If you ever want to try this again (which I completely understand if you wouldn't), I've found that standard crafting poster board works really well as a base for thermoplastic. It's a little more rigid than foam so it's easier to shape Worbla onto, I usually have fewer air bubbles with it, and its way less bulky than foam. I began using it to save money on early projects but it works so well that I prefer it over foam now. If you wear your armor to something like a Ren Faire where you may sweat (which is something I have done several times) you may want to line the armor with something so the poster board doesn't get wet, but even on the projects where I haven't done that it hasn't been too bad. All that being said, your final costume still kicks ass and you should be proud of it even though it was a struggle✨
I was going to suggest she watch your channel for some tips because yours always seems to come out super awesome. But both of you do things I couldn't imagine. So props to you both
Thank you for the advice!! That actually sounds like it would fix a lot of the problems I had so maybe I will give it another try 😅 I’ve seen some of your design videos and they’re so much fun! I’ll have to check out your worbla videos ♥️
I didn’t even know heat guns could do that ??? My faithful heat gun from 2018 died the sunday night before katsucon this year when I had literally one tiny thing left to do 🙃
I'm sorry you had such a struggle with this project. I completely understand the excitement of getting to make a thing and then having said thing betray you and not loving the end result. Sometimes the challenges of making a project can color how you feel about it in the end. BUT I think it looked absolutely amazing and so dang cute! I hope you are proud it because I probably would have yeeted it right out the window lol One of my goals for my channel this year is to make armor. I'm completely intimidated by worbla though but this video made me feel a little better about it. It's really helpful to see what you struggled with so I can learn from it. Other YTers I follow have worked with it for so long they make it look really easy, and I know there's a learning curve to it. This was inspirational, thank you for sharing🥰
Don't know how helpful this is for this project, but perhaps for future armor projects: NerdForge has several videos on making leather armor and adapting it to look metal-like, and since I know you like working with leather (and you are very good at it, in my opinion), I would recommend their videos on it! I also find with linen under layers leather isn't so bad in in the heat, not like foam and Worbla that have 0% breathability. Grain of salt etc as I have only done small pieces with leather so far but it also lasts for a million years but foam gets weird with age and I've had Worbla melt out of shape on hot days if I'm out too long in it.
one issue i noticed right away is transfering those kamui patterns directly to worbla. most worbla-armor makers would assemble all the eva foam pieces first then cover the WHOLE piece in a sheet of worbla, instead of attaching those worbla-ed pattern pieces (like you did with the breastplate!). and you can absolutely rescue the worbla from your scrap pieces by reheating it and removing the foam if you want to save money. i know it's not cheap! but scrap worbla makes for great little sculpted details. and this is more of an anecdote, but my old worbla armor is MUCH more degraded than my EVA foam armor :') maybe i just got better at finishing up those pieces tho haha. hopefully this doesn't deter you from future armor cosplays entirely because you still did a great job !!! your leatherwork was especially impressive.
It looks pretty good, actually. But if you're willing to try to make armor again in the future, maybe check out how people make clone trooper or mandalorian armor and see what techniques and materials they use? They make some really slick-looking cosplays.
I think given how much fun you had with leather crafting, maybe leather armor pieces might be more fun and more forgiving? I found that shaping leather is really easy and because it’s flexible it’s more comfortable to wear!
Re:paint holding up, I learned from watching Ironman cosplayer TH-camrs to put velvet tape on the inside of any pieces that may overlap, so the overlap won’t chip the paint on the piece below it as you move. Plus it looks pretty clean to have black velvet on the inside of the pieces. Also I thought it looked pretty slick with all the pieces on together! But it makes sense that it wouldn’t be up to your skill standards given the extremely high level of polish you usually pull off. Thanks for showing us the process and learnings!
Just saw that *foreshadowing* and got flashbacks to the time with a candle of which we do not speak lol. (Also, neat trick with the parchment paper to prevent sticking!) Your perserverance is amazing! It's so cool seeing all of your solutions when a project doesn't go exactly how you like it. Also, I love that you repurposed some of the worbla scraps!
Overall I'd say skip the worbla and stick with foam. Once you figure out heat shaping with foam you're in the cruise lane. But for worbla, the tool I use the most is one of those silicon squeegee tools that comes with phone screen protector kits. Lets me smooth out the worbla and press into crevices and form clean lines. Anything silicon is good tool. The wax paper as you probably found out looses it's anti stick properties pretty fast. I also make use of silicon baking sheet and rolling pin. For you next build I'd recommend picking out one or two elements you want to do in worbla and build up your feel for the material.
