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A guide on foam for Cosplay - Which foam to use and their pros and cons
Which foam should I use?
Choosing a foam for your armour
Let us help you decide the right foam for your next armour build!
Not sure which of our foams you should use for your project? Let us help you decide and make an informed choice! When choosing a foam for your project, you need to determine a few things!
Firstly, is your reference angular, futuristic and mecha style or more a fantasy style with lots of compound curves? Our Form-Lite EVA Foam is more suited to forming complex curve, it’s the softest of our foams which would make it perfect for anything with compound curves. Our Hard-Lite EVA Foam is very high density and would be perfect for holding sharp edges and creating the super crisp shapes and edges of mecha/futuristic armours and props. The Original HD EVA Foam is somewhere between the two types so it’s the most versatile.
Secondly, what thickness do you want to use? First determine how thick your armour looks in the reference. A good reference is thin dainty/elven style armour is best made from 2-4mm, a medium thickness armour is best suited made from 4-6mm, and a chunky armour such as a space marine is base made from a 8-10mm. For very thin (2-4mm) armours, it's best to use a higher density foam or even a thermoplastic such as Worbla® to help your armour maintain it's shape and durability.
Lastly, keep in mind that the softer foam such as the Form-Lite is going to be more forgiving on jagged or imperfect cuts as it can be manipulated into cleaner joins. Harder foams such as the Original HD and Hard-lite are less forgiving but produce cleaner and sharper results.
Click on the image to enlarge.
* This is just a generalised guide! Some specific builds will benefit from using foams that are not generally recommended for that use. If you have any questions about your specific build, please ask us over at The Help Desk!
Choosing a foam for your prop
Durability vs weight - which foam to use for your next prop?
Deciding on which foam to use for your next prop is a little simplier then you might think. To start off, look at your reference and determine if your prop can be transported in one piece, or if it has to be broken down for travel. If your prop can be transported in one piece, that's fantastic! If your prop needs to be broken down, you will need to consider how to attach the pieces together, a popular choice is using PVC with them matching couplings embedded into the prop.
Next, decide if you need to run support through your prop. If you need to run support, your prop will need to be assembled in layers in order to sandwich your support material. If your prop does not require support, you can carve it from one of our handy Prop Blocks!
What about durability? Props get dropped, bumped and manhandled all the time, so durability is something you want to consider when constructing your prop. Foam will never be as durable as a thermoplastic without special coatings such as a resin but you can choose a more durable foam for your build. If your prop is small or very detailed, one of the harder foams such as the Original HD or the Hard-Lite will give you a cleaner results and be more durable and be easier to carve. But if your prop is very very large, those two foams can become heavy and Form-Lite might be a better choice. You can always mix the types of foam to get the best of both worlds!
Click on the image to enlarge.
* This is just a generalised guide! Some specific builds will benefit from using foams that are not generally recommended for that use. If you have any questions about your specific build, please ask us over at The Help Desk!
Types of foam - detailed overview
Read about each foam and their specs in detail below!
Form-Lite EVA Foam
Form-Lite EVA Foam is our most formable foam yet
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Super formable EVA foam, heat forms very easily for compound curves and armour.
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Very lightweight, Form-Lite is around half the weight of other EVA foams of a similar hardness.
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Form-Lite is beginner friendly, cuts and sands like a dream.
How to use:
- Cut with a SHARP hobby knife
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Heat form piece as needed using a heat gun (a hair dryer will not be hot enough!)
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Glue with Contact Cement
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Paint with flexible paints
Technical Data:
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50x100cm sheet
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Shore Hardness of 45*
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High Density - 125kg/m3
*While we do everything we can to keep our products as consistant as possible, the manufacturing process of EVA foam can cause slight variation in the foam. Please allow for a Shore Hardness of +/-3
What's this foam good for?
Original High Density EVA Foam
Our Original High Density EVA Foam is our perfect all rounder.
- Original HD EVA foam is great for almost all applications.
- Perfect for creating durable pieces.
- Holds very sharp and angular detail.
- Heat forms beautifully to create compound curves.
How to use:
- Cut with a SHARP hobby knife
- Heat form piece as needed using a heat gun, a decent amount of heat is required for Original HD EVA Foam (a hair dryer will not be hot enough!)
- Glue with Contact Cement
- Prime your finished piece with Flexbond or Plastidip
- Paint with flexible paints
Technical Data:
- Shore Hardness of 55*
- High Density - 220kg/m3
*While we do everything we can to keep our products as consistent as possible, the manufacturing process of EVA foam can cause slight variation in the foam. Please allow for a Shore Hardness of +/-3
What's this foam good for?
