Cosmo's First Build - MkVb

[CosmoCornelius]

Hey all! I've been lurking around here for a while, even before making an account, but I finally have the ability to join and attempt to make a set of armor (hopefully more than just one!), but you have to start *somewhere* so here we are!

Quick intro, I'm Cosmo! I'm in my mid 30's, a professional musician, and I've been a huge halo fan since the beginning. I'm a fan of all games, but the lore and world of Halo has always been one of my favorites.

I've always been intimidated by the process of building a set of armor like this, but it's always been a dream of mine. I had the chance to get a 3D printer in December of last year, and since I've started printing little things here and there, and slowly getting to bigger things, I'm feeling more confident that I might be able to pull something off that I'm happy with, even though I know I have a LOT to learn. For reference, I'm printing on a completely stock Ender 5 Plus. I like it a lot so far, especially for the relatively low cost of entry.

THE PLAN is to make a set of MkVb armor, and after I've made the completely base set hopefully then grab some additional more unique pieces, ideally asymmetric shoulders and a couple other additions. The files I'm starting with are Nerd Forge Design's base set, with the MkVb helmet. I was realizing when starting to make this post that I probably should also poke around these forums and find other instances of people printing this set, because I have to assume it's pretty well-known? I've seen someone mention it on the Discord server as a good set of files and a good creator. But if any of you have built this I'd LOVE to see your finished product, and any advice you might have. I was particularly interested in this set when I was looking around because it had removable pieces for magnets to help with mounting it to your undersuit? Is that something that people are actually able to use? I'm really excited at the idea that it can actually be fit on like that, maybe make the don/doff process a little easier than I feared. ANYwho, I'll attach a picture of the mock-up I've been working on. I picked up Armorsmith so that I could visualize the relative size of the pieces to my figure. I'm just shy of six feet tall (71.5 inches), and around 170 pounds, so I wasn't sure if I would need to size anything up or down on these. The helmet in particular seemed really big at 100% scale? Would it be weird to scale the helmet down to like 95% and not change any other pieces?

I am not quite ready to start printing yet, I'm waiting on another prop that I'm printing for a different costume idea, but likely by the end of the week I could start printing this. In the meantime I hope some people will chime in with questions or comments, or advice of what to do/not to do! And I'll continue to update with more that I learn, I'm not sure what most people do but I might also post things I find that I want to refer back to for my own project.

PARTS & PROGRESS
Helmet: Printed (may be redone for size/material?)
Visor:
Chest (Front):
Chest (Back):
Upper Arm(L/R): Printed/Printed
Lower Arm(L/R): /Printed
Shoulder(L/R): Printed/Printed
Hand Pad(L/R): Printed/Printed
Waist:
Upper Leg(L/R):
Knee(L/R): Printed/Printed
Lower Leg(L/R):
Foot(L/R):
Undersuit: Purchased, got these parts:
Amazon.com (TOP)
Amazon.com (BOTTOM)
Shoes/Gloves: Planning to use old shoes/Purchased these gloves: Amazon.com


Thanks for reading!

 

[CosmoCornelius]

(In the picture above I know that the belt pieces aren't in yet, I was having trouble getting everything aligned in the software so I just got as much as I could loaded in to get a perspective on size)

 

[Kahn 319]

scaling individual pieces differently than each other isnt noticable unless its something like 15% or more, you'll be fine scaling the helmet different than the chest or other pieces. I used nerd forge's files and i have used magnets as well on some pieces. his files are good, the hardest part about nerd forges files are making them comfortable to wear, but they print well and look great, cant wait to see what yours ends up like.

 

[CosmoCornelius]

Thanks!! Yeah, I can't decide if 90% or 95% looks better, I'll maybe just have to print one and find out! I've already begun searching around for other people's builds with his files and I can see there's a lot I can learn there, too. Especially when it comes to getting it all strapped on! I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Also, do people ever put microphones in the helmets with small speakers on the outside or something? I feel like in a loud convention hall it would be nice to have some projection so you're not yelling through your helmet all day. In general I hadn't really considered how much electronics people put into their builds until I started seeing all these cool LEDs and such!

 

[Kahn 319]

Thanks!! Yeah, I can't decide if 90% or 95% looks better, I'll maybe just have to print one and find out! I've already begun searching around for other people's builds with his files and I can see there's a lot I can learn there, too. Especially when it comes to getting it all strapped on! I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Also, do people ever put microphones in the helmets with small speakers on the outside or something? I feel like in a loud convention hall it would be nice to have some projection so you're not yelling through your helmet all day. In general I hadn't really considered how much electronics people put into their builds until I started seeing all these cool LEDs and such!

with helmets you want them to be a little big so you can put fans and stuff in them, you just dont want it to be huge

 

[CosmoCornelius]

Ohhh, good call. Okay I'll likely try 95% then to start. Thanks! I just need to buy some big rolls of filament and get started now.

