Props and Costume Armor: Create Realistic Science Fiction & Fantasy Weapons, Armor, and Accessories

290 Pages·2016·42.51 MB·English

by  Shawn Thorsson

Technology
This book is so awesome...it makes my fingers itch to get into my shop
and get building. It’s a fantastic compendium of tools, techniques, and
tips for the novice as well as the experienced builder. Excellent cosplay
Props Costume Armor

and
is no longer a radically expensive proposition! —AdAm SAvAgE
Get ready to up your game for comic and anime conventions, theatrical presentations, costume parties,
Renaissance and Maker Faires, live action role playing, and holiday events. With this indispensable guide Create Realistic
you’ll learn to fabricate, replicate, paint, and weather your way to making amazing realistic pieces. Along P
the way, you’ll learn step by step how to make professional-grade props and costume armor from scratch r Science Fiction
o
using tried-and-true methods.
p
Master craftsman Shawn Thorsson takes you inside his workshop to show you exactly how the magic is and Fantasy
s
created. Follow along as he shows you how to make armor and weaponry for science fiction and fantasy

characters—including helmets, a laser rifle, a giant battle axe, and more. Along the way, he shares a Weapons,
valuable tips that will save you time and money. n
d
Armor, and
InsIde you wIll dIscover:

C
● PrototyPIng Learn about the workshop tools, ● vacForMIng Build your own vacuum-forming
Accessories
materials, and techniques used for creating machine for molding plastic sheets into o
one-off versions of your designs costume pieces s
t
● PaPakura desIgner Work with software that ● 3d PrIntIng and cnc Get a taste of what these
u
lets you make folded paper into wearable new digital fabrication technologies can do
m
costume pieces for you
● Mold MakIng Turn your prototype into a ● PaIntIng Make those e
dozen replicas, or a hundred, or a thousand, lightweight foam and rubber
A
with single- and multi-piece molds pieces look like wood, metal,
r
and leather
● rotocastIng Learn how to make molds that m
allow you to cast hollow pieces ● weatherIng Take those
shiny, new objects o
● FoaM craFtIng Turn ordinary floor mats and
and make them look r
craft foam into impressive-looking body armor
scorched, rusted, and
and a shield
battle scarred
Prop and costume making are the ultimate combination of creativity and
practical maker skills. Take what you learn here and use it to unleash your
imagination!
T
h
US $29.99 CAN $34.99 o Shawn
r
ISBN 13: 978-1-680-45006-4
s
s
Thorsson
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makezine.com

