1st Build MJOLNIR Mark V [B] Custom

[pinoyfiasco]

I’ve embarked on my first ever cosplay build, which I’ve only dreamed about doing for the last 17 years.

This is going to be mostly 3D printed, since that’s more my wheelhouse and I’m trying to keep my first outing as frustration-free as possible (though realistically you can’t avoid it sometimes). There will be some select parts that will be made from EVA foam, particularly parts of the undersuit. Nothing complex though, as I haven’t found a good solution for unfolding high poly geometries on macOS.

I’m using an Anycubic Kobra Max for all the large pieces, and an Anycubic Vyper and Sovol SV01 for the smaller stuff. Hoping I can finish upgrading my Ender 3v2 so it can take some of the workload.

The armor is from TitleWave Designs and the helmet is from Galactic Armory.

My primary goal is really getting the proportions looking good. I’m 5’10” and far from SPARTAN physique. I’m willing to take artistic liberties in pursuit of that as well as practicality/wearability.

Image/Text Wall incoming. Apologies if it’s an eyesore - I’m still learning the formatting here.

All the printed parts so far. At the time of this photo I was waiting on the left half of the chestpiece.
The teal/grey croptop acts as a core for the torso armor. The designer recommended making it out of EVA foam but that’s well out of my range right now. I tried printing half of it with the intent of using it to make a pattern, but that failed miserably. Instead I decided to just print the whole thing and open it up to make it easier to put on and take off. Works pretty well, just have to clean up the edges.

Everything primed. There’s still plenty of surfacing work to do but it helps me visualize the proportions of the entire suit when it’s all the same color. The visor in the helmet isn’t real, just a mockup for funsies. Can’t see through it. I will be vacuum forming my own visor but that’s down the road yet.


And a test fit:


The belt is secured with a harness underneath the torso armor (which will be better hidden). The biceps are secured using 1” elastic strap on the inside. I’m definitely going to beef up the exposed shoulders with some padding, which I can also use to keep the biceps from drifting while I move.

That’s it so far. I’ll try to remember to take plenty of progress photos. I easily get hyperfixated on working.

Fun fact - I was completely blind wearing the helmet for these photos and just had to guess where the camera was.

 

[Fallen]

Well add another to the watchlist. Carter's been one of my two dream builds for a long while now, though not 17yrs long, so always happy to watch someone else actually making him.

 

[pinoyfiasco]

Well add another to the watchlist. Carter's been one of my two dream builds for a long while now, though not 17yrs long, so always happy to watch someone else actually making him.

Out of Noble Team his design's my favorite! Hoping I can do it justice.

 

[pinoyfiasco]

Small update. I’ve started on the legs and doing surfacing work on the completed pieces in the meantime.


The left forearm needed a lot of filler. I made the rookie mistake of not checking my extruder’s steps/mm after flashing a firmware update, so it was under-extruding by quite a bit (415 steps/mm when it should have been roughly 650 steps/mm). Could have ended up worse, honestly. I need to hit the tighter spaces a little more.


Secured the rear “seal” of the helmet using some elastic strap cemented to the inside. Makes it a little harder to slip on one-handed but


I opted to reprint the left bicep, which turned out mostly well except for this bottom edge (and a couple of sparse layers where my spool got bound up). My plan is to just heat up some scrap plastic to build on top of it, then shape it later. It’s not a pressing issue right now, though.


The right thigh had some layer shift near the top. Fortunately, layer shifts usually have poor adhesion, so I was able to tear most of it off and bend it back into submission using some cement and tape. The far edge wouldn’t detach without risking tearing into the rest of the layers, so I’m thinking I’ll just sand that part flush. It’s small enough that it won’t be noticeable once it’s done.


Started printing the shins, which I had to split in half (upper half is printing right now). They seem a little big - I can slip my foot and ankle in and out easily but there’s more than enough room to spare. I’ll know for sure once the whole thing’s done then I can take some leggy pics.

 

[Zylenko]

This is looking great! What did you use for the under armor? (That everything attaches to.) Is it sewn together or a cast material?

