Halo: reach/Halo 3 ODST visor

[S229]

So, ever since I was introduced to halo, (Circa 2007) i've been in love with ODSTs, and have built two in my time as a cosplayer. However, in both of those attempts, the one thing i've never been able to get quite right is the visor. For the first one, I used the DFT method of visor (cutting up a page protector and glueing it in place) and for the second attempt, i used some PETG sheets i got off amazon and used a heat gun and a vacuum forming buck to melt it in place. But, the second attempt didn't work quite as planned and came out bad. (shown below)

View attachment 311485

As you can see, it lacks the basic sort of structure and linear form that the normal ODST visors have.
so, my question to all of you fine and helpful people is does anyone know how to make a visor in a good, fairly cheap and effective way? and if not, does anyone have any suggestions on how i should go forward to get my visor game looking fantastic?

Extra note: I've looked into vacuum forming, and i still have no idea where to even begin to try and start making a vacuum former. So if anyone has pointers on that, it would be much appreciated.

update: i tried posting this elsewhere, and no one seemed to be viewing it, so i thought id put it here and see how it went.

 

[FalseShepherd]

Welcome to the forum trooper. Visors are almost always a difficult piece to get done right. Vacu-forming is generally accepted as the best way to get the contours and details down right, but then you have to die it and tint it and whatnot. It looks good but often has decreased visibility and obviously have to build a vacuforming table and whatnot. Can be expensive. Other people have done a kinda low budget vacuforming by using a vacuforming buck and a heat gun to heat the plastic and mold it to shape, but you still have tinting and dying and whatnot left to take care of. I have not used either of those methods, but they tend to look pretty good.

Another option is to buy a tinted and mirrored plastic like from etsy and just fold it into the right shape. This method makes a good looking visor but its fragile and flimsy. You can buy the same material and cut it into two shapes that you then glue together if folding it isnt working. I considered that method for my ODST but wanted something more durable.

The third option I have seen is similar to the second but you use a more durable plastic. I have seen plexiglass and similar things used. I used something that wasn't quite as thick as plexiglass but was really stiff. I cut it into the two pieces of the ODST visor and then tinted them with a self-applied window tinting film. THen, I bent the plastic into shape and glued the pieces back together and secured it in my helmet. Kind of a short and dirty explanation but you can find my build thread and find my discussion of the visor. I think i included the link to amazon where i bought the plastic and whatnot. Visibility is good but the method is kinda funky. It looks good from a distance but on closer examination its kinda rough.

I have also seen people try to 3D print a visor with clear filament but i havent seen it work all that well. ALso, people have tried resin casting the visor but again, with not great results.

You could always purchase a vacuformed ODST visor from etsy and just cut it to shape to fit your helmet if doing the work to make it is not that important to you. For me I really wanted to make as much of my suit as I could and thats why some parts are less than perfect...

 

[S229]

Welcome to the forum trooper. Visors are almost always a difficult piece to get done right. Vacu-forming is generally accepted as the best way to get the contours and details down right, but then you have to die it and tint it and whatnot. It looks good but often has decreased visibility and obviously have to build a vacuforming table and whatnot. Can be expensive. Other people have done a kinda low budget vacuforming by using a vacuforming buck and a heat gun to heat the plastic and mold it to shape, but you still have tinting and dying and whatnot left to take care of. I have not used either of those methods, but they tend to look pretty good.

Another option is to buy a tinted and mirrored plastic like from etsy and just fold it into the right shape. This method makes a good looking visor but its fragile and flimsy. You can buy the same material and cut it into two shapes that you then glue together if folding it isnt working. I considered that method for my ODST but wanted something more durable.

The third option I have seen is similar to the second but you use a more durable plastic. I have seen plexiglass and similar things used. I used something that wasn't quite as thick as plexiglass but was really stiff. I cut it into the two pieces of the ODST visor and then tinted them with a self-applied window tinting film. THen, I bent the plastic into shape and glued the pieces back together and secured it in my helmet. Kind of a short and dirty explanation but you can find my build thread and find my discussion of the visor. I think i included the link to amazon where i bought the plastic and whatnot. Visibility is good but the method is kinda funky. It looks good from a distance but on closer examination its kinda rough.

I have also seen people try to 3D print a visor with clear filament but i havent seen it work all that well. ALso, people have tried resin casting the visor but again, with not great results.

You could always purchase a vacuformed ODST visor from etsy and just cut it to shape to fit your helmet if doing the work to make it is not that important to you. For me I really wanted to make as much of my suit as I could and thats why some parts are less than perfect...

Thanks for the welcome! Im glad to be here.
I'll go and find your build thread and see the method you used, but thank you for the ideas, and I'll go and look into them!