Props and Costume Armor
Create Realistic Science Fiction and Fantasy
Weapons, Armor, and Accessories
Shawn Thorsson
Copyright © 2016 Shawn Thorsson. All rights reserved. Safari® Books Online
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Make:, Maker Shed, and Maker Faire are registered trade-
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mark of Maker Media, Inc. Make: Props and Costume Armor growing community of resourceful people who under-
and related trade dress are trademarks of Maker Media, Inc. take amazing projects in their backyards, basements, and
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CONTENTS
Preface v Part II Molding and Casting
Acknowledgements xiii
5: Mold-Making Basics 87
Part I Prototypes and One-Offs Leave a Lasting Impression
The Simplest Molds Ever 88
1: Building with Sheets and Tubes 3
Mold-Making Material 88
Starting Off Easy
Mold-Making Terminology 89
Starting Off Simple 4
Battle Axe for the Wolf Warrior 8 6: One-Piece Molds 93
Hunter’s Rifle 18 You’ve Got to Start Somewhere
Easy Version: A Part with a Flat Backside 93
2: Working with Pepakura 29
Slightly Harder Version: A Piece with
Print a Science Fiction Helmet on
Details on All Sides 101
Your Inkjet
7: Multi-Piece Molds 109
Pepakura Boot Camp 30
Putting Pepakura to Work 35 When You Need to See Both Sides
Making It Hard 43 Starting Simple: A Two-Part Mold
Making It Smooth 50 with a Mold Box 110
Detailing 53 Not So Simple: A Three-Piece Silicone
Rubber Jacket Mold with a
3: EVA Foam 57
Mother Mold 117
Turning Floor Mats into Armor
A Few Tips and Tricks for Better Castings 131
Sourcing: Where to Get Foam 58
8: Molds for Rotocasting 133
The Basics: Making Foam Obey Your
Bigger Doesn’t Have to Cost More
Every Whim 59
Patterning 64 Prepare the Prototype 135
Final Detailing 77 Prepare the Work Space 136
Prepping for Paint 79 Building Up the Rubber Jacket 136
Paint! 80 Building the Mother Mold 140
Rotocasting 147
4: 3D Printing and CNC Carving 81
Trimming and Prepping the Cast
Let the Robots Do the Work
Part for Painting 150
iii
Part III Vacuum Forming 13: Weathering 221
The Fastest Way to Wear and Tear
9: Vacforming Basics 155
Additive Weathering 222
Make Factory-Looking Parts at Home
Subtractive Weathering 227
Terminology 156
Mud 230
Designing the Forming Bucks 156
Rust 231
Building the Forming Bucks 157
The Path to Patina 236
Choosing Plastics for Vacforming 163
Scorches and Burn Marks 237
The Simplest Possible Vacforming Setup 164
Burnt Metal 238
Blood Spatter 239
10: Build Your Own Vacuum
Forming Machine 175
Step Up Your Game by Stepping Out Part V Bringing it All Together
of the Kitchen
14: Strapping and Padding 245
Begin by Building the Clamping Frame 176
Hold Yourself Together!
Heat Sources 179
Padding 246
Common Configurations 180
Armor Attachment Options 247
Building the Platen 183
Strapping Materials 249
Vacuum Sources 184
Buckles and Related Hardware 249
Putting It to Work 188
How to Attach Straps to Stuff 250
Design Considerations for Strapping
Part IV Painting and Weathering
Your Armor Together 253
The Tricky Bits 254
11: Basecoats and Masking 193
Odds and Ends: A Few More
Building a Believable Finish Starts with a
Strapping Tips 260
Solid Foundation
15: Showing Off 263
More Than You Ever Wanted to Know
Now That You've Got It, Flaunt It!
About Paint 194
Basecoats: Building a Believable Finish Handlers 263
Starts with a Solid Foundation 196 Field Repair Kit 264
Masking and Stenciling 205 Posing for Photos 265
Planned Photoshoots 266
12: Faux Finishes 209
Making Something into Something Else
Index 269
Metal 210
Leather 212
Wood Grain 214
Carbon Fiber 218
iv Contents
PREFACE
WHY MAKE PROPS? from certain extinction? You’re about to learn how
The answer to that question is simple: Some- a humble floor mat can be turned into that suit of
times you want to possess something that doesn’t armor.
even exist. Do you want to hang that barbarian marauder’s
For most people, there have been plenty of particular battle-ax over your mantle? You’re just
times in their lives when they’ve been watching a a couple sheets of plastic and a few bits of lumber
movie or TV show, or playing a video game, and away from having it.
found themselves wishing they could be more like Want that galactic warrior’s helmet for your
the characters on the screen. People who make up bookshelf? A quick trip to the hardware store and
words for things call this form of dreaming escap- you’re on your way.
ism, and it’s one of the main reasons these kinds of And what’s more, if you’re a Maker, when some-
entertainment exist. No matter what shape daily one points to that just-right thing on your desk and
life may take, people can take a break and be spir- asks where you got it, you can beam with pride and
ited away to whole different worlds that are more answer, “I made it.”
to their liking. You’re about to embark on a journey that will
For most people, that’s as far as it goes. They give you a whole new way of looking at the world
witness the end of the evildoers, the adventurer’s around you. By the end of this book you’ll start see-
spaceship returns home, and then they step back ing new uses for everything you can get your hands
through the looking glass—or crawl back through on, and you’ll be able to have the kinds of things
the wardrobe—and leave every part of that other non-Makers only get to dream of.
world behind. For most people, that’s the end of
the experience. Before Getting Started
But not if you’re a Maker.
For a Maker, the escape doesn’t have to end Before you get to work, though, we need to take
when the credits roll or when the campaign is won. a moment to review safety procedures, the tools
Unlike the mere mortals of this planet, a Maker can you’ll need, and a few points about responsible
have souvenirs from those fantastic worlds. behavior.
Do you have a yearning to dress like the armor- When learning new skills, and working with
clad superhero that just saved the human race new tools and materials, it’s always a good idea to
v
be educated about the safety concerns involved. immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of your life
Many of the projects in this book will require the in order to keep your own immune system from
use of potentially dangerous tools and chemicals. destroying the implanted organ and causing . . .
Read the warning labels on everything. Heed the Look, just buy the respirator.
warning labels on everything. In addition to making sure that the respirator
is properly sized to form a good seal to your face,
Personal Protective
you’ll also want to read the specifications of the
Equipment (Be Safe) filter cartridges that go with it. It turns out that
after prolonged exposure to open air they will only
There are some times in life when circumstances be effective for a certain amount of time (typi-
conspire against us to create dangerous, unhealthy cally something like 40 hours) and will need to be
situations. When you’re engaged in a hobby, this replaced with new cartridges. The cartridge life can