Thank you for the advice! I’ll hoard the squeegees next time I change my screen protector lol. I have a silicon mat but unfortunately my cats hair sticks to it a lot so that was my reason for the wax paper instead
making armor is the WORST UGH i feel like i have a pretty good handle on sewing techniques, embellishments, finishings, etc so being bad at making armor feels so AWFULLLLL. like why spend this much time gettin good at cosplay just to be bad at it all over again 😭 but your armor turned out really well!! your perseverance is really admirable and you really did a great job
Yay, another making video! No matter what you make, even if it doesn't turn out quite the way you planned, the making videos are always fun to watch! The part explanation, part asmr just hits right for me :) watching you make leather armour would be very cool, I think. I think the costume turned out really well in the end even if you aren't 100% with it :)
I know you hate it, but in my non professional/horrible crafter opinion, it looks amazing, especially for having almost no experience in thermoplastics and foam armor. I love the pearlescent paint, and the peices really look well done, especially for a rushed project. (as you said, probably wont happen, but if it does) if you had more time and more experience under your belt, i bet you'd have near Kamui level armor in no time. Always so impressed by your talent, especially on projects you have little experience with. Thank you always for posting about your projects!!!!
Ah thank you I appreciate it 😭♥️ I don’t entirely hate it looking at it now so maybe time and distance will let me forget enough to try again haha, it was mostly the redoing things over and over and wearing it was such a pain 😅😅😅 but practice will make it easier! (Hopefully lmao)
I thought about black worbla but I heard it sticks less?? I also found someone selling three jumbo sheets of regular worbla on Depop for $200 so that kinda made the decision for me 😅
@@moth.faerie In my experience, it sticks a little less, but it's still plenty sticky enough to hold. It's also less horrendously sticky when you accidentally overheat it. It's technically less strong than original because the filler is a lot smaller (you can't see it like you can in the original), but the texture is amazing and I haven't had an issue with strength The only issue I've had was where I only heated up two pieces and gently pressed them together to avoid messing with the outer side and they ended up coming apart because it was a necklace, but I also think I was pressing the two unglued sides together, so it was already the weaker connection But yeah, definitely a good deal on that original! You did a great job overall, but I definitely get the frustration. Worbla can be tricky to work with, especially in such large pieces!
I definitely agree with you that the sewing content is awesome! I'm glad Minji was able to start recovering from the burnout of her earlier spate of sewing videos and is finding space for making and sharing content like that again. :D Also, in case it's useful info, Minji mentioned in a past video that she really doesn't enjoy it when people ask about Frau and that she'll post about the project when she's ready. :)
I recognize that this is over 2 months after you've posted this, so the likelihood of you seeing this comment is very low. However, have you seen the Nerd Forge video about armor? It's probably a couple years old at this point, but they made leather armor look like metal armor. That might be something you enjoy doing more, if you ever decide to do an armor look again. Maybe check them out.
If you ever want to try this again (which I completely understand if you wouldn't), I've found that standard crafting poster board works really well as a base for thermoplastic. It's a little more rigid than foam so it's easier to shape Worbla onto, I usually have fewer air bubbles with it, and its way less bulky than foam. I began using it to save money on early projects but it works so well that I prefer it over foam now. If you wear your armor to something like a Ren Faire where you may sweat (which is something I have done several times) you may want to line the armor with something so the poster board doesn't get wet, but even on the projects where I haven't done that it hasn't been too bad.
All that being said, your final costume still kicks ass and you should be proud of it even though it was a struggle✨
I was going to suggest she watch your channel for some tips because yours always seems to come out super awesome. But both of you do things I couldn't imagine. So props to you both
@@llamabean529 That's what I thought too, Kira's worbla stuff always looks really great in the end
Thank you for the advice!! That actually sounds like it would fix a lot of the problems I had so maybe I will give it another try 😅 I’ve seen some of your design videos and they’re so much fun! I’ll have to check out your worbla videos ♥️
I didn’t even know heat guns could do that ??? My faithful heat gun from 2018 died the sunday night before katsucon this year when I had literally one tiny thing left to do 🙃
the heat gun poppin and smokin o m g
THIS TURNED OUT AMAZING THO 💖
IT WAS VERY TRAUMATIC I will never leave a heat appliance plugged in ever again 😭😭😭
I'm sorry you had such a struggle with this project. I completely understand the excitement of getting to make a thing and then having said thing betray you and not loving the end result. Sometimes the challenges of making a project can color how you feel about it in the end. BUT I think it looked absolutely amazing and so dang cute! I hope you are proud it because I probably would have yeeted it right out the window lol
One of my goals for my channel this year is to make armor. I'm completely intimidated by worbla though but this video made me feel a little better about it. It's really helpful to see what you struggled with so I can learn from it. Other YTers I follow have worked with it for so long they make it look really easy, and I know there's a learning curve to it.
