Jango72,
For over a year now I've had sheets of Sintra sitting around waiting to be made into armor. I'm assuming you used WOF's templates.
How did you go about building the cod piece? What did you use as a form once the plastic was hot? Which area of the cod's main piece did you bend first - - The waist line or the lower portion that angles in between the legs?
Any insights regarding "forming and shaping" armor would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Keep up the great work!
Yes, I did indeed use the WoF templates!
For the cod piece, it's really a lot easier than it might seem. First you'll cut and attach the two front layers of the cod piece, to give it that nice 3D shape to the front. Then, while you still have the two front parts clamped together, you'll dip the outside ends into a pot of boiling water ( just enough to heat the ends where you intend to curve them ). Allow the plastic/sintra to heat enough so that you can shape it easily. Gently curve the one side, then plunge it into your sink that you've filled with cold tap water ( this will cool and set the plastic/sintra into the new shape ). Then repeat for the other side.
You may need to repeat the heating/shaping process a few times until you get the desired curve. Just remember to take your time, and don't rush it or you could ruin the piece and have to cut a new one.
For the front curve ( the part that curves under the unmentionables ), I first made a cardboard template with a cereal box... you know, the really thin card from your Corn Pops box. Hold it around the bottom of the cod, and lightly sketch the basic shape on one side of the cod from the tip back to where it will meet back with the main body. Once you've got a basic sketch, fold the card in half and cut out the curve ( like you would a valentines heart ) to give you a symmetrical curve.
Now you can double check this template on your cod once again, and making sure that you've the desired angle, draw where you'll trim the top edge to keep it flush with the front/top edge.
You can now transfer your template to a thinner piece of plastic/sintra, and cut it out. Gently curve it into place, and glue. After the glue has set, I used some knead-a-tite putty ( plumbers putty basically ) to reinforce the seam on the backside. Hot glue might do just as well.
Hope this helps.