should never be the case. There’s absolutely no be prolonged by placing it in an airtight container
excuse for not taking adequate safety precautions when not in use, but once it’s removed from the
while building your own prop and armor replicas. package, keep track of how many hours it’s been
The staff at the local hospital’s emergency room in use. It’s your health. Don’t damage it by trying to
won’t be impressed when you tell them you’re save a few dollars.
there because you were in a rush to build your Even if there aren’t any chemical fumes to
spaceman suit and didn’t have time to avoid man- worry about, sanding, cutting, and grinding will
gling your body in the process. often generate fine dust that can cause a lot of
With that in mind . . . heartache if it’s inhaled. This is when a cheap dust
mask is a good idea. This is the only time it’s a good
Don’t Destroy Your Lungs
idea.
One of the biggest concerns when it comes to
Don’t Destroy Your Eyes
most prop-making processes is respiratory pro-
tection. The paints and resins being used usually Eyes are delicate things. When you’re mixing chem-
contain volatile organic chemicals and emit nox- ical goo it’s really easy to splatter some tiny drip of
ious fumes as they dry or cure. While it might be caustic ick into them and ruin your entire day. The
tempting to save a little money by skimping on same goes for having the tip snap off of a hobby
respiratory safety equipment, keep this in mind: knife and pop itself into your cornea or having
at the time of this writing, a decent organic vapor some cloud of dust fill your eyelids with abrasive
respirator will cost somewhere in the neighbor- garbage. It’s just something that’s going to happen.
hood of $40. That’s 40 US dollars. A lung transplant Since you know it’s going to happen, pick up a pair
can easily run somewhere in the neighborhood of safety glasses and wear them. You’ll work a lot
of half a million US dollars, if they’re able to find faster if you’re not stopping to flush gunk out of
a compatible donor, and you’ll still have to take your eyes with running water.
vi Preface
The pirate look may be in vogue lately and If you’re wearing work gloves to protect your
some people might consider an eyepatch to be dainty fingers and supple palms from the abrasive
a tasteful fashion accessory. But do you know effects of sanding and polishing, make sure you
what’s even cooler than wearing an eye patch? wear gloves that fit properly and allow your hands
Not answering the, “What happened to your eye?” to move freely. Better yet, grow some calluses and
question with some version of “I’m an idiot.” limit the glove-wearing to those occasions where
things are hot enough to potentially cause burns.
Don’t Destroy Your Ears
At some point, power tools will be involved. If
you’re using a machine that requires you to raise
your voice above a normal conversational volume
at all in order to be heard, you should be wearing
some form of hearing protection. There are count-
less options available. Pick something comfortable.
Don’t Destroy Your Hands
Rubber exam gloves are almost always a good idea.
Many of the materials you’ll be using are harmful to
your skin, but even if they’re not, it’s often nice to
be able to simply peel off a layer of rubber and have
relatively clean hands. That way you can answer
your phone without gluing your fingertips to it.
Some people are allergic to latex. If you’re one
of those people, use nitrile gloves instead. You
FIGURE P-1: Fashionable protective equipment is an
shouldn’t have to be told. absolute must.
J
Maker Note
When selecting your safety equipment, you can get all kinds of advice about the best brands, the best
types, and the best prices. Listen to all of it. Make sure your personal protective gear is adequate for
the job it needs to do. What most people won’t mention is that, all other things being equal, you should
pick safety equipment that looks cool (Figure P-1). Face it, if you look silly in your respirator and safety
glasses, you’ll be less willing to wear them. However, when you find a setup that looks great on you,
remember to take it back off when you’re done working. Nobody at the nearby restaurant, supermarket,
or airport will understand why you’re wearing your safety gear and you’ll be hard-pressed to explain it to
the police or mental health professionals you’ll eventually meet along the way.
Preface vii
Tools (Be Smart) J
Maker Note
Having a state-of-the-art workshop filled with high-
end gear and specialized equipment can be nice, It may seem counterintuitive, but the sharper
but great-looking props can be made with just a a knife is, the safer it is. A dull blade will cause
handful of simple tools. If you’re someone who you to push harder to cut through things.
took all of the shop classes in high school or you This usually means there’s less control involved
and you’re more likely to slip and cut some-
have a solid grounding in do-it-yourself projects,
thing you don’t want to cut—something like a
you may want to skip this section. But since we all
major artery.
didn’t grow up tinkering in woodshops or building
our own cars, there are a few basic things worth
going over.
Sandpaper
Knives
Sometime shortly after the ancient Chinese first
These are simultaneously the most indispensable
invented paper, some enterprising genius found a
and most dangerous tools that every workshop
way to glue sand to it and start smoothing things
must have. It’s ideal to have a heavy-duty utility
out. It took centuries after that before someone
knife (often called a sheetrock knife) with dispos-
else figured out a way to quantify the precise
able blades, as well as a small hobby knife (such
roughness of the sand glued to the paper so we
as an X-ACTO) for finer work (Figure P-2). When
could all benefit from a standardized system of
you’re using a knife, remember to cut away from
numeric abrasive values known as grit. When
yourself (and those around you) and, when cutting
purchasing sandpaper, the higher the grit, the
through something, make sure you’re cutting on
smoother it is. Why is that? When sorting out the
top of a cutting board or some other surface that
abrasive particles, they’re poured through a mesh.
won’t mind a little extra love from a sharp blade.
The grit value is the number of holes along each
edge of a one-inch square of that mesh. So 80-grit
sandpaper is covered in particles that are no larger
than 1/80th of an inch in size while 400-grit sandpa-
per is covered in particles that are no larger than
1/400th of an inch in size. Now you know.
There are a few key things to know about using
sandpaper. If you’re sanding something that’s sup-
posed to be flat, it’s a good idea to use a sanding
block (several are shown in Figure P-3). This can
either be a purpose-made tool with an ergonomic
FIGURE P-2: A heavy-duty utility knife and a small hobby knife.
Looking sharp! shape and a clamping system for holding a piece
viii Preface