1st Build Not Another Reach Build

[Astolfo13]

Well well well, it has been nearly a year since I joined and decided to start a build, and I have done practically nothing.

I figured it was high time I started an official build thread.

I have gotten to a point where I am satisfied with most all of my scaling in Armorsmith, although some pieces need to be tweaked a tad more. I am ready to start a couple of test prints, once I finally commit and get a printer. I don't have lofty goals for this build, just make it and make it right. I will post the picture I took from Armorsmith for now and hope to follow up in a while when I learn to commit and start the build proper.

*Ignore the 39-piece DMR in the background, I put it in here to make sure I had it scaled properly and I was not going to try and put all the pieces together virtually.

 

[Rock Lobbster]

I'm just here for the title Reach ganggang. Also I love the colorfulness of the armor

 

[Astolfo13]

I'm just here for the title Reach ganggang. Also I love the colorfulness of the armor

The title is the best part, it's all downhill from here.

Regarding the color. it was the only way I could keep track of everything in Armorsmith.

 

[Angus314]

That's some mighty fine looking armor! Lobb knows what's up with Reach ganggang!!!

 

[Astolfo13]

That's some mighty fine looking armor! Lobb knows what's up with Reach ganggang!!!

 

[Astolfo13]

Well, I guess I can commit to something. I would have preferred an Ender 5 Plus as I have some experience with it, but ya boy doesn't want to invest too much money for a side hobby.

I have not seen too many people who are using the cr10v2 (which may be for good reason), however I believe we can make it through this. At any rate, I need to get the bed leveled, double check to make sure everything is square, and triple check the tightness of the bolts and screws. After that I suppose I can start some test prints.

 

[Astolfo13]

A quick and very minor update.

Benchy is old news, around here we print Triggy the Trigger.

I know this is not the best test print item (is it even a test print at this point?), but it was only 30 minutes. I also do not care how much of the cheap Creality PLA I waste on these prints either while I print random small parts.

I also have the magazine printed. I knew I would eventually, but I am already wanting a second smaller printer so that I can pump out small parts on it and save the cr10 for the bigger parts.

 

[Astolfo13]

Nothing much to share from this past week.

I printed some shotgun shells that I then broke apart (I want to add some sort of filling for heft), the magnum slide, and the buckle for the breacher chest.

I then wasted more filament printing a cow and some other miscellaneous things, and I ran out.

Ordered some Sunlu PLA+ that should be here Thursday*. Going to dial in the printer some more and then print a Recon helmet for my build and an ODST helmet for a friend of mine to wear to a con.

*Strange note about my order, Sunlu gave me an affiliate link. They either give these out to anyone who orders, or they mistook me for someone of importance. I surely hope it's the former.



Edited to add cow. He has some stringing that I am currently working to fix.

And please excuse the dirty bed, I cannot get that off no matter how much cleaning I do.

 

[Astolfo13]

Found a nice sturdy oak table at Goodwill for $8 and then promptly cleaned and stained it.

Need to get a couple more things before I get back to printing but having this off the dining room table is a step in the right direction.

*It also appears that I did not let the table sit out long enough (tough to do when it is raining) and it is letting off some lovely fumes, so this will also delay printing.

 

[CrimsonViper97]

I'll have to find a picture of my printer. I had this old target table and it's quite literally bolted to the top of it.

 

[Astolfo13]

I'll have to find a picture of my printer. I had this old target table and it's quite literally bolted to the top of it.

That's quite beautiful, both in presentation and idea.

 

[Astolfo13]

Hopefully someone has an answer to my inquiry, how is the recon helmet supposed to fit?

I've been printing some test rings to size it up right and the overall shape of the helmet is a bit strange. Obviously I don't have a front porch sticking off of my forehead to fill up all the empty space up there, but is it really supposed to have as much dead space as I'm getting?

 

[Astolfo13]

After a couple more ring tests that came from updated measurements, and Armorsmith looking good enough , I scaled the helmet and started printing some pieces.

The comms had an overhang that he printer just couldn't make work (it was trying to print a curve in mid-air) so I had to cancel and start a new print.

The layer lines are pretty apparent, but I would much rather cut down on print time and increase my post processing time, since I enjoy that kind of stuff.

The helmet proper will begin in the coming days.

 

[Angus314]

Hopefully someone has an answer to my inquiry, how is the recon helmet supposed to fit?

I've been printing some test rings to size it up right and the overall shape of the helmet is a bit strange. Obviously I don't have a front porch sticking off of my forehead to fill up all the empty space up there, but is it really supposed to have as much dead space as I'm getting?

Heyo the recon helmet can fit pretty snug if you need it to. That being said, I have mine sized down pretty far and I don't have a ton of dead space within the helmet. It looks like it fits in armorsmith! Best you can do now is commit to a helmet and see if it fits!

Here's images of me wearing an unfinished nerdforge recon if it helps.

as you can see there's less deadspace around my chin but way more around my eyes and face. It still needs to be padded to make sure it doesn't slide around.

 

[Astolfo13]

Heyo the recon helmet can fit pretty snug if you need it to. That being said, I have mine sized down pretty far and I don't have a ton of dead space within the helmet. It looks like it fits in armorsmith! Best you can do now is commit to a helmet and see if it fits!

Here's images of me wearing an unfinished nerdforge recon if it helps.
View attachment 313998View attachment 313999
as you can see there's less deadspace around my chin but way more around my eyes and face. It still needs to be padded to make sure it doesn't slide around.

Thanks for the behind the scenes pics! Now my concern is that I scaled it too far down.

However we are committed now, so we will see how it turns out.

Thanks again!

 

[Angus314]

Godspeed! Don't be afraid to ping me if you want me to give your scale a look when you've got it printed!

 

[Astolfo13]

There is a quote I like that says

"The problem with doing it right the first time is that no one appreciates how hard it is"

I certainly don't think scaling a helmet is too hard in the grand scheme of things, yet here I am with half of a helmet that is way too small.

After trying it on, reviewing the images that Angus314 provided, and looking over all my references pictures again I knew it was off.

Oddly enough I have tried on and used different helmets for various sports and activities over the years, so I know how they should fit and I still managed to make the recon helmet as small as possible.

C'est la vie

 

[Astolfo13]

After an onslaught of various printer problems I am back up and running. The top ⅓ of the helmet is cooking and should be done tomorrow night.

 

[Astolfo13]

This is where Ashton Kutcher and the camera crew come out to let you know that you've been Punk'd because nothing has materialized that looks like a finished print. I made some questionable choices that led to two failed prints (The silver lining is that I can used them to test paints later). I have managed to put in a few fail safes and roadblocks to avoid any more meddlesome interference on my part. I have started the print again and this time it should actually be done tomorrow night. I hate to be such a tease on Valentine's Day, yet here we are.

The next time I check in will be to post an actual progress picture or list my printer for sale (joking, maybe).

I need to come up with a good sign-off or signature to make these posts bearable, but I'll see y'all then, nonetheless.

 

[Astolfo13]

26 hours and 37 minutes later we have the top ⅓ of the helmet. Since it is a holiday weekend I hope to get most, if not all of it printed by next week.