This was inspirational, thank you for sharing🥰
Don't know how helpful this is for this project, but perhaps for future armor projects: NerdForge has several videos on making leather armor and adapting it to look metal-like, and since I know you like working with leather (and you are very good at it, in my opinion), I would recommend their videos on it! I also find with linen under layers leather isn't so bad in in the heat, not like foam and Worbla that have 0% breathability. Grain of salt etc as I have only done small pieces with leather so far but it also lasts for a million years but foam gets weird with age and I've had Worbla melt out of shape on hot days if I'm out too long in it.
one issue i noticed right away is transfering those kamui patterns directly to worbla. most worbla-armor makers would assemble all the eva foam pieces first then cover the WHOLE piece in a sheet of worbla, instead of attaching those worbla-ed pattern pieces (like you did with the breastplate!). and you can absolutely rescue the worbla from your scrap pieces by reheating it and removing the foam if you want to save money. i know it's not cheap! but scrap worbla makes for great little sculpted details.
and this is more of an anecdote, but my old worbla armor is MUCH more degraded than my EVA foam armor :') maybe i just got better at finishing up those pieces tho haha. hopefully this doesn't deter you from future armor cosplays entirely because you still did a great job !!! your leatherwork was especially impressive.
I really hope that practice helps with foam armor, because my last two projects were trash, but I don’t wanna give up yet! 😅
Suffering ✨together✨😭
It looks pretty good, actually. But if you're willing to try to make armor again in the future, maybe check out how people make clone trooper or mandalorian armor and see what techniques and materials they use? They make some really slick-looking cosplays.
"Don't want to start a fire" * foreshadowing * the suspense 👀
I think given how much fun you had with leather crafting, maybe leather armor pieces might be more fun and more forgiving? I found that shaping leather is really easy and because it’s flexible it’s more comfortable to wear!
Re:paint holding up, I learned from watching Ironman cosplayer TH-camrs to put velvet tape on the inside of any pieces that may overlap, so the overlap won’t chip the paint on the piece below it as you move. Plus it looks pretty clean to have black velvet on the inside of the pieces.
Also I thought it looked pretty slick with all the pieces on together! But it makes sense that it wouldn’t be up to your skill standards given the extremely high level of polish you usually pull off. Thanks for showing us the process and learnings!
I would love to see you do leather armor. I know it would take a lot longer, but your leather work always looks so nice!
Thank you so much! I’d love to try leather armor, I get so many ads for patterns I’m always tempted to buy the big pattern packs haha
Just saw that *foreshadowing* and got flashbacks to the time with a candle of which we do not speak lol. (Also, neat trick with the parchment paper to prevent sticking!)
Your perserverance is amazing! It's so cool seeing all of your solutions when a project doesn't go exactly how you like it. Also, I love that you repurposed some of the worbla scraps!
Thank you! And oh noooo fire is so scary idk how we all just live our lives with the imminent threat of candles and heat appliances lmao
Overall I'd say skip the worbla and stick with foam. Once you figure out heat shaping with foam you're in the cruise lane. But for worbla, the tool I use the most is one of those silicon squeegee tools that comes with phone screen protector kits. Lets me smooth out the worbla and press into crevices and form clean lines. Anything silicon is good tool. The wax paper as you probably found out looses it's anti stick properties pretty fast. I also make use of silicon baking sheet and rolling pin. For you next build I'd recommend picking out one or two elements you want to do in worbla and build up your feel for the material.
Thank you for the advice! I’ll hoard the squeegees next time I change my screen protector lol. I have a silicon mat but unfortunately my cats hair sticks to it a lot so that was my reason for the wax paper instead
making armor is the WORST UGH i feel like i have a pretty good handle on sewing techniques, embellishments, finishings, etc so being bad at making armor feels so AWFULLLLL. like why spend this much time gettin good at cosplay just to be bad at it all over again 😭 but your armor turned out really well!! your perseverance is really admirable and you really did a great job
I loved this so much, you did an AMAZING job on the costume AND the editing
Wow!! It turned out so well 😍
Yay, another making video! No matter what you make, even if it doesn't turn out quite the way you planned, the making videos are always fun to watch! The part explanation, part asmr just hits right for me :) watching you make leather armour would be very cool, I think.
