This is the result of a few hours' experimenting with thermoplastic in an attempt to make hard scales for dragon parts.

WATCH THIS VIDEO!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXme58f4Ibc This is how I made the individual scales. I used 2mm thick craft foam.

So! Individual scales were attached to a strip of twill tape by laying over a thin piece of thermoplastic. No glue at all. The thin strip holds the twill tape just fine. It looks pretty OK so far, but I think I should sew the strip onto the glove, rather than use a couple snaps. It hangs strangely, and snaps have the potential to fail at the worst times. The logic behind snaps is so I could take them off to wash the garment, and so that stitching wouldn't put stress on the spandex. Maybe I'll put another piece of twill tape inside the glove to reinforce the stitching? I dunno. More snaps? This is what prototyping is for!

I first made a single, solid strip of scales. It came together easier, but it doesn't look or feel nearly as well as the strip on the twill tape. I bet this technique would work fine for a fuzzy fursuit, but it didn't look good enough on top of spandex.

I bought a sample of wonderflex and worbla from cosplaysupplies.com so I could learn the differences between them. Wonderflex has a fabric sub structure that I suppose makes it stronger, but I haven't tested the theory. Worbla is like a pressed sheet of pure thermoplastic, and is more clay-like when heated. I had a problem with Wonderflex's seams popping open when I overheated my scales, but the Worbla's seams stay true. The upside to Wonderflex is that it is cheaper, but I am only going to buy Worbla from now on. It suits my purposes better, but I bet Wonderflex would work well for inorganic shapes.