Make Your Own Foam MANDALORIAN ARMOR | With Templates | Part 1 

Dude, for real. I've been trying to get my suit put together, and I just bought a roll of EVA foam. Literally was going "Hell yeah! Now what?" Glad this was the first video that popped up. I now have a better understanding of the tools I need versus the tools I have 👍

Thanks for the great comment and the support! :)

3d print is so expensive 😭 this channel really saved my ass the foam looks fantastic

Same!

Not to mention the endless sanding that would be required. UGH!!! lol

Thanks, I'm glad you like my work!

Thank you! Good luck with your project :)

@@TristanMaker Thanks! :) I do wonder though, would these blueprints and methods work with Sintra, a kind of PVC board?

Awesome! I'm glad you like my work and thanks for the nice comment! :)

Awesome!

Would love to know what you did to feminise this! :O

Thanks, I forgot to record the process of attaching the armor to the suit for the painting video, but I just used big sewing snaps and velcro.

Thank you! I'm glad you like my work!

Thank you, I'm glad you like it!

Thanks! It's a pretty simple armor to build, I don't see any reason not to give it a try :)

Haha thank you! :)

No problem! I hope you're having fun! :)

Thank you! :)

Awesome, thanks!

For armors, high density foam will work best. For helmets which need more curves and heatforming, medium density is better.

Thanks! I'm glad you like it! :)

Thank you!

It sounds like you might be applying too much. You should apply a really thin layer for the parts to stick properly. If that's not the issue, maybe it's the brand of contact cement. If you are not already using Dap Weldwood or Barge contact cement, those are the 2 brands I would recommend. Make sure you are using the regular version and not the water based version.

Hi, I'm glad you like my work! You can watch my painting videos for my clone trooper and Boba Fett armor, in the second half of each, I show how to attach the parts together.

@TristanMaker thanks. Will do!

6 to 8mm foam for most of the armor is what I recommend. Thicker foam is harder to work with and doesn't look as realistic in my opinion

Thank you!

Awesome! I'm not sure exactly but if you get a 1x3 meter sheet of 8mm foam (or 6mm) and smaller sheets of the other thicknesses like 1x1 meter, you should have enough :)

@@TristanMaker Would that be enough for the top and bottom half of the suit or only the top?

Thanks for the nice comment! :)

Thanks for your support! Yes, that's the goal with the floor gloss. It also changes the finish depending on how thick you apply it. The way I did it in the painting video is to get a glossy finish.

I have a printing tutorial video on this RU-vid channel. It's also linked in the product description on Etsy.

Awesome, thanks for your support! I'm not sure all pieces will fit on 12x9 inch sheets, you might have to glue them together edge to edge to make them bigger. And I think you'll need a lot more than 10 sheet to make the full armor.

@@TristanMaker I think I am just going for the helmet and chest plate for now, and will continue to build the rest over time. How do you transfer the lines from the template onto the foam. Did you use some sort of transfer paper?

You could totally make the armor from PVC plastic instead of foam to make it more sturdy. That would propably be best for airsoft. And the best part is you can still paint it.

@@TristanMaker Ohhh nice, thank you so much! I'll see if I can place it over the armor and further protect it by adding the pockets for the magazines when I do go for an airsoft match.

Thanks!

Thanks! I pin the templates on the foam using sewing pins so they don't move while I trace them.

@@TristanMaker Never thought of that! Brilliant thank you!

@@kristiehenderson4898 I personally like to use sockets (like the ones for wrenches) to weigh down the patterns. But anything with a bit of heft will work

i know this is late, but maybe you're still working with foam. i print the patterns out on CARD STOCK 65lb or 90lb paper, cut the patterns out with VERY good scissors and i trace the pattern with a SILVER ball point art pen (i use black foam) no need to weigh the patterns down, just hold and trace.

Thanks! Yes you can totally scale the templates up or down before printing using the sizing chart in the pictures of the listing. There is also a printing tutorial video linked in the product description. :)

@@TristanMaker thanks for the fast response

You can print on any size paper using any printer. Simply watch the printing tutorial video linked in the product description on Etsy. The size of your foam sheets doesn't matter as you will cut out the templates before tracing them on EVA foam.

I would recommend to start by scaling everything the same. Once you print the templates, you can check if the pieces will fit you. For the ones that don't fit, you can add or remove material from the templates or you can rescale them and print them again.

@@TristanMaker thank you very much for the feedback this really helped. Happy crafting

I didn't paint it yet, and I haven't decided on how exactly I'll seal the armor. But I know I'll use graphite powder instead of the spazstix.

I'm not sure exactly, but with a 3x1 meter sheet of 8mm foam, and a 1x1 meter sheet of every other thicknesses specified on the templates, you should have more than enough.

Yes the gauntlets just slide over my hands onto my arms. You can add some padding inside to make them fit better if necessary. :)

@@TristanMaker well, I made one of them so far and the back fits well, but the wrist area is too big, however I can't make it any smaller or else I won't be able to put it on, so now I'm trying to figure out a way to make it work.

In this case adding soft padding foam inside could fix the issue.

Thanks! I'm sure you can make something that looks great! :)

@@TristanMaker thanks dude

@@TristanMaker btw I need my moms printer to work i just need ink

@@TristanMaker no problem

I'm from Canada so I get my foam from True North Cosplay. If you live in the United States, I recommend getting it from TNT Cosplay Supplies or Blick Art Materials.

In the painting video for the armor, I show the jump suit I use underneath the armor pieces. Unfortunately I didn't show how to attach the pieces but it's pretty simple. I just used Velcro and big sewing snaps.

