1st Build Kelly-087 (Halo 5 version)

[JadePhoenix]

I started this build back in February (2024) when my new 3D printer, a Creality K1 Max, arrived. (I had bought an Anycubic Chiron because I liked the idea of a large build plate. But I never had good luck with it. I couldn't get it to stay levelled and I only got maybe 2 successful prints off it. It was just more of a headache than it was worth. Maybe one day I'll revisit this printer and see if I can get it running properly, but for now I'm just going to stick with my K1 Max.)

I picked up the files from the armoury here and got right to work in Armorsmith. I decided to print the armour in PETG because the material offers a bit higher heat resistance than PLA (and knowing what kind of luck I have, I'd print in PLA then end up with it getting stuck in a hot car on the way to a con and having it melt/warp on me).

My first prints (the forearms) were not successful. The prints themselves came off looking great. But I had made a mistake. Creality print is great for like simple models, but it wants to repair models and fill things in. Which meant it had filled the part where my arm had to go. Switching to Orca Slicer pretty much solved that issue right away thankfully. And resulted in the arm pieces coming off beautifully. From there I got the boot pieces, shins, knee caps, butt plate, pauldrons/shoulder plates, bicep and back of biceps all printed.

With this underway I ordered some basic motorbike style gloves and new sneakers from Amazon. I already had a basic black bodysuit from a previous cosplay so that'll probably be repurposed for part of the techsuit.

Currently the plan is to print the thigh sections, then the breastplate and back sections, finally the helmet. (So... the bulk of the printing time really.)

Though I need to figure out the techsuit. I was thinking about using TPU and printing some visible sections of it. But I'm not 100% here. I'm super tempted to buy a Halo 5 screen printed bodysuit and just modify that. (I want to follow Ashuraa's guide to have the hidden nylon straps for attaching everything. But at the same time I'm super nervous about like cutting into the printed bodysuit and either it like not holding up or just outright ruining it. I mean if I wreck a basic black bodysuit I don't care so much, they're much cheaper to replace.)

I hope to have everything all done by like September of this year. (Maybe then I'll have enough time to print/assemble and paint an M90 Shotgun to go with it.)

 

[SgtSaint]

> Creality print is great for like simple models, but it wants to repair models and fill things in.

Generally I recommend fixing models before giving them to the slicer. Windows 3d Builder is pretty darn good at auto-repair of models with issues.

 

[Lojak]

you've got this! The shoes looks like a great pick for being able to slip in and out of.

 

[DeMan]

Looking forward to seeing more of your build, I recently purchased the K1Max and I haven't had the same issues you have (touch wood) either way I may look into orca slicer inn any event. As SgtSaint mentioned 3D builder is a great program to repair models and it is a very good first step before slicing to make sure the geometry is manifold (water tight)

 

[JadePhoenix]

DeMan
The issues I mentioned in my first post were about the Anycubic Chiron. Which I just could not get to stay levelled, couldn't get good bed adhesion or anything. It was definitely way more of a headache than anything. And, sadly, I've heard that was super common with that printer. So, for now it sits as a dust collector.

I've had a few pretty minor issues with my K1 max, though honestly they've been fixed pretty quickly and easily. The chain started to sag a bit but I printed a chain support and installed that (took like 15 minutes to print and then like 5 to install). The scariest one was error 2564 which was the extruder not heating as expected. (I suspect it was the fan wire getting loose and just needed to be reseated. Because that's literally the only thing I touched in the disassembly/reassembly and it was good to go again.) I'll probably have to reseat it again in 2 months after another few hundred hours of printing.

Lojak, those shoes are really nice. I'm super tempted to order another pair just to wear around now.

In terms of my progress though...
I picked up some fiberglass matting and resin so that I can possibly use it on the insides of the forearms/legs just for a bit extra strength. (I went with 4 walls for the legs and I'm kinda feeling like that's not quite enough now so I want a bit more strength/durability just to be on the safe side.) And I have a bit of room in those sections so I can do a bit of reinforcing and then should have enough to pad them a bit too.

I have sliced the chestplate up some and have printed a bunch of the parts of it. The shoulder straps and under arm straps are printed. The front of the chestplate is currently printing as I write this. (Should be done in like 4 hours.)
After that I need to print the back pieces including the large like jets? Blocks? I'm not 100% sure what they're called/are but those. I'm very tempted to slice them up some more and go with a 0% infill so like I can access the insides, add some metal plates or strong magnets then fiberglass them on the inside for extra strength/support. This way later on I can add some magnets to a Shotgun or Battle Rifle (if I get time to print them) and see if I can have them secured to the side kind of like done in the games.


Though thighs and helmet still need printing too. My goal is to use the first week of June to just non-stop print all the rest of the pieces I need so I can start the next steps.

 

[pinoyfiasco]

I picked up some fiberglass matting and resin so that I can possibly use it on the insides of the forearms/legs just for a bit extra strength. (I went with 4 walls for the legs and I'm kinda feeling like that's not quite enough now so I want a bit more strength/durability just to be on the safe side.) And I have a bit of room in those sections so I can do a bit of reinforcing and then should have enough to pad them a bit too.

I've been doing 5 walls myself and they seem to hold up okay. They really crank up the print time, though. You should be okay with 4 as long as your layer-to-layer adhesion is good. Reinforcement never hurts.

 

[Bloxxer]

I've been doing 5 walls myself and they seem to hold up okay. They really crank up the print time, though. You should be okay with 4 as long as your layer-to-layer adhesion is good. Reinforcement never hurts.

To add to this, I typically only use 3 walls. The only breakage I've ever had is along the seams where the prints are glued (with the exception of absolutely slamming failed prints on concrete lol)