 

[pinoyfiasco]

This is looking great! What did you use for the under armor? (That everything attaches to.) Is it sewn together or a cast material?

Thank you! The undersuit so far is just a compression shirt/pants set (I'm not wearing the pants in the test fit since it wasn't necessary yet). Right now nothing is affixed directly to it. The biceps and forearms have an elastic strap on the inside. The torso armor is sitting on top of this harness, which is holding the belt (and the legs once those are finished).

Titlewave Designs included an STL for the undersuit that can be unfolded to create foam patterns, so I'll be layering those on top for details in the exposed areas.

 

[Lojak]

This is looking great!!! excited to see it all come together.

 

[ThreeEvening158]

Excited to follow this build! Looking great so far!

 

[Zylenko]

Thank you! The undersuit so far is just a compression shirt/pants set (I'm not wearing the pants in the test fit since it wasn't necessary yet). Right now nothing is affixed directly to it. The biceps and forearms have an elastic strap on the inside. The torso armor is sitting on top of this harness, which is holding the belt (and the legs once those are finished).

Titlewave Designs included an STL for the undersuit that can be unfolded to create foam patterns, so I'll be layering those on top for details in the exposed areas.

Nice! Did you make those out of breathable material or just find some that fit?

 

[pinoyfiasco]

Nice! Did you make those out of breathable material or just find some that fit?

If you mean the compression shirt/pants, I just bought those on Amazon (I included a link if you want to check it out):

HEROBIKER Workout Set Compression Shirt Pants Top Long Sleeve Sports Tight Base Layer Quick Dry & Moisture-Wicking

 

[Ben626]

Looking awesome, I'm also using Titlewavedesign for my reach suit. I'm attempting to hybridize the inner chest piece with eva foam and printed material (it's either going to be comfortable or a waste of my time). Are you going to vacuum form a visor?

 

[pinoyfiasco]

Looking awesome, I'm also using Titlewavedesign for my reach suit. I'm attempting to hybridize the inner chest piece with eva foam and printed material (it's either going to be comfortable or a waste of my time). Are you going to vacuum form a visor?

Yeah - I got my helmet from Galactic Armory and they included a visor buck that I already have printed. I have everything I need to build the machine, I’m just leaving that until later.

My inner chest piece is fully solid and it’s honestly not uncomfortable to wear (just trickier to put on). Some padding definitely wouldn’t hurt, though.

 

[pinoyfiasco]

Small update. I’ve got the thigh armor printed and strapped. Right now it’s just lashed to my thigh but they will be tied to the belt as well to keep them from drifting.

Pardon the misaligned belt in the first photo - I was in a bit of a hurry this morning so I just threw everything on.

I’ll be cutting the inner thigh cover out of foam.

I’ve got one shin fully printed and am working on the second right now.

 

[Zylenko]

Small update. I’ve got the thigh armor printed and strapped. Right now it’s just lashed to my thigh but they will be tied to the belt as well to keep them from drifting.
View attachment 347418View attachment 347419
Pardon the misaligned belt in the first photo - I was in a bit of a hurry this morning so I just threw everything on.

I’ll be cutting the inner thigh cover out of foam.

I’ve got one shin fully printed and am working on the second right now.

I know most people make the thigh out of foam, do you find the printed restrict your movement at all?

 

[pinoyfiasco]

I know most people make the thigh out of foam, do you find the printed restrict your movement at all?

Right now I've still got about a 90º bend at the knee which is fine for sitting. I'm sure it'll be a little bit less once the shins are done but it's hard to tell right now. There's already quite a large cutout behind the knee to allow for movement but I'm not above cutting a section out and replacing it with foam if it ends up being too restrictive.

 

[pinoyfiasco]

Quick update. One of the boots finished printing so I had enough to mock up an entire leg.

Still trying to figure out exactly how I want the shinguard to sit against my leg.

