My first build (ODST armor EVA foam)

[HarlanPiranha]

I have been wanting to make cosplay for years, but it has always just been this thing that i never thought I'd do, but since I have so much free time now, I'm going to try it. I should probably start with something easy but i really like the way the ODST armor looks so for my first build I'm going to do a halo 3 ODST. I think I will be able to do the main body and arms relatively easily, but I don't know about the helmet and painting all of it, I was wondering if I could have some tips and tricks from some more experienced cosplayers? I'll post updates on the armor as I make more pieces and add ons.

The tools i have: (if i need something else tell me please)
Dremmel, hot glue gun, exacto knife, hot knife, soldering iron, heat gun, plasti dip, Eva foam, spray paint, ruler.

Thank you
wow I just reviewed that and I said I so many times.

Edit: i know i don't need to worry about this right now, since i haven't even started on the chest harness thing yet, much less the helmet, but how do i do the visor? its plexiglass, and i want to add one way film onto it so its reflective, but i don't really know how i can do that. help?

 

[FalseShepherd]

Edit: i know i don't need to worry about this right now, since i haven't even started on the chest harness thing yet, much less the helmet, but how do i do the visor? its plexiglass, and i want to add one way film onto it so its reflective, but i don't really know how i can do that. help?

Is the visor already shaped? And are you going to make the helmet from eva as well?

 

[xXDashIVXx]

If you have a build you want to do and are motivated, fo for it! No matter what project you chose, it will be made in the quality you chose to have it be. You can work real hard and be a stickler for detail, and even your first suit can be game accurate, or because it is your first time you can say it's good enough at the quality it is and maybe make a better one later. It's all about your mentality and effort. ODSTs are a popular choice and I'm sure you'll do fine!

As for tips and tricks, the biggest ones are read other threads and watch youtube videos and tutorials. The more knowledge you have and an idea of what you are doing the easier it will be to grasp what you need to do. Keep reference images nearby because the templates aren't always perfect, keep your knife really sharp, and dont be afraid to remake a part or even entire armor peice if it doesnt look as good as you would like. Every imperfection will be more work for you later on down the road. Hot glue isnt always the best adhesive, so if you dont mind spending a little more money on a glue that is stronger and more permanent I would highly recommend it. Also dont forget to resize and scale your armor to fit you!

Arguably the best odst visors come with their respective helmet casts that you can find on etsy. They are a little pricey and will only fit the helmets they are built for, but they look great. Because of the complex shape of the odst visor it is much harder to make a quality visor without a vacuum former. That being said, it isnt impossible. The best way to do it cheap and easy is to buy an iconprops visor material sheet off of etsy for ~$20 and cut it into shape with scissors, then hot glue it in. If you have plexiglass you can order one way window tint and apply it to the plexiglass, but it will be a little harder to make in my opinion

 

[HarlanPiranha]

If you have a build you want to do and are motivated, fo for it! No matter what project you chose, it will be made in the quality you chose to have it be. You can work real hard and be a stickler for detail, and even your first suit can be game accurate, or because it is your first time you can say it's good enough at the quality it is and maybe make a better one later. It's all about your mentality and effort. ODSTs are a popular choice and I'm sure you'll do fine!

As for tips and tricks, the biggest ones are read other threads and watch youtube videos and tutorials. The more knowledge you have and an idea of what you are doing the easier it will be to grasp what you need to do. Keep reference images nearby because the templates aren't always perfect, keep your knife really sharp, and dont be afraid to remake a part or even entire armor peice if it doesnt look as good as you would like. Every imperfection will be more work for you later on down the road. Hot glue isnt always the best adhesive, so if you dont mind spending a little more money on a glue that is stronger and more permanent I would highly recommend it. Also dont forget to resize and scale your armor to fit you!

Arguably the best odst visors come with their respective helmet casts that you can find on etsy. They are a little pricey and will only fit the helmets they are built for, but they look great. Because of the complex shape of the odst visor it is much harder to make a quality visor without a vacuum former. That being said, it isnt impossible. The best way to do it cheap and easy is to buy an iconprops visor material sheet off of etsy for ~$20 and cut it into shape with scissors, then hot glue it in. If you have plexiglass you can order one way window tint and apply it to the plexiglass, but it will be a little harder to make in my opinion

Thank you! I didn't know that you could buy specific visor material, i'll try that.

 

[HarlanPiranha]

Is the visor already shaped? And are you going to make the helmet from eva as well?

The visor is not shaped, and i am making the helmet from EVA foam as well

 

[FalseShepherd]

The visor is not shaped, and i am making the helmet from EVA foam as well

Applying the window film tint to visors is pretty tricky. I have been playing around with it for my ODST visor. It definitely works better if you apply before shaping the plastic. For my visor I am going to bend the plastic by hand after tinting. I have tried twice already and failed but hopefully third time will be the charm. Idk how well that will work with plexiglass because idk how to "mold" plexiglass. In any case, applying window film to any not flat piece of plastic is really difficult. Probably not impossible, but definitely tricky.

If you intend to vacuform the visor, I would recommend tinting it first - mostly because I wanna see what the heat does to the already applied tint. There are other methods of coloring vacuformed visors that may be worth considering if you are going that direction.

 

[TillXValhalla]

I have been wanting to make cosplay for years, but it has always just been this thing that i never thought I'd do, but since I have so much free time now, I'm going to try it. I should probably start with something easy but i really like the way the ODST armor looks so for my first build I'm going to do a halo 3 ODST. I think I will be able to do the main body and arms relatively easily, but I don't know about the helmet and painting all of it, I was wondering if I could have some tips and tricks from some more experienced cosplayers? I'll post updates on the armor as I make more pieces and add ons.

The tools i have: (if i need something else tell me please)
Dremmel, hot glue gun, exacto knife, hot knife, soldering iron, heat gun, plasti dip, Eva foam, spray paint, ruler.

Thank you
wow I just reviewed that and I said I so many times.

Edit: i know i don't need to worry about this right now, since i haven't even started on the chest harness thing yet, much less the helmet, but how do i do the visor? its plexiglass, and i want to add one way film onto it so its reflective, but i don't really know how i can do that. help?

Thier are alot of good ones on etsy unless you want to make your own them vacuforming with a buck is tricky but once you master it you can do all of your own visors.

 

[TillXValhalla]

Odst is a fun build, im currently working on my v3 of an odst on my thread. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. Also only recommendation I can make is that contact cement is a better adhesive. But I also made my first 5 builds with hot glue. This is my first one with contact cement and its liquid gold when used properly.

 

[HarlanPiranha]

I've finished the base chest thing, where the plate and mag pouches are going to go, i had a lot of trouble with scaling and getting it to fit, but i think i'll be able to do everything else pretty easily since its a bunch of tiny pieces glued together and not one big one. its not so pretty right now, and its a pretty wonky fit but I'm modifying it so its better right now.

 

[Enven0247]

As a new guy who's planning to do a Halo 3 ODST build down the road, once I have the money and space to start such a project, I'm *really* excited to see how this turns out. Give me something to shoot for, y'know?