I think the costume turned out really well in the end even if you aren't 100% with it :)
It turned out great. The problems you had with it is why I stick to sewing. 😄 I find armour too difficult.
Haha sometimes I like to challenge myself and suffer a bit but I definitely prefer sewing 😅😅😅
@@moth.faerie The result was great though. 🙂 Same, sewing all the way. 😄
I know you hate it, but in my non professional/horrible crafter opinion, it looks amazing, especially for having almost no experience in thermoplastics and foam armor. I love the pearlescent paint, and the peices really look well done, especially for a rushed project. (as you said, probably wont happen, but if it does) if you had more time and more experience under your belt, i bet you'd have near Kamui level armor in no time.
Always so impressed by your talent, especially on projects you have little experience with.
Thank you always for posting about your projects!!!!
Ah thank you I appreciate it 😭♥️ I don’t entirely hate it looking at it now so maybe time and distance will let me forget enough to try again haha, it was mostly the redoing things over and over and wearing it was such a pain 😅😅😅 but practice will make it easier! (Hopefully lmao)
I think the armor pieces look amazing!
Aw thanks!
I’m screaming, as soon as I saw the title 😂😂😂😂
just being ✨honest✨
Y'all look great! I'm wanting to make cosplay armor for the first time and it seems so intimidating! I think it looks really good.
After watching this not even I would want to make armour 😅. I never had much interest in it before but it looks like really stressful
Really cool watching your other skills! Could you do a leather working video? Maybe make another belt thing like in this video?
Definitely planning on doing more leather working this year!! I have so many costume ideas for this renfaire season ♥️
Using black worbla helps a lot with texture
I made my first armor pieces with original worbla and fought with the texture a lot
I thought about black worbla but I heard it sticks less?? I also found someone selling three jumbo sheets of regular worbla on Depop for $200 so that kinda made the decision for me 😅
@@moth.faerie In my experience, it sticks a little less, but it's still plenty sticky enough to hold. It's also less horrendously sticky when you accidentally overheat it.
It's technically less strong than original because the filler is a lot smaller (you can't see it like you can in the original), but the texture is amazing and I haven't had an issue with strength
The only issue I've had was where I only heated up two pieces and gently pressed them together to avoid messing with the outer side and they ended up coming apart because it was a necklace, but I also think I was pressing the two unglued sides together, so it was already the weaker connection
But yeah, definitely a good deal on that original! You did a great job overall, but I definitely get the frustration. Worbla can be tricky to work with, especially in such large pieces!
Oh boy, can’t wait to see how the armor has caused such resentment 😂😂
Tbh Eva foam lasts for a while, but for plates I prefer pvc or paper covered in fiber class.
I feel like all the foam props I made years ago has gotten really sticky and weird?? But maybe it’s the paint I used?
I’ve missed the creating content honestly. Also are there any updates on Frau?
I definitely agree with you that the sewing content is awesome! I'm glad Minji was able to start recovering from the burnout of her earlier spate of sewing videos and is finding space for making and sharing content like that again. :D Also, in case it's useful info, Minji mentioned in a past video that she really doesn't enjoy it when people ask about Frau and that she'll post about the project when she's ready. :)
Does anyone know Minji’s friends TH-cam channels name?
I am also trying to find them but no luck:(
Edit: i think their channel name is just Cel, @coppercosmonaut
@@lucasarafuzithank you ❤❤
th-cam.com/video/6iLedts77eQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Y22SXr1pVSG1raz1
Omg I totally forgot to link them I’ll add it to the description!
I think leather armor would be really cool, too.
I really want to try leather armor! I keep getting ads for patterns and I’m so tempted every time haha
I recognize that this is over 2 months after you've posted this, so the likelihood of you seeing this comment is very low. However, have you seen the Nerd Forge video about armor? It's probably a couple years old at this point, but they made leather armor look like metal armor. That might be something you enjoy doing more, if you ever decide to do an armor look again. Maybe check them out.
Even when the product turns out well, the process is so important 🩷 Sorry this wasn't what you wanted!