Step One: The vacuum forming machine

The final version of my home-made vacuum forming machine. Click on the image for more info.

Click here to see the fabrication of my fourth version vacuum forming rig. Also, here are some of the prototype machines I made. Don't even think about this project until you have committed to making or buying a vacuum forming machine that is large enough for the chest mold. A forming platen on no less than 21.5 x 21.5 inches square is needed, trust me. You can buy commercial vacuum form machines and spend thousands of dollars and get great results, or, you can spend less than $200 and build your own Thurston James-type machine. I wanted to replicate the Thurston James design, but simplify it with a low-tech vacuum source. The hardest part is the oven construction and thats hard only because of the exotic wire and ceramic posts. The rest of the machine can be made from materials found at the local hardware/home improvment store. Here is a link to the video, a documentary-type tutorial on vacuum forming.

Step 2: Bucks, Molds, "Moulds" or Plugs

Here are some of the first molds I ever tried to make. Made of MDF/Bondo and basswood hobby boards. Raw or painted, and made from any material you can think of, molds are the foundation for the armor. Add risers and tapers, and you have a mold that can be vacuum formed. The following are in chronological order. Start out with the most simple mold, the hip drop box, then the collar strip, and the knee power pack. The hand molds are the next easiest. Make these molds and you are on your way! Watch the video on mold making.

