![]() ![]() I had to keep all the parts organized in some way, so I used blue masking tape to hold the parts in their original cut positions, and just kept all the pages in a folder made from one of the card stock sheets. Because I’m not printing on the paper, I can’t include any of the edge alignment numbers. I cut each big sheet in half to make two. ![]() When I laser cut the parts, I used 2′ x 2′ card stock purchased from Michael’s for $.75 a sheet. You can use Select -> Same -> Appearance to select all the mountain/valley/cut lines and adjust them all at once. 4pt dots and 2.5pt spaces for valley folds and 1/2.83/.25/2.83 pt for mountain folds. You don’t want the card stock to get too weak at the fold lines, so no long dashes. The vectors already have styles to show mountain VS valley folds, but you have to adjust the spacing to work better on the laser. So I downloaded the files, fiddled with the scales, laid out the parts for 24″x14″ card stock that could fit in the laser, and exported the vectors into Illustrator. Lots of folks spend a year building their armor, and I was only going to have a couple of weeks. A super simple rough draft with only about 10 pieces that would have the basic shape and let you adjust the size, and then a fully detailed version for the complete build. I think if I were doing a Pepakura deconstruction, I’d provide two versions of the model. After gluing 200 pieces together is not the best time to figure out that your scale is off. ![]() One of the big issues with Pepakura builds is that you really want the scale to be correct. I started building this set of armor mostly because the author had done a good job of providing the files and a spreadsheet to help you scale the costume parts. There was still a lot of tedious gluing, but I could cut all the pieces out and perforate the fold lines, which makes it quite a bit quicker to assemble. A few years ago, I built my son a Boba Fett helmet using Pepakura, and I’d already developed a system for outputting the designs and cutting them out of card stock using a laser cutter. There’s a free viewer, and the full program is only $40. People who build Halo armor (There are more than you think!) often use a program called Pepakura to decompose 3-D models into paper cutouts. When my son asked to be “A Halo Spartan,” I knew I was in for a different kind of build. They’re usually a wonderful excuse to do some sewing and pattern design. ![]() This year I built my son a Halo Master Chef costume for Halloween. ![]()
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