1st Build ODST Medic Foam Build

[Strix3D]

Started a foam ODST medic build a month ago and figured I'd start a thread for it. It's for PAX AUS 2023 in Melbourne, so at the time I'm writing this, I've got around 2 weeks to finish it. This is my first ever proper foam cosplay, so feedback is well appreciated.

The colour scheme comes from this mini I found on r/halo. By the time I actually thought of asking the guy for permission, I had already ordered the visor and painted the helmet. He never got back to me either way.

Funnily enough, this foam build started out with a 3D printed helmet. The task of making a helmet solely out of foam was rather daunting since I hadn't really worked with the stuff ever. I actually used the helmet files I got from TnG R1ckx's ODST thread. The rest of the files I bought off heroes workshop. The helmet itself I printed in 4 parts. Mainly because I was scared if I printed it in one piece a small imperfection would waste tens of hours and filament.

Now, most people probably already know this, but DO NOT PUT SPOT PUTTY ON A RAW 3D PRINT. You can probably tell just by looking at it, but it got all in the lines on the top. It took me 2 straight days of blisters and a pack of toothpicks to get it clear. Not to even mention the sanding.

I eventually got it all clear and did a few coats of rustolieum filler primer followed by a wet sand, followed by silver primer. You can still see the massive seam lines on the helmet, but it's whatever.

Now to put in perspective, that last image and this next one have around 3 months in-between them. I'm a big procrastinator, but I was also waiting until my commissioned visor was done. I bought some liquid latex from big w, did the paint chippings, and did a coat of either satin or matte white. I can't remember. Kinda regretting not doing gloss, but I have a can of clear gloss lying around in the garage that I bought ages ago so I'll probably do that soon.

Okay now for the good part, I started work on the main torso piece roughly a month ago. I think I took this photo to show what a difference a good knife makes. The section of the left was cut by a trojan snap blade I got from bunnings for like 5 bucks. And the one on the right was cut by some box cutter I found lying around.

This was my first big victory with the foam. The seams were shotty, but it's seriously the best thing I had made with the stuff up until then.

I got the torso done after around 2 days of labouring. You can kinda see the straps falling apart which I fixed the day after this photo. I made the chest plate absolutely ages ago and I happened to find it when going through my cupboard. It looks... okay to say the least. It fits and so it shall be used.

Next up was the shoulders. I'm not good at cutting foam on an angle. At all. So I went with the landfall shoulders. I made the template roughly 6 months ago in case the 3D printer gave out. (which it did).

After hanging out with some cool halo peeps at OZ comic con in brizzy, I got a rush of motivation and threw these together the following day. The thighs are rakshasa in case you're wondering. And the darker foam on the stomach plates are lumins workshop's 4mm hardlite foam.

And the very next day, I got the knees done. Played around with scoring the inside of the foam and I think it turned out pretty good. Not entirely sure where these templates are from, I just asked for some knees online and promptly received some.

Looks mighty rad with the thighs.

These are the shoes I'll be wearing with the armor. Just some regular black boots.

And for the clothes I bought a black ribbed turtleneck, and some black cargo pants.

So, this is where I'm currently at. With pax 2 weeks down the road, I have forearm, shin, boot, belt, and glove armor to make. Again, feedback is very well appreciated.

 

[PapaSola]

Started a foam ODST medic build a month ago and figured I'd start a thread for it. It's for PAX AUS 2023 in Melbourne, so at the time I'm writing this, I've got around 2 weeks to finish it. This is my first ever proper foam cosplay, so feedback is well appreciated.