Some of the small molds. Note the collar straps will have to be reworked. The flat straps don't bend well.	Here is a shot of the "hand" molds. Note, each part needs to be elevated above the vac-table surface in order to have the correct contours once it has been trimmed out.	And a view of the shoulder bell still being worked on. The correct contour is a little tricky. Its done now!
Step 3: Making the vacuum form "pull"
The very first test pull: using the prototype Mark II Vac-machine
In my initial trials, I used what polystyrene I had on hand, an old "Garage Sale" sign. While functional as a test subject, I really needed to find a good styrene source. I eventually found "US Plastics Corp." and ordered the .060 styrene in a 40" x 72" sheet. Cost is $14.39 plus shipping. Not too bad. I am optimistic that this will work out well. HIPs is just a short name for High Impact Styrene. #43334. a 12" x 18" sale sign will run $5.00. The paint on the sale signs seem to cause some weird distortions too.	Here is the "US Plastics Corp." .060 styrene in a 40" x 72" sheet. Cost is $14.39 plus shipping. Not too bad. I measured the frame, cut it with a knife and slipped it into my frame. Two holes were drilled and thumbscrews were slipped in. The plastic is held securely during the heating and vacuum process. Here you can see the hand sections and the collar strips being formed. Notice that around the corners the plastic did not get hot enough. Also, I need to add risers with cut marks to indicate where to trim the parts.	Here is another view of the second set of molds being vac-ed. I re-oriented the heater, and got better results with this pull. I still need to figure out some risers with cut marks on the "drop boxes" as the "bottoms are too curvy.
Here is the final test pull, removed from the frame. You can see, this is about the best I can expect from the current heating set-up. Not bad, I'd say 80-85% coverage. The 3 hp Shop-vac seems to pull a vacuum just fine. I do have some extended heating issues with the cheap-o Sunbeam grill [it cuts off at a medium temp] Adding a second unit should fix the problem. Also adding magnetic catches to hold the frame during heating should make the transition smoother. I really need a larger machine!	REVIEW: I have since changed plastic suppliers and now use http:/www.professionalplastics.com as my supplier. They sell the Sheet High Impact Styrene [sHIS] for $23.41 a .080thick 4x 8 foot sheet.	Pretty soon I realized that my little vac-machine was going to be too tiny to pull the larger armor parts. Some other sites call to use your kitchen oven as the heater source. If your wife will allow this, it makes a cheap option. My wife said no, so I had to make the oven! After months of research and build time, trial and error, I finally got the oven working. The key to a successful vacuum forming machine is the oven.
Step 4: Reworking and using the bigger machine
The larger molds and the need for a larger machine
I'm pretty happy with the chest mold. It was a challenge to get the proper shape to the pecks, and I think it worked pout pretty well. This mold was used before I top coated it with the spot filler primer. It looks ugly, but it pulls fine.	As I make a mold, I learn something new. Bondo is a wonder material! It helps contour and shape the rough blocks that I make, transforming them from MDF to vac-molds! A sealer coat also helps hide imperfections. MDF has a tendancy to fuzz a little on the surface. It needs a coat of spot putt to smooth things out. This is the upper back, and it need some fine tuning, but its mostly there.	I'm working on the scale drawing of the thighs. Once the upper body is finished, I can see the light at the end of the mold making tunnel. Once the upper body is made, all that is left to do are the: inner and outer calves, the inner and outer right thigh and inner and outer left thigh. Some sort of fabricated thermal detonator and its off to the helmet molds!
	REVIEW: As you can tell, these molds are larger than what could have been pulled on the prototype machine. That chest mold alone needs a pretty big working surface. If you plan to pull the abdomen and codpiece as one part, you will be glad you made the machine as a 24"x24" rig.
The collars need to be reworked with an arch built in. The flat straps just do not bend well. Also, the knee boxes and belt seem to pull poorly using the thicker .080 material. I need to use .060 on these parts. Above are some of the molds.
Test pulls using the larger machine - Trial and error
Here are the pulls from the Thurston James-type machine. After getting some .080 thick HIS sheet and cutting it down to 24x24 inch squares, I mounted it on the frame, and began trying to melt it. The oven was not hot enough, and the corners did not get warm so the pull was poor. No vacuum seal.	I continued heating the oven, and installing the lid, I was able to get a better pull. This one had an issue; there was such a deep draw between two pieces, the styrene had a hole pop in between the forearm and the shoulder. This caused a loss of vacuum and loss of detail.	So, I decided to try a wider spacing approach. This seemed to work, and revealed the webbing issues, and the need for risers. Careful attention to arrangement of the molds on the forming platen will minimize the webbing issue.
The oven had been running for 20 mins. by the time I pulled this, and I found that if I wear gloves, I can massage the hot plastic to conform to the mold better. Note, the belt and the shoulder bell are on risers. The drop boxes, and other small parts are not.	I had one error, I overheated the pastic, and it melted onto the coils. It was a lost cause. But after reloading the machine, and using the latest mold, the upper back, I had a good pull. It too needs a riser to reduce the flare that happens where the mold sits on the forming surface.	Here is a detail shot of the popped plastic. I was really hoping for a lot of parts that could be pulled at one time with this machine. I will need to carefully cosider the mold placement to best minimize these issues.
Take a look at some of the webbing. Note, that a better arrangement of the molds will reduce the webbing issues.	Another detail shot of the last test pull. Pretty decent detail. These parts are on risers and will trim out nicely. Some parts will look better uisng 0.60 material instead of the .080 seen here.	A few more pulls were made over the weekend. I finished the upper chest and now all the "armor shirt" parts are done. Time to work on the abdomen and lower back sections.
		REVIEW: A lot was learned from the first few test pulls. Placement and the proper oven temperature are keys to a successful pull. Don't rush the heat cycle on the plastic. Also, the shop-vac I used is old and brand-new filter really helps.
Each mold that has a hard deep end to it, like the biceps and the shoulder bell, are going to need to be reworked with tapers to aid in the release of the mold from the pulled plastic.	I am hopefull, if the tapers work, that I will be able to make some plaster casts from a good pull of the shoulder bell, biceps and forearms. That way I can pull a complete set in one pull instead of having to pull the same mold twice. [and save me from making another mold from scratch!]
Here is the first pull of the abdomen. I need to rework the edges, to get a tighter pull, but its getting there, some channels for the air to travel down. This should give a tighter pull on the surface.	Second pull of the abdomen, and I added the belt. The belt did not pull very well, but the abdomen will be just fine. I'm still having a lockdown issue with some of the molds. Starkid1990 suggested adding some pulls and I think I will have to do that.	The lower back. This is an easy mold to make if you have power hand planer and a belt sander! Thats a sandwich of 6 sheets of 15/16" MDF gluded together and ground down to the right shape.
This is the reworked arm molds. Notice there are tapers and risers on these that extend beyond the ends of the molds. The tapers help smooth the edges, and make demolding easier. Note the webbing between the drop box and the forearm. [not an issue for the useable portion]	Here is a close-up of the tapers. These are not attached, but when you demold them, simply slip out the taper, and the mold pops right off. Also, it acts as a cuting guide!	IA slight rework on the upper back armor. I'm still working on the details, I'm not entirely happy with this one. The ring thing needs to be redone, and the armpits seem too big. It also sticks real bad.
		Review: Its getting there! Each time I use the machine I seem to learn something new. Time to start on the molds that are bleow the waistline.
The last pull for the day is the "flat" parts. Finally, I got the belt to cooperate. Nice tight pull, no webbing and the mold release pretty easily. I plan to redo the mold for the collar straps, and make them arched instead of flat.	After an hour and a half's worth of vac-u-forming, and only one miss-fire, this is the results. Call it a trooper factory!
UPDATE 2-13-05: I had an assistant help pull the next set of armor. Thanks Lance! Here are the results. Get an assistant, it really helps.	Another view of the vacuum formed parts. I now have 17 or 23 molds done. Working on the calves this week.	Here is the abdomen and codpiece molds pulled as one mold. I was unsure if my vac-machine could pull this lage of a mold, but it can! There is a seam line where the two molds are butted together.
		Review: I'm glad the machine will hold the abdomen & codpiece as one pull. I did not realize the lower back and butt armor is even larger than the abdomen/codpiece! It barely fit on the machine. Less than an inch to spare all the way around. This means that it will cut down on the number of pulls, and the number of sheets of HIPS I need to make the full set of armor. Right now, that looks like a bout 3.25 sheets. Cost in materials for a trooper armor set, around $90. WOW! The thigh molds and legs are done now. by removing the molds from the formed plastic quickly, while the plastic is still warm really helps release the molds.
Here is the lower back and butt armor. This is about as big as I can pull! Any longer and the mold would hang over the side.There is a seam line where the two molds are butted together.	I re-pulled the chest armor after making some minor changes to it. I think a little more sanding and I can call this mold done.

