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]

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!

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?

 

[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

 

[SpartanSweed]

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

3D printing has come a long way, it’s really never been easier to get into the hobby that way. Printers are only getting better and less expensive to start out.

You can get a lot of good detail, but the downside is sanding. So much sanding, if your machine is dialed in and is printing well, it’s not that bad.

 

[SgtSaint]

My "New Armorer FAQ" thread:
SgtSaint's FAQ post

"What's your printer?" thread on the 405th forum:
What's Your Printer?

I wish I knew this about printers before buying discussion:
"I wish I knew" Tips When Starting to 3d Print

My favorite section of any YouTuber's channels is the recent post by Frankly Built who is well regarded in this genre - about taking some time to learn before doing:

He also just added this one about sanding and smoothing where it leans in to the same thing I keep saying: Just sand it (as opposed to the 'slather with thinned bondo magic shell' approach).

Advice:
Just because this is new to you doesn't mean its new. You don't have to re-invent the wheel with making, finishing or painting techniques. With ANY new endeavor I urge people to scroll back in the forums and facebook pages about a year and just read, read, read. A day spent reading can gain you man-years of knowledge and insight. You see what gets asked over and over. You see the problems that pop up over and over. You see things like "after about 3 months these cracks appeared" and so on that you only get with the benefit of time.
YouTube: Instead of watching movies this week just watch YouTubes on printing, making armor, doing painting etc. There's nothing like WATCHING something happen both good and bad to be a great learning tool.

Read through some build threads where people detail the process. These are a couple of mine but there are hundreds more.
Spartan:
• Build 2 - MK-VI gen-3. With some silver timeline influence
• MK-VI Silver team season 2 [2024 build]

ODST:
SgtSaint ODST build (AU regiment)

 

[N8TEBB]

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

It is possible. Is it realistic? That really depends on how much time you put into it each day. If you're working on it for a few hours every day then a timeline of 4 months is doable. I made my foam suit of armour in 4 months, for example. That deadline will come closer than you realize though, so to not feel rushed and really take you time you may want to allow yourself more time especially with the business December usually brings.

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

Those links that SgtSaint shared up there are really useful to get an idea of which printers people are using currently and their pros/cons.

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?

There isn't really a right answer to this one, but I can share my opinion. It's worth every penny you paid for it, keep that in mind lol.

Build your suit.

Part of the joy I get in wearing my armour is knowing that I made it myself. I know it inside and out. Every detail I added by hand and painted the way I wanted. It really is MY suit of armour. The Spartan I am when wear it is truly ME.

Absolutely, wearing a suit of armour made by anyone is fun! There's nothing wrong with commissioning someone. But it sounds like you're really interested in making your own suit of armour and the only reason you'd want to go the commission route is because of the timeline. Don't let your inexperience or the worry you won't nail it on the first try delay the joy you will have in having a home-made suit of armour. It won't be perfect on the first try, it may not even be ready on time, but the skills and knowledge you will gain on your first build will get you that much closer to being able to make a full suit of amrour that looks precisely the way you want.

And one last thing is the cost. Obviously commissions cost more. But on top of that, when you spend you money on a commission you get the suit and that's it. When you spend the money on building it yourself, not only to you get a full suit at the end of it, you also get to spend many months doing something you love, learning new skills, and making new friends. That's money well spent.