The colour scheme comes from this mini I found on r/halo. By the time I actually thought of asking the guy for permission, I had already ordered the visor and painted the helmet. He never got back to me either way.
View attachment 336214

Funnily enough, this foam build started out with a 3D printed helmet. The task of making a helmet solely out of foam was rather daunting since I hadn't really worked with the stuff ever. I actually used the helmet files I got from TnG R1ckx's ODST thread. The rest of the files I bought off heroes workshop. The helmet itself I printed in 4 parts. Mainly because I was scared if I printed it in one piece a small imperfection would waste tens of hours and filament.
View attachment 336200

Now, most people probably already know this, but DO NOT PUT SPOT PUTTY ON A RAW 3D PRINT. You can probably tell just by looking at it, but it got all in the lines on the top. It took me 2 straight days of blisters and a pack of toothpicks to get it clear. Not to even mention the sanding.
View attachment 336203

I eventually got it all clear and did a few coats of rustolieum filler primer followed by a wet sand, followed by silver primer. You can still see the massive seam lines on the helmet, but it's whatever.
View attachment 336204

Now to put in perspective, that last image and this next one have around 3 months in-between them. I'm a big procrastinator, but I was also waiting until my commissioned visor was done. I bought some liquid latex from big w, did the paint chippings, and did a coat of either satin or matte white. I can't remember. Kinda regretting not doing gloss, but I have a can of clear gloss lying around in the garage that I bought ages ago so I'll probably do that soon.
View attachment 336205

Okay now for the good part, I started work on the main torso piece roughly a month ago. I think I took this photo to show what a difference a good knife makes. The section of the left was cut by a trojan snap blade I got from bunnings for like 5 bucks. And the one on the right was cut by some box cutter I found lying around.
View attachment 336206

This was my first big victory with the foam. The seams were shotty, but it's seriously the best thing I had made with the stuff up until then.
View attachment 336208

I got the torso done after around 2 days of labouring. You can kinda see the straps falling apart which I fixed the day after this photo. I made the chest plate absolutely ages ago and I happened to find it when going through my cupboard. It looks... okay to say the least. It fits and so it shall be used.
View attachment 336209

Next up was the shoulders. I'm not good at cutting foam on an angle. At all. So I went with the landfall shoulders. I made the template roughly 6 months ago in case the 3D printer gave out. (which it did).
View attachment 336210

After hanging out with some cool halo peeps at OZ comic con in brizzy, I got a rush of motivation and threw these together the following day. The thighs are rakshasa in case you're wondering. And the darker foam on the stomach plates are lumins workshop's 4mm hardlite foam.
View attachment 336211

And the very next day, I got the knees done. Played around with scoring the inside of the foam and I think it turned out pretty good. Not entirely sure where these templates are from, I just asked for some knees online and promptly received some.
View attachment 336212

Looks mighty rad with the thighs.
View attachment 336213

These are the shoes I'll be wearing with the armor. Just some regular black boots.
View attachment 336215

And for the clothes I bought a black ribbed turtleneck, and some black cargo pants.
View attachment 336216
So, this is where I'm currently at. With pax 2 weeks down the road, I have forearm, shin, boot, belt, and glove armor to make. Again, feedback is very well appreciated.

Yes we need more ODST, looks awesome, and that foam looks really cleanly done, wish my craftsmanship was that good

 

[JammedMite942]

Looking great dude. I get ya, cutting on angles is hard lol, but your seams look pretty good! Can’t wait to see it done!

 

[Strix3D]

Thanks guys. I’ll be working on my shins today, as they’re the one part that I’m dreading the most. So best to get it done first.

I found that clear gloss I was talking about earlier and tested it on my test print. This stuff is just paint thinner. Genuinely incredible how well it works. It’s like acetone in a spray can.

 

[Strix3D]

The clear gloss in question:

DONT USE THIS STUFF. EVER. It's paint thinner in a can.

Look how he massacred my boy...

This has got to be the cleanest seam I've ever achieved. It's probably commonplace for everyone else, but this is just beautiful.

I have created a shin armor. Took me the whole day to put together. Lots of messing about and experimenting. Just trust me it looks so much better from afar.

AND IT LOOKS BALLER! Even though I've just done one, HOLY CRAP IT'S BEAUTIFUL! From afar of course. Please do not press "I" on my leg armor if you meet me at a con.

Well that's todays update. Found a can of paint thinner, pulled off the CLEANEST seam ever, and completed one shin, with another soon on the way.

 

[Chronomize]

Looking epic! Speaking of paint thinner, I gotta get some of that...