 

Step 5: Practice makes perfect

With each pull I learn something. Who would have known, that the MDF does not have to be sealed to give a decent result?Latex paint or watered -down Elmers glue can seal the MDF. Trimming the part off the mold while the plastic is still warm is a good part removal technique? Most parts need Risers and Tapers? The list goes on.

Step 7: Trimming the parts from the raw pull

Rough trimming using the bandsaw is the way to go! Really cuts down on the time it takes to finish out the armor. Once this is done, the detail trimmings a combination of "score and snap" using a sharp utility knife, and sanding by hand or with Dremel sanding drum. I'm working on a video of the detail trimming and fitting.

Step 8: Assembly

Stay tuned for details. I'm working on a video of this.

Step 9: Weathering

Stay tuned for details. I'm working on a video of this.

Step 10: Fitting a complete suit

Here is a shot of the first trooper assembly. So far you get the idea, its a trooper. The helmet and the blaster are from my old suit, shown here as an example. We still have these parts to make: thigh molds, calves, and the O2/thermal detonator, helmet, and blasters.	Here is a shot of Herbert without the helmet or blaster. A little more tweaking and I think it will work. Is Herb too short for a stormtrooper? Hmm... I don't think so!	Pretty much the final version of Herb's #1 suit . Note the chest has had been modified a bit to be more form fitting. Also, note, the 'sniper' knee diamond. Time to get that suit dirty!

Final thoughts

I like working with the MDF/Bondo/poplar/basswood as a mold material. The MDF/Bondo, for me, is easy to work with, and cost is pretty low, and its an easy 'lumber yard' material to get. So far I have used up 3 sheet of 4x8 foot 3/4" MDF. The moulds made to date:

• Left hand
• right Hand
• collar [these are going to be upgraded with the proper arched versions]
• shoulder bell
• bicep inner
• bicep outer
• right knee "power pack"
• hip drop boxes [first molds made]
• inner forearm
• outer forearm
• utility belt
• chest plate
• upper back
• abdomen
• lower back
• codpiece "groin"
• buttocks "seat"
• inside calf
• outside calf
• right Inside thigh
• right outside thigh
• left inside thigh
• left outside thigh
• thermal detonator encap
• thermal detonator control pad * Note the body is made from a PVC pipe, 2 inches in dia. and 7.5 inches long painted gray.

In the works:

• Helmet dome: MDF mold almost complete, still working on the trapazoids, and a method to mate up with the back section.
• Helmet back: MDF block made and initial sanding started. Man, getting that bulbed contour is tricky.
• Helmet face: MDF block started, but waiting to finish dome and back section.
• Helmet left ear: MDF block done
• Helmet right ear: MDF block done

Since I have a GT/FX armor set, and I know of some of its inaccurate elemets, I have decided to "base" this project with those modifications in mind, but using the GT/FX as a scale guide. Each mold is made from a reference photograph, scale drawings and a visual reference of the GT/FX armor. Each molds starts out as a scale drawing. Next, I make a template from a sheet of chip-board. This makes the template rigid and easy to transfer to the MDF. Next, one inch flat piece of MDF are bandsawed the shape of the template. Several layers [3-6 layers ] of the MDF are then glued together, clamped down and allowed to dry for several days. At this pint I have a blank block that is a rough outline of the armor shape I want. I use a number of wood working tools to sand, plane, grind or chizel down the block of MDF into the rough shape of the armor. Next comes the bondo to smooth out edges and seams and to fill in any missing areas. Top if off with a good coat of "spot filler" paint, and ta-da! Molds. Getting the right contour is hard. I've rewored the shoulder bell several times and I'm still not happy with it! The last step is to cut out a 1-inch thick riser. This is an elevated platform the same shape as the base of the mold. Its function is to float the mold about the forming surface to allow the mold to base to be higher than the forming surface.

I'm cheating a bit to reduce the number of molds that I have to make. First, there is only one shoulder bell. Second, the forarms are the same, not a left and right part. Finally the calves are like the forarms, no a left and right sides. If I have to go and make these molds thats ok, but for now, this is all I intend to do. I may try to cast a plaster [Hydro-cal or Ultra-cal 30] cast of the molds before they start to break. That way, I can make more than one pull of some of the mold at a time.

I'm still hard at work shaping the MDF molds for the trooper helmet. I know the originals were a dome molded to the back, the face mold, and the left and right ears. Thats what I'd like to make, but most trooper buckets I've have access to for reference have seperate domes and back sections.

The helmet is kicking my butt! Getting just the dome to look right has taken me what seems like FOREVER.