HOME | DD

deviationanonymous In reply to ponyobsessor [2015-10-13 15:37:41 +0000 UTC]

Well, I'm certainly no expert on cosplay, but I can tell you what I know.

As far as getting started goes, you need to think about what material is best for you to work with. This could be thermoplastic, steel, or a variety of other materials. Some are more easily molded into shape, others are more cost effective. It all depends on what you can get and/or want to use.

Personally, I started by just jumping right in. I originally planned to buy a suit of armor for Halloween, but when cost was getting prohibitive, I attempted to build my own helmet rather than buy one. I wanted the material to be the same, so I bought steel.

For tools/machines, I try to keep my selection small. I don't have a huge budget, so I tend to look for tools that will be cheap, but not poor quality. For cutting steel, I use a 4 1/2in angle grinder. For drilling holes, I use a cordless drill with a metal bit. For sanding things, I use a belt sander. For bending metal, I use a ball pine hammer, a vice, and occasionally a small anvil. Basically, you just need to find tools that are cheap, and cover all the basic needs for cutting and forming the steel. The tools you will need may vary depending on what you want to build, but those I listed are the basics.

If you want cheap tools, Harbor Freight has very cheap tools, and when they go on sale it can be quite a bargain. However, while the tools may work well for a while, they are not the highest quality and will probably break after a year of hard use if you aren't careful. If you want quality, it will cost you. If you plan to build more than one thing, or intend to make a lot of things beyond this project, I advise you to buy something of good quality that will last. If you intend to just start with this project to sort of see how things go, get something cheap. See if you like it and can do it. If you are just starting out it would be a good idea to buy cheap tools to keep the cost down.

Hope this helps,

- Deviationanonymous

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ponyobsessor In reply to deviationanonymous [2015-10-14 00:47:49 +0000 UTC]

Very helpful indeed, thank you, hopefully ill be able to make some cool stuff

👍: 0 ⏩: 0