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TrooperArmor.com
Pictures and Videos of my project
Here is a collection of pictures and videos from my latest project of building a full set of Stormtrooper Armor. I have just about completed my set of armor. There are a few pieces that I was not satisfied with and I decided to go back and re-do a few of them. These pictures are all inclusive, they show some of the mistakes I have made along the way as well as some of the finished pieces and molds.
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Pictures |
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| Vacuum Form Table |
This is a collection of pictures of my Vacuum Form Table. This is the device I use to shape the plastic over the plastic or wood molds. |
| Clay Models |
This is the starting point for most pieces. It begins with sculpting the armor parts out of Plasticine Clay. This clay is not suitable for vacuum forming due to it's low tolerance to heat. |
| Plaster Molds |
All Clay Molds must be cast in plaster before they can be vacuum formed. The plaster holds up better under the heat of the plastic and can be used over and over again. I did attempt to vacuum form a small clay model, but it made a terrible mess and destroyed the clay madel in the process. Creating the Plaster molds is a two step process. You must first create a negative mold of the clay model and then you must make a positive plaster mold from the negative mold. If this sounds like a lot of work, believe me it is. I have actually carved some of my larger molds out of wood to avoid this tedious process. |
Wood Molds
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These wood molds worked out better for some of the larger pieces. Creating the molds this way eliminates the need to create plaster casts since the wood can be vacuformed directly. I think I am going to do all of my remaining pieces using this method. |
Completed Armor
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Once the Vacuforming is complete, the armor must be cut out from the sheet of polystyrene and trimmed to fit. There are multiple pictures here of the completed armor in different stages of assembly. The armor will be assembled using a variety of methods including rivets, velcro, elastic straps, and plastic cement. |
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Videos |
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Vacuform Process
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I recorded a few videos of the Vacuforming process. It involves heating a sheet of polystyrene in the oven until it gets soft and formable. Once it is warm enough, I place it over the mold on my vacuform table and turn on the Shop Vac attached to the table. This sucks out all of the air between the mold and the plastic. |
