First Build - Recon MKV(B)

[MrBones]

Hey everyone!
This is the start to my journey on a childhood dream to become reality as many before me have done. A full spartan armor build with props for cosplay!

Background​

A little backstory on myself; I have been in the Midwest US cosplay community for roughly 2 years and have traveled to a few out of state conventions. This year I was able to visit Katsukon on the east coast. It was a big wake up call to how much effort people spend on their cosplays that they have passion for. Now I do spend what I considered a large amount of time per cosplay at about 10-15 hours. Now I know what you're thinking at this point, that's a lot? It was until I saw the reality of what true enjoyment of the craft is like. So I decided I was going to go big for once and invest the next year building this the best I can.
I saw a few spartan cosplayers there and got some photos. I asked questions on how long it took and decided that a year is doable as long as I don't procrastinate so here we are now. So ready to drop feet first into my thread yet?

The Goal​

• Mark V(B) Armor Core​
  • Forearms / Wrists (In Progress) (Printed)​
  • Chest + Back​
  • Thigh​
  • Shin Covers​
  • Knee guards (Printing)​
  • Armor belt​
  • Boots​
• Recon helmet​
• TacPad (In Progress) (Printed)​
• Hardtac case (Completed!)​
• DragonBorn Shoulder (Printed)​
• Emile Shoulder (In Progress) (Printed)​
• Foam Undersuit Chest​
• Foam Undersuit Legs​
• Magnum (Completed!)​
• Battle Rifle (In Progress) (Printed)​

Reference Model:

 

[MrBones]

(Forgot to post this)
I don't have many pictures on how assembly went for this but it was a pain honestly due to print failures. Mainly brim and support issues. It was definitely a good prop to learn on and will help my understanding going forward
I do want to sand it and rough it up a little and add some extra action spots at some point, but I feel like that would be fine to do after everything has been assembled!

Magnum

 

[N8TEBB]

Congrats on starting your first big build! I'll be following your progress! I love the suit you've decided to go with =D

 

[MrBones]

Congrats on starting your first big build! I'll be following your progress! I love the suit you've decided to go with =D

Thank you! Its a big jump from simpler cosplays and so far been an awesome project I know the biggest hurdle for me will be attaching stuff and the helmet.

 

[N8TEBB]

If by "attaching stuff" you are referring to strapping, there is a nice tutorial about that subject here:

Strapping Guide: Making, and sizing it.

SO, I have had a few people asking about strapping recently. After making several suits for my husband @Kusak , I have learned a few things on what has worked for us. So, when @Lobbster contacted me to help him make his strapping I jumped on it. Our plan is to place the strapping inside his...

www.405th.com

Feel free to ask any questions you have! There are lots of members ready to offer knowledge about anything you may want to know (including myself).

 

[Negativecacti]

Just your average recon enjoyer, are you planning on doing that coating also? I'd love to see it brought to life

 

[MrBones]

Just your average recon enjoyer, are you planning on doing that coating also? I'd love to see it brought to life

Yes! I am going to attempt my best for a dark grey wet crow color look. I am going to be printing in a darker normal grey pla first and then do some research for paints. I may even look into air brushing. That's a whole ballgame in itself though haha currently I just know how to spray paint okay. So I may need to do more research but color matching isn't easy for me sadly.

 

[MrBones]

Just started working on my wrist for the tacpad. So I can make sure to understand my software better / learn on smaller pieces. I messed up the connector piece on the wrist that's on the counter, but I am currently reprinting it after resizing it to fit correctly. I think it turned out great all things considered!
Current Wrist Print

 

[JTF4]

Your build is looking great so far! A couple of the Spartans you met at Katsu are also on the forums.

 

[MrBones]

Your build is looking great so far! A couple of the Spartans you met at Katsu are also on the forums.

Thank you! I would love to find them and thank them for their inspiration if I came across them.

 

[Bloxxer]

Following! Progress is looking good so far! Looking forward to seeing how this project comes along!

 

[Negativecacti]

Yes! I am going to attempt my best for a dark grey wet crow color look. I am going to be printing in a darker normal grey pla first and then do some research for paints. I may even look into air brushing. That's a whole ballgame in itself though haha currently I just know how to spray paint okay. So I may need to do more research but color matching isn't easy for me sadly.

