Assemble Your Avengers & Destroy Them With Loki Armor (Ible Will Work for Any Custom Costume Armor)

Ok so a year or so ago we did a tutorial with a dremel on how to make a foam master.
We have since decided to try it on a CNC machine! I think it turned out pretty good! You can also refer to my old ible to see how to dremel one.

Some of the things you will need to complete this ible are as follows
Reference Material
CAD Program
CNC Machine
Insulation Foan Board
Weldwood glue (Contact Cement)
Paint
Paint brushes
Plaster
Mask Latex
Underarmor Shirt
Some skill and some time


We started with a pic of the armor and helmet! once we found a good one we did some measurments to make sure the Armor and helmet  would fit properly!

We then opened out CAD program and based out our outline, once it was to the shape and size of our measurments we started adding the detail. After the detail was refined we added a little color to it to makes sure we were happy with the overall look of the designed piece. 

Next we set up the the CAD file in out software to assign route pathing to the areas we want to cut. Since we are making a master we cut away the recessed areas to give us raides detail! This is the hardest part as you are taking a 2D image and turning it into a 3D object. Also our CNC machine does not cut in 3D so we have to do our designs in steps and recesses.

Once the last step is complete you will need to set the values on your CNC machine and start cutting, the machine should cut you a perfect foam master of your CAD design, let her rip! You will want to use different size and different types of bits to give you the desired cuts and effects. Once the Masters are cut cleaned and sanded a little you will have a perfect copy of your CAD file to pour plaster into and make a mold of your armor.

The plastering process is a simple one! Mix up your plaster as instructed by the bag and pour it into the Master. For the first coat you will want to make it a little thinner to make sure you pick up all the detail in your master. Once the first coat dries a little (not completly) mix up another thicker batch and pour it over the master. Continue this process until you have a nice thick mold that heaps over yor master. Once dry flip over your mold and gently pull the foam out of the plasrer mold, if all goes well you should end up with a perfect reverse mold of your positive master. 

Once you remove the master from your plaster mold you will want to clean your mold, sometimes the foam sticks a little. Use a little water and a sponge and you will be good to go. Let the mold dry a while and get your latex ready! The latex step is very easy, all you have to do is pour it into your mold, slusl it around covering the whole mold and getting it into all the recessed areas. Make sure you make the latex cast thick enough as this will be your final piece for your costume. Let the latex sit in the mold and dry! The plaster pulls the moisture out of the latex. I usually leave it 12-24 hours dependong on thickness.

Once your latex is dry you can pull it from the mold and get it ready to paint. First I would advise that you cover the exposed latex with baby powder as this will prvent the latex from sticking to its self. Now with the latex out of the mold you will want to wash it off with water, trim off all the acess and let it dry. Once dried we usually cove the latex piece in plastidip, it helps your paint stick better and keeps it from cracking. Once the plastidip dries you are ready to paint, you can either use latex paint or watetred down acrylic. Paint up your Armor the way you want it and let your paint dry bewteen coats.

Now that your piece is painted you will want to add straps or mount it to your underarmor shirt. I usuaklly glue mine it seems to stay in place better so that is what I will explain next. For the glue we use weldwood contact cement, it stick by chemical reaction so I would not recommend wearing the under shirt while gluing. All you have to do is cover the area of your undershirt that the Armor will cover, I would siggest at least 3 coats letting each nearly dry before adding the next. Once the last coat is on coat your latex armor, let dry a little and press the armor to the undershirt. Let dry for 12-24 hours and you have yourself some kick butt armor.

This will work with any costume if you have the imangination to make it a reality. We used Loki Armor as an example. We also did the helmet, but thats another ible.

Thanks for checking it out
Jeremey & Mallie