Hi. Noob's First ODST

[YTunz]

Howdy all!

I'm rather new here and have recently begun my journey on building an ODST armor set. I bought my files from Aguilar Workshop and have my filament all ready, but I have no clue on a few things. The idea is to print it on my Bambu P1S out of Matte Grey Filament to help with sanding visibility / painting. I was wondering if anyone could give me tips on a few things

1) How do I size this to my body? I'm 5'11ish and the armor was designed for someone who is 5'10
2) What should I do for an undersuit? I was thinking a set of black BDUs from Amazon and to wear the armor over it.
3) How do I do the visor for the helmet? I've 3d printed both the buck for the vacuum former, but the one at my college is too small to fit it in. Currently I just have a Printed visor just for Aesthetics, but I'd love to be able to see through it.
4) Painting the weapons? Do I legally have to add the orange tip since it is a prop? It is the non-firing version that Aguilar has, but I didn't know if there are laws about this (Im from Pennsylvania if that specifies anything) I've already printed the SOCOM, and plan on also printing the SMG.

Thank you for any advice you can give me on my journey! I hope to post some pictures of everything here soon!

 

[Doc Reaper]

Howdy all!

I'm rather new here and have recently begun my journey on building an ODST armor set. I bought my files from Aguilar Workshop and have my filament all ready, but I have no clue on a few things. The idea is to print it on my Bambu P1S out of Matte Grey Filament to help with sanding visibility / painting. I was wondering if anyone could give me tips on a few things

1) How do I size this to my body? I'm 5'11ish and the armor was designed for someone who is 5'10
2) What should I do for an undersuit? I was thinking a set of black BDUs from Amazon and to wear the armor over it.
3) How do I do the visor for the helmet? I've 3d printed both the buck for the vacuum former, but the one at my college is too small to fit it in. Currently I just have a Printed visor just for Aesthetics, but I'd love to be able to see through it.
4) Painting the weapons? Do I legally have to add the orange tip since it is a prop? It is the non-firing version that Aguilar has, but I didn't know if there are laws about this (Im from Pennsylvania if that specifies anything) I've already printed the SOCOM, and plan on also printing the SMG.

Thank you for any advice you can give me on my journey! I hope to post some pictures of everything here soon!

Hey! I am still getting the hang of things myself, but I was shown this tutorial thread that I found super helpful.

Tutorial Index

Tutorial Index This index is a gateway to a wealth of knowledge shared by community members here at the 405th. Each of the tutorials below was created by a community member who wanted to share their own expert tips, strategies, and creative solutions with all of you! This index is updated...

www.405th.com

Also this!

405th Welcome Booklet

Hello and welcome to the 405th! I've been working on a booklet for two years collecting everything I have learned from this great community so that you can easily find all the information you need to successfully create your own Halo costume. For a complete guide, visit the Tutorial Index. For...

www.405th.com

Hope it helps you as much as it has me.

 

[YTunz]

Hey! I am still getting the hang of things myself, but I was shown this tutorial thread that I found super helpful.

Tutorial Index

Tutorial Index This index is a gateway to a wealth of knowledge shared by community members here at the 405th. Each of the tutorials below was created by a community member who wanted to share their own expert tips, strategies, and creative solutions with all of you! This index is updated...

www.405th.com

Also this!

405th Welcome Booklet

Hello and welcome to the 405th! I've been working on a booklet for two years collecting everything I have learned from this great community so that you can easily find all the information you need to successfully create your own Halo costume. For a complete guide, visit the Tutorial Index. For...

www.405th.com

Hope it helps you as much as it has me.

I didnt see those! Thanks for the help!

 

[Fallen]

You have a lot of great questions here. Here's kind of the brief response for each of those. Happy to answer any additional questions or go into more detail.

1. There's a lot of options for this, but the most common, and my preferred, is to get a program called Armorsmith. As of writing this it's priced at US $40, but it's completely worth it. You can set up your avatar with your specific measurements and scale your armor with its help. Be aware your avatar can often times end up looking like the Michilin Man and it's not always exactly perfect, but it'll get you that 95% of the way there. It's been extremely rare that I've had to reprint something that I'd scaled well in Armorsmith first.

