Chest/hip armor foam

[NegativeEleven]

Ok, so I looked at the recommended foam linked in the pinned post about hip armor. That's 1/8" thick Plastazote, or closed-cell polyethylene foam, in a sheet 33" x 31" for like $32. I did a bit of searching and found 1/4" thick closed cell polyethylene foam sheets, 24" x 54" at Grainger for $12. I'd prefer thicker for the hips, cause that's gonna get bumped around a bit. I was just wondering about how tough it is to paint, cause this stuff only comes in "charcoal" not "black." Does it stay flexible when painted? Do you coat it with something first? Everything I've read says it doesn't absorb water like other foams, so it should be paintable, right?

https://www.grainger.com/product/GRAINGER-APPROVED-Water-Resistant-Closed-Cell-5GDK0 - select pick up in store to avoid shipping costs. That's where I buy ABS sheets for vac-forming.

[KOtrooper]

For my hip armor and chest pieces I used neoprene. Any part on the hip armor that would get painted, I brushed on a few layers of plastidip. Otherwise the paint wouldn't hold. You might have to do the same with that foam.

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[NegativeEleven]

So you're saying any foam is fine and I could probably just get the 1/4" thick 12x12 black square craft foam (EVA) fron an art supply store for the chest? Better to get it black if you can not deal with paint on a spot like that which needs to be flexible.

Was gonna use 1/8" sintra for the hard parts on the hips. Foam of some kind would better for the big parts, so I will probably still order that big sheet. There's always mod podge or Smooth-on XTC3d to coat foam before painting. I hate plastidip. The way it peels off, so messy.

[BikerScout007]

I used neoprene as well.  It was cheap and it took paint surprisingly well.  

[KOtrooper]

I wouldn't say *any foam* but the neoprene is the closest match to plastizote that I could get in my area. It works really well for the chest armor. You do not want that painted. Just get black. It'll wear and fray (which is what you want).

I used the leftover roll of the neoprene for the hip armor. It isn't visible so you probably can get away with any type of foam. You don't want it thick though.

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[NegativeEleven]

You had to paint the hip parts tan, right? or is the main piece black, with tan hard plastic on top? (Sahara Beige, I know). Is it just the connective pieces that are foam? Neoprene is like wetsuit material, right, so more like a fabric than craft foam? That is probably a better way to go for mobility and comfort. The Captain CRL looks like black foam with tan paint flaking off real bad. On the Grunt CRL pic, that connector is tan, unweathered, and could just be another ABS/HIPS piece there. Can only see it on the back.

I'm totally missing hip and thermal det parts from the box of armor I bought, but there's 2 guys in town already working on Squad Leader, so we don't need a 3rd and those look easy enough to make myself, but I wanna get it right. 

[BikerScout007]

You paint the whole hip armor black. You glue the plastic pieces on and spray paint the whole thing with Sahara Beige. Once you weather it you can have some of the black show.  

Neoprene is cheap. I bought a roll off Amazon for like $15 and it covered the foam for the chest and back armor and the hip armor. 

[ScaryGuy]

The entire hip armor is created with foam, with the hard pieces glued on top of that. The rear connection is where the foam will mostly be visible and paint will flake off when trooping so it will weather itself. Here’s how I did mine:

There are different methods to connect the hip armor to the ab section. I preferred using two halves, others use one single connected piece. 

[NegativeEleven]

Got my sheet of closed-cell polyethylene foam from Grainger today. This looks nothing like the foam on chest/back in the CRL. I am not an expert on plastics, but this hardly looks like "closed cell."

I am just gonna get black EVA foam sheets from Michael's to do this. That is much more like what the CRL pics have. I might go with 1/2" floor mats for the belt part cause that is gonna need to be much stronger than this stuff.

[BikerScout007]

Neoprene my dude

 

[KOtrooper]

Neoprene my dude
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I second the neoprene. Works great for the chest and hip armor.

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[bikerscout73]

How thick should the neoprene be

[KOtrooper]

This is what I used for the hip armor and chest foam.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JSWJTNY/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_Y9ZMB2QJ1ANEM25V8JYB?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1


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[NegativeEleven]

I've got a roll of Neoprene for the chest and back - assuming I go back to finish this build, since I haven't touched it since my first test fit in August.

I actually used leather for the hips. The eva craft foam seemed too prone to tearing. I had scraps of leather that were big enough to cover gaps between the big plates and held paint better than the foam. I think that's much more durable than foam, although I agree that Neoprene would hold up well, I just don't think it looks right when painted. 

[KOtrooper]

I used neoprene for the entire hip armor with plastic glued on top for the armor. I used plasti-dip over the areas of neoprene that needed to be painted and it worked pretty well. 

Do you have pictures of your hip armor? I'm curious how the leather looks.

[NegativeEleven]