Working with plastics can be extremely intimidating, even to veteran cosplayers. Armor Up! Thermoplastics, the first volume in the Ultimate Cosplay Encyclopedia series, includes everything you need to know about working with plastics and synthetic materials. From basic to expert level tutorials, key professionals guide you to create the base piece and polish the finished product with techniques on modifying, colour, heat form, and detail with modern materials. When warmed up, thermoplastics hardens to form a firm shell. Cosplay swords, shields, and more have a high-quality look and feel with the modern materials and pattern-making covered in the book.