2. That depends on several factors, but BDUs are quite common amongst ODST builds.

3. If you have a printed buck already, but don't have the equipment or space for a vacuumformer, you're in the right place as we have several members who can do vacuumforming for a fair price.

4. A lot of us don't paint the orange tip on our props. If you need to have an orange tip a common choice is to either make an orange cap that you can put on and take off that fits snugly on the end of the barrel as to not fall off or to use orange tape such as orange electrical tape. I and many others carry orange tape in our repair kits just in case we or someone else needs it.

 

[YTunz]

Heres the M6C/SOCOM That I printed out. Figured I should upload it here as well.

 

[BHE Photos]

I'm not aware of any laws anywhere that require you to paint the tip of prop weapons.

However, many Cons will require it if you want to bring it into their Convention space, and many social media sites are very touchy about images showing weapons of any kind. I would wager that every content creator within the Halo costuming space has had to deal with photos/videos being taken down or highly restricted due to prop weapons. Orange tips don't inherently prevent that, but if it's a case where the image is flagged automatically by the algorithm but the appeal is handled by a real person, you have a better chance of winning with an orange tip versus without.

 

[YTunz]

Gotcha. I think the plan is that I'll figure out the internal dimensions of the barrel and I'll print out an orange plug to put in there.

 

[YTunz]

Armor Update 2) The Shoulders

Hello All, I'm sharing the progress on my ODST armor kit from Aguilar Workshop. As the update says, I have finished printing out the two ODST shoulders.

This was printed on my Bambu Labs P1S using Matte Grey PLA, and it has turned out amazing! I'm really impressed with the quality and how smooth it is off the build plate. I am waiting to do any sanding and or painting until I have the full kit done, but I am very excited. The cool thing about Aguilar's designs is that he has a pivoting mechanism inside so that the armor will flex with your arm.

I think the next thing I will work on is my helmet, followed up by probably the Chest Armor. Thank you for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful day.

 

[anklebiter]

Those shoulders definitely look like they came out incredibly well!! I can't wait to see how this comes out, I absolutely love ODSTs. I'm tempted to make myself some ODST armor after I finish my Spartan lol

 

[YTunz]

Armor Update #3: A Big One!

Good morning everyone! I've been forgetting to post for a few days now but alot of progress as been made, so sorry for the long post (but dont worry, there will be plenty of pictures). I've got new armor, weapons, schemes, and alot more to talk about!

First things first! I completed my chest rig! It is fully printed out and looks like this:

(Yes that's blue Painters Tape, I don't want to glue everything until I sand everything more)

But yeah! Thats how it looks! The Lower plate moves independently from the chest piece so its surprisingly comfortable to wear. Shoutout to Gungnir for giving me the idea to put this ontop of a Plate carrier vest. That will be an eventual $40 purchase off of amazon. Its currently held together with straps and prayers as I learned how to sew with a needle and thread to do this. I also strapped up my shoulders and added them on so now it looks like:

Tada!

And here it is! fully fitted to my body! I probably will go back over the straps once I get a sewing machine. The suit feels great so far, and I'm really looking forward to getting more of it fitted! I still have forearms, waist and legs to do, but I'm hoping that I'll be posting more soon! Now, heres two really low quality pictures I took for the memes ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I think it looks really good, and Im really happy with how its turning out. The Helmet is the firefall helmet, also from Aguilar Workshop, but I wanted to try and print out the actual ODST Helmet that came with the files... well turns out that the split bucket design has some issues where if you shift the helmet the wrong way, the pegs snap in half. Yea it kinda sucks, so thats on a post build list. Shoutout to Benton who offered his vacuum forming services, and I cant wait to see the full colored visor! I currently have a Resin Printed Clear visor I purchased from PCBWay back when I first made the helmet, but its clear and thats not what I'm looking for. Thankfully Aguilar's Firefall helmet uses 3D printed screws to assemble so I can easily remove it and put it together with the new one.

