I'm a noob to cosplay. Go easy on me please

[Snuggles]

Hey Spartans!

I've been a huge halo fan since CE back in 2001. I kinda dipped out of the franchise at H4 but returned a few months ago – playing infinite for the first time.

Catching up on all the lore and competitive scene has really fired up my passion for Halo again. It's been great. Almost like the scratch that no other game was able to itch finally felt some relief after all this time. So much so I bought a Master Chief armour suit from Etsy...

Unfortunately, the seller just up and ran with my money. It was meant to be delivered by now. Etsy has issued a full refund so no harm done. It is what it is.

But I was so, so, SO looking forward to suiting up. There is the dreamhack event in the U.K in March and I would love to have a cosplay ready for then.

The only issue is... I'm a complete ******* noob. I paint warhammer and that's about the extent of my creative abilities. So I'd absolutely love to know:

1) As a complete cosplay noob, is building a Master Chief armour from Halo Infinite doable by March 2026?

2) If I were to buy a 3D printer, what recommendations and erm... where do I even start?

3) Is it better for me to hire someone from here for this first time and then get into my own project off the back of it?

Any and all advice is more than welcome. I'd love to start getting into cosplaying as a hobby. I just have literally no idea where to start.

Thank you all in advance.

Snuggles,
Josh

 

[SpartanSweed]

Welcome! We’re glad you’re starting your cosplay journey with us!

When it comes to cosplay, I’ve found making it yourself is more satisfying in the end, also making it easier to fix any breaks or mistakes when you know how the piece went together.

To that end, we have a large amount of resources on how to build props and armor:

Our Tutorial Index:

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

Our 3D Model Index for 3D printing:

Free 3D Model Index

3D printers are rapidly becoming a prop and costume builders best friend and many of the members of the 405th are extremely talented at developing high definition and accurate models for printing. This thread is an index to help both new builders find quality models and showcase the hard work of...

www.405th.com

There’s also 20 years worth of build threads on here showing how people have done their own builds, it’s worth doing a search and exploring the site!

Here’s one Chief build that I’ve seen in person:

New Recruit 1st Build Gen 3 MK-VI

This is a documentation of my first ever cosplay build. Im new here and to 3d Printing. As of the time of this post, I’ve only been printing about 2.5 months! Several folks have told me I’m nuts or “biting off more than I can chew” trying to do this so quickly. But, I’m a “Learn as you go”...

www.405th.com

Looking forward to what you create!

 

[Snuggles]

Ah this is great! Thank you so much. Like anything new I'm sure it'll be overwhelming at the start but once I get stuck in and ask questions things should level out. But 20 years worth of builds threads is incredible! I'm very much considering a 3D printer. Do you think that is a simpler or more complex process?

Never mind I'm reading through the tutorial index now and that's answering question on how to start. Best get some cardboard ready haha