First Build(s)!

[SamuelHan]

It's been my dream to build a suit for nearly a decade. Realising this dream is surreal to me, and I'm excited to share it with this incredible community! Here are the progress photos for my first Halo cosplay project: a UNSC flightsuit.

 

[JTF4]

Great job with the UNSC decals!

 

[Lojak]

Looks cool! I plan on adding decals and IDs to my under suit. Are these iron ons?

 

[SamuelHan]

Looks cool! I plan on adding decals and IDs to my under suit. Are these iron ons?

They're DTF (Direct To Film) transfers! I ironed them on, however it's recommended to use a heatpress.

 

[SamuelHan]

Great job with the UNSC decals!

Thanks! I'm happy with how they turned out.

 

[SamuelHan]

Some progress on my armour! My first planned suit is a Mark VII with the Volant helmet.

Here's the mockup:

I took photos of the Spartan Pack in Blender and coloured the armour in Photoshop. I plan to use a custom stencil to create the falcon design on the front.

In order to better conceptualise the scale of the pieces, I printed out a few at 1/4 scale and took measurements.

For the boots, I printed the undersuit layer in TPU including the soles.

The sole is detachable from the body of the boot, allowing the actual shoe to attach via Velcro.

I plan to spray the boot in Plasti-Dip to fill in any layer lines and hide any seams.

 

[SgtSaint]

@SamuelHan
For the boots, I printed the undersuit layer in TPU including the soles.

Have you worn that around for a full day (like at a convention)? We have members that warn people away from neoprene scuba suits as the under layer because of heat retention. Having worked a lot with TPU I have concerns that it would be even more prone to retaining heat.

 

[SamuelHan]

Have you worn that around for a full day (like at a convention)? We have members that warn people away from neoprene scuba suits as the under layer because of heat retention. Having worked a lot with TPU I have concerns that it would be even more prone to retaining heat.

I haven't tested these out for a prolonged period, no. However, since I'm only using the TPU for the boots and nowhere else, I'm not too worried about it.

 

[Hein B287]

I haven't tested these out for a prolonged period, no. However, since I'm only using the TPU for the boots and nowhere else, I'm not too worried about it.

I'm with SgtSaint here. I don't have a lot of knowledge about wearing armour but its always good to test it out for a day at home. An added bonus is that you also get a feel for how to move around in it.

You should also watch out that if the boots retain a lot of heat that they could also get sweaty which might cause friction. Nothing sucks more than having your feet hurt while walking

Edit; Also, I really like the idea of making smaller versions of your parts. Helps get a feel for them and work perfectly as test parts for painting

 

[Jev]

I love the render of your spartan, man! I'm not a huge fan of a fair few of the mkVII helmets but the Volant is definitely in the good books for me.
Best of luck with your build, I'll be interested to see how you progress!

 

[SamuelHan]

I'm with SgtSaint here. I don't have a lot of knowledge about wearing armour but its always good to test it out for a day at home. An added bonus is that you also get a feel for how to move around in it.

You should also watch out that if the boots retain a lot of heat that they could also get sweaty which might cause friction. Nothing sucks more than having your feet hurt while walking

Edit; Also, I really like the idea of making smaller versions of your parts. Helps get a feel for them and work perfectly as test parts for painting

Totally agree. I'm reprinting the boots soon, so I'll be testing them out ASAP. I got the quarter scale parts idea from DeltaAlphaZulu , it really does help to have a tangible representation of the part in your hand.

 

[SamuelHan]

I love the render of your spartan, man! I'm not a huge fan of a fair few of the mkVII helmets but the Volant is definitely in the good books for me.
Best of luck with your build, I'll be interested to see how you progress!

Thank you! I love the sleek and refined look of the Volant helmet. This is definitely one of the more daunting projects I've taken on, but I'm more than willing to face it head on

 

[Wraith0912]

We've already talked a lot about the details of your suit in our conversations, so I don't have much to offer besides reinforcing how cool the concept looks and how good the boots are shaping up to be (though I echo everyone else's concerns over TPU heat buildup).

One thing I wanted to say, though, is in regards to that eagle icon on the chest plate. I know that's a 2D stencil placed over a 2D render, so if you want a more accurate representation of how it'll actually look on your suit, there's a way to apply images and decals onto the blender Spartan Pack by importing the image as a plane and then using a shrinkwrap modifier to stick it onto the chest plate. You'll be able to control the scale and location of the decal as well, so if it's looking too big on certain spots, you can adjust it however it's needed.

 

[SamuelHan]

We've already talked a lot about the details of your suit in our conversations, so I don't have much to offer besides reinforcing how cool the concept looks and how good the boots are shaping up to be (though I echo everyone else's concerns over TPU heat buildup).

One thing I wanted to say, though, is in regards to that eagle icon on the chest plate. I know that's a 2D stencil placed over a 2D render, so if you want a more accurate representation of how it'll actually look on your suit, there's a way to apply images and decals onto the blender Spartan Pack by importing the image as a plane and then using a shrinkwrap modifier to stick it onto the chest plate. You'll be able to control the scale and location of the decal as well, so if it's looking too big on certain spots, you can adjust it however it's needed.

That's super helpful! I'll try that out.

 

[SamuelHan]

UPDATE:
I ran out of filament

Hopefully I can find a local supplier so I don't have to wait 3-4 days for a resupply. In the meantime, I got my airbrush up and running, and it works great! There was a bit of a learning curve initially, but I'm getting some decent results. I'll post pictures once I've made more progress.

 

[zyamaha]

UPDATE:
I ran out of filament
View attachment 340965

Hopefully I can find a local supplier so I don't have to wait 3-4 days for a resupply. In the meantime, I got my airbrush up and running, and it works great! There was a bit of a learning curve initially, but I'm getting some decent results. I'll post pictures once I've made more progress.

For whatever reason, that GIF makes me laugh every time I see it.

Can't wait to see the new pictures. I'm currently trying to get the hang of airbrushing too and am enjoying it so far. I'm not brave enough to try it on the armor yet though.

 

[SamuelHan]

For whatever reason, that GIF makes me laugh every time I see it.

Can't wait to see the new pictures. I'm currently trying to get the hang of airbrushing too and am enjoying it so far. I'm not brave enough to try it on the armor yet though.

I haven't done anything too detailed yet with the airbrush, just painted some larger areas. It's been pretty straightforward so far! The biggest issue I had was a bit of spattering in the beginning, but that was fixed by adjusting the air pressure. I say go for it!

 

[Wendi82]

UPDATE:
I ran out of filament
View attachment 340965

Hopefully I can find a local supplier so I don't have to wait 3-4 days for a resupply. In the meantime, I got my airbrush up and running, and it works great! There was a bit of a learning curve initially, but I'm getting some decent results. I'll post pictures once I've made more progress.

We love running out of material during a project!