Hard-Lite EVA Foam
Hard-Lite EVA foam is the perfect prop making foam
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Hard-Lite EVA is incredibility durable and stiff.
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Perfect for creating super durable pieces.
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Holds very sharp and angular details.
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Very lightweight, Hard-Lite is around half the weight of other EVA foams of a similar hardness.
HOW TO USE:
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Cut with a SHARP hobby knife
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Heat form piece as needed using a heat gun, a decent amount of heat is required for Hard-Lite EVA Foam (a hair dryer will not be hot enough!)
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Glue with Contact Cement
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Paint with flexible paints
TECHNICAL DATA:
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Shore Hardness of 60*
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High Density - 200kg/m3
*While we do everything we can to keep our products as consistant as possible, the manufacturing process of EVA foam can cause slight variation in the foam. Please allow for a Shore Hardness of +/-3
What's this foam good for?
Ultra High Density EVA Foam
Our Ultra High Density EVA Foam is *PROBABLY* the highest density foam you will ever find.
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This EVA Foam is the mother of all EVA foams, it's ultra high density and basically indestructible.
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Super rubber-like.
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Formable EVA foam, heat forms into compound curves and armour.
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Sands amazingly.
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We recommend this foam for:
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Very thin armour that needs to be very flexible. (e.g. Foam corset)
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Skinning shields or creating armour that requires lots of durability.
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Pieces that will be in great tension. (e.g. Belts)
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- This foam is so dense it's comparable to a hard rubber, like a car tire.
HOW TO USE:
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Cut with a SHARP hobby knife
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Heat form piece as needed using a heat gun, a decent amount of heat is required for Hard-Lite EVA Foam (a hair dryer will not be hot enough!)
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Glue with Contact Cement
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Paint with flexible paints
TECHNICAL DATA:
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80x100cm sheet
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Shore Hardness of 65*
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High Density - 450kg/m3
*While we do everything we can to keep our products as consistant as possible, the manufacturing process of EVA foam can cause slight variation in the foam. Please allow for a Shore Hardness of +/-3
What's this foam good for?
White Translucent Plastazote LD45 Foam
Diffuse the LEDs in your costume!
- Translucent foam which can be used to diffuse LED Lights in your costume.
- Super light weight unlike translucent plastics.
- Can be cut, sanded and heat formed like regular EVA foam
How to use:
- Heat form piece as needed using a heat gun (low heat as this foam melts easily)
- Glue with Contact Cement (Clear Contact Cement if possible as regular contact cement will show up in the seams when your piece is lit)
- Prime your finished piece with Flexbond or Clear Plastidip.
- Paint with flexible paints and translucent inks or translucent paints.
Technical Data:
- 50x100cm sheet
- High Density - 45kg/m3
*While we do everything we can to keep our products as consistant as possible, the manufacturing process of EVA foam can cause slight variation in the foam. Please allow for a Shore Hardness of +/-3
What's this foam good for?
Black EVA Foam Block
This giant block of foam is ideal for carving props and sets. It's a higher density foam so it cuts, sands and carves easier while still being lightweight. Eva is ideal for props because its soft, so it's con safe, but not brittle.
Technical Data:
- 50x100cm block
- High Density - 38kg/m3
*While we do everything we can to keep our products as consistant as possible, the manufacturing process of EVA foam can cause slight variation in the foam. Please allow for a Shore Hardness of +/-3
What's this foam good for?
Textured EVA Foam Sheets
Our textured EVA Foam Sheets are the perfect way to add fine detailed textures to your armour or props!
To use, simply cut out a piece of textured foam for the size of your project, heat the back side with a heat gun and then form to the required shape. For best results, we recommend building a base with a thickness of foam thinner then you require your final piece, then layer on the texture foam as a skin. Since the texture foam is made from our Form-Lite EVA Foam, it can be stretched to create a skin over formed curved pieces without the need for a seam.
Note: Heating the front will result in a loss of texture definition.
These textures are pressed on to our Form-Lite EVA foam.
Technical information:
Thickness: 3mm
Density : 125kg /m3
Hardness: Shore 45
What's this foam good for?
EVA Foam Bevels & Dowels
Our range of EVA Foam Bevels and Dowels are perfect for adding trim and detail to your armour and props!
These bevels and dowels are cut from high quality Form-Lite EVA foam* meaning they will cut, sand and heat formed beautifully.
Technical information for all other sizes:
Density : 125kg /m3
Hardness: Shore 45
Technical information for 5mm Dowel and 5mm Half Dowel:
Density : 200kg /m3
Hardness: Shore 60
*The 5mm Dowel and Half Dowel are cut from our Hard-Lite EVA foam to ensure they hold their shape and maintain strength.