Papier-mâché body parts

Hi, LMR!

Today we are going to produce some body parts for our robots using glue and paper. Yes, just glue and paper! This is a little introduction into papier-mâché technique.

So, first we'll need a mold, an object you are going to copy the shape from. It could be anything from plastic box to whatever shaped thing. It just have to be solid. In my case I have used an alabaster hemisphere mold.

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Secondly, some paper cuts. They should not be too large, but not too small too. I'd suggest approx. 2x2cm pieces.You can use even news paper. I have used just white paper to be able to paint it afterwards. You may vary your layers material and, say, use white paper for outer layers and newspaper cuts in between.

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And the last thing: glue. You can use liquid paper glu. In my case I used 1/1 wood glue/water mix.

So, we start from preparing surface of our mold: depending on surface you would aplly:

-nothing :)

-vaseline

-something else.

The idea is just aid separate mold from our papier-mâché. In my case, as I used alabaster, I placed some plastic wrap on surface of my mold.

Next is to apply the first layer of paper. It should be soaked in water, so it become wet flexible and separate from mold easyly afterwards. Get your paper cuts arranged so they overlap each other a bit.

Here is my first layer done:

DSC00161.jpg

Then you just repeat layers, but soak your paper in glue. 4 layers would give you pretty good hardness. You always can increase the hardness by increasing layers count. It would be good idea to let it dry every 3-4 layers.

My stuff (4 layers) ready to dry:

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It usually takes couple of hours to dry. You can use a hair dryer to speed up process.

And here we go, my hemisphere is ready:

DSC00165.jpg

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Some cutting, paint, and you have got your body part ready! :D

See ready product in short video.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqjTYcbAG7M

Thanks for posting this.It’s
Thanks for posting this.It’s currently something I’m experimenting with!

Hmm. Interesting idea. Nice
Hmm. Interesting idea. Nice and lightweight. I’ll have to keep that in mind for future projects.

Wallpaper glue

I use wallpaper glue (powder) for my PM. It is certainly comparable with wood glue, but I find it easier to store.

One other thing is that you can add some layers of more structural material, old fabric essentially (cotton).

You can add it as an inner layer, or as a finishing (and strengthening) layer at the outside.

Chickenwire is also a very good reinforcement, but for small parts you can use metallic or plastic mosquito net.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the walkthrough

 

I was thinking in use these kind of techniques for my robot. Thank you for the tips!

You can cover a plastic bottle or a balloon with the paper, these molds are also simple and cheap.

I guess it’s composite
I guess it’s composite materials at its most basic form ;p

thank

thank for the tip

 

You can also…
…throw the paper/cotton/etc. in a blender with water, mix in the glue/flour/etc. in another container (to keep the owner of the blender from having a fit. <G>), dump the result into a strainer, let it drain until it is the consistency of clay, then sculpt pretty much anything you like. If you use a higher concentration of a strong binder, you can even imbed wingnuts/bolts/etc. to allow you to attach it to other things more solidly. If the result isn’t cosmetically appealing, you can paint it with 1:1 glue/water, then lay strips of toilet paper, then more glue/water. A final coat of 3:1 glue/water will give it a hard, shiny coat. Depending on what binder you used, the water that drained off can be bottled and used again.