1st Build Halo Reach Female build

[KaeSpoon]

(I have no idea how to write this thing)

Table of contents
1. My Motiv
2. Quest for the 3
3. Suit/build information


My Motiv:
Well... This has been a project I've wanted to do for a very long time, and im excited (but nervous) to finally get started on it! I got into Halo pretty young thanks to my older brother, and soon enough around 2011 I wanted to be a Spartan, and therefore wanted to build some armor for myself. Unfortunately I've been suffering from chronic illness for most of my life which limited my time and energy, but now I am on the slow road to recovery and gradually getting my energy and motivation back! Whats a better time than now to get started on my dream?

I do have a slightly strict time frame of when I want the suit for the most part completed, I would be over the moon if I got it done before my 21st birthday and the end of November! Though striving for that date at this time I find it hard to beleive Id actually have the armor completed by then.

Quest for the 3:
Though this is my first Halo build, I am on a quest to reach Teir 3. I am aware that is a steep goal for most people, especially for a first Halo build. Fortunately I have always been a very artistic person for the entirety of my life and I have made previous cosplays before; so I am (somewhat) confident that I could get to that teir if I take my time along with some guidance from 405th.That being said, anyone who has had experience of obtaining teir 3 weather you have a full foam build or a partial foam build, id love to hear your methods and how you obtained it! Everyone has their own methods, and I need all the help I can get. Yes, that also means I am looking for critical constructive criticism on whatever I post so I can continue to get things done correctly. I am building for myself and my happiness, not for some rank.

At the end of the day I might not make it to Teir 3, but its something that motivates and helps me try and strive for the best possible result.

Suit/build information:
My overall suit will be mostly foam but will have a few 3D printed parts like the Helmet and Collar, still debating on weather or not to 3d print the gauntlets and forearm shells. The foam I will be using will be part HF and part TNT foam depending on what area im building and how much precision will be needed.

I currently have no photos to show but I have been working on thigh armor and modifying it so it will actually fit a female. Slow process, but its the one thing I've been most worried about so I'd rather get it figured out now than later.

Here is my Spartan I am making, Kath-A226

*Please note that Maroon color is not accurate, not at home and this is the best I could find. Model put together by Groggo.

 

[Electraknite]

Looking forward to seeing your progress!!

 

[Cadet]

I will say the biggest obstacle members face when going for Tier 3 on Reach suits is the Undersuit. The Reach suits feature several key details on the under suit, notably in the Abdominal region, shoulders, back of the legs/knees, and lower back. The presence of these details are one of the key items that separates a Tier 2 from a Tier 3 Reach suit.

RandomRanger has an excellent Tier 3 Reach Suit, has a very detailed WIP Thread, and is now even doing YouTube tutorials for various components of his suit. His resources should prove immensely helpful in your journey.

 

[RandomRanger]

Ahhh, so here's where the thread is. Well, if I can get Tier 3 then you most definitely can!

 

[KaeSpoon]

I will say the biggest obstacle members face when going for Tier 3 on Reach suits is the Undersuit. The Reach suits feature several key details on the under suit, notably in the Abdominal region, shoulders, back of the legs/knees, and lower back. The presence of these details are one of the key items that separates a Tier 2 from a Tier 3 Reach suit.

RandomRanger has an excellent Tier 3 Reach Suit, has a very detailed WIP Thread, and is now even doing YouTube tutorials for various components of his suit. His resources should prove immensely helpful in your journey.

Fortunately I have a good ammount of sewing experience and a good eye for undersuit detail!

I have looked thoroughly over RR build and even have talked to him and asked questions. They have been beyond helpful so far when I have questions or doubts!

Everyone in this community has been beyond helpful, I know I wouldn't of even had the courage to start this build without their amazing support!

 

[KaeSpoon]

Hello everyone, so I have been on vacation this week but managed to bring a few supplies to work on testing the custom female reach thigh. Please be aware this isn't even close to the quality I can normally do, as I only had a glue gun and no extra foam to replace tears/over beveling/etc. I had to make do with what I had and tears and holes are filled with hot glue. By all means this is not exactly how my final versions will look as I rushed to get this sample done and had no heat gun.

(I apologize for the garbage lighting and horrible angle, they are not as wide as they look.)

So, what did I learn from this?
First off, I learned I need to stop stressing over things in general and to keep trying- there is always a solution! The thighs for this suit have been giving me nightmares for months as I couldn't fit my hips into the one in the 405th armory and only managed to fit them in a complex 3d model that looked impossible to make into foam. Next thing I learned for making your own patterns is test if faces are better folded connected to other faces or separated, my general rule now is to separate any heavily extruding faces from the rest of the pattern (example: the extruding area underneath the "V" and 90⁰ angles so you can get sharper inclines and accurate angles. I also reccomend for complex builds like this to start by putting together the top and bottom of the build, then the middle part of the build. I struggled a lot with trying to get the shape when I really diddnt need to, I just needed to finish connecting the top and bottom of the hip armor and the rest of the angles seemed to fall in place. (I hope everything i just said made sense, but probably not)

Next up I will be making the codpeice which is also a unfold made my myself from the in game Reach model. After that I will return to the thighs to adjust fitting and plan details and where they will fall before making a legitimate pair out of TNT foam.

After all that... This will be going in the dumpster so I never have to look at this abomination again.

Hope you all had a good Monday, see you soon!

