For those of you who either know me or have seen my work. You know that I've worked with a lot of different things both with leather and Thermoplastics (example: Wonderflex). I'll be working on a new cosplay this winter as I get ready for Sakuracon and I'll be working with some new Thermoplastics and leathers. If any of you have questions that need to be answered I'll do my best to answer them for you and help you explore the making of armor.
I've also done some work with Scalemaile. So I can do my best to give you a tutorial on how that is done. Remember, we're artists and we have to do our best to share our craft with the world! I personally don't hold any of my techniques to the chest and I'm always willing to share what I know!
Where do you buy your Wonderflex? I've mostly stuck with EVA foam, craft foam, and insulation foam because I can find it all locally, but I've only ever been able to find Wonderflex online.
http://www.dazian.com/html/wonderflex.html TADA!!! WONDERFLEX!!! This is some wonderful stuff! I'll tell you a bit about using it from my experience!
Wonderflex is what is called a Thermoplastic. That means its heat activated! So if you have a hot air gun or don't mind blowing out your hair dryer, you can work with this stuff with little problems! However, there are some up and down sides to using this material.
1. There are two sides to the material. There is the top and bottom. The top is smooth and often times what you'll actually want showing for your armor. The bottom portion of this material is made with a "Grid" This grid is like fabric and gives it some form of rigidity. This is what'll be on the inside of your armor. The bottom part of the armor is what sticks to itself when you heat it. Both sides will do this effectively, but for what we're using it for you'll want to use the "Grid" for the bottom.
2. Because of the "Grid" Shape, its difficult to create a perfect bowl shape as this particular thermoplastic only effectively bends two directions. I discovered this issue when I was building my last armor and i needed a perfect bowl shape for my elbow cup. It took some work and A LOT of help, but it can be done. If your considering very round armor, this material might not be your best bet.
However, for its downsides Wonderflex is a GREAT thermoplastic for the novice armor crafter. It lets you experiment and even use very little waste. Everything can be re-used with enough heat! If you use the "sandwich" technique than you can make just about anything!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YElXK-_uIAg You can follow this video tutorial about the wonderflex to show you how to work with it!
