a few layers, given you allow it to dry completely before putting on a new layer, you will see that the edge of the rivet has been lost to the glue and as long as it is clean(ish) you can go ahead and paint over it.