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[SuperBee]

I am working on two Skyrim inspired cosplays. I have made the medallions and I want to attach them to the armour. The armour is made out of vinyl. I know that hot glue won't work. What can I use to attach them? A type of super-glue? The medallions are made out of model magic.

[Penlowe]

thistothat.com

It's a website that exclusively deals with your exact question

[SuperBee]

Originally Posted by Penlowe

thistothat.com

It's a website that exclusively deals with your exact question

Thank you for the suggestion. However it suggests hot glue or a spray adhesive. Hot glue does not work because it peels off the vinyl and I can't use a spray adhesive due to some members of the family having an extreme allergy to aerosols (even after it dries).

[Penlowe]

can they be sewn? can you put a screw eye in the back to make it an overly large shank button?

[SuperBee]

I can try that and see how it goes. I have a feeling that it may split the medallion. I made sample ones to try it out

Thanks again for the suggestion.

[Nostrum]

Yeah, I was going to suggest something like a small chicago screw / interscrew anchored into the back of the medallions and screwed through the armour. Just make sure you anchor them high up in the medallion (so that they don't drop and sit out from the armour), and lower on the medallion to help support the weight.


But I'm picturing large medallions.

One other thing you can try is very carefully scoring the surface of the vinyl, so the glue has something to bond to.

[SuperBee]

Originally Posted by Nostrum

Yeah, I was going to suggest something like a small chicago screw / interscrew anchored into the back of the medallions and screwed through the armour. Just make sure you anchor them high up in the medallion (so that they don't drop and sit out from the armour), and lower on the medallion to help support the weight.


But I'm picturing large medallions.

One other thing you can try is very carefully scoring the surface of the vinyl, so the glue has something to bond to.

They are large medallions. I tried to screw in a small eye hook screw (I made from wire) and it split the model magic. I have also tried "Maximum Tacky Glue" and mind you it wasn't fully cured (which takes 24 hours) it held.... sort of. I like the idea of scoring the surface, even if I can expose the felt underside a little bit. I wonder how difficult that is to do.

[Nostrum]

Do you have a drill? You'll find it much easier if you pre-drill the hole for your screw to go into. Most materials will fracture or break if you try to force a screw in.

You'll also be better off, if you go an option like chicago screws, to carefully carve out a small indent so that the screw sits flush when you glue it in, that way it'll stop there from being a gap of a millimetre or two between your armour and the medallions.

Another thought is you could use something like split pins, the head glued into the medallion, and the pin pushed through the vinyl and secured at the back (either sewing over the legs of the pin, gluing, or even gluing a layer of fabric over it.
I'd suggest getting split pins from the hardware store, as your basic stationary ones won't have the strength you want.

Any chance of a reference image, or progress shot of your armour?

[SuperBee]

Yes of course. Here is a picture for reference http://www.cosplay.com/photo/3335998/ . I do have a drill. Model magic is not as forgiving as I thought it would be. The split pin is a good idea but I think I would need a bunch to hold.