1st Build 3D Printed Reach Spartan ft. AKIS

[spitzkitz]

Well, I've been (steadily) cramming some progress in the hopes of finishing by this weekend!
I decided to mask and spraypaint all of my armor pieces that were done, and it turned out pretty good. My favorite spraypaint ever for silver has made itself clear to me: RUST-OLEUM 2X ULTRA COVER PAINT+PRIMER ALUMINUM METALLIC
This stuff dries to the touch (not even tacky!) in like 30 seconds flat. Also, it looks super smooth and shiny when applied to armor pieces, it ends up looking like brushed aluminum when applied to well-sanded (and even poorly sanded) prints. It's nice and thick and you only need two light coats or so to fully cover a piece, so it lasts forever. Take a look!

Only problem is that it likes to scrape off pretty easily when applied over the top of other paints, but I blame that on the fact that I didn't adequately prep the surface (removing dust/cleaning/degreasing) which you absolutely should do before painting anyway. Oh well!

So I went ahead and masked and painted everything, including both arms and the shins:

They're all hanging out
And if anyone wants to see more images of the masked parts before/during painting, let me know, I have tons of reference just in case.

The next task was to weather the pieces and get a jumpstart on the thighs/torso. While I lost pictures of the thighs from masking/painting, it's basically more of the same. For weathering, I did the standard wet rag and watered down acrylics, paint/wipe/paint/wipe/etc. I slightly varied the concentration of rust red, black, brown, and tan as I went across the pieces to introduce some non-uniformity to everything.
Check out this insane comparison shot!

While I couldn't totally hide the layer shift on the left arm, it's going to be covered with a Utility anyway, as seen here (ft. fast food coupons for my temporary UGPS screen. think the drive-thru is still open on reach?)

Basically makes the layer shift invisible.

I ran out of black spray paint, so I have just been using black acrylic paint and a foam brush for the details on the torso/etc. Not only does it not leave brush strokes, but the finish is very consistent and actually somewhat resembles rubber up close when splotched on. Only problem is that I can't get it wet until I clear coat it. I'll show some more pictures later once it's weathered, too!

That's all for today! Final stages is to sand/prime/sand/paint/assemble the belt/cod and I am done!!! (for now)

Final suitup tomorrow....?

 

[spitzkitz]

Hey! I had it in time for my several Halloween parties! Hurray!
It was a total hit and people really enjoyed seeing it. I did end up cracking the torso when I sat down and parts of the belt kept falling off, but other than that it was pretty good.

I lost the costume contest to a guy in a white t-shirt

Obviously, I am missing the handplates and the boots, but other than that I will call the suit psuedo-complete! At least, this first build. My inner perfectionist sees everything wrong and wants to start printing my next one

But look wowie yay

 

[Legend 113]

Your always your own worst critic bro. This looks awesome mate, especially for a first build! I love your weathering, it's one of my favourite parts of the build process.

 

[CosmoCornelius]

View attachment 337324
Basically makes the layer shift invisible.

The paint job looks incredible, but really this masking fits the color scheme so much it makes me dream of fast-food mashup builds Great job on all of it though! I agree with Legend, your weathering is really well done. Proportions look great, too.

 

[spitzkitz]

hey! in my best effort to cram for a certain thing next week, I decided it was finally time to add decals and finish my boots. check it out!

yummy unsc decal I made with a cricut

yummy triangles and printed stickers on some of the pieces (I feel like this needs very little explanation)

and... this! tadaa

it's stompin' season (made out of foam because printing would take too long! and also easier to wrap my real boot in).

I had some minor issues with the foam unfold not being great and leaving to lots of holes and mismatched sizes, even when accounting for foam thickness, so I just decided that it didn't matter and left em alone. When im wearing black shoes underneath nobody will even see it. Also, theyre boots? so like who cares.
also it took me about 8 hours just for one boot, so im not caring about perfection anymore. just want it done!!

also here is a top-down view with scale for what I determined to be a great pattern for the rear boot- simply cut this out, and glue all the smaller pieces on top made with thinner foam for the main details. this adds some great rigidity and structure and leaves minimal gaps and whatever.

That's all for now! photos of the complete set shortly I promise.

 

[CosmoCornelius]

hey! in my best effort to cram for a certain thing next week, I decided it was finally time to add decals and finish my boots. check it out!
View attachment 341423
yummy unsc decal I made with a cricut

This looks SO good! I actually was just speaking with a friend who's going to let me use their cricut when I get to this stage. What's the process like, is it difficult?

 

[spitzkitz]

This looks SO good! I actually was just speaking with a friend who's going to let me use their cricut when I get to this stage. What's the process like, is it difficult?

Thanks! It was fairly simple. Luckily, the software it uses (Design Space) can automatically interpret regular images into cutting patterns with relatively smooth results. So, I took the decal images posted somewhere here on the forum and imported it. It was just a matter of cutting it, removing the negative space with a needle, and then I used painters tape to transfer the adhesive vinyl onto my suit. Mine was still too sticky, though, so I recommend sticking it to something fabric several times so the adhesive from the vinyl is stronger than the tape, so it transfers smoothly. I had to pick mine off and carefully translplant it to the suit for the small details. Took ages.