Now, another thing I've forgotten to mention here is my current weapons. I posted the pistol a few weeks back, but I'd like to show off my new SMG print!

Behold! Observe it's design! The mash up of Halo 2 Anniversary with some Halo ODST Elements... yeah... Its massively oversized

Yea so printing this out Aguilar had posted that he was a smaller guy so he printed his at ~80%. In my hubris I said "I'm a big boy! I can print it at 100%." and BOY WAS I WRONG! This thing is 36 Inches long and weights somewhere in the ballpark of 4.5 pounds. In game is ~25 inches long with the stock fully extended. Like if you want a size comparison:

Boom Ginger Jump scare... Im kidding but yeah its huge. Here I am showing off how big the trigger is compared to my measly human fingers. My friend joked that its "Spartan-Sized" and I agree. Im probably going to paint it and bring it with me whenever theres a big meet up just for the memes. I made the Submachine Gun into a... normal Machine Gun?

Anyways, thats pretty much it for the post. I'll post my current build plan just so I can check it off as I go along. Thank you for reading and for your reward, heres a picture of my cat that fell asleep while I was sewing. Have a good one Y'all.

 

[zyamaha]

Armor Update #3: A Big One!

Now, another thing I've forgotten to mention here is my current weapons. I posted the pistol a few weeks back, but I'd like to show off my new SMG print!
Behold! Observe it's design! The mash up of Halo 2 Anniversary with some Halo ODST Elements... yeah... Its massively oversized

Yea so printing this out Aguilar had posted that he was a smaller guy so he printed his at ~80%. In my hubris I said "I'm a big boy! I can print it at 100%." and BOY WAS I WRONG! This thing is 36 Inches long and weights somewhere in the ballpark of 4.5 pounds. In game is ~25 inches long with the stock fully extended. Like if you want a size comparison:

Boom Ginger Jump scare... Im kidding but yeah its huge. Here I am showing off how big the trigger is compared to my measly human fingers. My friend joked that its "Spartan-Sized" and I agree. Im probably going to paint it and bring it with me whenever theres a big meet up just for the memes. I made the Submachine Gun into a... normal Machine Gun?

Anyways, thats pretty much it for the post. I'll post my current build plan just so I can check it off as I go along. Thank you for reading and for your reward, heres a picture of my cat that fell asleep while I was sewing. Have a good one Y'all.

Your prints all turned out absolutely amazing! I wish mine all looked that good!

As for the sub machinegun, I think in this case SMG stands for "Super Mega Gun"

Seriously though, this project is turning out fantastic. I look forward to seeing it finished!!

 

[YTunz]

Your prints all turned out absolutely amazing! I wish mine all looked that good!

As for the sub machinegun, I think in this case SMG stands for "Super Mega Gun"

Seriously though, this project is turning out fantastic. I look forward to seeing it finished!!

Hey thanks man I appreciate the kind words! I'm hoping to have this done by HCS so I can fly over, but only time will tell!

 

[YTunz]

Armor Update 3) New Helmet

Hello all! Its been a few weeks, but here to show off a small update to my armor. In the previous images in this thread I am using Aguilar Workshop's Firefall Helmet. It is an amazing file and is very customizable! The only downside is that when I printed it I printed it at a very high infill and it weighs 6 pounds (Roughly 2.75Kg for my non-Americans). I did end up getting a resin visor for it from PCBway that is completely clear, but I wanted something a bit more accurate to the games. The files I'm using are based off of the Halo 3 ODST armor guide so I wanted to use an actual ODST Helmet.

So I printed one...

The file bundle that I had purchased off of Aguilar's website had the helmet included so I decided that I might as well make it. I want to give a HUGE thank you to Benton for hooking me up with such an amazing looking Visor. I have yet to paint anything or install the Visor just because I want to have the full suit done before I paint, and I'd rather not mess up the chroming yet. The Helmet came together pretty well, although there were a few issues. If anyone is also using Aguilar's Files, I recommend fitting the helmet pegs One at a time before you fully assemble, and also to maybe drill out your holes a bit. I had two snap on me while I was putting this together and it was a pain in the butt try and drill out. There are some parts that I did mess up in with aligning the quarters:

Welp... thats what paints and filler is for I guess.

