Okay... for real this time. Mark VII build!

[SamuelHan]

The time has come... I'm ready to do a full Spartan build! Before I dove feet first into this endeavour, I decided to dip my toes in with a Recon ODST build.

My Spartan build will be much, much more involved than this one. In addition to 3D printing, I'll also be moulding and casting.

Let's start with materials. The armour will be printed in VarioShore foaming TPU and coated in Urecoat, and the helmet will be resin casted.

Willow Creative is the reason I went ahead with this method, as I saw she'd beat me to it. Her success with urethane-coated TPU armour gave me the confidence to fully commit to this project.

Here is the reference I will be using for the colour scheme, which is the Midnight Frost coating.

I've scaled the armour (Titlewave) and helmet (InstinctCreative) files to my 3D scan in Armorsmith.

The boots will be scaled separately, as they'll be made to fit heeled boots.

The undersuit will be casted in Dragon Skin silicone and backed with a breathable 4-way stretch fabric. I used a lattice and shrinkwrap modifier on the undersuit model in order to get a better fit.

As of today, the filament has been purchased, and I'll be ready to start printing as soon as it arrives.

 

[VerdantCos]

Resin casted? Get a load of fancy pants over here. But in all honestly I cannot wait to see this come to life.

 

[JTF4]

I can't want to see how the varioshore works out for you. If it looks like it's going to work out, then I might steal some ideas

 

[SamuelHan]

I can't want to see how the varioshore works out for you. If it looks like it's going to work out, then I might steal some ideas

You're absolutely welcome to my ideas! I may hit you up for some advice or help in the casting department.

 

[pinoyfiasco]

$50 a spool, yikes! I just looked up her video talking about that TPU and the results speak for themselves, though. I might have to pick some up for myself. Your build sounds pretty adventurous and I'm excited to follow your progress!

 

[SamuelHan]

$50 a spool, yikes! I just looked up her video talking about that TPU and the results speak for themselves, though. I might have to pick some up for myself. Your build sounds pretty adventurous and I'm excited to follow your progress!

"Adventurous" is a pretty good descriptor of this build for sure. Regarding the price, the cost of the TPU plus the urethane coating plus the moulding and casting materials... this will not be a cheap build lol. I'm hoping I make very few errors during the process in order to waste as little material as possible.

 

[MarrowofStar]

Oohh! I wish you the best with TPU! I look forward to seeing a flexible suit of armour

 

[BobRossIsMaDad]

MK VII for Jennifer

 

[SamuelHan]

MK VII for Jennifer

Oh my God, do I make a 2D cardboard Mark VII for Lasky?

 

[BrokenHawk]

You mention a lot of techniques I have never seen before so I am very excited to see your progress!

 

[SamuelHan]

You mention a lot of techniques I have never seen before so I am very excited to see your progress!

I'm excited to begin! This project will be quite the journey for sure.

 

[Unfit Armory]

Can't wait to see how your suit turns out! Gonna take a page outta JFT4's book and yoink some ideas regarding the undersuit.

really gotta get a 3d scan of me though. I got a lot on my hands, lol

Best of luck

 

[ultrawombat222]

I can’t wait to see how the undersuit turns out. I’m curious how comfortable it will be in the summer hear

 

[SamuelHan]

Quick update, I've decided to try something a little experimental with the undersuit.

I made a couple of vacuum forming bucks with the help of MoeSizzlac . The plan is to vacuum form HIPS plastic over these bucks to create a rigid mould for the silicone casting. I also want to attempt vacuum forming 2mm EVA foam for funsies, though I have my doubts about it working. However, if the EVA foam does work, then hooray for saving money on silicone!

 

[Negativecacti]

In theory it "should" work if the foam is heated up in a similar way you would normally do a pull. But my question would be on how well it'd hold shape

 

[Oddball422]

The time has come... I'm ready to do a full Spartan build! Before I dove feet first into this endeavour, I decided to dip my toes in with a Recon ODST build.

View attachment 348428View attachment 348429View attachment 348430View attachment 348431

My Spartan build will be much, much more involved than this one. In addition to 3D printing, I'll also be moulding and casting.

Let's start with materials. The armour will be printed in VarioShore foaming TPU and coated in Urecoat, and the helmet will be resin casted.

View attachment 348432View attachment 348433
Willow Creative is the reason I went ahead with this method, as I saw she'd beat me to it. Her success with urethane-coated TPU armour gave me the confidence to fully commit to this project.

Here is the reference I will be using for the colour scheme, which is the Midnight Frost coating.

View attachment 348438View attachment 348439View attachment 348440View attachment 348441

I've scaled the armour (Titlewave) and helmet (InstinctCreative) files to my 3D scan in Armorsmith.

View attachment 348442View attachment 348443

The boots will be scaled separately, as they'll be made to fit heeled boots.

The undersuit will be casted in Dragon Skin silicone and backed with a breathable 4-way stretch fabric. I used a lattice and shrinkwrap modifier on the undersuit model in order to get a better fit.

View attachment 348435View attachment 348436View attachment 348437

As of today, the filament has been purchased, and I'll be ready to start printing as soon as it arrives.

Can't wait to see it, once your done you mind giving me a few pointers

 

[pinoyfiasco]

Quick update, I've decided to try something a little experimental with the undersuit.

View attachment 348645View attachment 348646

I made a couple of vacuum forming bucks with the help of MoeSizzlac . The plan is to vacuum form HIPS plastic over these bucks to create a rigid mould for the silicone casting. I also want to attempt vacuum forming 2mm EVA foam for funsies, though I have my doubts about it working. However, if the EVA foam does work, then hooray for saving money on silicone!

I don't know if you've seen this video, but it looks like with a bit of babysitting (i.e. managing heat loss) EVA foam can definitely work for vacuum forming. They've also got a part 2.

 

[SamuelHan]

Update: Got a successful print!

There's still a bit left to be desired in both the print quality and my Dremel work, but other than that? I'm pretty happy with it! The piece is extremely lightweight and has very few visible layer lines. I'll be doing a bit more clean up before the coating goes on.

On another note, I'm thinking of trying a semi-rigid epoxy coating (Epsilon PRO) to see if I like that better than the UreCoat. I'll print out a smaller piece, such as a kneepad, to test the two coatings on.

 

[tahu505]

Update: Got a successful print!

View attachment 348809View attachment 348810View attachment 348811View attachment 348812
There's still a bit left to be desired in both the print quality and my Dremel work, but other than that? I'm pretty happy with it! The piece is extremely lightweight and has very few visible layer lines. I'll be doing a bit more clean up before the coating goes on.

On another note, I'm thinking of trying a semi-rigid epoxy coating (Epsilon PRO) to see if I like that better than the UreCoat. I'll print out a smaller piece, such as a kneepad, to test the two coatings on.

How did support removal go? I had some issues with that the last time I used Varioshore TPU.

 

[spitzkitz]

There's still a bit left to be desired in both the print quality and my Dremel work, but other than that? I'm pretty happy with it! The piece is extremely lightweight and has very few visible layer lines. I'll be doing a bit more clean up before the coating goes on.

On another note, I'm thinking of trying a semi-rigid epoxy coating (Epsilon PRO) to see if I like that better than the UreCoat. I'll print out a smaller piece, such as a kneepad, to test the two coatings on.

That looks great!! Are you able to sand the varioshore TPU at all, or is it too soft?
How much does the print flex, is that something you can show in a photo by chance? (and sharing what temp you printed at since its foaming may be helpful to reproduce your effect).

Thanks!