3 August 2012

Where to find fiberglass and craft foam supplies in Canberra?

| thy_dungeonman
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So given that store-bought LARP weapons (soft foam swords for role-playing games) tend to be quite expensive (mainly because of shipping costs) I have been trying to make my own. However finding materials in Canberra is almost as difficult. The first thing I need is fiberglass rods (the rules of the LARP requires fiberglass cores), I have actually found these quite cheap online for only a few dollars each, however the shipping multiplies the price by 10. I have already been to bunnings and magnet mart who don’t stock them. I have heard that you can get “drive way markers” and “electric fence poles” that are essentially fiberglass rods however they only seem to sell these (and everything else useful) in America.

The second thing I need is thick foam. Regular stuff like you find at Clarke rubber for cheap mattresses isn’t dense enough and the best foam I have found at fyshwick foam store which is hideously expensive even for an off-cut. The guy at the shop even said that lots of people come looking for craft foam and that they should probably start stocking it (too right). I have heard that camping mats have good foam but I have yet to find any of these either.

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ACT Fibreglass Supplies in Fyshwick had all the stuff I needed for a small project I did last year. Sounds like you need PU foam and coating instead though. I think they were stocking bottles of the liquids last time I looked. Foam sets in a mould, you cut and sand back and then paint on the coating for the hard shell. Sand and then paint your metallic paints for the authentic look.

Just a few thoughts…
Not quite sure exactly what you’re after,,, but what about the folding-type fibreglass tent poles? You can get replacement sets from camping supply stores.
Foam stuff? Have you looked at high-density pipe lagging? This stuff is more commonly used to provide acoustic isolation from noisy pipes – typically available in foam or a polyester.
Also check out something like the Polymax Absorb XHD, really high density semi-rigid polyester insulation, available in various thicknesses from 25mm up to 100mm.
Download the Absorb data sheet from:
http://www.polymaxinsulation.com.au/

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