1st Build [WIP] ODST Armor Build Log

[ZackisANerd]

Hey everyone,

After years of admiring Spartan builds and ODST kits from the sidelines at conventions and instagram, I’m finally diving feet first into building my own ODST armor set. This thread will serve as an ongoing log of the build — one part progress journal, one part cautionary tale, and (hopefully) something useful for anyone thinking about printing out some armor!

This is my first time ever doing 3D printed cosplay, so any tips and advice are welcome! I’ll be updating this post as I go, so expect it to grow over time. Whether you’re here to offer advice, steal a few tips — welcome aboard.

The Plan:​

• Full ODST armor set (leaning into Halo 3: ODST aesthetics), i’m thinking charcoal black/grey primary and a metallic navy accent color scheme with a silver visor, but this is subject to change!
  
  
• Primarily 3D printed with some EVA Foam elements (inner thigh, shoulder straps, rugsack lining, etc)
  
  
• Functional visor (meaning i can see through it), weathered finish, and con-ready mobility
  
  
• A 3D printed M6C/SOCOM and M7S SMG, 3x flashbangs, 3x grenades
  
  
• Voice amp, lights, stickers, and other bells and whistles to help bring some more customization to it

This will be a slow burn as I'm doing this in my spare time, fitting it in between design gigs and life in general — so patience is appreciated. I’ll be updating with photos, notes, mistakes, victories, and everything in between.




Let’s see how this goes!

 

[ZackisANerd]

Day 1 – File Prep & Print Planning

Kicked things off by getting all of my .stl files prepped in Bambu Studio for printing on my Bambu Labs A1. I'm using a mix of assets for this build — the main armor and rugpack were purchased from The Brink Studios on Etsy. The files are clean, well-supported, and required minimal tweaking for me. Huge props to them for saving me a ton of setup time!!

To add some personal flair and extra detail, I also picked up a few accessories from Galactic Armory. If you’re looking to layer some custom elements into your kit, they’ve got a solid selection to pick from. Other miscellaneous files I got from Thingiverse, and I'll be sure to update you all with individual links as I use them.

Once everything was sliced and ready, I threw together a quick table to track estimated print times, filament usage, and cost per part — because let’s face it, this hobby isn’t cheap, and I like knowing what my wallet’s getting into!

All parts are being printed at a 0.16mm layer height and an 8-15% infil (using Bambulabs basic PLA), striking that balance between print quality and time. I’m aiming to keep post-processing as painless as possible — less time sanding, more time assembling and painting. Once prints are done, the plan is to hit them with a few coats of filler primer, sand down the layer lines, follow up with Bondo where needed for the trouble spots, and then add a final coat of primer. It’s my first rodeo with smoothing 3D prints, but I’m definitely hoping this workflow keeps the grunt work to a minimum while still getting that clean, game-accurate finish.

I’m sticking to a three-phase workflow for this build: print everything, sand everything, then paint everything. I’ve found that batching the work like this helps me stay consistent and prevents me from getting scattered. That way, I’m not bouncing between detailed work and dirty work — I can focus all my energy on one type of task at a time and give each phase the attention it deserves. Plus, it’ll help keep my painting quality consistent across the whole set, instead of rushing to finish individual pieces out of order.

I'll update you guys once i start printing this week! The printer should be here tomorrow, so i'll have something printing by EOD!

 

[SpartanEC40]

Bonjour à tous,

Après des années passées à admirer les constructions Spartan et les kits ODST en marge des conventions et sur Instagram, je me lance enfin dans la construction de mon propre ensemble d'armure ODST. Ce fil de discussion servira de journal de bord pour la construction : un peu comme un journal de progression, un peu comme un récit édifiant et (je l'espère) un outil utile pour tous ceux qui envisagent d'imprimer une armure !

C'est la première fois que je fais du cosplay imprimé en 3D, alors tous les conseils sont les bienvenus ! Je mettrai à jour cet article au fur et à mesure, alors attendez-vous à ce qu'il s'enrichisse avec le temps. Que vous soyez ici pour donner des conseils ou pour en partager quelques-uns, bienvenue à bord.

Le plan :​

• Ensemble d'armure ODST complet (s'appuyant sur l'esthétique de Halo 3 : ODST), je pense à un noir anthracite/gris principal et à une palette de couleurs d'accent bleu marine métallique avec une visière argentée, mais cela est sujet à changement !
  
  
• Principalement imprimé en 3D avec quelques éléments en mousse EVA (intérieur de la cuisse, bretelles, doublure du sac à dos, etc.)
  
  
• Visière fonctionnelle (ce qui signifie que je peux voir à travers), finition patinée et mobilité adaptée aux casques
  
  
• Un M6C/SOCOM et un M7S SMG imprimés en 3D, 3 grenades flashbangs et 3 grenades
  
  
• Amplificateur de voix, lumières, autocollants et autres gadgets pour vous aider à le personnaliser davantage

Ce sera un travail lent, car je le fais pendant mon temps libre, entre mes projets de design et ma vie quotidienne. La patience est donc de mise. Je vous tiendrai au courant avec des photos, des notes, des erreurs, des victoires et tout le reste.




