1st Build 1st 3d print Project ODST

[Snooty]

I have been slowly printing out the pieces of my first ODST helmet for the past few days and now the last piece at 0412 on a Saturday morning finished printing.

I now bask in its amazingness wearing the quickly assembled pieces while i lay in bed.

My question is where do i go from here?
I know i need to sand prime and paint and all that but i need some advice on how i should deal with the bottom side of the helm.

Also is it recommended to do post process every piece separately or as a glued together whole?

I think its just me but the helm does look a bit big for my head but any smaller and it wouldnt be wearable

 

[Spartan4204]

Congratulations on your first build! What you can do about that messy parts on the bottom is fill it with a sandable filler like bondo and sand it with an orbital like I did, otherwise I'm sure there's better ways to go about it.

As for the helmet as a whole, here's what I do for sanding prints:
Raw print
200 grit sand
Rustoleum filler primer
320 grit
Rustoleum sandable primer
400 grit
Paint.
052 taught me that way and so far everything has turned out REALLY nice.

 

[SgtSaint]

Two suggestions:
1 - Scaling. This looks absolutely huge. Are you scaling parts to match your size?

2 - Time spent dialing in will pay itself back to you 100x over. It looks like your support settings could be greatly improved. Supported faces will always need more attention but if you spend 20 hours dialing them in better and that saves you 40 hours of labor in your first full suit isn't that time well spent?

 

[LesChriserables]

I have been slowly printing out the pieces of my first ODST helmet for the past few days and now the last piece at 0412 on a Saturday morning finished printing.

I now bask in its amazingness wearing the quickly assembled pieces while i lay in bed.

My question is where do i go from here?
I know i need to sand prime and paint and all that but i need some advice on how i should deal with the bottom side of the helm.

Also is it recommended to do post process every piece separately or as a glued together whole?

I think its just me but the helm does look a bit big for my head but any smaller and it wouldnt be wearable

Welcome to the 405th Snooty! I love that you're starting with an ODST build It's a great opportunity to work with a bunch of different mediums and not too hard to come out with a unique, expressive, and awesome costume! Is this the titlewave infinite model? Or from a diffferent source?

From here I'd suggest plastic welding the helmet joins from the inside. I find that glues tend to separate over time or if dropped (which always happens at some point) but the plastic welding method will still hold up if done correctly. Frankly built has a great tutorial on how to do this:

Once that's set I'd suggest filling and sanding the helmet as one piece. That way you can get rid of all of the join lines. Beyond that, more filling, sanding, priming and then onto painting eventually.

It might look a bit big now, but keep in mind it will have padding on the top, front, back and sides of your head, hopefully with space for fans to keep you cool. It's pretty hard to tell how big it is from 1 picture and 1 angle. Just make sure it's to scale with the rest of your armour and you should avoid the bobblehead effect

 

[Snooty]

Well to say im not disappointed that i didn't triple check the sizing would be a lie, however mistakes do be indeed a learning experience

After checking how the helmet looks from multiple angles, using temporary padding and taking into account where the shoulder straps would be i have concluded that ima have to make a new one this time I've done 4 sample sizes so hopefully within the week ill have a more correctly sized helmet printed and ready to sand.

Thank you SgtSaint for the images of the head spacing gave me a clearer idea on the distance between my head and each wall and saying straight up how big the size was. I would have continued with the patriot(wat my cousin called it) ODST helm and have been dissatisfied in the end. I have figured out more appropriate support settings for the overhangs so the next print will come out cleaner.

The file is indeed from Titlewave gotta say I'm in love with the work he's done. thanks for the video recommendation but I already checked it out 20 mins before i checked the forum .

I think i will still keep this helmet and get it into shape for display purposes and as a keepsake of my first 3D printed project.
Every time i do research it seems like my shopping list ever grows, did not think to use an orbital but it seems like it'll save me a lot of time if I get it soon.

I think i will still keep this helmet and get it into shape for display purposes and as a keepsake of my first 3D printed project.
Thanks guys for the tips and an increase of my shopping list. I will be back within a week for an update.

 

[SgtSaint]

> did not think to use an orbital but it seems like it'll save me a lot of time if I get it soon.

Sounds like this is all fairly new to you. I often recommend doing helmet last not first - so you can build up your technique starting at the feet and working upward. That way you can make the helmet looks stellar by the time you get to it - after learning the tools etc.
But since you have this extra helmet it might make a good practice part.
May a make a couple suggestions for practicing your finishing?:

• Print a few test XYZ cubes in a larger size like 100mm. They're quick to print and flat faced making them good learning subjects for your sanding and spot filling. Get where you can finish them off to look like milled metal. This also gives you 6 faces per cube to use for paint testing/samples. You'd much rather see bad paint interactions here than on your real parts.
• Then move to printing something more complex like a speed shape with curves and grooves. Same as above, learn to sand, smooth and paint curves and engravings. Speed Shape for paint tests by PandaProps
• 
• Then work your armor from the ground upward and hands inward.
• By the time you get to the chest and helmet you should be an old hand at finishing.