Amethyst Angel's
Armor-Making for the Fiberglass-Phobic

A Step-By-Step Guide

The quest to find a fiberglass-free means of creating armor was begun by me after my initial fiber-glass-based attempts to create an armored breastplate for a video game character resulted in my creating a shapeless, shell-like mass which sort of looked like armor if you squinted at it and used your imagination, and which would have fit me perfectly, had I been willing to have several of my ribs removed before attempting to wear it. It also resulted in heavy lung and finger damage (and my almost winning a Darwin award), thanks to my innate inability to use proper protection whilst working around mind-bendingly dangerous, flesh-hostile chemicals.

I figured out pretty quickly that if a doofus like me wanted to make costume armor, I'd have to find another way, and one which involved no risk or danger to my person whatsoever. I researched into various methods and materials and soon hit upon the idea of using thick ABS plastic. The problem with ABS plastic though, is that in order to shape it, you have to melt it in your oven. (Thereupon we run into the problem of toxic fumes --and that whole risk and danger thing--not to mention the possible ruining of one's oven if you use it to melt plastic on a continuous basis. Besides, if you're not careful with handling ABS plastic when it's warm, it can wind up looking like something a blind five-year-old put together while wearing boxing gloves.)

Then I hit upon another idea. Craft foam. The kind you can buy in fun, festive, multi-colored sheet form at craft and fabric stores everywhere. It can be cut into virtually any shape, has the right combination of stiffness and flexibility, and takes glue well. The problem with craft foam, however, is that it's porous and prone to staining. And paint will not stick to it very well (unless you cover it with a sealant or varnish of some sort.) So I figured that idea was probably not going to go anywhere. Then one day, while I was at (what was then) my job, I saw someone throwing away sheets of a thin, acrylic substance. They had been using it to make templates for carving patterns into granite slabs. I took some home, cut it into a shape and hot-glued it over a piece of craft foam. Viola. A new method of making costume armor was born.

This method of creating armor, I've found, is most useful when it comes to making armor containing flat plates and relatively smooth surfaces. If you want to create armor which is more along the lines of a hardsuit (like Bubblegum crisis) or which looks insectoid or organic in nature (like Guyver), you'll probably want to try another method. (Even *shudder* fiberglass.) A good place to go to learn to make cast armor is Bioweapons.com.

If you want to learn how to make vacuum-formed armor, I'd highly recommend a site like The Definitive Stormtrooper Costume How-To. If you want to create armor which is going to be used in combat (SCA, LARP), there are countless online armories which specialize in making metal, leather or ABS plastic armor. Check out my Cosplay Links List for some helpful sites on armor patternmaking and construction.

Now then, let's take a look at MY method for creating armor...

Step One: Materials

Most armor you'll make will require the following supplies:

Craft Foam

(Aka "Foamies")This stuff can be found at most craft and fabric stores and comes in various thicknesses and sizes. (Most common thicknesses are 2mm, 3mm, and 6mm and most common sizes are 8-1/2" x 11" and 11" x 17". For some reason the thickest foam ONLY comes in 8-1/2" x 11" sheets so if you want to make something BIG (like a breastplate), you're going to have to hotglue several sheets together edge to edge to make a sheet large enough to place your pattern on.

One alternative to buying craft foam from craft stores is to buy an industrial-grade version of it directly from an online supplier. This gives you the advantage of buying it in larger sheets and at greater thicknesses. Another alternative (I've been told) is to buy it --under the name insulation foam-- at a hardware store, although I'm not sure what thicknesses it comes in. (I don't go into hardware stores very often because I'm, you know, a girl. But I will have to check this tip out for myself if and when it ever ^*$@ing stops snowing around here...)

Once you have the craft foam in your hands, you must then face the problem of what size and thickness of foam to use for your particular project. As a general rule of thumb, anything structural (that is, anything that will have other pieces of armor or raised decorations glued, strapped, or otherwise attached to it--like breastplates or bracers) should be made using 6mm (1/4") thick foam. Anything that's really small or that has movable or overlapping plates should be made out of 3mm (1/8") thick foam.

I've been told that foam can be painted over if it's been sealed properly. (A reader named Drenn tells me that Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 is a good sealant to use.) There are also resin coatings and foam fillers that can be used as well, but I usually find it's simply easier to glue plastic over the foam, rather than try and seal it, unless the foam is bent or positioned in such a way that I can't fit the plastic over it.

Polystyrene Sheeting

This will be, by far, the hardest item to locate. While I know of online sources where the plastic can be found, and of plastic suppliers who might have it in stock, I don't know of any handy sources of the material, aside from the granite company where I have to show up in person and buy it directly. (They, in turn, buy it from T O Plastics Inc , Clearwater, MN 320-558-2407. You can try giving them a call if you live in the area and are feeling somewhat ambitious.) Some hobby/model shops might also have it in stock. You can also try searching the Thomas Register Online Database for a company that sells this kind of sheeting. (Thanks to Rydain for this tip.) The official name for this sheeting is polystyrene and it's actually the exact same thing as ABS plastic-- although the kind I use for my armor method comes in thin, translucent sheets, about the thickness of a sheet of tagboard (Which I'm guessing, is ,020 or .030 maybe? ) --it's not the thick variety usually associated with the making of plastic armor.

Cost of the plastic runs me about 8 dollars per 40" x 84" sheet (although I do get it at a discount. It will probably cost you a little to a lot more, especially if you factor in the cost of shipping. If anyone out there knows of a good place where this type of plastic can be purchased in person or online, please e-mail me and I'll post the information on this website.)

Glue Gun and Glue Sticks

A decent glue gun should run you about 20 bucks and you can find them for sale at most fabric and crafts stores. A glue gun is used for melting sticks of thermal adhesive (what will heretofore be referred to as hotglue) and applying them to...whatever it is you want to apply them to. What's nice about hotglue is that it's good at bonding the craft foam and plastic together and is good for filling in cracks and spaces. (It can even be used as a molding compound. Just impress a shape into modelling clay, pull it out, squirt hotglue into the shape it leaves and then tear away the clay once the glue cools and sets. I once made a whole set of Sesshoumaru armor horns that way.) The best brand of hotglue to use is the all-purpose kind they sell at Michaels craft stores. (I've used cheaper glues only to find they don't bond very well.)

Other Materials You Need

Scissors-- I recommend a nice heavy, high-precision scissors--something that will clip through soft plastic and leave nice, sharp edges on your craft foam. Cheapie, orange-handled scissors (like the kind you find at Wal-Mart) probably won't cut it. (No pun intended)

Craft (X-Acto) Knife-- For precision carving. Try to buy one with as heavy a blade as possible--you don't want it snapping off in the plastic in mid-cut and the blade flying up and hitting you in the eye or some other equally useful and sensitive body part. Box cutters (the kind with disposable blades) are also a good choice.

Needle and Thread. - Make sure they're heavy, but not TOO heavy. (You'll have a tough time pulling a needle through plastic if it's the size of a cable. On the other hand, you don't want your needle to break on you.) You can expect to have your needles bend on you from time to time though, so you'd best keep a steady supply of them on hand.

Craft Pliers - The needlenose variety. Useful for grasping onto needles and pulling them through layers of foam and plastic.

Paint - I'll elaborate more on this in the How to Paint Your Armor Section later.

Tagboard and Newspaper - These items will come in handy when it comes to making your armor patterns. Tagboard will behave a lot like your plastic sheeting, so it's the best choice to use for patternmaking.

Speaking of patternmaking, let's move to:

Step One of the Armormaking Process: Making Your Pattern