 

[KaeSpoon]

hey! in my best effort to cram for a certain thing next week, I decided it was finally time to add decals and finish my boots. check it out!
View attachment 341423
yummy unsc decal I made with a cricut

yummy triangles and printed stickers on some of the pieces (I feel like this needs very little explanation)
View attachment 341427

and... this! tadaa

View attachment 341425
it's stompin' season (made out of foam because printing would take too long! and also easier to wrap my real boot in).

I had some minor issues with the foam unfold not being great and leaving to lots of holes and mismatched sizes, even when accounting for foam thickness, so I just decided that it didn't matter and left em alone. When im wearing black shoes underneath nobody will even see it. Also, theyre boots? so like who cares.
also it took me about 8 hours just for one boot, so im not caring about perfection anymore. just want it done!!

View attachment 341426

also here is a top-down view with scale for what I determined to be a great pattern for the rear boot- simply cut this out, and glue all the smaller pieces on top made with thinner foam for the main details. this adds some great rigidity and structure and leaves minimal gaps and whatever.

View attachment 341429


That's all for now! photos of the complete set shortly I promise.

That foamwork is so good! Look at those edges and beveling!

 

[CosmoCornelius]

Thanks! It was fairly simple. Luckily, the software it uses (Design Space) can automatically interpret regular images into cutting patterns with relatively smooth results. So, I took the decal images posted somewhere here on the forum and imported it. It was just a matter of cutting it, removing the negative space with a needle, and then I used painters tape to transfer the adhesive vinyl onto my suit. Mine was still too sticky, though, so I recommend sticking it to something fabric several times so the adhesive from the vinyl is stronger than the tape, so it transfers smoothly. I had to pick mine off and carefully translplant it to the suit for the small details. Took ages.

Phenomenal. That doesn't sound too out of my wheelhouse! Thanks for the response, I'm looking forward to applying that to my build. I hope mine come out as clean as yours! Good tip about the needle.

 

[spitzkitz]

talk about cramming!

Just finished both sets of boots with two yummy coatings of spray plastidip, and one coat of my favorite silver spraypaint. Turned out perfectly!
I also decided to add the front details last minute by masking with painters tape and long-distance spritzing with the silver. Dried instantly and gave that matte spackled look the front of the boots have.
You can see the before and after below, I think it makes a huge difference.

Now, to fixing more broken pieces and strapping and... to the premier!

 

[Legend 113]

Nice work mate. You'd be surprised just how much of a difference some silver or black over-spray can do to a prop or armor piece.

 

[spitzkitz]

Everything turned out great! Going to go ahead and call this suit done. Obviously, I'm missing a "real undersuit" and whatever attachments I originally thought I was going with... but to be honest with you, I'm glad it's done. I learned so much in this build, how and where to efficiently cut corners (figuratively and literally), the best places to invest my time and effort for maximum quality, and most importantly, what it feels like to actually wear/attach/mount 3D printed (and a lil' foam) armor.

Some personal goals for my next suit (drumroll please):
increase rigidity; have a highly detailed, flexible, and COMPLETE undersuit; make strapping not a headache;

Without further ado, here are two great photos I got from the premier in Hollywood last week (thanks SamuelHan !!):

Special thanks to the following:
MoeSizzlac for providing wonderful free files, which I featured prominently in this build,
tahu505 for the many chaotic armor sanding sessions, late-night grinds, and other crazy antics we got up to while working on our suits,
MDBDesigns for assisting me with the helmet weathering, backplate mounting, and chrome painting of my visor,
MistahFox for helping me finish the strapping on my boots last minute in the hotel room (lol),
... and many others for your advice, feedback, and encouragement in these two years. Cheers!

 

[tahu505]

Everything turned out great! Going to go ahead and call this suit done. Obviously, I'm missing a "real undersuit" and whatever attachments I originally thought I was going with... but to be honest with you, I'm glad it's done. I learned so much in this build, how and where to efficiently cut corners (figuratively and literally), the best places to invest my time and effort for maximum quality, and most importantly, what it feels like to actually wear/attach/mount 3D printed (and a lil' foam) armor.

Some personal goals for my next suit (drumroll please):
increase rigidity; have a highly detailed, flexible, and COMPLETE undersuit; make strapping not a headache;

Without further ado, here are two great photos I got from the premier in Hollywood last week (thanks SamuelHan !!):
View attachment 341987
View attachment 341988

Special thanks to the following:
MoeSizzlac for providing wonderful free files, which I featured prominently in this build,
tahu505 for the many chaotic armor sanding sessions, late-night grinds, and other crazy antics we got up to while working on our suits,
MDBDesigns for assisting me with the helmet weathering, backplate mounting, and chrome painting of my visor,
MistahFox for helping me finish the strapping on my boots last minute in the hotel room (lol),
... and many others for your advice, feedback, and encouragement in these two years. Cheers!

It's Bugsnax really kept us going in those late nights