 

[N8TEBB]

Hey all! I've been lurking around here for a while, even before making an account, but I finally have the ability to join and attempt to make a set of armor (hopefully more than just one!), but you have to start *somewhere* so here we are!

Quick intro, I'm Cosmo! I'm in my mid 30's, a professional musician, and I've been a huge halo fan since the beginning. I'm a fan of all games, but the lore and world of Halo has always been one of my favorites.

I've always been intimidated by the process of building a set of armor like this, but it's always been a dream of mine. I had the chance to get a 3D printer in December of last year, and since I've started printing little things here and there, and slowly getting to bigger things, I'm feeling more confident that I might be able to pull something off that I'm happy with, even though I know I have a LOT to learn. For reference, I'm printing on a completely stock Ender 5 Plus. I like it a lot so far, especially for the relatively low cost of entry.

THE PLAN is to make a set of MkVb armor, and after I've made the completely base set hopefully then grab some additional more unique pieces, ideally asymmetric shoulders and a couple other additions. The files I'm starting with are Nerd Forge Design's base set, with the MkVb helmet. I was realizing when starting to make this post that I probably should also poke around these forums and find other instances of people printing this set, because I have to assume it's pretty well-known? I've seen someone mention it on the Discord server as a good set of files and a good creator. But if any of you have built this I'd LOVE to see your finished product, and any advice you might have. I was particularly interested in this set when I was looking around because it had removable pieces for magnets to help with mounting it to your undersuit? Is that something that people are actually able to use? I'm really excited at the idea that it can actually be fit on like that, maybe make the don/doff process a little easier than I feared. ANYwho, I'll attach a picture of the mock-up I've been working on. I picked up Armorsmith so that I could visualize the relative size of the pieces to my figure. I'm just shy of six feet tall (71.5 inches), and around 170 pounds, so I wasn't sure if I would need to size anything up or down on these. The helmet in particular seemed really big at 100% scale? Would it be weird to scale the helmet down to like 95% and not change any other pieces?

I am not quite ready to start printing yet, I'm waiting on another prop that I'm printing for a different costume idea, but likely by the end of the week I could start printing this. In the meantime I hope some people will chime in with questions or comments, or advice of what to do/not to do! And I'll continue to update with more that I learn, I'm not sure what most people do but I might also post things I find that I want to refer back to for my own project.

Thanks for reading!

I'll be watching this build as it progresses!

For scaling, there's nothing wrong with scaling pieces individually. When I made my suit, not one piece had the same scaling than another. Some pieces may be scaled non-uniformly as well (in my case I have very long legs and needed to add to the shin). The size of each piece doesn't have to exactly match the canon proportions, as long as it looks good on YOU.

 

[CosmoCornelius]

I'll be watching this build as it progresses!

For scaling, there's nothing wrong with scaling pieces individually. When I made my suit, not one piece had the same scaling than another. Some pieces may be scaled non-uniformly as well (in my case I have very long legs and needed to add to the shin). The size of each piece doesn't have to exactly match the canon proportions, as long as it looks good on YOU.

Noted! Is it just sort of expected that you might print something that doesn't fit, or is it more that one should really fine-tune what fits in a program like Armorsmith before printing to not waste material?

 

[N8TEBB]

Noted! Is it just sort of expected that you might print something that doesn't fit, or is it more that one should really fine-tune what fits in a program like Armorsmith before printing to not waste material?

Do your best to fine tune everything in before printing. Even with doing that, you may have to print a few things twice. Even with good measurements things can still look different in person than they do in the computer. I scaled everything in armoursmith before I made my suit, but still had to remake my thigh pieces and print two helmets.

 

[CosmoCornelius]

Alright, well after a short delay we’re off! Just started printing the helmet. Had to wait for a bigger spool of filament to ship, and also I’ve been simultaneously working on my “test project”, that is, a Renaissance Faire costume. I printed a hammer and shield for a cleric costume based on a D&D character I’m currently running. I figured since the two pieces were smaller, they’d be good fodder for trying my hand at sanding and painting. Anywho this print I think was about nine days, so I’ll check back in once it either fails () or I have a print to show off!

I’m also probably going to edit my initial post with a checklist of sorts, something to show my progress as I go. Is that a thing people do? Like an inventory list and progress gauge?

 

[CosmoCornelius]

Alright! We have a successful print. So I've learned a few things both by printing this and during printing this.

By printing this, I learned that 95% scale may still be too big for my head! I was worried I'd make it too small. Messing around with Armorsmith some more though, their Shrink to Fit setting showed me I could potentially reduce down to almost 85%... I'm not convinced I could still get my head into this thing at that point, but I'm willing to bet that I'd still be able to at 90%.

