Long time browser, First time poster

[Forerixal]

To say I frequent this site is an understatement. Whenever I 3D model halo things, usually whenever I need a really niche and specific reference, someone has it on here which is super useful to me, so thank you to this awesome community!!! However even before I was a digital modeler, I was a high schooler with a dream of making a full halo cosplay via 3D printing, I had tried my hand at using EVA foam for a cosplay but to say it was trash would be a large understatement. However, I finally acquired a 3D printer!! I was starting small for a while on little things, to build up my knowledge and understanding, and also while I went out shopping for things I'd need for my true passion project: my reach spartan. I decided over the past few days to bite the bullet and begin my helmet, and while i still am missing 2 final parts to it as they print now, I have an EOD helmet!!!

Having this on hand and overhead was such a huge moment for me, as I've wanted to tackle this for YEARS. and I dont plan to stop there, I want to attempt and go all the way with a full Spartan cosplay in time for megacon, but only time will tell I suppose. That does lead me to a question I have that I'm sure if I poked around I'd find my answer easily, but I wanted to take a moment and actually interact with the community!!! Is there any good files for a mk v b body print stuff, is there a proper way to scale said files, and does it include accessories such as all shoulder piece files, attachment set-ups, etc? And also, to anyone whos done a full suit, how many 1kg rolls of filament did it take??

Anyways, super excited to take on this task over the next few months and see what I learn.

 

[Drim]

Glad to see you here and part of the community! Congratulations on taking your first steps towards what I expect to be an awesome build! I remember sharing your same sentiment around my first helmet. It's always exciting to see someone experience that for the first time, so thank you

Something I always like to link to people who are relatively new to the community is our tutorial page, curated by our very own N8TEBB. This is an exceptional resource that can help you navigate the forums for tutorials on topics that we often see inquiries regarding!

Tutorial Index

As far as files are concerned, there are multiple sources available for Mark V. These include paid files from Titlewave, Instinctcreative3d, and Galactic Armory, as well as free files, the most notable I can think of being from our community member Moe. The links to each of these are listed below for your reference!

I also want to link you to our 3d model index here on the forums! This is an awesome resource where we link you to many free files for quite a number of suits/props/models that are available.

Free 3d Model Index

My suit was personally made using Instinct's files so I can personally speak to the quality of these. Both the under suit molds and the armor pieces themselves were designed with very high detail and carry a level of accuracy that I am very pleased with.

Each of the links below are directly to the armor files themselves. These do not include under suit molds. Under suit molds are available for some of the files, and bundles do exist if that is something you are interested in. These can be found on the individual pages of the file providers.


Links below:

Titlewave's Mark V

Instinct's Mark V

Galactic Armory's Mark V

Moesizzlac's Mark V (Note Noble 6)

 

[SgtSaint]

My "New Armorer FAQ thread". Hope it helps.

SgtSaint's FAQ post

So I tend to post this response to the common or Frequently asked questions when people ask on the various social media channels. I copy/paste it to Facebook, or the Discord server and some folks urged me to post it here and just link it in the future. Ok, here goes. These are my tips and how...

www.405th.com

 

[Forerixal]

To say I frequent this site is an understatement. Whenever I 3D model halo things, usually whenever I need a really niche and specific reference, someone has it on here which is super useful to me, so thank you to this awesome community!!! However even before I was a digital modeler, I was a high schooler with a dream of making a full halo cosplay via 3D printing, I had tried my hand at using EVA foam for a cosplay but to say it was trash would be a large understatement. However, I finally acquired a 3D printer!! I was starting small for a while on little things, to build up my knowledge and understanding, and also while I went out shopping for things I'd need for my true passion project: my reach spartan. I decided over the past few days to bite the bullet and begin my helmet, and while i still am missing 2 final parts to it as they print now, I have an EOD helmet!!! View attachment 371098Having this on hand and overhead was such a huge moment for me, as I've wanted to tackle this for YEARS. and I dont plan to stop there, I want to attempt and go all the way with a full Spartan cosplay in time for megacon, but only time will tell I suppose. That does lead me to a question I have that I'm sure if I poked around I'd find my answer easily, but I wanted to take a moment and actually interact with the community!!! Is there any good files for a mk v b body print stuff, is there a proper way to scale said files, and does it include accessories such as all shoulder piece files, attachment set-ups, etc? And also, to anyone whos done a full suit, how many 1kg rolls of filament did it take??

Anyways, super excited to take on this task over the next few months and see what I learn.

Talk about bad communication skills. Whoops!!! Despite me not being active here in months, I've returned to share a WHOLE lot of progress. The helmet is now fully completed,

... Along with almost the rest of the armor.

I'm currently waiting for some straps to come in, and for anyone wondering on the lack of legs, the thighs are complete basically, with only the shins being completed at the moment. Still gotta do some shoulder pads, which I wont have time for the event I'm attending to Wednesday to have them done, but I have an upcoming convention about 1-2 weeks down the line, which I'll 100% have them done by then. Maybe even a shotgun if I have a lot of time, but if not just the magnum will do as well

This project has been a mix of a learning experience and one of the most fun projects I've done ever. From new filaments (and learning how painstakingly long TPU takes to print,) trial and error, fuzzy skin usage to get it just right, scaling, I could go on and on with all of this. It has definitely had its ups and downs, but overall I would 100% do it all again. I remember when I started wondering if I'd even finish it, and getting closer day by day is the most rewarding thing ive felt in a long, long time.

I printed basically all of this armor, except the helmet and the shins that are currently printing, out of TPU. If I had to do this all over again, I think I'd definitely make the change of only doing the soft parts of TPU, and maybe some arm pieces. I like it for durability/movability reasons, but that aside the time it takes to print and how much it really adds to the build, if I were time crunched or anything I definitely would make more parts of just PLA. I also would account for earlier on how much filament to be required and properly scaling. I didnt use armorsmith or anything, just made every file I had from Galactic armory's scaled to like 95% lol. Not my brightest move but also there's probably worse ways to go about it, so if it works it works. Anyways, enough talking, here's a few more pics of it so far and thighs as well. (Ignore belt/upper arms being too low, that's what the straps I ordered are for LOL)

And the current state of the legs as of writing

 

[Forerixal]

With a few all nighters, I got it in an ALMOST done state before a competition I entered it (and won) Wednesday, and should have it done in time for megacon next weekend!

The thighs/waist are bot suspended by both padding and a strap system, keeping them properly hoisted where they need to be. I've realized since I'll need to do that on the upper shoulders as well, which also need their shoulder pieces attached to it still. They're printing as we speak. The knees are done, just need to be painted/attached and that should be done there. I'll buy a pair of black gloves that can use touchscreen soon, and attach gauntlets to them. My final part would be if I have the time, making the reach shotgun, but looking at time/logistics rn that seems like a long shot lol. Anyways, here's a few shots of it! Some have my friend in his clone armor as well.

If any of you plan to be at megacon, come say Hi if you see me! I'll be back to update when its fully, 100% complete. But I want to say this right now. If you're someone whos absolutely new to this stuff, and worried about messing something up and working your way up, this was my first cosplay project. Is there mistakes in it? Plenty. Would I recommend trying to start small on smaller projects and then over time go larger? Not one bit. If you wanna build a Spartan, build a spartan. Swing for the god damn fences. There will be errors. You WILL have to mess with settings, reprint parts, probably make massive noticable welds in your soldering if you go 3D print route. But I 100% reccomend if you wanna make a Spartan, make that spartan and watch your dream go from an idea to a reality.