Armor Materials
Materials
What should I make my armor out of?
You can make your armor out of many things, we recommend Sintra.
Sintra - Sintra is a flat sheet - available in various thicknesses - of a moderately expanded closed-cell polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Sintra is the brand name, and known by other names in regions other than the US. For example, in the UK sintra is mostly commonly known as foamex. Sintra is very easy to cut, heat, and shape, and it is very durable. It does not, however, handle complex curves very well. It's also probably the most common material used for mandalorian kits. 3-6mm thickness is recommended. 3mm is easier to work with for beginners as it is not as thick as the 6mm.
ABS - This is the plastic used to make Legos. A bit more durable than Sintra or Kydex, it also doesn't shape well when trying to shape a pre-cut piece via a heat gun or something similar. ABS is best used to vacu-form, or in 3D printing. It has a higher heat tolerance than Sintra.
Styrene - Somewhat similar to Sintra and ABS plastic, it's neither as durable, nor as easy to work with. It melts easily, so unless care is taken with your heat gun, you could wind up with an awful mess. The end results, though, if care is taken during construction, can work well.
Metal - Aluminum, steel, stainless steel, copper, bronze, etc. Very heavy, hard to get refined shapes.
Lastly, let's address the elephant in the room:
Foam:
Foam is not a durable or rigid enough material for your armor. It does not hold complex curves, we do not recommend foam. No matter how much skill you have on foam, you can always tell it's a foam kit and it doesn't hold up to wear and tear.
(Foam is also not an approvable material for armor)
Where can I get templates for my armor?
Regardless what the templates say about sizing, your own body size counts. A Medium-sized template may not necessarily mean it will be your size just because you wear a size Medium T-Shirt.
Dented Helmet
Legacy Armor Plates
What if I want to just buy armor?
There are still some vendors that make and sell armor, you can view some on the recommended vendors page HERE.
Armor fit:
A common mistake a lot of costumers make is that the plates of the body armor are sized too large. As a rule of thumb, when armored up, you should be able to cross your arms over your chest without restriction.
Take your amor templates and print them out on printer paper,
You may wish to glue/transfer them to cardboard and bend them into shape for the most realistic fit.
Put these plates on top of your soft goods, do not size them on a regular t-shirt. A sweatshirt can stand in as the flak vest for the moment as it is thicker, but best recommendation is to have your soft goods done first for proper and accurate fit. Put it on, then have somebody tape the cardboard templates to you with the correct spacing and take a picture or stand in front of a large mirror.
Now you should be able to see if the templates are correctly sized and spaced on your body. If not, go back to the computer, scale the templates which are too large (often enough that's the case) or too small and print them out again.
Do not just cut away an inch or so from the template as this will destroy the geometry and distinctive shape of the armor. Scaling it up or down is the secret for a perfect fit.
Repeat this process as often as necessary to obtain the right size and fit before you transfer the final templates onto the material you chose for your armor.