 

[Electraknite]

But with that garbage lighting I’d never know there were any holes or ugly seams. Haha your scale looks good, it’s hard to see much else. I found having a reference to the cod and other armor pieces make the thighs easier to figure out sizing and Making sure your legs can still bend enough.
dunno what you’re talking about but the female thigh shape looks heckin good on you.

 

[JTF4]

I’m super exited to see where this build goes! I love how you got into the project. It’s not that far from my story with halo

 

[PlanetAlexander]

First off, I learned I need to stop stressing over things in general and to keep trying- there is always a solution!

Ha ha, but seriously, glad you found that out for yourself. The way I see it, if you have a problem and there is a solution, why worry? If you have a problem and there is no solution, then why worry?

But with that garbage lighting I’d never know there were any holes or ugly seams.

Damn. Sucks to be half decent at photography then.

 

[KaeSpoon]

But with that garbage lighting I’d never know there were any holes or ugly seams. Haha your scale looks good, it’s hard to see much else. I found having a reference to the cod and other armor pieces make the thighs easier to figure out sizing and Making sure your legs can still bend enough.
dunno what you’re talking about but the female thigh shape looks heckin good on you.

I guess standing on the toilet and zooming into the mirror to get a good photo worked out for me!

Thank you so much for the kind words, you have no idea how much it means. Very excited to have this rough patch over with for sure. I will definately make a few other peices before making the official thigh armor to make sure everything looks good size wise.

I’m super exited to see where this build goes! I love how you got into the project. It’s not that far from my story with halo

Glad I have someone who I can relate to and someone who can relate with my story!

Ha ha, but seriously, glad you found that out for yourself. The way I see it, if you have a problem and there is a solution, why worry? If you have a problem and there is no solution, then why worry?

If only I could get my anxious brain to understand that!

Once again, thank you all for the awesome support, couldn't of made it this far without the 405th cheering me on!

 

[KaeSpoon]

Hello everyone!
Apologies about the lack of updates, we have been getting ready to move to a new house so armor stuff had to be put on hold.

I've been slowly putting my codpeice pattern together but during this time an odd question came into my head that concerned me. "Am I cutting the templets out correctly?" Its a pretty silly question, its pretty straightforward on how you cut a pepikura template for foam. However I cant help but wonder if you're supposed to cut inside the black line or outside of it when cutting out pep files. I know this wouldn't make to much of a difference in reality but I'm also concerned the (small) difference could alter the end result.

Id love to know what you guys personally do when cutting out your templates, and I hope to have more updates on the way!

 

[Spiderboy196]

Hello everyone!
Apologies about the lack of updates, we have been getting ready to move to a new house so armor stuff had to be put on hold.

I've been slowly putting my codpeice pattern together but during this time an odd question came into my head that concerned me. "Am I cutting the templets out correctly?" Its a pretty silly question, its pretty straightforward on how you cut a pepikura template for foam. However I cant help but wonder if you're supposed to cut inside the black line or outside of it when cutting out pep files. I know this wouldn't make to much of a difference in reality but I'm also concerned the (small) difference could alter the end result.

Id love to know what you guys personally do when cutting out your templates, and I hope to have more updates on the way!

I cut the outside since I use 12mm foam cus that foam thickness make up for the model.

 

[KaeSpoon]

Problem solved, so I ended up finding out that the "line" is technically an add on and is not part of the pattern itself:

So that clears my concern up, but its such a minimal difference it shouldnt be a big deal, I'm just OCD.
Cheers!

 

[Rock Lobbster]

Problem solved, so I ended up finding out that the "line" is technically an add on and is not part of the pattern itself:
So that clears my concern up, but its such a minimal difference it shouldnt be a big deal, I'm just OCD.
Cheers!

That's some "outside the box" thinking

 

[KaeSpoon]

Sorry for being so quiet! I have been working hard but not to much has been done because we recently moved! (Test hip peice got somewhat crushed during that time) I have had a handful of trial and errors but not without some victory. After working so hard with the codpeice I ended up having to put it on pause for the time being as it was getting very tedious and I am trying to keep on schedule for getting this armor built.

A practice shin has been finished and overall I've been told the size looks pretty spot on! Unfortunately I will need to redo it because some areas came out pretty rough, I put it together during a couple days where I was not feeling well and it downgraded the quality I could of created. I will say that I got very giddy wearing these test peices, super exciting to feel a little bit like a Spartan!

If you have any input on the sizing please let me know. Until then have a wonderful rest of your week!

 

[Dire]

This will be my next build, mostly waiting to see how you tackle the undersuit

 

[KaeSpoon]

Been awhile, huh? I promise I have been working over time! Unfortunately not as much as id like but, here we are.
Been working on the darn codpiece's for a month and a half now, so much for making my own pattern, right?
Photo dump:

Can I say, improvement?
First try:

Second try:

Test fit, all of this will be redone and shins need to be sized down a little:

Now, more codpeice work:

My own pattern... Haha... Oh boy I hope its worth it. Unfortunately some of the areas had to be layered with a foam sheet that is not the best to sand.

Last and not least, I got a print of my Helmet to try (without attachments atm):

[Print by: TillxValhalla#6534]
Unfortunately, it seems like its a little to small. I can get it on but its a tight fit, and I probably will be unable to add padding for extra comfort.
A bit discouraging, but it is what it is.

Work has been slow, but I am slowly making progress. Thank you all for the support as always, without you guys I would of never gotten this far.
Regards,

 

[RandomRanger]

Looking great!!

 

[FLEX TAPE]

LOOKS AMAZING SO FAR!!!! Keep it up!!

 

[TurboCharizard]

KaeSpoon Mk V B WITH NO BRIM!