Sintra Thickness...?

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ThoraniosX

New Hunter

• Feb 19, 2014

• #1

I was wondering what thickness of Sintra would be the best to use for armor and helmet fabrication?

This is my first kit that I have made, and I don't have the past knowledge to know what thickness is proper for armor and helmet. I was thinking 1/8 inch (3.2mm) or 1/4 inch (6.4mm), but I am not sure what thickness is the easiest for a first-timer to work with.

I would like thicker material for durability, but I think getting 6mm Sintra may be pushing it a tad too far.

 

Mullreel

Well-Known Hunter

• Feb 19, 2014

• #2

6mm for the armor is fairly easy to work with and shape.

As far as the helmet, I don't think most people would use sintra. It works great for armor but the helmet is a much more complex shape with complex curves.

 

Mullreel

Well-Known Hunter

• Feb 19, 2014

• #3

This is 6mm armor that I made a few years back when I had NO knowledge or experience in the hobby. So you can see it is not too tough to do.

 

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ThoraniosX

New Hunter

• Feb 19, 2014

• #4

Those 6 mm looks fairly thick. Do you have any experience with 3 mm?

- - - Updated - - -

As far as Sintra for helmets is concerned, what else do people make them out of? All the tutorials I've been watching over the past week mostly make use of 3 mm Sintra for construction.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Aug 2, 2017

Mullreel

Well-Known Hunter

• Feb 20, 2014

• #5

I have seen a lot of 3mm armor. For the most part it looks way too thin to me, but that is mostly personal preference. If you make a return edge on the 6mm it doesn't look that thick.

3mm is easy to work with, easy to cut and easy to shape. If you want to start with that you can always go thicker on your second set if you want.

Most of the scratch build helmets I have seen are done with pep files, fiberglass and bondo. But someone else would be much better at answering the helmet questions, I don't have much knowledge on that subject.

 

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toolguy301

Guest

• Feb 20, 2014

• #6

I agree 3 mm thick is easy to work with but looks to thin. My armor was 3 mm (purchased off ebay & made it work) & I heated it up & rolled the edges to give it more depth so that it didn't look too thin. I would recommend for armor at least 4 mm thick.

As for helmets not sure about using sintra, but it has gotten me thinking of that option, but it would be pretty tough to get some of the intricacies. It could be used in certain areas. As Mullreel stated most of the scratch build helmets are pepakura (card stock), card board, or combination of both with using a resin, fiberglass, & bondo. There are a number of pepakura files floating around & WOF & Rafal's templates are both good bases for a helmet. Just some suggestions.

 

Jesuit24

Hunter

• Feb 20, 2014

• #7

How about doubling up 3mm? Form 3mm armour pieces, then heat up a second piece to the point of complete malleability and use the first piece as a template/press so the second piece forms to it. Glue them and you've got 6mm armour. Then you can sand/bondo the edges to be more bevelled

 

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ThoraniosX

New Hunter

• Feb 20, 2014

• #8

I was honestly thinking of going with 3 mm Sintra an everything, that way I can layer parts if I want to without too much trouble or adding too much thickness.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Feb 20, 2014

Mullreel

Well-Known Hunter

• Feb 20, 2014

• #9

Layering might be more difficult than you think, when shaping the armor it needs to be heated evenly.........if you have layers it will be difficult to evenly heat it. Plus when you go to add damage it may not shape as easy if it is layered.

I am not sure why 2 3mm sheets would ever be better than one 6 mm piece.

6mm sintra is REALLY easy to work with and it looks good, you can easily cut it, easily shape it, and easily sand it....the return edge is easy to make also. I think it would be much easier to work with 6mm than layer 3mm.


But this is just my opinion.

 

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ThoraniosX

New Hunter

• Feb 20, 2014

• #10

So 6 mm is superior to 3 mm?

Also, about how much Sintra do I need to make a full set of armor?

 

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Alienbiker23

New Hunter

• Feb 24, 2014

• #11

Hi brothers, maybe i will use 5 mm of Sintra. I want to ask you where i can get that REFLECTIVE SILVER PAINT , LIKE CHROME EFECT. I saw it a couple of years on youtube, but don´t remember the name of that paint.

Thank you for your help.

 

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Manbrolorian

New Hunter

• Feb 24, 2014

• #12

ThoraniosX said:

So 6 mm is superior to 3 mm?

Also, about how much Sintra do I need to make a full set of armor?

Click to expand...

I definitely recommend 6 mm Sintra. It's definitely more durable, and easier to give a beveled edge (as others have said). The downside to it is it's a little heavier and generally a little more expensive (I paid $60 for a 4'x8' sheet of it).

At the very least, get 4'x4' of it. You'll have a good deal of surplus left over, so you could even attempt to make the shin greeblies.
I also recommend grabbing a sheet of 3 mm, too. You can use it for smaller parts that you wouldn't easily be able to make with 6 mm.

 

Rotobon

New Hunter

• Feb 24, 2014

• #13

Hi...I am wondering how do you give shape to the armor without a mannequin? I have some sintra pieces I want to give shape to make a Jango armor and I am wondering how to do that.

 

Mullreel

Well-Known Hunter

• Feb 25, 2014

• #14

To shape it you use a heat gun and bend it to the desired shape. Or if you have a master shape you heat it and bend it with the master. I have usually done this by hand. It isn't too tough.