The time I used cardboard for armor and it lasted longer than my foam

I tried making a set of Mandalorian armor out of corrugated cardboard for a con back in March. Used like six layers of Mod Podge and a heat gun to shape it around a mannequin. Thing held up through two days of bumping into people and even a light drizzle. Guess I learned that cheap materials can work if you spend time on the prep, has anyone else had a budget material surprise?

3 comments

3 Comments

troy_gibson4323d ago

Six layers of Mod Podge" makes it sound like you accidentally invented tactical cardboard.

jordanr8919d agoMost Upvoted

Troy977 nailed it - prep is everything.

troy97723d ago

That 6 layers of Mod Podge is exactly the kind of prep that separates a weekend project from something that actually WORKS. I see this ALL the time with people who rush through painting a room or building a shelf - they skip the sanding or the primer because they think it saves time, and then the paint peels in six months. But when someone takes the extra hour to prep, that cheap cardboard outlasts the expensive foam that got tossed together in a hurry. It's the same pattern with anything, really. A cheap tool with sharp edges beats an expensive tool that's been dulled by neglect. Your armor story just PROVES that effort beats cost almost every single time.