Halo 3 Marine (3D Printing)

[Arc64]

Hey all! First thread on the forum, figured I would jump into it! Before I go all crazy with a Spartan build or even an ODST, I wanted to start with something that will hopefully be more comfortable, easier to make and less time consuming. I found this Halo 3 Marine render online and I want to draw much of my inspiration from that as far as colors go. I'm aiming for a very urban-combat style Marine, with the black-grey fatigues and dark olive armor.

I'm interested in largely 3D printing the parts for the armor and reinforcing the high impact points with fiberglass to prevent cracking; I've never done reinforcement on prints before, so I'm curious as to how sturdy you can make PLA printed parts for directed force, such as kneeling or prone positions. I'll be using Moesizzlac's armor files on Thingiverse for most of the pieces, probably ditching the helmet for a cap like Johnson's, and swapping out the assault rifle with a H2A Battle Rifle by The Apropalypse w/ remix mods by Max Powerzs. Here's what I've got so far: elbow plates and one knee (plus the lower shoulder plates which I seem to have left at campus). Please don't mind the pile of MkVII parts strewn about:

I'm waiting on some printer parts right now, so I want to get started on the fatigues and ask if anyone had some good ideas for where to find suitable two-piece Marine fatigues in the grey-black style I mentioned. I want to be able to wear the base fatigues and still look in-character without the full armored cuirass if at all possible (for example, eschewing the entire top of the BDU with basic t-shirt and the lower portion of the fatigues and armor like how some Marines are portrayed in Infinite), but I am also willing to tweak pieces by adding patches or stitches where necessary to the BDU.

I'm very excited to start moving forward with my first full Halo build in this community!

 

[Arc64]

So as far as soft parts, I've found a couple options that I like, both of them seem to technically be for Airsoft though so please let me know if they'd be a good pick for an urban Marine BDU. I'm looking at the UNSC Airsoft Tactical Shirt Urban Digital Camo by 915Collectibles on Etsy, and the Vintage Camo Paratrooper Fatigue Pants on Walmart's website. My thinking is to order the pants first so that I can be sure on how the pattern will look before I order the shirt.

If anyone has anything to add or input about the camo pattern I'm looking at or the soft parts I'm interested in, I'd very much appreciate it. While I want this kit to look accurate to something you'd find in-universe, I will say that it feels like a bit of a pain to find suitable urban camo that matches UNSC aesthetic. Already I'm seeing difference in the coloration pattern between the two so I might end up looking for a fatigue jacket to match the pants instead of trying to match this shirt in particular. It'd be warmer under the hood with a full jacket, though.

 

[Zoogami Snowfox]

I feel the ones you have there would work perfectly fine.
If you wanted to get it super accurate, you might have to find the camo fabric at a crafts store/online and then sew up some custom pants and shirt.

It’s a lot more work though.

Best of luck with the build!

 

[Arc64]

I feel the ones you have there would work perfectly fine.
If you wanted to get it super accurate, you might have to find the camo fabric at a crafts store/online and then sew up some custom pants and shirt.

It’s a lot more work though.

Best of luck with the build!

That was my concern as well. In a perfect world, I would get fatigues that could perform double-duty as ODST fatigues for a future build (even acquiring 915's ODST shirt with the same pattern as well, if I so desired), but even these I feel would be of too light a color. I have a bit before I'm ordering them, though, so I'll think about it. Thanks for commenting!

 

[PerniciousDuke]

Looks like a solid start to a sweet build! Keep it up!
Sub'd

 

[Spartan Of Vale]

It's a definite challenge to try and find existing camo patterns that are readily available from surplus stores. One of the problems I ran into on my Marine was trying to find the proper camo pants in a big enough size. And it may ultimately have to come down to making your own, but it never hurts to look around at what's available!

Best of luck on the build! I'll be keeping an eye out for another marine on the battlefield! OORAH!