Hey guuys!
Today I decided to write about something quite different than usual. As you know I am passionate cosplay maker and recently I became involved with very popular material nowdays, which is Worbla....
I was actually very sceptic about it for a long time, but because non-worbla armors take too much time priming and I needed faster method I decided to try it...
Since then I tried all different types of Worbla known and because I'm often getting quetions about it, I decided to write about it :)
Where do I buy it?!
First of all, where do you get worbla?...I'm usually buying from polish website
CosCon...they have great customer service and they ship SO FAST!...but there are also two other websites I know -
MyCostumes , I ordered from them recently...shipping was cheaper a bit, but shipping was longer than from poland, so I guess I'll stick with CosCon...There is also
Cosplayshop, I guess it's website based in Belgium...I never ordered from them, but I know people who did and they say it's good too...
It comes in multiple sizes - S, M, L, XL, the bigger, the more expensive...
Types of Worbla and differences between them...
Worbla's finest art is the most common and first type of Worbla...it has 2 different sides, one smooth side with the glue and other side with the texture...I really love to work with this type, it's perfect for shoulder armor...it becomes very soft when heated and it's really easy to work with, it has quite strong glue too...btw it's actually my favourite type of Worbla so far :) and it smells quite nice :D
(Shoulders for Jaina Proudmoore from WoW I created using Worbla's Finest Art)
When it cools down, it becomes really sturdy and I'd say kinda hard...because I also used it for Tyrande's "corset" and I managed to watch 2 hour movie in cinema wearing it and it's completely undamaged :D
Corset I mentioned earlier
Btw it's the best for doing detailed things like this!
On the other hand, the surface is more rough than other Worblas have and it requires more priming - around 4-5 covers of glue is usually enough :) Also when stretched too much, it's really easy ripped, so be careful...
Worbla's Black Art
Black Worbla was my first Worbla to work with...It is reaaaaally sturdy coparing to Finest art...sturdy and hard and it isn't so easy to work with it, also it needs more heat than finest art I think...Glue inside is a lot weaker than in Finest art, but it can be quite convenient when you want to fix some mistake...
The cosplay prop made of this Worbla is really hard and almost un-bendable, so I'll prefer this worbla for the weapons in the future I guess...
My bracers for Tyrande cosplay made with Black Worbla
When cooled, the surface is really smooth and strong, all you need is 1-2 coats of glue and you can start painting...
Painted cosplay made of Black Art, with LEDs and no gems :D...
Worbla's Meshed Art
The newest member of Worbla family...I was very curious about it, so I ordered it and it arrived today! And I managed to make a breastplate out of it! :D
Breastplate for Jaina Proudmoore made of meshed art with finest art details
It has also two sides, one with glue and the other one with texture - you can slightly see a mesh sheet inside it (it is how is it called? :D)
Despite that meshed sheet it's really smooth and it's really different to touch, it's not so...plastic than other types of worbla...
I have found it perfect for making breastplates...It's sturdy, but it can be bended easily and it's not so hard than for example black art, which is the hardest...
Building breastplate
As for working with it, I find it harder than with other types...yes, it becomes really soft when heated, but it cant be stretched so easily and when you make some round parts, it's quite hard...but possible as you can see :D...The glue is really strong at both sides, what is really good too...it has little bit of finest art and little bit of black art I guess...stickyness and softness from finest art and sturdiness and smooth surface from black art...
Worbla's Transpa Art
This type of Worbla is something completely different...It requires quite high temperature to soften, and it's REALLY HOT, it really burns my fingers when I work with it...
Also it's really stretchy when heated, like chewing gum and it has no glue at all, so if you want to put parts together, I recommend to use hot glue gun for it...
I usually use it to create gems, now I'll use it to create a big gem for staff...
Gems from transpa art, painted and with LEDs
As for working with it, it's quite hard...because it is so hot and stretchy it's really hard to shape it, I usually use some tool to help myself, like scissors and I must have cold water near...
When cooled, it's like ordinary plastic, so it's quite strong and durable...
I guess that's all I can say, I hope I didn't forget anything...if you have any questions, feel free to contact me here in comment section below, or through my
FB PAGE , I'll be glad to help you :)
I hope you find the article at least a little bit useful :D
Bye Bye ^^