 

[korranatedcorgi]

I love the build so far! Excited to see the final product! silly question, are you planning to bevel the edges of the armor or keeping them sharp? Just getting an idea for when I start my build

 

[Strix3D]

I love the build so far! Excited to see the final product! silly question, are you planning to bevel the edges of the armor or keeping them sharp? Just getting an idea for when I start my build

Thank you! Not sure. It depends on how everything look when it’s all on properly.

 

[N8TEBB]

Now, most people probably already know this, but DO NOT PUT SPOT PUTTY ON A RAW 3D PRINT. You can probably tell just by looking at it, but it got all in the lines on the top. It took me 2 straight days of blisters and a pack of toothpicks to get it clear. Not to even mention the sanding.

hehe I do this all the time
If you have trouble getting bondo out of those inset lines, try using a small file! Use a round one that is small enough to get in those gaps, and use a pointed tip. It will clear out excess bondo with ease and will also smooth out print lines in the gap itself!

Suit's looking pretty good man! Gonna be following this thread for sure!

 

[Marcus]

awesome! I just started my build and I might have to change my chest design, your's is much better. (im using the one from Andrew DFT)

 

[Strix3D]

THIS IS ROUGH. The day flew by without me noticing and it was around 4pm by the time I was done. Started around 10am and skipped lunch. It's good enough for me. And I'll also do a coat of pva glue on it all, followed by silver primer, followed by paint, followed by clear coat. NOT THE GLOSS FINISH. By the end, it should look a whole lot better. I'll also be doing andrew dft's odst gauntlet's because the templates that came with the heroes workshop zip file are really intimidating.

 

[Legend 113]

Yeah, time really flies when your building. One minute it's 8am, what feels like 20mins later it's actually 2pm!

 

[Strix3D]

New landfall shoulders. The one's I made before were too small, so I sized it by 20% and it looks awesome. I've also got some more foam because I just ran out so I pretty couldn't work on it most of today.

I've chucked in the templates I made for anyone else wanting to make some. Again, I've upsized them 20% from their original size. Now to anybody who's new to foam crafting, you can merge pieces together and score them on the inside instead of cutting them individually. You can see that's what I've done here. Each shoulder is just 2 pieces, and scored it on the inside. As you can see in the screenshot below. Once its scored, just glue it together on the inside so it keeps it's angle. Also don't worry about the messy lines on the bottom shoulder piece. Just cut the outline. The smaller one is just details so it's not entirely necessary.

 

[Marcus]

where do you get your foam/ what type of foam are you using?

 

[Strix3D]

where do you get your foam/ what type of foam are you using?

I get my foam from Bunnings, and it’s EVA foam. It’s the jigsaw gym mats and they’re only $10. That’s for Australia though. I’m not entirely sure what the equivalents are across the world, but just look for Eva foam floor mats. It’s 10mm thick, so it’s pretty good for armor. And make sure you get a snap blade knife, cuz foam will blunt blades super quick. If you want really clean cuts, I’d say change the blade every 10-20 minutes of cutting. And make sure to test your blades sharpness before cutting out a template. The thinner 4mm foam is from lumins workshop. I think it’s Australia exclusive, but the type I bought is called hardlite EVA foam. I’m not sure if hardlite is a lumins workshop exclusive product or not, but that’s just what I got. I use it for detailing.

So that’s 10mm EVA jigsaw gym floor mats for the armour, and 4mm “hardlite” EVA foam. But really, any thin high density foam should be good for details.

 

[Strix3D]

So... My gmail ran out of storage and 405th freaked out because I couldn't receive their emails anymore. But I am done with the build!


Sorry for the lack of updates the past week. Just sorting out my account.

So, to pick up where I left off, right after I remade the shoulder's, I remade my chest piece. I made the first one around 6 months ago, so it’s good to know I've gotten better.

I then started making my forearms. They’re Andrew dft’s odst templates and were very easy in comparison to the rest of the armour pieces.

I also made the hip and belt armour but I didn’t get any photos. But the armours finally all constructed!

Right after, I started treating it. I got some awesome guidance from some very talented people down here in Australia on how to proceed. I started by heat sealing all the armour pieces. I think this is done to make sure nothing seeps in and makes it go soggy or something. Then, I brushed on some pva glue. Started with a test piece and then worked my way up from the shins. This is how it looks right after application.

