Bat attempts Pepakura

   After a few years of desire and no action, I decided to finally dip my toes into pepakura. I have never been a costume maker. In fact my first cosplay activity was just this year when I made the hammer for my wife's Harley Quinn.
                                                       

                                                    My first ever creation. Sarah's Harley hammer.  


After making her hammer, I finally decided to tackle pepakura. So if you're interested in pep, join me as I share some of the knowledge I obtained after my first build.

First things first. So you've decided you want to attempt Pepakura? That's fantastic! So where do you start? Well with the program of course!

http://www.tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/

CLICK THAT LINK!!!!!!!

You'll also need:
A heat gun w/ glue
A razor blade or x acto blade
a cutting mat
a printer, preferably color
a metal ruler
card stock paper
beer and snacks (you know, the necessities)


Ok so after you download the program you need to get started on a project. I decided to build the Blood Dragon Armor from Mass Effect 2

yep this would be my first build. Go big or go home

Ok now you have all your tools and have printed out your pep file. I prefer therpf.com for my files. So after printing out your file, it's time to start cutting, and cutting, and cutting. The first piece I made (the helmet) I made the mistake of cutting out every piece and then starting to glue. Holy cow what a mistake that was. Seriously learn from me. Glue as you go. I repeat glue as you go. It's so much easier to work with and keep pieces together. 

After you get your pieces cut out but before you glue them together, there is a technique I recommend called "scoring." This is where your ruler will come in handy. Basically what you want to do is line up your ruler on your valley or mountain folds and use the opposite side of your knife and draw a line along where your fold should be. This will make your fold so much easier. After you have your folds ready line your numbers up and glue. Rinse and repeat around a million times and you have your creation! It may take some time to begin with, especially if you have kids. It took me around a month to complete my Shepard helmet. My goal is to cut and glue a page a day. Simple goal to have. Of course if you have more time go for it. It may seem tedious, but I have a blast with pepakura. I've already completed a Tali Z'orah helmet and I'm working on my Dragon Age armor now.

While I'm not an expert feel free to send questions my way and I will do my best to answer them. I also want to see your creations, so post them in the comments below.

Embrace your geek!

Bat

some early progress pictures

early folds and glues

the early build of the helmet

the final product

my baby wearing the helmet