Pepakura Stormtrooper Armor

Making Stormtrooper Armor for My Son Out of Paper

Chris wearing the pre-hardened armor.

I have surfed the internet for cool things to keep me busy; things that I can do in the real world like printable forms and crafts.  That's when I discovered paper modeling and Pepakura (which means "paper folding").  There is a program called Pepakura Designer which makes CGI 3D models into printable pieces that can be assembled into real paper models, and in my case an actual set of wearable Stormtrooper armor.

  

It can be sized to fit specific sizes and builds using the Pepakura program, which leaves an endless array of possibilities, limited only by your imagination.  You can find a huge amount of resources online for different models, designs and tutorials for making the most of your Pep projects.  I found resources to guide me into hardening the armor and making it not only wearable, but durable (As seen in the pictures).    

Thigh armor hardened and fiber-glassed

This is my first attempt to do something like this.  I hoped to have it done in time for Venetian Festival 2012, but this year got a bit rained out.  So I to a break from it for a while.  But now that Halloween is approaching, I am planning on havving it done by then so Chris can show it off.  

I have currently finished fiber-glassing all the pieces, and just barely started on the bondo and sanding phase.  I'll trying and keep you all posted as I progress. 

In the meantime, you should check the Pepakura Designer site out.  And Google all the available resources and models they have available online currently.  I found a lot; more than I could deal with a once just on Stormtrooper/Star Wars armor alone.  There are models, statues, toys, etc...

So check it out!

Pepakura Designer (Check out their Pepakura Gallery)