Voyons comment ça se passe !

Hello ! For the weapons you can the to do in foam because if you fact the competition you can the throw on scene without what it is break. Good luck for the armor !

 

[ZackisANerd]

Hello ! For the weapons you can the to do in foam because if you fact the competition you can the throw on scene without what it is break. Good luck for the armor !

Thank you!! i dont think i'll be throwing anything, but i'll look into some foam templates for the weapons!! My plan as of now is to put a magnet near the stock of the SMG so i can hook it onto my back (or just do the easier thing and use a sling)!

 

[YTunz]

Wow I love that breakdown! I wish I had made something similar when I made my first suit. I might steal that Idea for future builds.

 

[ZackisANerd]

Wow I love that breakdown! I wish I had made something similar when I made my first suit. I might steal that Idea for future builds.

Thanks!! feel free to steal all you'd like lol

 

[ZackisANerd]

Day 2 – Printer Online & First Prints Incoming​

Printer is officially up and running! Had a slight bump in the road — my filament shipment from Bambu Labs got delayed (of course ). But luckily, I live dangerously close to a Micro Center, so after a quick after-work pit stop, I had fresh filament in hand and was back in business.


Got everything set up and ran the usual Benchy test, which printed without a hitch ! I’m currently printing a poop chute mod for the printer to help cleanly handle purge filament and scrap material. Once that wraps up, I’ll be kicking off the first overnight print: The helmet....


Feels good to finally be past the prep stage and hear that machine humming. Let’s see what she can do!!

 

[SgtSaint]

> This is my first time ever doing 3D printed cosplay, so any tips and advice are welcome!

Ask 20 people you'll get 20 different yet right advices. I'm not saying anyone else's is wrong when I make these suggestions.

1 - Reconsider the use PLA for a better material that's more heat-warp resistant like PETG or ASA
2 - Do the helmet last, not first. This is all new to you. Build up your skills on test parts, props, then from the boots upward - making your helmet the crown jewel of your build after you've made your mistakes, done your learning, tweaked your settings and processes.

FAQ article if it helps.

SgtSaint's FAQ post

So I tend to post this response to the common or Frequently asked questions when people ask on the various social media channels. I copy/paste it to Facebook, or the Discord server and some folks urged me to post it here and just link it in the future. Ok, here goes. These are my tips and how...

www.405th.com

 

[ZackisANerd]

> This is my first time ever doing 3D printed cosplay, so any tips and advice are welcome!

Ask 20 people you'll get 20 different yet right advices. I'm not saying anyone else's is wrong when I make these suggestions.

1 - Reconsider the use PLA for a better material that's more heat-warp resistant like PETG or ASA
2 - Do the helmet last, not first. This is all new to you. Build up your skills on test parts, props, then from the boots upward - making your helmet the crown jewel of your build after you've made your mistakes, done your learning, tweaked your settings and processes.

FAQ article if it helps.

SgtSaint's FAQ post

So I tend to post this response to the common or Frequently asked questions when people ask on the various social media channels. I copy/paste it to Facebook, or the Discord server and some folks urged me to post it here and just link it in the future. Ok, here goes. These are my tips and how...

www.405th.com

gotcha!! thanks for the tips! i have heard using PETG over PLA is a solid choice, but i never really got clarification on why i should, could you explain a bit more? and i agree, starting from the boots up or a prop does sound like a good plan, i think i'll do that as well! just need to buy the boots from amazon so i can scale accordingly!

 

[YTunz]

PETG is more temperature resistant and impact resistant that PLA which makes it more in line for cosplay. There is no right or wrong answer for filament choice though. My suit, helmets, and props are all made out of Bambu Matte PLA, and the only breaks I've gotten are on glue seams. Personally I use PLA because of its ease of use and because I've been printing it for years.

 

[billeybob250]

As someone who is also brand new to armor making and rather new to FDL printing. i am exclusivly using PLA right now as its cheaper and im less scared to mess up with it. I am doing it as a proof of concept and will reprint parts as i see needed/as they break in a better material or stronger.

i also recommend doing helmet last. (i printed mine 2nd to late) as you want to have your sanding and spraying skills ready before you go for one of the most looked at parts of your armor. I really had to fight with my self over not doing the helmet 1st as its probably the coolest part to do.

 

[ZackisANerd]

As someone who is also brand new to armor making and rather new to FDL printing. i am exclusivly using PLA right now as its cheaper and im less scared to mess up with it. I am doing it as a proof of concept and will reprint parts as i see needed/as they break in a better material or stronger.

i also recommend doing helmet last. (i printed mine 2nd to late) as you want to have your sanding and spraying skills ready before you go for one of the most looked at parts of your armor. I really had to fight with my self over not doing the helmet 1st as its probably the coolest part to do.