During printing this, I have been continuing to compile files and get things ready, as well as reading on the forums and discord. Through that I learned that I should likely not be bothering with PLA for these prints, which was what I used for this! So now I'm unsure if this helmet will be usable for both of the above reasons.

All that being said, I am happy to have this piece because it gives me a great deal of information. I think what I'm going to do is continue with prepping and messing with this helmet for now, while I get some budget together for PETG and work on getting my printer used to it to the point where it prints as well as it does the PLA. I am prepared for that to be a bit of a fight... Or maybe it'll be fine! Time will tell.

Anyone have any tips for printing PETG on an Ender 5 Plus? I'm going to move my printer to the garage, since I've seen online I shouldn't have it in a living space due to fumes or dust or the likes. And I may have to make my printer go slower? I know it says I don't "need" an enclosure, but would that help?

 

[Chronomize]

I don't have any tips, as I myself am just getting into the hobby, but that helmet print came out very clean

 

[CosmoCornelius]

I don't have any tips, as I myself am just getting into the hobby, but that helmet print came out very clean

Thanks! This is the longest print I've done on this printer, but I've done probably four or five other decent sized ones first as I've worked through calibration and such. This is my first printer, I'm also pretty new! It's daunting but a lot of fun. I hope you're also enjoying it so far!

 

[FalseShepherd]

If that helmet fits and everything yoi should keep it. Worth having a backup or maybe just a display piece.

I have been printing in PETG for a while and I love it. Honestly, you just have to dial in the settings the way your printer likes it. I keep the print speed really low and turn off the fan. But play with your settings and find the ones that work. I have found that my printer is fairly temperamental and likes things slow and hot.

 

[CosmoCornelius]

Alright, I've moved my whole printing setup to the garage for PETG shenanigans! And you know what, let's just forego testing a new material and just give it a go shall we? Here's a Left Bicep piece that just came off the printer. Aside from some stringing (I now have a filament dryer so hopefully we can get rid of that) it looks pretty dang good! I printed this at 100% and again, it feels WAY too big on my arm. I'm going to mirror and do the Right bicep and see if a smaller size feels better. I have about a half inch of room at the smallest point, so maybe I'll drop down about 10%? That should make the current 4 inch opening about 3.6 inches? But first I'm going to throw the rest of this spool of filament in the dryer for a bit.

I did also build a dry box for it, but I know that doesn't *actively* dry the filament, just keep it from getting humid. The box is working great, it stayed around 12-15% humidity the whole print.

 

[Chronomize]

That is a very clean print
Edit: I just realised this comment is very similar to my other one, but it's true

 

[CosmoCornelius]

Alright, did some test fitting with some sizing rings, and dialed the Right Bicep down to 95%. The result is much better, and I’m going to move forward with this. Big shoutout to DeltaAlphaZulu for the tip on making prints of just the cuff of a piece, for sizing! What a genius idea.

I’m waiting on more PETG to arrive today, then I’ll likely start on reprinting the Left bicep, and get the shoulders working too. I’m figuring at this point I’ll work on the arms since I have the sizing dialed in.

My PETG printing journey is going pretty well, prints succeed and I feel are good enough especially since everything will be sanded and painted. I’d love to hear anyone’s advice on settings to help with stringing, but really overall I’m very pleased. Currently I’ve only tried eSun PETG but it seems to be a good brand.

 

[CosmoCornelius]

That is a very clean print
Edit: I just realised this comment is very similar to my other one, but it's true

No worries, I appreciate it! I also think they're pretty clean, like I said especially for my first go with PETG. Hoping to cut down on the stringing if possible, but if not a heat gun I've heard will take care of it.

 

[Chronomize]

Alright, did some test fitting with some sizing rings, and dialed the Right Bicep down to 95%. The result is much better, and I’m going to move forward with this. Big shoutout to DeltaAlphaZulu for the tip on making prints of just the cuff of a piece, for sizing! What a genius idea.

I’m waiting on more PETG to arrive today, then I’ll likely start on reprinting the Left bicep, and get the shoulders working too. I’m figuring at this point I’ll work on the arms since I have the sizing dialed in.

My PETG printing journey is going pretty well, prints succeed and I feel are good enough especially since everything will be sanded and painted. I’d love to hear anyone’s advice on settings to help with stringing, but really overall I’m very pleased. Currently I’ve only tried eSun PETG but it seems to be a good brand.

Nice! Personally the brand I've had most luck with for PETG is Kingroon. It prints at a relatively low temperature though (I've been doing 235 if memory serves?), so it might not be as strong

 

[CosmoCornelius]

Nice! Personally the brand I've had most luck with for PETG is Kingroon. It prints at a relatively low temperature though (I've been doing 235 if memory serves?), so it might not be as strong

Ooh that's good info. I've been doing print nozzle at 250 based on some reading but maybe I should experiment with lower temps. And I'll check out Kingroon too! Thanks