I wish this was a longer post, but I'm actually finishing up a large update to my armor so stay tuned if you want. I cant force you, as theres plenty of other amazing projects being worked on in here. College has started back up for me so I am busy as ever, but I'm still trying to get this done in time for some conventions. No clue if this will be ready for HCS 2024, but I will definitely be at Zenkaicon in March. Also might try to get it done before October's end and will wear it around the PA Renn Faire in Manheim for one of their themed weekends. Who knows! Thank you all for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your day!

See y'all in the Field,
-YTunz

 

[spartan114x]

Heres the M6C/SOCOM That I printed out. Figured I should upload it here as well.

This print looks awesome

 

[YTunz]

This print looks awesome

Thank you!

 

[Bloxxer]

Looks like you managed to get that Bambu running well! Everything looks fantastic so far! Can't wait to see the finished product!

 

[YTunz]

Looks like you managed to get that Bambu running well! Everything looks fantastic so far! Can't wait to see the finished product!

Yeah, the Bambu is working great! I just had to buy another set of refils for it since the SMG fiasco took like 3 rolls. Live and learn I guess!

 

[mrc0369]

Looks great! I have a P1S as well and that is what I used to print my ODST. The quality of the prints are amazing!

 

[YTunz]

Armor Update 4) BDUs, Belts, and Nades!

Hello again everyone! I'm unintentionally drip feeding content on here while I slowly put my armor all together. College is back and I'm busier than ever, but thankfully my girlfriend is helping me put my armor together! I am apparently "Really bad" at sewing so I'm thankful to have her helping me with anything needle and thread related. But anyways, onto the armor!

So as the title of this said, I finally finished my choices for BDUs, Belt and Nades! The Belt and Nades were printed on my Bambu P1S in Matte Gray PLA, and the BDUs are IDOGEAR Black Multicam from amazon. But heres how it looks!View attachment 352446

Ah, yea Ginger Jumpscare again. Sorry for no warning.

But anyways, to work our way from bottom to top, the BDUs are IDOGEAR black multicam Combat Shirt and Flex Tactical Pants. They were a little expensive instead of wearing just like black jeans, but I thought I could splurge a bit for something comfortable. Words of warning though. The shirt is small, especially for a long sleeve. I am wearing the Medium, even though I normally wear a Small. They do trap a little heat, but I think I will be fine when its not roasting outside like it was when I was taking these pictures. I am just wearing a normal belt that I wear underneath it for this image, but in the future the plan is to use the tactical belt that I have made as an actual belt. Links are below incase your interested in what I bought. There are plans to also buy a tac vest, but I'm still searching at this time. Thank you Gungnir for the brand recommendations.

Shirt Link

Amazon.com

Pants Link

Amazon.com

Anyways now onto the belt

Posting a picture of my groin region to the internet feels weird, but thankfully theres armor to look at instead. So as mentioned before, the belt is 4/5 inch Nylon strapping and the armor is made of Bambu Matte Grey PLA. It looks pretty good, doesn't weight that much, and feels amazing. My only complaint so far is that it is a bit hard to sit down in, but I think once everything is properly sewn it will be easier to do so. Eventually the clips on the back will be replaced by just a sewn piece of strap, but I want it to be removable before I paint everything. I know the belt buckle looks a little jank. The print quality for this piece has been kind of hard to master without it looking like Twoface from The Dark Knight. Each hip plate carries three grenades which clip in pretty well, which seems like a perfectly good segue into talking about them.

So these are the "Training" / Utility grenades that the Rookie has on his hips. I think theyre supposed to be like Flashbangs and Smokes, but instead theyre storage. I really like Aguilar's design when it comes to the nades as the top glues on, and the bottom screws into place creating a very good seal. I think I will probably use these when I go to cons to hold a needle, thread, some super glue, and other items that I've heard are hot commodities at conventions. Honestly I might paint my armor to be more of like a "Medic ODST" to lean into that, but I'll think that over. I've got six nades and about three uses so far, so we'll what else I come up with. If you have any recommendations let me know.

