Body armor plates

[smonte00]

Hi, has anyone here used styrene sheets to make body armor for megos? I'm thinking I can heat up a piece and place it on top of a Mego torso to get the contour I want. Thoughts?

-Steve

[Boris71]

Tried this with some strip parts for a 8" time traveller chest piece even the thin strip did not bend too well with a hot air gun you also need to be carefull not to distort the memo body while heating, I would try a plaster casting of a half torso, easiest way for body armour would be fimo can be rolled thin with a pasta machine and shaped to the body if you use kitchen foil below it you can lift it off and bake it

[Spyweb007]

You could probably use Plasti-Dip also. Place foil under it and it will peel off when it's dry. I have made two removable mask/cowls using it by dipping pez dispensers into the plasti dip. One was a Batman and the other Captain America. I just dipped the whole head and then cut the open areas of the mask and peeled it off.

[smonte00]

Thanks for the tips, guys!

[Timothy2251]

You can also use layers of white glue, too. When the layers dry, you get a somewhat flexible plastic shell you can sand and paint.

[Boris71]

You can also use layers of white glue, too. When the layers dry, you get a somewhat flexible plastic shell you can sand and paint.

Not tried that do you need to put anything before that to stop it sticking to the body? Does it work on old and new mego bodies?

[Timothy2251]

I'll try to find the customizing article I read re: white glue. I think you coat the part that you want to make armor for with a thin coat of Vaseline, then start adding white glue over top of that. Then when the glue dries, you add another, layer, and so on. When it's completely dry, you have a fitted piece of plastic you can file/sand down to whatever shape you need, but it's still kind of flexible and takes paint well.

[PNGwynne]

What about Friendly Plastic beads or orthotic splinting plastic sheets, which can be shaped and molded with boiling water and heat guns?

[Boris71]

Yeah I was also wondering how thin they made L200 foam that is used in costume and prop work may go down to 1mm thick

[smonte00]

Ok. I think I have this figured out. What I'm trying to make is a chest plate for a custom moon knight. I got some styrene and clamped it into a small frame, kind of like when you vacuum form. While the plastic sheet was laying on a Mego torso, I hit it very slowly with my heat gun and when it softened up, I ran my fingers over the contours to get the shape I wanted and let it cool. I didn't take pictures of the process, because frankly, I didn't expect it to work. I think I want this to be removable so you can take the costume off, so I'll try to attach it to the body suit with Velcro or something. I'll post the pics separately.

[smonte00]

Here are a couple of pics of the torso and chest plate and another picture of the Moon Knight I want to make.

IMG_1953.JPG

IMG_1954.JPG

IMG_1955.JPG

[Ssylyss]

That turned out really good. I've been wanting something similar but wasn't sure how to make it.

[smonte00]

It's almost the same thing as vacuum form, except no vacuum an much slower.

[PNGwynne]

That's fantastic!! The beads/sheets I mention would produce a similar effect. If you sculpted onto a body and then made negative molds, you can press the warmed plastic into the molds for detailed pieces.

I like Moon Knight, that will be a great figure.

[smonte00]

Thanks!