How much 'depth' do you put in your armor?

So you cut your armor pieces out of, say, sintra. The next step is to form it to shape.

I've seen a lot of pics of armor here and it looks like most folks are putting a roll on the edges of their chest and abdominal armor to make some depth to the armor. How much of a roll do you put on?

Hopefully I'm being clear as to what I'm asking about. When you start, you have a flat piece cut out of flat sheet. When you finish, the edges are rolled and the armor would not lay flat. I'm looking for how much depth is there when complete.

Thanks,

Brian

i always thought the edges were just carved...but yeah, ive seen the roll your talking about..i think its just enough to show the armor isnt a piece of plastic..you know?

The easiest way I can try to explain would be that it somewhat has the curvature of an oval.

When I used sintra I always knocked down the top edge with sandpaper to round it out. Armor looks fake when it has a sharp edge.

That is exactly what I plan to do Jango... but the rolled edge as you say I think is formed on most Armour pieces due to the fact it is vacuum formed, that is the finish of a 'pulled' piece of Armour? just my two pence worth?

I use 1/8" or 3mm sintra and then I round out the edges.

Ah, so sounds like most of that effect is really just the rounding of the top edge, not actually rolling the armor. Good to know. Sounds like it will save me a bunch of work!

So another question then - if the chest plates are flat, how do people hide the chest light displays behind them?

-Brian

The chest plates are not actually flat, they have a slight curve to them. Someone with the technicals can give you the actual amount. I also had a section taken out of my vest so the chest dispay sits behind the armor comfortably without any disturbance.