But yea that seems to be everything. I want to thank you for reading this, and I also want to extend a big thank you to everyone on the forums for helping me whenever I have a albiet stupid question. Looking down the line, I still have to do my bracers, legs, and backpack in the near future so be on the lookout for those posts. I also think I'm going to be at MAGFest in January so we'll see! I kinda was just like "Sure I could probably get this done in time." So we will see!

See you in the Field
-YTunz

 

[YTunz]

Armor Update 5) Helmets, Backpack, and Life Updates! Oh boy!

Hello everyone... God it has been a month.

I originally meant to work on my armor the weekend following that post... fast forward a month and only one of those three things I mentioned at the end of the last update have been actively worked on. Life kinda hit the fan, and with classes, 3 Degrees and a Minor, work, and robotics team that got way too political... I kinda had to put the armor stuff on temporary hold. Not really a fun time, but thats in the past... excluding the classes and stuff because I'm stuck here till 2027... but anyways:

Onto the armor!​

Backpack

So yeah! I went and bought the backpack files from "FromTheBrink Studios" on Etsy and I've got to say they look pretty cool. It's not done obviously, but currently it looks like this:

Yeah Unfortunately I forgot to scale the bottom container to 95% like the rest of them so it don't fit. Big womp womp on my part, but its fine since I will just reprint it. it's coming along and as you can see in the picture on the right I'm printing out the decals rn. Should be finished around 2am.

Helmet(s?)

So looking back to update 3 when I got the helmet all printed, and the visor from Benton (Thank you again), I finally got around to cutting out the visor and It looks amazing! The files are from Aguilar Workshop, as apart of his ODST Bundle fileset. Fits really snug. Electronics are out of the picture due to the fact that I have a massive head, but hey. Drip is immaculate.

Now, you're probably wondering why theres a (s?) on the title. Well I wanted to try my hand at making another helmet. Buddy of mine loves the look of Recon, so I was like "Why not make one as a testbed." I figured that this helmet was going to be a way for me to learn how to bondo, sand, paint and finish a helmet... What I learned was that this file is kinda weird.

So this file is from Moe, and it is not his HD one. This is the one with the shoulders file. It was sliced so that the neck ring was separate from the actual head... helmet... piece... You know what I mean. Anyways I tried printing it and when it came to gluing, the neck piece didn't quite fit. Now I'm sure everything is scaled correctly, and that the file didn't warp. I tried different positions, rafts on the file, and everything. I had my buddy load the files into Solidworks and he said that the file was clipping. I reached out to Moe about this, and I plan on eventually making his HD Recon Helmet as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nK6ooyb3ag
Future

So the future section, where I can show off what I'm cooking behind the screen that you're reading this on. First off, I am redesigning my armor. Thank you to Hype, Poobium, and Lukavago for helping me with my file selection. I really didnt like the fact that Aguilar's files were missing the backplate, so I went ahead and ordered the Galactic Armory ODST Armor. I plan on still using everything else from Aguilar since its already printed, but I will be using the GA Files for the torso. While I was shopping on GA, I uh... got a little carried away. And uh... Well:

Yeah I bought some more files.

So first off, the M-1 Combat Knife. I figured it would look awesome on the chest / shoulder of my ODST. I'm a sucker for knives and I think its going to look great.
Secondly: The H3 AR.
Thirdly: The Accessories Bundles. I want to "Build my Character" so that It doesn't look like a standard ODST, and instead has some flavor to it. I'm thinking that some accessories on the helmet, and a hardcase / medpack on the hip will look amazing. I'm not sure yet but I have a few things picked out.

"Why'd you buy the M1 Knife if the Accessories Bundle also has knives." Idk man, I thought it looked cooler than the tanto and I went for it since it was $3.50. Also yeah that Coupon code is like 30% off. Worth.

Anyways

I've got some more stuff to work on coming up. Hopefully I can work on my armor more now that I have some abundance of free time. I will be posting more, and will probably have a post from halloween.

Stay spooky!
-YTunz