Hi, for this specific armor it's not necessary since you can easily adjust each part by testing it on yourself. That's what I did when building my armor. :)

@@TristanMaker Thanks man, appreciate it 👌

Follow up question, are there any tips you have on extra tools? We have box cutters but is there anything in particular we should look for when picking a dremel? Would black foam be better than grey, and now that I have the files off Etsy, do we just base the amount of foam sheets of the given thickness we need off of our own body measurements? Appreciate you taking the time to answer questions.

Thanks! I used a tinted welding visor. The listing I bought on amazon doesn't exist anymore, but there are other listings for the same product. :)

Thanks, there's a link to my Etsy store in the description.

Thanks! I'm from Canada so I get my foam from True North Cosplay. If you're from the United States, you can get your foam from TNT Cosplay Supplies, Blick Art Materials and many other places.

I'm guessing about 3x1 meter of 8mm foam, and 1x1 meter of each other thicknesses specified on the templates should be more than enough.

I wouldn't recommend it, but I'm sure it's possible if you modify the templates a bit. Maybe try to find templates that are made for cardboard.. :)

Any type of paper you have in your printer. Watch the printing tutorial video linked in the product description on Etsy, all the info is there.

Thanks!

One of the things I’ve written down for next time is to print on heavier card stock instead of 20 weight printer paper. I think it would just be easier to trace and work with.

It's hard to estimate. For just the chest piece maybe 5 to 8 hours.

It depends on what sealant and paints you use, and how careful you are when wearing the armor.

You totally can, but there will be a Little bit of guess work to make it look like it should.

It's hard to say. But it's not a big armor so 1 sheet of each thickness required that's about 1 x 2 meters should be more than enough.

@@TristanMaker Is it better to go with standard EVA or is a high density a preferable choice?

If you live in the United States, I recommend getting it from TNT Cosplay Supplies or Blick Art Materials.

Simply watch my printing tutorial video linked in the product description on Etsy. All the information is there

Thanks for your purchase! I'm guessing you are asking about the amount of foam needed. It depends on the scale you print the templates at, but with a 3x1 meter sheet of 8mm foam, and a 1x1 meter sheet of every other thicknesses specified on the templates, you should have more than enough. I hope this helps!

Someone made a pvc foam armor using my templates and gave me feedback. They said it worked pretty well for most of the parts. The only ones that didn't work were the more rounded ones like the knee guard and shin guard. Of course for the helmet, pvc foam won't work due to the curved parts.

@@TristanMaker thanks for getting back to me. That should work fine. I already have a helmet. So the big thing was figuring out the rest of the armor. It's just been hard to find anything that looks as accurate as your templates or is even the correct armor. I'll keep in mind that it won't work for everything.

Once all the pages are printed out, you have to cut off the border around the pages and tape them together to get the complete template.

@@TristanMaker sweet thanks a lot 👍🏼

I'd say close to 100$ in foam and 100$ in paint

Most of the pieces should fit everyone by scaling them up or down because they don't wrap around the body. Some pieces like the forearms and the lower leg armor will need to be modified a bit to fit properly.

@@TristanMaker how do you upsize or modify them. I recently bought the new death watch mando helmet and I really want to get into making armor and cosplay so I’m literally as brand new to this as you can be

Check out the printing tutorial video on my RU-vid channel. It's also linked in the description of all my products on Etsy. If you want to modify the templates after printing, check out KamuiCosplay's video: How to Scale Armor Patterns

@@TristanMaker thank you so much, it’ll take me a while to make it but when the results are in ill be thankful for your help

No problem, have fun crafting! :)

Hey, simply watch the printing tutorial video linked in the product description over on Etsy, all the information is there. :)

I made the templates and they are for sale in my Etsy store which is linked in the video description.

@@TristanMaker ohhh okay thanks! I’ll check it out !

You can get those from TNT Cosplay supplies, Blick Art Materials or Michaels

You can print the file on any size paper. Simply follow the printing tutorial video linked in the product description on Etsy.

Hi, simply watch the printing tutorial video. All the information is there. :)

You can print on any size paper. Simply watch the printing tutorial video linked in the product description on Etsy.

Watch the printing tutorial video linked in the product description on Etsy. All the information is there. The app to print the templates is Adobe Acrobat Reader, not Microsoft Word.

Hi, I'm not sure exactly, but with a 3x1 meter sheet of 8mm foam, and a 1x1 meter sheet of every other thicknesses specified on the templates, you should have more than enough. I hope this helps!

@@TristanMaker Thank you so much

I use cosplay specific EVA foam. I recommend getting medium to high density foam for your project. I'm from Canada so I get my foam from True North Cosplay. If you live in the United States, I recommend getting it from TNT Cosplay Supplies or Blick Art Materials.

@@TristanMaker thank you! I'm Canadian as well. I'll get from them.

That's a great idea. Every time you remake a prop, it turns out better than the last. :)

They are not designed for this so I can't recommend it, but someone has made a steel Mando armor using my templates and said it worked well. Some of the parts have compound curves which is harder to get with steel.

Around 60 or 100? What Do und prefer?

Simply refer to the printing tutorial video linked in the product description on Etsy.

Unfortunately no, I only sell the templates to help you make the projects yourself.

I used sewing pins to keep the templates from moving while I trace them with a sharpie.

@@TristanMaker I bought your templates and I’m super psyched. Great content! I also came here to ask how to transfer the lines to the foam, and I guess I don’t understand your answer. Do you push the sharpie THROUGH the paper or are you doing something else? Thanks in advance. We are going to get started this week.

Never mind. I sent you a note on Etsy and you responded already. I ended up tracing the outer edges first then cutting out every individual piece and tracing around it. It has worked pretty well thus far, with a bit of eyeballing here and there. Thanks again! I hope to be done with the chest piece by tomorrow!