MJOLNIR Mark VI Recon (Halo 3)

If I pull this off, is this reaching the cosplay equivalent of level 50?

  • Yes

    Votes: 5 41.7%
  • No

    Votes: 1 8.3%
  • Trick question. Level 50 is an urban legend. It's 2020 and can't be obtained.

    Votes: 6 50.0%

  • Total voters
    12

Marty Falco

Member
This build technically started way back at the end of May 2020 when I first received my 3D printer. In my furious rush to finish this suit before Halloween, I've spent the better part of a day immersed in every corner of the 405th and was inspired to post a thread on this build. At the same time, I think it will make my deadline a little more concrete and help incentivize me to finish in time by announcing it to the world...

The basics:
My mission going into this project--create my multiplayer spartan from Halo 3 with as much game accuracy/realism as possible. This is why 3D printing was my only option. Having tried pepakura in the past, I felt there could be no substitute for those perfect angles, edges, small details, and SYMMETRY that could only be achieved by a 3d printer.

This led me to what I believe are the most comprehensive 3d models of Halo 3 armor out there. MoeSizzlac's files on thingiverse. The entire suit besides the helmet came from a combination of his full Mark VI master chief and the recon chest/shoulders variant.

Entirely printed out of PLA. Using one of the cheapest printers on the market at $300 with the biggest build plate volume I could find. The Sunlu S8 with a 12x12 print bed and about 18 inches of vertical print space.

My recon helmet I started, no joke, 10 years ago, and was originally a pepakura project. File by Belakor. Applied way too much bondo back in 2010 so it has just been a big, heavy, bondo-y mess I didn't wanna tackle until now.

Every part I was able to print as one solid piece, save the Chest and COD front.

What's left to do over the next 5 days:
1) Finish the prints of resized left and right thigh sections
2) Rescale and print larger shoe pieces
3) Print TPU midsection pieces that are flexible
4) Finish print line and glue seam smoothing of chest piece (80% done)
5) Continue priming and sanding all other pieces (30% done)
6) Project foam inserts on all pieces for snug fitment
7) Undersuit work such as kneepads/eva foam combo to fill in space between shin/thigh gap, chest piece/shoulder piece gap, etc.
8) Give boots a quick black spray paint. Securely attach boot pieces (thinking shoe glue and Velcro)
9) Devise a way to attach the recon shoulder pieces to the biceps. They have very little contact surface so gotta get creative
10) Visor cut and install into helmet
11) PAAAAAAIIIIIIINNNNNTTTTTT which I know I'm going to be super tedious about and will take a lot longer than anticipated. Using a combination of spray paints and acrylic. Could use help deciding on a sealant. Unsure to go matte, semi-gloss, or gloss to achieve a metallic finish, in combination with weathering techniques.

12) Eat??? Sleep? Maybe? During my very busy upcoming week.
13) Find and win a costume contest here in my city?! The former probably being more difficult than the latter due to Covid... Classic Covid....

Alls I'm saying is, there are 24 hours in a day and I'm home everyday anyway due to the pandemic. Will be posting updates as I go further. Wish me luck.

image1.jpeg

Again huge shoutout to MoeSizzlac for designing this chest piece for me. I think I may be the only one who's printed and assembled it so far and it came out amazing. Printed to default size.
image2.jpeg

Shoulder pieces
image3.jpeg

Shoulder/bicep combo
image4.jpeg

Shins and boots. Just using a pair of old cheap hiking boots. Needs larger boot pieces printed.
image5.jpeg

Original scale shin in gold. Except Z modified to 15 inches tall, about 8% increase. Found it to be too thick looking. Scaled blue to same height but 90% X and Y to make skinnier. Proportions to suit and body work better now.

image6E.jpeg

image8E.jpeg

Some parts but especially the chest have been fiberglassed, bondo'd, and Rondo'd (resin + bondo 1:1) in places to add strength where my prints were sometimes sub-par or too thin in areas. But particularly the chest so that I could guarantee my glue seams would not come apart.
image9E.jpeg

image10.jpeg

image7E.jpeg

And what's a spartan without a trusty H3 BR? Modified version of TheApropalypse's design of H2 anniversary BR. WIP
 
You've got some solid work there! While I'll be rooting for you to get it done for Halloween, my piece of advice is if you can't finish it in time, don't - it's better to save it for another event where you'll be able to finish it off the way you want, instead of frantically con-crunching - no, um, Halloween-crunching.
But hey, I don't wanna doubt your powers and I wish you luck!
 
