Has anyone used Wonderflex?

[zamgram]

A friend recommended that I use Wonderflex in crafting Zam pieces, and it's real affordable so I bought a small piece...but I'm not brave about "digging in". Has anyone worked with it before? It's the stuff you heat and then it's pliable and when it cools it hardens.

I'm not sure I even know which Zam parts I want to try making out of it....(other than my helmet and gun, everything needs upgrades)....maybe the chest armor. I don't know if it would be pliable enough for anything else.

Please share any experience ya'll have with Wonderflex..either on Zam or other projects...thank you very much.

 

[kimncris]

Is that a brand name for polystyrene? If so, I used that for all of my hard parts, including the helmet. It was great for everything except the helmet - It only curves along one plane so it is nigh impossible to get the correct shape. Pics here: http://kimncris.com/costumes/zam.php

It is a great light-weight alternative for those whose accuracy standards are a bit lower, including myself. I use polystyrene for lots and lots of stuff. Well, at least I used to when I actually had time to make costumes and props!

 

[zamgram]

tips and tricks?

So, do you have any advice for working with it, or painting it, cutting it, anything at all? I was hoping it would come with basic instructions, but it didn't.

 

[kimncris]

It is very easy to cut and carve. My husband uses an exacto knife to cut it. I am not quite strong enough to do that so I generally use the dremel tool or a teeny tiny saw from this mini tool kit my father gave me. I think that when working on Zam my tools generally consisted of the dremel with a few different attachments, a rough file for rounding edges, and a few grades of sand paper for finishing.

I would always make templates out of poster board and then trace the shape on the material with a sharpie.

We've experimented with using the heat gun to warm it up but I don't really like doing it that way. It is too easy to scorch it, which changes the texture. I usually heat it by dipping it in boiling water. After shaping it, I would then run it under cool water immediately to capture the shape I wanted.

As for painting, I'm pretty sure that I would lightly sand it and then use a coat of automotive primer before applying the actual paint. I do as much as possible with spray paint and then do weathering etc. with brushes, sponges, and so on.

Hope that helps!

 

[zamgram]

Thank you! Those tips will help a lot. Maybe I'll get brave enough to play with it this weekend.

 

[sl tk8456]

This stuff sounds cool
I'd say scorching it may make a cool looking weathered effect? I know I've made Becky's look like a 'fried' blaster mark in places. Not cannon but really nice.
She's a bounty hunter, she's been around and kicked booty!

 

[kimncris]

The scorching could probably be dressed up to make some interesting weathering. If I'm remembering correctly it sort of "orange-peels" so it might look more like a chemical burn than a blast mark?

I'm sure you're right and that there is a way to use the scorching for a cool effect