1st Build [PIC HEAVY] First Cosplay - ODST - [ongoing]

[Arithen]

Hey there! There's a lot of "firsts" in this build as I've never 3D printed, used an airbrush, sewn, or pretty much anything else that would be related to cosplay before.

ODST's always stood out to me because of their Behind-Enemy-Lines missions, and the fact that they're in the same fights Spartans are, but without the same augmentation. I stumbled across Brinks' STL files and started printing about a year ago.

Here's the progress so far. The goal is to be finished painting early September 2024, and hopefully finished everything by October 31, 2024; a deadline I'm not 100% certain I can make, but should still give me enough time if everything goes well.

Here's the current state of the armor compared to the original in-game file references. I have it VERY close, and am happy with how things have turned out so far. But I see some major improvement points, notably the Helmet Scale. The undersuit hasn't been started yet, but I plan on doing the grey leather (or 2mm foam, whichever is easiest) for the applicable areas, as well as filling in the boots with foam that matches the references as well.

For those who are interested, this is what it cost to 3D Print everything:

COST
Google Drive Link

BUILD

A this point I realized the green I went with wasn't what I was looking for, so I repainted it all to the following:

 

[Arithen]

One thing I'm a bit worried about is the visor. I was going to build my own vacuum forming machine, but I ran the numbers it it would cost $600-$700 to build it.

I'm not entirely certain what to do about that, so if anyone's in the Edmonton, AB area that has access to one, it would be fantastic if I could pay to use it

 

[LesChriserables]

One thing I'm a bit worried about is the visor. I was going to build my own vacuum forming machine, but I ran the numbers it it would cost $600-$700 to build it.

I'm not entirely certain what to do about that, so if anyone's in the Edmonton, AB area that has access to one, it would be fantastic if I could pay to use it

Since you used the galactic armory helmet, you could just purchase a blank visor from their store here:
Halo 3 ODST Helmet - DIY $30USD is a lot cheaper than making a vacuumformer, but you'll still need to dye it to color and chrome the inside (spaztix mirror chrome through the airbrush is great for this).

I love the work you've put in so far! That paint job is stunnin'

I can't wait to see what you do with the undersuit!

 

[BlondieDoes]

This is amazing and the attention to detail- chefs kiss! Looking forward to seeing it completed!

 

[GarrisonHoard]

how are the shoulder pieces attaching to each other? is it a pin system? also what is your proposed plan to attach the shoulders and knees so they dont move?

 

[DireRaven]

How did you do the wear and tear to look so natural ?!

 

[Arithen]

Since you used the galactic armory helmet, you could just purchase a blank visor from their store here:
Halo 3 ODST Helmet - DIY $30USD is a lot cheaper than making a vacuumformer, but you'll still need to dye it to color and chrome the inside (spaztix mirror chrome through the airbrush is great for this).

I love the work you've put in so far! That paint job is stunnin'

I can't wait to see what you do with the undersuit!

That's a great suggestion. Unfortunately, shipping to my location would bring the visor to $123. I was thinking that would be a terrific option, but at that price, I might be able to make some kind of budget vacuum former, I suspect.

 

[Arithen]

This is amazing and the attention to detail- chefs kiss! Looking forward to seeing it completed!

Thank you, Blondie I believe all the painting should be complete by the end of next weekend. It's coming together!

 

[Arithen]

how are the shoulder pieces attaching to each other? is it a pin system? also what is your proposed plan to attach the shoulders and knees so they dont move?

This is using TheBrinksStudios' STL files.


Here's an image of the backside of the shoulders. There are two separate pieces screwed together and then screwed to the armor plates. After that, it's a matter of connecting webbing to the backside pieces. The shoulders are fixed in place and don't bend.

 

[Arithen]

How did you do the wear and tear to look so natural ?!