Wednesday update 10/28:

One of the re-printed thighs is finished, the second is little more than halfway through. Truly a MASSIVE piece. 44 hours at .3mm and a ridiculous print speed between 60-72 mm/s. Not a pretty print, clearly lots of visible lines but I don't have 3 or more days to wait for a .2mm thickness.
IMG_0538.jpg


The new (gold) is scaled to 95% X and Y and 90% on Z. This is an increase from my original 90% X Y and about 82% Z. Just a tad too tight on the lower opening and felt it could go higher up to close the gap more between thigh and groin pieces. Keep in mind this was after careful measurements on my body trying to scale it the best I could. Just to show that scaling pre-print doesn't always work. Also note I'm using the V1 files to get the third "notch" on the inner thigh, as opposed to only two on V2 file. Just more game accurate but will constrict movement more.

Moe states his armor files are scaled to a 5' 10" person 185 lbs. I am 5' 9.5" 150-160 lbs and the suit will be an even 6 foot when assembled and in boots. Nonetheless I scaled the thighs down slightly trying to make them look as sleek and thin as possible, while scaling the shins slightly longer on the Z axis. Just fits my proportions better.

Used my dremel reinforced cutting wheel to cut out the back of the shin. Since it wasn't until after the shins were printed I found out about the file version with a removed back section. And I really wish I had known of that version before cutting because the section I removed still isn't high enough to where my heel hits the inside of the piece and won't go through. Damn! Will be making a second cut

In the meantime, sand sand sand. Filler primer. Sand sand sand...

I've used a good amount of bondo on the torso to fill some pretty massive imperfections and print flaws. But moving forward just sticking with the red filler putty on all the pieces because it's significantly softer and easier to remove than bondo. In the interest of time.
 

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I also purchased these padded football pants particularly for the already attached knee pad design and the potential I think it will have for a good separation between thigh and shin. As well as this flash latex mask to be cut and used for the neck seal only. This exact product was suggested off of someone else's recent Master Chief build.
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Good luck! Dont forget to sleep and take care of yourself!
So much this.

Rushing through the end of a project when working on little sleep is how mistakes are made and injuries happen. Protect the cos-bod that the cosplay goes on!
 
Can I haz recon? Bam yes you can!!!! Totally doing a good job and adjusting to the issue very well.

You are pumping it out well. But yes please take care of yourself first. No pulling Ranger stunts or almost killing yourself over a build.
 
Suit as it currently exists. I was probably only able to work for 10 hours today due to having to run to a couple stores for more supplies and my paint selections.
unnamed (1).jpg


However, I'm REALLY happy with the paint I chose. It has a perfect metallic finish right out of the can. But not cheap at $7 a pop...
This is as smooth a finish as I could possibly stand sanding. Back and forth a couple times with primer and spot putty. Last round of primer and hit with 220 then 400 grit before paint. From two feet away I can't see any imperfections.

IMG-0547.JPG
IMG-0545.JPG
 
Appreciate the safety concerns but I'm doing well. Have my respirator and dust masks. Still been sleeping 8 hours.

Tomorrow putting in a very full day though probably from noon to midnight straight. I've accepted I can't get the rest of my pieces as smooth as my one painted forearm piece but I'm willing to sacrifice that in order to complete it for Saturday night. Torso and helmet will be main focus areas. Also sacrificing the TPU front and back midsection pieces because simply no time to print them.

One boot on the printer now, the second will finish at noon Saturday (Halloween) HAH! Gonna do a rush job to quickly prime and sand that last piece. And I did end up scaling them all the way to 120% and they quite literally look like clown shoes on the print bed. Huge by themselves but will look proportional with the rest of the suit. This was at the suggestion of another thread to make them pretty large.
 
Well it's safe to say there was no way I could finish in time. I was probably working up until 9pm Saturday and only got to around 70% completion. It's better this way though now that I can take a little extra time for fine details. BUT, I did just about finish the helmet for your enjoyment.

IMG-0581.JPGIMG-0582.JPG


90% done. Need to add weathering, and top attachment piece. For the final version of my armor I will be 3D printing a completely new helmet, but I had to complete this one for nostalgia's sake and the fact that it took me 10 years to finally finish it out!
 
Dang
This build technically started way back at the end of May 2020 when I first received my 3D printer. In my furious rush to finish this suit before Halloween, I've spent the better part of a day immersed in every corner of the 405th and was inspired to post a thread on this build. At the same time, I think it will make my deadline a little more concrete and help incentivize me to finish in time by announcing it to the world...

The basics:
My mission going into this project--create my multiplayer spartan from Halo 3 with as much game accuracy/realism as possible. This is why 3D printing was my only option. Having tried pepakura in the past, I felt there could be no substitute for those perfect angles, edges, small details, and SYMMETRY that could only be achieved by a 3d printer.

