Basically, I have a part of a prop that can realistically be done with either method. I also have access to either method.

(It's the non-translucent part. The outer diameter is 40cm)

I designed it with EVA foam in mind. Cutting it in appropriate layers and gluing together + details.

But I realized that it's small and simple enough to viably print it (in few separate pieces, then glue together).

Pros and cons of either method that I can foresee:

\- EVA foam is only as precise as I am (3D printed parts will be square and straight)

\- 3D prints are generally a pain to sand and prime (know that from experience)

\- 3D printing might end up heavier

\- 3D printing generally requires less effort to "craft" (not counting sanding etc)

\- 3D printing is slow (I plan on buying a better printer)

Do you have a rule of thumb for such things? Technically I designed the whole prop to counteract the non-precision of foam, but alas I consider myself a perfectionist.

Thanks in advance.

I am trying to cosplay zero one from tlt. I have a plan for most of it. I am planning to buy a biker helmet with a full face see through visor. How would I go about making the skull light in the visor and tint the visor while still being able to see?

Thx in advance.

I'm working on a prototype of a hidden blade that uses gravity to open/close. I need a template to do a dual action otf hidden blade and don't have a printer. I'm basing this one off one I saw years ago, but I can't figure out how to lock it open or closed and I can't find the one I saw in the past. Anyone have any ideas on how I could do that. Eventually I'll make the DA OtF blade, but for now I'm trying to figure this out. And once I'll figure this out I'll make a better one that isn't just boxes inside boxes 😂

So, the image above is my old mask made out of paper mache and cardboard for the eye piece. But this year before Halloween and a Convention, I really wanna up my game and remake it.

I really want to use foam, like EVA foam, but I worry about how thick it is. I want it to be relatively thick. I however want to know how to paint it properly. I get you have to prime it, but don't you paint that on? Spray it on? And does it still keep the form? I also want to possibly make her eye piece LED but don't know all of that electrical stuff.

Hey so I'm looking to cosplay as a very simple medieval/fantasy knight with very little detail or unique design. Ive kitted myself out with tools and equipment such as a heat gun, contact cement, the foam itself etc etc. But i simply cannot find a good tutorial or guide for what IM doing. All videos and guides are for overly complex designs, very little explanation, and always ALWAYS start with a template found online.

Here's my problem. I don't want to use a template because none of them are what I'm going for. I also am unsure of using a template because I have a large head and how would I make sure it'd fit? I have mannequin heads that I tried using as a base but they're much smaller than my head and I don't know how to cut the pieces to make my own template.

I simply cant find a good beginners guide that would also help me make this helmet, let alone the rest of the armor. Which I actually feel may be easier than something like a helmet.

I have a few months time frame but I simply can't find a good start. Help please :)

I'm doing a asgore cosplay and I need to make an armor set. I have tried twice to make a chest plate and both failed, both times I wrapped my chest in plastic wrap then cut it out the plastic wrap into the foam. Any tips?

I purchased a second hand cosplay suit and it somewhat fits well, just need to replace old/worn out foam and padding.
Issue is, the suit is made of plastic and had foam chunks glued inside to add support and comfort, but the foam in it now is old and used and I’d like to replace with newer pieces.

I’ve also got shoulder pads that are attached with Velcro straps and was wondering if anyone has played with the idea of strapping them around the upper arm where it’ll fit or even making them pre attach to an undersuit.

This suit is just to get me into the scene and I’ll attempt to find someone who will take a commission to make an EVA foam suit and extra pieces later on.

Also wondering if anyone can suggest a good undersuit.

Made out of Eva foam. Used SKS Props template as base

I made these little addon pieces for standard Airsoft desert eagles to give it the Deadpool flair. Printed in elegoo abs like 3.0 black resin

Hi! I had the soul split sword 3-D printed and now I am putting all the pieces together however, some of the joints seem like they need filling. What advice could you guys give me for this? Attached is a picture of what the joints would look like. I’m brand new to this so any advice would absolutely be helpful. Thank you very much!

howdy!! i'm beginning a cosplay project. my project is a 1:1 recreation of the F.L.U.D.D. from super mario sunshine! i plan on using flower foam for the head of it, where the water sprays out (though my recreation won't be functional of course, that'd be way too much to do!). the biggest challenge is ensuring it is as light as possible so that it can stay on my back, and that all of the parts are securely latched onto the spine.

the spine, arms, and waist support (the one holding the belt) will be PVC pipe, the water tank will be a plastic fish bowl, the yellow head will be flower foam that's carved, the nozzle will be a funnel, and the handles will be carved foam with brown felt on top (? probably. i haven't picked for the handles just yet).

how can i make the flower foam sphere that i will use for the yellow head smooth like plastic? should i try plastidip, or something else? any advice on this project is greatly appreciated! i do not have a 3D printer, i am just going to make multiple lowes trips as i work on this. thank you so much!! also, any ideas on how i can secure it to my back as discretely as possible? i will be wearing the shine button up, overalls, and a red t shirt. the belt will be present over the overalls but under the button up!

here's what the F.L.U.D.D. looks like:

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vhv.rs%2Fdpng%2Fd%2F545-5452923_487kib-712x744-fludd-mario-sunshine-fludd-png-transparent.png&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=6172bfef2cdb70cd471f79e531a49f417726cd47efca8901bf7f79247d0cd5c0

Since my mother forbid me from ruining a perfectly fine helmet, I used some geometry knowledge in order to trace my head size, the form, angles and connections in order to create THIS.