There are several steps. Once everything is finished sanding and ready for paint I do the following:

- Primer
- Metalic coat
- Special damage masking technique: Take any ball of scrap masking tape you have and dip a small amount of it into masking latex (toothpaste also works, but you'll need to wash it off instead of just peeling the latex away). I then strike the armor very lightly - but with a wide, fast swing - with the ball of tape to create a masked area that resembles a scratch. A notable example is the scratch on the side of the helmet's dome.
- Base coat color
- Secondary color (if any)
- Tertiary color (if any)
- File. I use a small assortment of metal files with different shapes, mostly to score the edges revealing the metallic undercoat
- Wire brushes. I use two different wire brushes. One is slightly stiffer than the other. I go over the edges and any other damaged areas to create fine scratch marks. I mostly angle the strokes perpendicular to the edge, but sometimes I will go in the direction of where I expect natural weathering to be, such as in the direction of gravity, or where I expect natural rubbing to occur.
- Airbrush. I'll use black acrylic to finely airbrush areas where I expect there to be dirt build-up, burning, heavy wear, or excess rubbing. You can see this in the finished part of the very last image of the first post. This gives a natural-looking gradient to everything.
- Wash. Finally, I'll use a pure brown wash on everything; dabbing and smearing it off randomly.
- Second wash. I'll use a brown/black mixed wash on everything again for some color variation and to have it pool in specific spots.

There are a few things I noticed which can improve the effect:

- use a precise black wash to bring out indentations
- layer the wiring, airbrush, and washes over and over again to make it more natural looking.

 

[Arithen]

Reference photo

 

[Arithen]

 

[Expendable]

Really nice! I thought about painting camo, but I figured it would be too complicated. You make it look easy.

 

[Arithen]

Really nice! I thought about painting camo, but I figured it would be too complicated. You make it look easy.

Thanks! It wasn't easy. haha. But, it helps to have a guide because it can easily look strange, IMO. I made sure to always strip the masking tape in half with the rough side out to ensure there weren't any smooth lines in this case, the rough texture feels more realistic to me. The masking still took a good hour + per thigh, so it's time-consuming, which is why I just did it during breaks at work.

Overall, I'm happy with how it turned out, but I may darken everything one more time with a very thin black wash or very thin black airbrush. The light gray I went with might be a bit too bright for what I'm going for. We'll see once it's all on

 

[BlondieDoes]

Great job on that camo paint job! The weathering on it is really good. I agree with your thoughts on darkening the light gray parts.

 

[Arithen]

Tomorrow’s the day I finish painting everything! I have a feeling the strapping and padding will take less time than I expect, too.

In the meantime, the clothing I’m going to be wearing under the armor is in!

For anyone interested in getting the same, it’s the IDOGEAR Men’s G3 Assault Combat Uniform Link here

 

[Arithen]

Great job on that camo paint job! The weathering on it is really good. I agree with your thoughts on darkening the light gray parts.

Thank you, Blondie! It’s going to be one of those things that I’ll need to decide after I have everything on, but I suspect it might be too eye-catching.

I’ll post photos for opinions when I do

 

[Arithen]

The one in the right has had weathering, the one in the left hasn’t. The left’s weathering is from latex masking prior to base-color paint. The right is latex masking, and then all edges sanded with small metal files and wire brushes.

The left is the same as the last image, but the right has had a randomized airbrush coat of matte black paint to make all the colors and weathering blend together more naturally. Special care is taken to add more black to areas that are prone to dirt buildup or blasts of some sort

 

[Arithen]

FINALLY, everything is 100% painted! I just need decals, the vacuum-formed visor, padding, and straps, then everything will be 100% complete.

You may have noticed I haven’t done the boot armor, backpack, or weapon yet. I wanted to finish the armor first to ensure it was finished before Halloween, which it looks like it will. Next is the boots, then the pack, and the weapon will be last since I can’t very well walk around in public with it anyway.

 

[Arithen]

I haven’t printed the boot armor yet, but it looks like I need to, else it may look incomplete.

The light grey in the thighs is darker in person, the camera seems to bring it out a lot more, but I don’t believe it needs to be darkened any more than it has