1st Build UNSC Air Force Pararescue ODST

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BAG

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Long time lurker and noob of the 405th here.

I have always wanted to build an ODST costume since I first saw them as a child in Halo 2 and now planned on putting a little bit of my own flavor into it, however I had never done any spray painting, sanding, or stenciling work at all. My thoughts were since PJs in real life and Halo Fanon (UNSC Pararescue) deploy as medics with numbered teams (Seals IRL/ODSTs Halo) and I worked in Air Force Rescue for around 5 years I wanted to do something a little different and show the UNSC AF a little love since the games don't show them very much, if at all.

As I have OCP/ACU uniforms and gear, I'm going for a look of being deployed to a harsh sandy planet.

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These images I found online were the basis for the costume but using the gear I was issued to save a few bucks on uniforms.

I started with an XCoser helmet and painted it up and sanded off the branding emblem. I have a 3d printed magnum, shoulder pauldrons, and a NERF AR at this time.

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After the first try the paint was a bit poor on the helmet so I sanded the first medical emblem off/repainted and took a tiny paint brush and painted the little white/black fine details with acrylics.

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I really liked the finish and how the sanding revealed the gray beneath around the emblem/side of the helmet so I kept it. I used a black sharpie to draw the wreath of the emblem.

After I finished my helmet (before weathering/figuring out how to paint for use in sand environment) I moved on to my magnum and finished it up and then used silver acrylics to highlight the weapon as extremely used based off of one of our M9 service pistols IRL which have been in use since potentially 1985 and are extremely worn out. I didn't paint the pistol grip as I imagined it would be polymer to save weight. The right side is painted a little more as it would be on the outside of my thigh and would in theory receive more weathering as it would be more exposed to the elements.
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A couple days after that the velcro I ordered came in and I put everything together to see how it all looked together currently (Oh and I used some old knuckle gloves I had and cut the fingers off of them).

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This is where it's all at currently. The tape on my AR is temporary as I still need to paint it and I need to figure out a magnet for the magnum to stick to my thigh but also still need to make thigh plates or armor (Not sure where to take the build as I have no experience with foam).

I currently have the ICONIC chest piece and the ODST backpack on order as I also have no 3d printing experience or 3d printer so I am excited to sand/paint that. If anyone has any ideas for the cosplay overall (very welcomed) or advice for foam/3d printing/weathering for a sand environment please reach out.

I am unsure of what the actual UNSC AF logo is after much research, so I am looking at putting this (roundish emblem not the wing) on my helmet to match the AF pilots from H3. I am also looking to incorporate our iconic mustache we put on the helicopters or helmet face plates onto my helmet. Please let me know what you think so far and thank you for your advice and time. (P.S. it was cleaning day at my house when I took these pictures so please don't roast me too hard lol)
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you could probably get away with modeling something close to how the TitanFall piolets look from the main campaign, their whole thing was to be quick and mobile which is what SAR and PJ's are designed to do. If you're SAR and you're getting bogged down with too much gear you're not going to be effective. When I worked with the Aircrew guys for SAR stuff they had the green flight suits you could use as the base.

The Nomex ones were pretty pricey at the Nex so I never picked up extra when they just issued them to you but you might be able to find one second hand. You could do stripped down ODST, drop the gauntlets and do quarter sleeve rolls. Personally if I were an ODST doing medical work i wouldn't want a shitload of gear weighing me down while I'm trying to pump medi-gell into some crayon crunchers(Oh-Rah). You might have a more "medic looking" silhouette if you drop the gauntlets and shin armor.

Just something to think about. high-speed low-drag kit might be the way to go.
 
you could probably get away with modeling something close to how the TitanFall piolets look from the main campaign, their whole thing was to be quick and mobile which is what SAR and PJ's are designed to do. If you're SAR and you're getting bogged down with too much gear you're not going to be effective. When I worked with the Aircrew guys for SAR stuff they had the green flight suits you could use as the base.

The Nomex ones were pretty pricey at the Nex so I never picked up extra when they just issued them to you but you might be able to find one second hand. You could do stripped down ODST, drop the gauntlets and do quarter sleeve rolls. Personally if I were an ODST doing medical work i wouldn't want a shitload of gear weighing me down while I'm trying to pump medi-gell into some crayon crunchers(Oh-Rah). You might have a more "medic looking" silhouette if you drop the gauntlets and shin armor.