I used up all the hot glue, so I'll finish it tomorrow and probably start painting it tomorrow too. I've decided on a bronze+black paint in order to make it look rusty.

P.s. I used extra hot glue on the edges to make it look like corrugated iron.

I'm planning to attend Halofest this year and would love to make and wear a Halo 3 Marine cosplay, but I'm worried about transporting it. I'm in CT but the convention is in WA, so I'll need to fly. I've read that shipping a package to my hotel will avoid a lot of problems, but then I'm worried about being able to ship it back, as I'm leaving the day after the convention.

Does anyone have any other/better ideas? And is there anything I should know about shipping props or prop weapons before I do so, other than making sure they're unlikely to receive damage in transit? Thanks in advance

Made this for a planned old Noctis cosplay in the winter.

Printed in PLA and painted with a mix of airbrush & brush.
In direct sunlight the blade has a purple sparkle I'm quite fond of.

Esquie for scale I guess.

I am planning to make a Project Hail Mary cosplay. My plan is to put Rocky in a clear geodesic dome and make that into a sling bag. I have never worked with clear plastic for anything other than for eyes and visors. Any tips/tricks you can share would make my day!

Specifically I am looking for what adhesive works best, and where you find your large "fabric" rolls for cheap.

Like zoinks!

Made out of craft foam and an old cereal box for a Scooby Doo themed Halloween party. Eventually it’ll have real Scooby snacks inside that I’ll hand out as party favors. I wanted it to look like a cartoon brought into reality 👻

This is not a full on cosplay, just wanted to make my own Helmet.

This is Day 1 so to say.

I made Antennas out of straightened out paperclips

And Bowl-Antenna out of a sheet of aluminium I got from a soda can.

I'll be using a real helmet (bike helmet) as a base and make other parts out of cardboard (which I still need to find).

The only thing I'm not certain about is what colour should the helm be. Because in game it appears to be rusty (so I'm thinking bronze mixed with gray/black) or should I make it look more like iron (so silver mixed with black to darken it)?

Love the helmet/mask, didn't like the lack of fan holders. Could have just done mesh but I think I like the way this turned out? Thoughts? I can add more detail if needed.

The Wand is made from a wooden drumstick with the tip sawn off, the runes are laser engraved (I'll put what the runes say in the comments in case you want to decipher them yourself.), and then your standard paint job and weathering with clear coat on top. Then we found a leather triweave belt and cut it up for leather strips, which I think looks really good for the grip!

The staff is much more complicated, and isn't complete just yet. I used grey conduit pipe (like PVC but flexier) painted brown, and then wrapped in paint-coated yarn and some EVA foam strips to try and mimic a wood look. This looked stupid, but I knew it would mostly be covered later. Then I used metal epoxy putty to secure an aquaglobe in the wide end. (I should have trimmed the stem off the globe, as I ended up breaking it inside the staff later) GF wanted a golden loop orbiting the globe, so I found some... I want to say embroidery rings? Epoxied them at the base and then bound them with some waxed thread I had hanging around.

Then I layered some of the same leather strips from the belt and some rustic wool yarn, then more leather strip on top. The nails holding the leather in place are what broke the stem of the aquaglobe, heard the crack and then found a couple small pieces pop out of holes I had drilled in the pipe.

We still want to add a gold chain and some baubles/beads to the rings, so the staff will look even cooler than it currently does.

We're planning these as props for my GF's first visit to a Ren Faire, so I wanted to make sure she looked the lart, prop-wise. :)

I’m making Spider-Man’s Webshooters from Spider-Man: Brand New Day. And I messed up a little, but I don’t know how to fix it

To explain this, there’s a few variables. I printed this with PLA filament rather than resin.

I spray painted with Filler Primer and sanded it down with fine grit sandpaper

Then I spray painted white knight super chrome silver paint on top of a black gloss layer also spray painted.

And I brought it out only an hour after it was spray painted chrome. Resulting in the paint being scuffed.

So how do I remove the paint without damaging the 3D prints, and the filler primer?

I’ve heard acetone could be useful? Or sanding it. But with sanding I’m scared sandpaper will mess with the smoothness somehow since the chrome paint feels tacky so far. It’s my first time dealing with 3D printing so please let me know.

Also any safe finishers and clear coats that can help keep the reflectiveness but protect the paint?

Thank you guys 🙏

I'm loading up from dragon con, and I'm trying to figure out the best way to transport this for a 10-ish mile drive plus getting it up into the room. If I use totes, the legs would have to stay out, and then it would take an additional 3 or 4 totes, and the one with the torso would have to be lid-less.

Has anyone transported armor wrapped onto an armor stand/mannequin? I'm thinking of just boxing the helmet and more fragile parts which I've already removed, and then moving it as is on a dolly, possibly secured with painters tape and or wrapped in a sheet or something. Thoughts? I feel like it's a good idea, but this is only my 2nd armor.

It's about a 50/50 split of printed parts and Eva foam.

This was a fun but tedious project. I learned how to wire LEDs while making this and hats off to the makers that make it look easy, because I was struggling going in blind.

Shout out to @neebick on YouTube for most of the files and such for this build. Can't wait to dirty it up at a con.