Finally ran into a flexibility problem trying to slip my shoe/boot on while I’m wearing the shin and thigh. Not unexpected, given how solid these pieces are. I’m definitely going to take a dremel and open up the joints a little for some breathing room, then cover it up with foam.

I’m also thinking of creating an actual sole for these boots - both to keep the plastic off the ground and to give me a little extra lift height-wise. I’ve got some foam floor tile and sole rubber to work with.

Pardon my bare foot.

 

[pinoyfiasco]

Big milestone for today. All of the big pieces are printed (finally). There are still smaller bits to print out (hand guards, helmet attachments, boot covers, right pauldron, details), the undersuit, and obviously everything that comes after this (surfacing, paint, wiring, et cetera).

But I have enough to put some serious work into rigging and a full test fit. Well, almost.

The big problem I’m running into right now is that when I’m wearing the thigh armor and shin guards, it’s very hard for me to put my shoes/boots on without risking breaking anything (or hurting myself, lol).
The shins are currently sized so that I can slip in and out of it easily, but only barefooted (or with socks). Once on, it’s pretty roomy on the inside - I’d wager about 15mm-20mm of space all around.
Proportionally, I can’t make it any bigger because it’ll look goofy (it’s already as big as it can be without looking weird).
The solution I’m considering right now is opening it up on the front so I can slip it on after putting the boots on first.

I can have the cut follow this line to make it look a little more intentional. I’m thinking I can have the back secured using stretch webbing and snaps, then the front panel attach via hook-and-loop tape. Or maybe magnets?

 

[Jev]

The suit appears to be going very well, the Titlewave models seem to be doing rather well. I might have to get it for my own armour.
The belt/cod piece seems pretty solid, how (if it is) is it split so you can get into it?

 

[pinoyfiasco]

The suit appears to be going very well, the Titlewave models seem to be doing rather well. I might have to get it for my own armour.
The belt/cod piece seems pretty solid, how (if it is) is it split so you can get into it?

It's split into eight sections (three segments on each side attached to the codpiece and tushplate, all of which slot into each other) with a channel running through all of them for an 1 1/2" strap. I used an elastic strap anticipating that an ab wrap is going to add some bulk around my waist (I'm a size 34, so at 100% scale it's got a little bit of room).

There are a lot of contours so I did split the larger pieces in half for easier printing (and minimizing supports), then welded them together afterwards.

 

[pinoyfiasco]

I haven't been able to work on anything almost all week, so this morning I got started on rigging and a bit of an experiment with the boot.


The two buckles on each thigh will be connected to the codpiece and backside bulkhead on the belt to prevent any unwanted drifting or shifting, and will be mostly concealed by the inner suit while the buckles are tucked underneath the armor.


I haven't done the shins yet but I drew up a rough sketch of how I'm thinking the strap will be placed. The buckle (red) will be just out of sight above the knee, then the strap (green) will run underneath a kneepad (blue) and be cemented to the inside of the shin guard a little ways down. The distances are off in the photo but that's the vague idea.

I'm trying a little something with the boot that I don't know will work. My plan is to add a treaded sole underneath using layers of 10mm EVA floor tile and sole rubber.

I started by opening the boot STL in OrcaSlicer and cutting all but 1mm off of it, leaving just the bottom outline. I merged this with a .4mm thick rectangle. which will equate to two printed layers at a .2mm layer height. This is thick enough that it won't tear out, but just thin enough to cut with scissors with minimal resistance. Once printed I cut off all of the extra material.
This now serves as a more solid bottom layer for the boot, which will be sandwiched between layers of foam, to which I'll add the tread for traction. All of this will be glued together using shoe cement.
This is about as far as I got this morning so I apologize there's not much more to show. It'll definitely need a lot of testing to see how comfortable it will be to walk in, and it certainly won't be 100% accurate to the game model, but if it works, I think it'll elevate the look (pun intended). It'll keep the plastic from dragging or scraping the ground, hopefully minimizing the risk of damage. It can also give me almost an extra inch of lift. I think the boot will also look more solid this way instead of simply sitting on top of the shoe, while still allowing for some flex.