Just something to think about. high-speed low-drag kit might be the way to go.
This is something I was thinking about. Do no shins or forearms as I have kneepad pants. Our guys have really moved away from using the green pajamas down range for as it gets really hot and doesn't camouflage at all. Instead they use the gear style I am using as it's lightweight and better utility/mobility. I really like the idea of doing really low drag though. The Js usually do extremely low gear which is what I was going for. I will have a few biofoam canisters and maybe some rope on my backpack once I get it. I will look into the titanfall pilots. Thanks man!
 
This is something I was thinking about. Do no shins or forearms as I have kneepad pants. Our guys have really moved away from using the green pajamas down range for as it gets really hot and doesn't camouflage at all. Instead they use the gear style I am using as it's lightweight and better utility/mobility. I really like the idea of doing really low drag though. The Js usually do extremely low gear which is what I was going for. I will have a few biofoam canisters and maybe some rope on my backpack once I get it. I will look into the titanfall pilots. Thanks man!
oh for sure, I was Navy so the Aircrew guys still had them greenies(at least they did back in 2013) since we were at sea.

I feel like the most important thing for a cosplay like this is the silhouette, does it still LOOK like an ODST. The helmet, the chest, the backpack, the shins I think really specify and make up that ODST look.

I would do no gauntlets(might get in the way of treatment), keep the shins and ditch the thighs. Then where the thighs would be do a Wrap around with biofoam canisters, maybe some scaled down versions so they don’t stick out so much. We used to run with a tourniquet in the cargo pouch on our thighs, so that might make “operational sense”. Also maybe strap a tourney with rubber bands to the stock of your MA5, some of the EOD guys used to have them rubber banded to the stock so they could just rip them off if they needed them.

that’s all my opinion though, completely ignore me if you’ve got other plans my dude.
 
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August Update: Chest and stomach piece finished. Belt buckle and battle belt done but could change stuff out if I come up with a better idea. (Good news, the massive mag pouch on the back can fit two tall boys ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°))

I still need to paint the back of my pauldrons as you can clearly see the blue and do weathering all over. I have also been slacking on the AR. It is currently completely black just waiting to be painted.

I am waiting on my rucksack to come in and I've lost 13 pounds! I am thinking for the rucksack to have a traditional medical cross on top half of it and paint the rucksack red similar to the medical bags we currently have. Any thoughts or ideas on how I should paint it are welcome (Yes I will be getting contacts to wear the costume lol).

Also last thing for this update I am looking at getting a red mirror visor from seanbradleystudios. What do y'all think? I think it would fit the accents of the costume well.

Thank you for your time as always and hope everyone is doing well.
 
Pretty neat idea my guy. I wouldn’t go for the quarter sleeve roll, it just doesn’t feel… halo-ish.nice to see the Air Force getting some love.
 
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Pretty neat idea my guy. I wouldn’t go for the quarter sleeve roll, it just doesn’t feel… halo-ish.nice to see the Air Force getting some love.
Thanks brother! We are pretty much only seen in halo reach with pilots so I wanted to give us some more love. What do you think I should do instead of the quarter roll? I was thinking of doing the gauntlets but not sure as I have no foam experience. Other's ideas are very welcome though so thank you!
 
Thanks brother! We are pretty much only seen in halo reach with pilots so I wanted to give us some more love. What do you think I should do instead of the quarter roll? I was thinking of doing the gauntlets but not sure as I have no foam experience. Other's ideas are very welcome though so thank you!
I would wear the sleeves normally, cuffed around the wrist. That’s the way most UNSC troops seem to wear them, and ODST pouldrons won’t permit fully rolled sleeves. Additionally, you could wear a tight black turtleneck underneath your BDU blouse. This could replicate a vacuum sealed under layer, and would ensure no skin showed (such as neck/wrist). It’s the 26th century, I’m sure most special forces have access to something like that. I know it’s a standard part of the ODST BDU. I plan on doing so when I make my Air Force pilot kit. That’s just an idea, but I think It would add a bit more character to your kit.
 
I would wear the sleeves normally, cuffed around the wrist. That’s the way most UNSC troops seem to wear them, and ODST pouldrons won’t permit fully rolled sleeves. Additionally, you could wear a tight black turtleneck underneath your BDU blouse. This could replicate a vacuum sealed under layer, and would ensure no skin showed (such as neck/wrist). It’s the 26th century, I’m sure most special forces have access to something like that. I know it’s a standard part of the ODST BDU. I plan on doing so when I make my Air Force pilot kit. That’s just an idea, but I think It would add a bit more character to your kit.
Thanks for the idea! I will look into this as I like the idea.
 
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September Update One: Still waiting on backpack, went with unrolled sleeves and I like that a lot more thank you @
I would wear the sleeves normally, cuffed around the wrist.