I agree! thats why i was tempted to do it first too! i plan on printing everything first, then sanding everything, then painting everything. that way i can put a bit more effort into knowing that each part receives equal treatment! plus i'm in no rush to get this done atm! so taking my time is the goal!

 

[billeybob250]

Sense some of the prints take so long and sense sanding is more then a 1 day process i sanded parts while others were printing and i started with the boots and legs (I'm building a MK 6). I am not at all artistic so i wanted to start with parts that people were less likely to care if they were less then wonderful in quality.

 

[ZackisANerd]

Sense some of the prints take so long and sense sanding is more then a 1 day process i sanded parts while others were printing and i started with the boots and legs (I'm building a MK 6). I am not at all artistic so i wanted to start with parts that people were less likely to care if they were less then wonderful in quality.

fair! i've been printing for a couple months now on an old ender 3 (mainly for dnd), and painting mini's for a bit as well! i feel comfy about the painting process, but hey, things will be a lot different than tiny mini's this time around lol

 

[ZackisANerd]

Day 3 – Poop Chute Deployed, Weapons First!​

The poop chute mod is complete and working like a charm — no more stray purge blobs rolling around the table!

Even better: the printer is running flawlessly. Huge shoutout to a few folks here who gave me some solid advice early on — I’ve decided to start with the props and weapons first before jumping into the armor. They're smaller, quicker to print, and easier to re-do if something goes sideways.

First up on the build plate: a combat knife from one of Galactic Armory’s model packs. If you haven’t checked them out, I seriously recommend it — clean files, great detail, and super well-optimized for printing.

Fingers crossed this one goes smooth! I’ll post an update once the print’s done and we move closer to gearing up with the real deal.

 

[Parzival]

Ayyyee we (brother and I) started printing Halo knives when we got my printer too, looking forward to your build. Great layout of your forum post thus far!

 

[ZackisANerd]

Day 4 – Knife Complete, SOCOM Next!​

The combat knife print is done! It was split into a few parts and took roughly 10 hours total to finish up. Unfortunately, I forgot to record a timelapse (rookie move, I know), but I snapped a photo to show it off instead — hopefully it does it justice.

Later this week (or over the weekend), I’ll be busting out the Bondo to clean up the seams where I split the parts. After that, it’s on to sanding and hitting it with filler primer to get it ready for paint.

Next up on the print schedule is a modular SOCOM pistol, modeled by The Brink Studios over on Thingiverse — huge thanks for the file, my man! The full print should take about two days total, and the springs and other assembly bits are set to arrive tonight. With a little luck I should be able to get the whole piece roughly built before the weekend’s out.

That said — with Father’s Day this weekend, I’ll be taking at least Sunday off to spend some time with family. So updates might slow down a bit, but I’ll be sure to drop progress pics and updates as soon as I’m back at it.


Stay tuned, and as always!

 

[ZackisANerd]

Ayyyee we (brother and I) started printing Halo knives when we got my printer too, looking forward to your build. Great layout of your forum post thus far!

Thanks!! First time ever really doin forum posts lol, so glad to hear it's workin well!

 

[ZackisANerd]

Day 5 – Pistol’s Done! Time for Paint​

Alrighty, we’ve got a "finished" SOCOM pistol! Still gotta print out the attachments, but the main body’s done and it came out real clean. Super stoked about this one. The model even has a working mag release and slide, which is just cool as hell. I printed a couple extra mags too so I can toss those in pouches later on.

Now that the pistol’s together, I’m thinking it’s a good time to take a little break from printing and try my hand at painting. Feels like a good change of pace. I grabbed a few different paint colors and some filler primer to help smooth out those layer lines. Hoping it all goes on clean and doesn’t fight me too hard.

Might print some DnD mini's and terrain while the halo stuff is on pause for the weekend!

Wish me luck — I’ll post more once I start laying down paint!

 

[Matthew]

Day 5 – Pistol’s Done! Time for Paint​

Alrighty, we’ve got a "finished" SOCOM pistol! Still gotta print out the attachments, but the main body’s done and it came out real clean. Super stoked about this one. The model even has a working mag release and slide, which is just cool as hell. I printed a couple extra mags too so I can toss those in pouches later on.

View attachment 363124

Now that the pistol’s together, I’m thinking it’s a good time to take a little break from printing and try my hand at painting. Feels like a good change of pace. I grabbed a few different paint colors and some filler primer to help smooth out those layer lines. Hoping it all goes on clean and doesn’t fight me too hard.

Might print some DnD mini's and terrain while the halo stuff is on pause for the weekend!

Wish me luck — I’ll post more once I start laying down paint!

That Socom looks amazing, where did you get the files for it?