cosplay and wonderflex
i finally got a chance to sit down with the wonderflex i got a month or two ago, and get a start on my haseo costume. wonderflex is incredible material to work with. i managed to hammer out the base construction for my vambraces in just over an hour.
new workshop
so i've appropriated the basement for cosplay purposes, moved a big ol' table in, and spread my mess out
craft foam mold
after futilely trying to form the vambraces by hand, i broke down and made up a quick craft foam mold. just a sheet of foam, the same size as my vambrace blanks, taped to other strips of foam to keep the shape, along with a little bit of heat forming on the foam itself.
wonderflex vambrace, first attempt
here's the first stab at making the vambraces. i was too excited about playing around with the wonderflex, so i didn't get pics of the construction.
vambrace, first attempt (underside)
a better angle - the shape is more defined
wonderflex blank
so, it just started out with a rectangle of wonderflex. the wonderflex came in a huge 5'x3' sheet. all i needed was a 5"x9" piece for each vambrace.
wonderflex on foam
the wonderflex is placed on the foam mold, and blow-dried (with tracy's hair dryer). wonderflex is crazy-piable when it's heated, so it actually starts drooping over the mold on its own as it heats. i just needed to pat the edges down a little bit near the end of the shaping process
heated and formed blank
here's the wonderflex fully-shaped against the mold
cooled and separated
...and after it's cooled, the shape is retained in a big way. i was initially concerned with the wonderflex bonding to the foam mold, but it peeled off relatively easily. i guess i'm not heating it to such a degree that the adhesive properties are fully activated.
newly molded blank vs prototype
i liked the way the first one turned out, so i marked approximately where i held the wonderflex to tease the curve into the vambrace.
forming the bend
just hold, and separate, after heating the entire front area. it was really easy.
pair of vambraces
and here, we have the two finished vambrace bases, ready to be smoothed (with friendly plastic, if i can get my hands on it), and painted, and attached to the rest of the glove construction.
pair of vambraces (underside)
the underside angle
new workshop
so i've appropriated the basement for cosplay purposes, moved a big ol' table in, and spread my mess out
craft foam mold
after futilely trying to form the vambraces by hand, i broke down and made up a quick craft foam mold. just a sheet of foam, the same size as my vambrace blanks, taped to other strips of foam to keep the shape, along with a little bit of heat forming on the foam itself.
wonderflex vambrace, first attempt
here's the first stab at making the vambraces. i was too excited about playing around with the wonderflex, so i didn't get pics of the construction.
vambrace, first attempt (underside)
a better angle - the shape is more defined
wonderflex blank
so, it just started out with a rectangle of wonderflex. the wonderflex came in a huge 5'x3' sheet. all i needed was a 5"x9" piece for each vambrace.
wonderflex on foam
the wonderflex is placed on the foam mold, and blow-dried (with tracy's hair dryer). wonderflex is crazy-piable when it's heated, so it actually starts drooping over the mold on its own as it heats. i just needed to pat the edges down a little bit near the end of the shaping process
heated and formed blank
here's the wonderflex fully-shaped against the mold
cooled and separated
...and after it's cooled, the shape is retained in a big way. i was initially concerned with the wonderflex bonding to the foam mold, but it peeled off relatively easily. i guess i'm not heating it to such a degree that the adhesive properties are fully activated.
newly molded blank vs prototype
i liked the way the first one turned out, so i marked approximately where i held the wonderflex to tease the curve into the vambrace.
forming the bend
just hold, and separate, after heating the entire front area. it was really easy.
pair of vambraces
and here, we have the two finished vambrace bases, ready to be smoothed (with friendly plastic, if i can get my hands on it), and painted, and attached to the rest of the glove construction.
pair of vambraces (underside)
the underside angle