This led me to what I believe are the most comprehensive 3d models of Halo 3 armor out there. MoeSizzlac's files on thingiverse. The entire suit besides the helmet came from a combination of his full Mark VI master chief and the recon chest/shoulders variant.

Entirely printed out of PLA. Using one of the cheapest printers on the market at $300 with the biggest build plate volume I could find. The Sunlu S8 with a 12x12 print bed and about 18 inches of vertical print space.

My recon helmet I started, no joke, 10 years ago, and was originally a pepakura project. File by Belakor. Applied way too much bondo back in 2010 so it has just been a big, heavy, bondo-y mess I didn't wanna tackle until now.

Every part I was able to print as one solid piece, save the Chest and COD front.

What's left to do over the next 5 days:
1) Finish the prints of resized left and right thigh sections
2) Rescale and print larger shoe pieces
3) Print TPU midsection pieces that are flexible
4) Finish print line and glue seam smoothing of chest piece (80% done)
5) Continue priming and sanding all other pieces (30% done)
6) Project foam inserts on all pieces for snug fitment
7) Undersuit work such as kneepads/eva foam combo to fill in space between shin/thigh gap, chest piece/shoulder piece gap, etc.
8) Give boots a quick black spray paint. Securely attach boot pieces (thinking shoe glue and Velcro)
9) Devise a way to attach the recon shoulder pieces to the biceps. They have very little contact surface so gotta get creative
10) Visor cut and install into helmet
11) PAAAAAAIIIIIIINNNNNTTTTTT which I know I'm going to be super tedious about and will take a lot longer than anticipated. Using a combination of spray paints and acrylic. Could use help deciding on a sealant. Unsure to go matte, semi-gloss, or gloss to achieve a metallic finish, in combination with weathering techniques.

12) Eat??? Sleep? Maybe? During my very busy upcoming week.
13) Find and win a costume contest here in my city?! The former probably being more difficult than the latter due to Covid... Classic Covid....

Alls I'm saying is, there are 24 hours in a day and I'm home everyday anyway due to the pandemic. Will be posting updates as I go further. Wish me luck.

View attachment 298544
Again huge shoutout to MoeSizzlac for designing this chest piece for me. I think I may be the only one who's printed and assembled it so far and it came out amazing. Printed to default size.
View attachment 298545
Shoulder pieces
View attachment 298546
Shoulder/bicep combo
View attachment 298547
Shins and boots. Just using a pair of old cheap hiking boots. Needs larger boot pieces printed. View attachment 298548
Original scale shin in gold. Except Z modified to 15 inches tall, about 8% increase. Found it to be too thick looking. Scaled blue to same height but 90% X and Y to make skinnier. Proportions to suit and body work better now.

View attachment 298551
View attachment 298552
Some parts but especially the chest have been fiberglassed, bondo'd, and Rondo'd (resin + bondo 1:1) in places to add strength where my prints were sometimes sub-par or too thin in areas. But particularly the chest so that I could guarantee my glue seams would not come apart.
View attachment 298553
View attachment 298554
View attachment 298555
And what's a spartan without a trusty H3 BR? Modified version of TheApropalypse's design of H2 anniversary BR. WIP
dude looking slick so far
 
This build technically started way back at the end of May 2020 when I first received my 3D printer. In my furious rush to finish this suit before Halloween, I've spent the better part of a day immersed in every corner of the 405th and was inspired to post a thread on this build. At the same time, I think it will make my deadline a little more concrete and help incentivize me to finish in time by announcing it to the world...

The basics:
My mission going into this project--create my multiplayer spartan from Halo 3 with as much game accuracy/realism as possible. This is why 3D printing was my only option. Having tried pepakura in the past, I felt there could be no substitute for those perfect angles, edges, small details, and SYMMETRY that could only be achieved by a 3d printer.

This led me to what I believe are the most comprehensive 3d models of Halo 3 armor out there. MoeSizzlac's files on thingiverse. The entire suit besides the helmet came from a combination of his full Mark VI master chief and the recon chest/shoulders variant.

Entirely printed out of PLA. Using one of the cheapest printers on the market at $300 with the biggest build plate volume I could find. The Sunlu S8 with a 12x12 print bed and about 18 inches of vertical print space.

My recon helmet I started, no joke, 10 years ago, and was originally a pepakura project. File by Belakor. Applied way too much bondo back in 2010 so it has just been a big, heavy, bondo-y mess I didn't wanna tackle until now.

Every part I was able to print as one solid piece, save the Chest and COD front.