. Figured out attaching the stomach piece. Weathered my armor, and magnum; I think it looks pretty okay. Still haven't touched the AR but will eventually.

Also got a Ender 5 Pro 3d printer for a good deal today so I will have to learn that so I can print my biofoam canisters and perhaps gauntlets/thigh/shin armor who knows.

Thank you for your time and know your opinions are always welcome.
 
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September Update One: Still waiting on backpack, went with unrolled sleeves and I like that a lot more thank you @


. Figured out attaching the stomach piece. Weathered my armor, and magnum; I think it looks pretty okay. Still haven't touched the AR but will eventually.

Also got a Ender 5 Pro 3d printer for a good deal today so I will have to learn that so I can print my biofoam canisters and perhaps gauntlets/thigh/shin armor who knows.

Thank you for your time and know your opinions are always welcome.
Glad you like it!
 
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Small update after putting it down for a few months. Installed my visor and love it (From Sean Bradley, thank you).

Got the suppressor idea from someone in the Facebook group but it's a pill bottle over the barrel. Fits perfectly with the end of the barrel just touching the bottom of the bottle. Will be cutting the hole in the middle and painting it up.

I finally got my 3d printer working with no issues printing. Not shown but my first 3d print was a flash grenade and that shifted and failed but my next print today was an ODST butt plate which printed perfectly, just had to lower the speed.

I also started working on my (Sean Bradley again) backpack but having a bit of trouble getting it to line up. Going to keep working on it though and hopefully my next update it will be done!

Last thing for this update, does anyone know if their is a 3d print file for the Nerf AR mags? If so would love a link.

Hope everyone had a happy holiday, thank you for your time as always!
 
this is looking awesome so far! SOCOM looks familiar (looks like my kit :p ). If you wanted to add more armor some form of half kneepads would be awesome like the Andrew DFTs, they don't fully wrap around the legs so they'd just be light armor. The marines also wear a sort of fabric thigh if you'd want to have a place to mount stuff to!
The thread below also has the mag inserts you're looking for.
 
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Update 1 of January:
Got my backpack together, will need to paint it up and install the last few parts when it gets a little warmer. I am going reach ODST thighs at least for now as I feel it fits better and have half of one printed but the second one failed at 85% so I am now still working on bugs again. I am also going to look into putting velcro on the inside of my battle belt to keep it up or suspenders.

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I am still looking at whether doing either reach shins or modern odst shins. I feel like mixing armors while fine may end up looking weird.

Will be printing forearms once I finish the thighs.

I picked up a beautiful sidekick with removable magazine from smick6fabracations and I believe I will fit it into my load out as an extra weapon. Still thinking of where to put it (possibly the inside of the leg on shin armor or on the chest)

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Thank y'all for your time as always and I hope y'all are well! P.S. never write a post on mobile your pictures will continuously be deleted with every single backspace ;_;
 
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this is looking awesome so far! SOCOM looks familiar (looks like my kit :p ). If you wanted to add more armor some form of half kneepads would be awesome like the Andrew DFTs, they don't fully wrap around the legs so they'd just be light armor. The marines also wear a sort of fabric thigh if you'd want to have a place to mount stuff to!
The thread below also has the mag inserts you're looking for.
Thank you so much for the link and I appreciate that! Your work looks amazing, following your Jorge build!

Do you know what the best idea for the blood type stickers would be? I was going to get them from two penny props because I don't have experience making those nor the equipment but he no longer has them listed. Thank you!
 
Thank you so much for the link and I appreciate that! Your work looks amazing, following your Jorge build!

Do you know what the best idea for the blood type stickers would be? I was going to get them from two penny props because I don't have experience making those nor the equipment but he no longer has them listed. Thank you!
The person that I got my blood tags from no longer produces them I think. If you get sticker paper you can make them yourself on a regular printer using this thread here. They have all the different blood types too. I also grabbed one of these patches to go on my undersuit uniform shoulder!
 
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Hey everyone! After a long hiatus dealing with my PTSD, the VA has got me back in a good place and I'm steady working on this cosplay.

I finished up my forearms (Let me know what you think, I feel I went a little too hard on weathering) and now I need to finish printing my reach thighs.

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This is a mockup of my rucksack. It will be red and have MED down the middle in white. Possbily put the standard med cross on the top left. l'm still thinking up the design currently. As always feel free to give me your thoughts and ideas! Thank you all so much for your time and I hope you are all doing well! (May look wack. Written on mobile lol)
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