Wonder if you used a color pick you could pull a value and find a close match from there. I kinda eyeballed it with my Karaba Sirocco

 

[MrBones]

Wonder if you used a color pick you could pull a value and find a close match from there. I kinda eyeballed it with my Karaba Sirocco

I was thinking that. I know a carshop near me, told me about how they do paint matches at a hardware store somewhere nearby based on printed photos / colordrop from firefox dev tools and they mix it for them. So I am hoping they can do it for normal spray paint and not just car paint.

 

[MrBones]

Small progress update on the first wrist. After reprinting the inner piece, it fits better, but for easy on / off I decided to install magnets into the split half. It works wonderfully for it. I was worried I would need to bond it and struggle with sliding it on / off depending on what I do for an undersuit.

 

[VonSnake]

Hey everyone!
This is the start to my journey on a childhood dream to become reality as many before me have done. A full spartan armor build with props for cosplay!

Background​

A little backstory on myself; I have been in the Midwest US cosplay community for roughly 2 years and have traveled to a few out of state conventions. This year I was able to visit Katsukon on the east coast. It was a big wake up call to how much effort people spend on their cosplays that they have passion for. Now I do spend what I considered a large amount of time per cosplay at about 10-15 hours. Now I know what you're thinking at this point, that's a lot? It was until I saw the reality of what true enjoyment of the craft is like. So I decided I was going to go big for once and invest the next year building this the best I can.
I saw a few spartan cosplayers there and got some photos. I asked questions on how long it took and decided that a year is doable as long as I don't procrastinate so here we are now. So ready to drop feet first into my thread yet?
View attachment 344614

The Goal​

• Mark V(B) Armor Core​
  • Forearms / Wrists (In Progress)​
  • Chest + Back​
  • Thigh​
  • Shin Covers + knee guards​
  • Armor belt​
  • Boots​
• Recon helmet​
• TacPad (In Progress)​
• Hardtac case​
• DragonBorn Shoulder​
• Emile Shoulder​
• Foam Undersuit Chest​
• Foam Undersuit Legs​
• Magnum (Completed!)​
• Battle Rifle (In Progress)​

Reference Model:

View attachment 344609

Current Projects:
TacPad
View attachment 344610View attachment 344611View attachment 344612


Battle Rifle (Mainly reassemble issues for cons + bondo on some parts with spraypaint needed)
View attachment 344613
*Yes that is a charm / keychain holder I made for the weapon on the side haha*

Armor core in ArmorSmith

Good choice with the Mark V armor

 

[Lungorthin]

That magnum is looking sick. Best of luck with the rest of your build!

 

[MrBones]

That magnum is looking sick. Best of luck with the rest of your build!

Thank you! It's gonna be a long road ahead haha

 

[MrBones]

I finished printing the two bicep pieces and am currently working on the right shoulder to print. I still need to add the rest of the magnets to the other forearm. I may also need to sand back part of the forearm / the armpit area on the bicep pieces to make it more comfortable. Currently mobility is OK with the two, but they do collide a little which I want to try and avoid. I'll try to get a picture at a later time if anyone's curious on the dilemma.

Currently I have been looking at different ways people customize, like airbrushing after spray painting, or adding LED's / lighting and fans for helmets. I want to look into those, but I am not sure if I want to trek down those roads without more tutorials and learning currently. If anyone has some good suggestion videos let me know!

 

[MrBones]

Been a while, but have quite an update. I currently am sanding, bonding, and spray painting the wrists, and shoulder pieces.
I finally got around to respray painting the rifle and solved my take it apart dilema that kept occurring. I will need to do 1 more coat and a clear coat on top for the extra matte finish though.

Here are some progress pictures!

Dragonborn Shoulder - I had a slight shift and needed to rework it.

TacCase - I don't think I will be painting it, but It has magnets and closes perfectly so I can hide my wallet for artist alley or ribbons to hand out.

Emile Shoulder - I have it bondo and spray painted currently but this is right before that. It still has a bit to go.

The knife attachment for it - I have a friend who has the leather for the handle and I a going to try for the black bottom. Else it fits in its holder perfectly.

Battle Rifle - Its painted with the main coat now, but still needs one more and I want to print another barrel tip to make orange for conventions.

 

[Lungorthin]

Oh yeah that Emile shoulder will look so sick. I use it in both Reach and Infinite on my Spartan.
I don't know what you plan to do for paint on your kukri, but I know a lot of people spray paint their props knives silver. Instead I sprayed mine gloss black and did a graphite rub over it and it looks like real metal, no joke. Might be worth a try