What's left to do over the next 5 days:
1) Finish the prints of resized left and right thigh sections
2) Rescale and print larger shoe pieces
3) Print TPU midsection pieces that are flexible
4) Finish print line and glue seam smoothing of chest piece (80% done)
5) Continue priming and sanding all other pieces (30% done)
6) Project foam inserts on all pieces for snug fitment
7) Undersuit work such as kneepads/eva foam combo to fill in space between shin/thigh gap, chest piece/shoulder piece gap, etc.
8) Give boots a quick black spray paint. Securely attach boot pieces (thinking shoe glue and Velcro)
9) Devise a way to attach the recon shoulder pieces to the biceps. They have very little contact surface so gotta get creative
10) Visor cut and install into helmet
11) PAAAAAAIIIIIIINNNNNTTTTTT which I know I'm going to be super tedious about and will take a lot longer than anticipated. Using a combination of spray paints and acrylic. Could use help deciding on a sealant. Unsure to go matte, semi-gloss, or gloss to achieve a metallic finish, in combination with weathering techniques.

12) Eat??? Sleep? Maybe? During my very busy upcoming week.
13) Find and win a costume contest here in my city?! The former probably being more difficult than the latter due to Covid... Classic Covid....

Alls I'm saying is, there are 24 hours in a day and I'm home everyday anyway due to the pandemic. Will be posting updates as I go further. Wish me luck.

View attachment 298544
Again huge shoutout to MoeSizzlac for designing this chest piece for me. I think I may be the only one who's printed and assembled it so far and it came out amazing. Printed to default size.
View attachment 298545
Shoulder pieces
View attachment 298546
Shoulder/bicep combo
View attachment 298547
Shins and boots. Just using a pair of old cheap hiking boots. Needs larger boot pieces printed. View attachment 298548
Original scale shin in gold. Except Z modified to 15 inches tall, about 8% increase. Found it to be too thick looking. Scaled blue to same height but 90% X and Y to make skinnier. Proportions to suit and body work better now.

View attachment 298551
View attachment 298552
Some parts but especially the chest have been fiberglassed, bondo'd, and Rondo'd (resin + bondo 1:1) in places to add strength where my prints were sometimes sub-par or too thin in areas. But particularly the chest so that I could guarantee my glue seams would not come apart.
View attachment 298553
View attachment 298554
View attachment 298555
And what's a spartan without a trusty H3 BR? Modified version of TheApropalypse's design of H2 anniversary BR. WIP
Stellar work so far, dude! Was the torso already chopped up to fit your printer or did you have to separate it yourself?
 
Hello all! Back again to finish this one up. I've learned a ton over the past two years and revised quite a few things on how the finished product will look.

My biggest challenge was by far dialing in my paint. I'm doing this suit purely with rattle cans and it took me a good amount of time to find the colors I really liked. Ended up going with automotive paints for primary and secondary colors. And gosh have I learned so much about just paint in general along the way.

For example, take these two hand plates down below. This is the exact same top coat on each piece! However, the left was simply painted on top of grey filler primer, the darker is painted on top of a gloss black base coat. Totally changes the shade of the color, and I'm going with the darker (as to better show true silver weathering and damage). They appear quite a bit darker on camera than they actually are, so I was concerned the lighter shade would not show silver scratches very well.
IMG-4551.jpg

I have also printed Moe's ab wrap section in TPU filament. It's definitely pretty shiny as a raw print so I'll be doing as he did and coating it in plastidip and some flat black probably.
68681171164--87069D57-4CF9-43E5-BB87-2939B6E1DF57.jpg

I am actually still looking for ideas on how to mount this section to the undersuit. MoeSizzlac has said that TPU won't stick to anything besides itself. Glue seems to be obsolete. I'd like to be able to mount nylon straps or stretchlite to the back, in two parallel strips. One running along the top and one along the bottom. And my thoughts are I could kind of wear it like a belt that way.
 
He's not a 405th member because he's primarily Iron Man stuff, but I've got to give credit to Frankly Built on Youtube. He goes very in depth in his post processing methods for 3D prints, and explains his painting process incredibly well. There's a lot of testing involved when it comes to paint. You get different shades from different base coat colors, some clear coats work on your particular paint, some don't. Clears can either enhance the shine of metallics, or completely dull them as well, etc.
I'm gonna link one of his vids here I found a pretty interesting and informative watch.
Anything on his channel could be applied to halo costuming. A lot on post-processing prints, painting, harnesses and straps, and adding electronics / lighting as well. A very solid resource overall.
 
Damn this looks like it's turning out great!
The belt idea for your undersuit elements is a sound idea,
or you could pin them to the chest piece somehow?
you might be able to fit some snap buttons onto the TPM, though I havent worked with the material yet myself.
Good luck and I can't wait to see what you come up with!
 
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