And this is how it looks once it’s set.

It gets shiny and what not. This process helps harden the foam, and acts as a sort of paint primer. This is how the shin looked after some light sanding and two coats of glue.

You can’t really tell, but it’s much harder. The glue helped fill some gaps and air pockets in the foam. I did 2 coats of glue on every armour piece.

After the glue, I did one coat of silver primer and used the liquid latex technique I did on my helmet.

This is how it all looked after. I recommend getting some sticks from outside or wooden dowels and sticking them in something to make it stable and horizontal so you can let your thighs/shins/gauntlets dry without them touching anything. Now right after I did a single coat of paint because the type of paint I used got discontinued so I had to be careful not to run out.

I think I figured out why it got discontinued. Accidentally sprayed a bit on my arm and I got a nasty rash. Also since I only did one coat of silver primer, the liquid latex grabbed onto some of it, and there are some really small parts got peeled off so it looks like dirty metal underneath. It’s awesome. After letting it all dry, I just brushed some black and brown school paint mixed with water on it. I think it came out pretty good.

Here’s the torso. I don’t know why this photo in particular is so blurry. I glued the bottom of the chest onto the torso cuz that was the only part that made contact.

The stomach and middle pieces are glued together and they’re glued to the torso/chest piece.

The belt/leg armour was a genuine nightmare to rig up and I do not want to talk about it any further. I chose the most brain dead method and I regret it so much. But what matters is that it stays on and looks good.

The hip and butt plates have belt loops on the inside so they slide around a bit.

The blood type sticker I just printed out until the size matched and just cut it out.

I found some laminating sheets and slipped it inside. Then I took a hair dryer to it until it… laminated? And from there I just cut it out and glued it on.

I got the image from another guys forum. I can’t link it right now, but you should be able to find it by searching up “blood type odst” or something like that.

Also went shopping for some supplies and got some absolute steals. I got some grey fatigues from a small gel blaster store for $65 aud which is around $35-$40 usd. Also bought some motorcycle gloves for $49.99 aud at a motorcycle accessories clearance store. And finally bought some upholstery foam for my helmet paddinh. The lady at the store asked me if I was making something from “five nights at freddy”.

Finally, the big suit up! You can kinda see the elbow piece fell off, but I’ll glue it back down later.

And for the finishing touch for this update, it turned out that the message I sent to the designer of the mini I’m basing my paint job off didn’t actually send. So I finally asked him and he said yes. I then sent him a photo of my progress and he invited me to his halo skirmish discord where I saw this message.

You can probably tell, but the guy was pretty impressed. He also showed me the actual paint he used. Considering it’s paint made for minis used in board games, I’ll have to colour match it and get it in a can. Which does mean I’ll have to hand paint. But that won’t be so bad.

 

[JammedMite942]

Dude, amazing job. The fact that this is only a WEEK’S worth of progress is just mind blowing to me, did you sleep? XD

Seriously though, looks awesome. You nailed the look of the mini, you should make the Medkit and backpack to go along with it too!

Great work man!

 

[Strix3D]

Dude, amazing job. The fact that this is only a WEEK’S worth of progress is just mind blowing to me, did you sleep? XD

Seriously though, looks awesome. You nailed the look of the mini, you should make the Medkit and backpack to go along with it too!

Great work man!

Thank you! I’ll be making the accessories after my debut at pax Aus. It turns out there are a few laws around having a Red Cross with a white background on anything. So I gotta be careful with the health pack. There are a few cosplayers who don’t know this and are technically breaking a minor war crime. But that’s just a whole can of worms that’d take up an entire thread on its own.

I’ve been sick for the past 2 weeks, which have also been school holidays. So I’ve just had free time galore to get this armour done. Also got a lot of motivation from oz comic con in Brisbane. So all that combined just helped me finish this really quickly.

 

[PlanetAlexander]

Looking forward to seeing you at Brisbane Supanova... right?

I've heard about those laws with the red cross - it shouldn't be anything you need to worry about getting in trouble for, but a common alternative is a red H instead.

 

[Marcus]

Awesome! The chest piece looks very good, did you freehand it or did you use a template?