ElvenArcane
Jr Member
Thank you! I used 5mm Eva foam with barge contact cement
First build- MK Vb with a touch of EOD
- Thread starter ElvenArcane
- Start date
ElvenArcane
Jr Member
Well… I suppose it’s time I get back to updating this thread. I had gotten a bit sick over the summer, but managed to finish up my armour. So I’m going to try to fit all my progress into one post here, so bear with me.
I changed up my shoulders to the EODs from halo 3, since the ones I had before weren’t working as I had hoped. I was a little worried they wouldn’t fit with the Vb chest, but it ended up fitting perfectly.
Once I got the helmet finished up, I was able to start working on the rest. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to replicate the weathering that I had done on the helmet. But with a good amount of masking fluid, I was still able to get it all pretty dirtied up.
After all the painting, I sanded a whole bunch of it off again. And after that, I dirtied it all up with some watered down paints. Working with a mix of black and browns. Here’s some closeups of that. With the right being just sanding, and the left being after the wash.
Next up was the harnessing and test fitting. Got myself a little thigh bag for some medical equipment I have to carry around, as well as some pouches for the belt. I also ended up skipping the armoured boots because I felt a bit too unstable with em on.
And finally, the finished product.
Over all, I’m super happy with how it turned out. It’s surprisingly comfortable to wear. I’m already thinking about what helmet I’m going to make next to give myself a few options.
I changed up my shoulders to the EODs from halo 3, since the ones I had before weren’t working as I had hoped. I was a little worried they wouldn’t fit with the Vb chest, but it ended up fitting perfectly.
Once I got the helmet finished up, I was able to start working on the rest. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to replicate the weathering that I had done on the helmet. But with a good amount of masking fluid, I was still able to get it all pretty dirtied up.
After all the painting, I sanded a whole bunch of it off again. And after that, I dirtied it all up with some watered down paints. Working with a mix of black and browns. Here’s some closeups of that. With the right being just sanding, and the left being after the wash.
Next up was the harnessing and test fitting. Got myself a little thigh bag for some medical equipment I have to carry around, as well as some pouches for the belt. I also ended up skipping the armoured boots because I felt a bit too unstable with em on.
And finally, the finished product.
Over all, I’m super happy with how it turned out. It’s surprisingly comfortable to wear. I’m already thinking about what helmet I’m going to make next to give myself a few options.
EchoCosplay
New Member
Reading through your post I realized I remembered seeing you post about the paint issue with your helmet. I didn't realize it was you when I saw you at OCC on the weekend! It was awesome to run into you and to get to chat a bit at the Star Wars booth on Sunday. Here are the pics I took of you. Your armour turned out great and I love the paint job and the weathering!
ElvenArcane
Jr Member
It certainly was a pleasure to meet you! As well as the others around the booth. Thank you very much for the pictures, those look great, I’ll definitely be adding them to a little album I’m putting together for myself.
EchoCosplay
New Member
You're very welcome! I'm glad you had fun at our booth. 
spartan114x
Jr Member
Loooove the weathering you did on the armor. I’m working on my Reach build as well and saving this for future reference. Gonna go back and comb your updates cuz the knees look really good and I’m struggling to get a model I like for them. I hope the medical stuff gets better!
ElvenArcane
Jr Member
I’m sorry, but you’re not going to find much through the thread, since I absolutely neglected it while I worked on the body lol. But I’d be more than happy to let you know where I got the files. They’re made by Titlewave designs. Not free, but high quality and well worth the price, I’d say
spartan114x
Jr Member
Awesome I will check them out!
spartan114x
Jr Member
You were bang on with the recommendation. I reached out to them and they custom made me an STL file for the kneecap only, which was the only piece I was hunting down. Thank you SO much!
ElvenArcane
Jr Member
I’m super glad you were able to find what you were looking for! Good luck in the build!
ElvenArcane
Jr Member
This might be a bit more of a short but sappy post. I figured I'd share a smaller detail of my armour up close.
It's not the most visible, but I painted eleven little hatches on the side of the helmet, for the eleven years since I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. If someone had told me even just a few months ago that I'd not only have my own Spartan armour, but have worn it out at cons, I'd have never believed them. But here I am, and it's been such an incredible journey. I learned a whole lot, not just in terms of costuming and prop making, but what I'm capable of as well.
It's not the most visible, but I painted eleven little hatches on the side of the helmet, for the eleven years since I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. If someone had told me even just a few months ago that I'd not only have my own Spartan armour, but have worn it out at cons, I'd have never believed them. But here I am, and it's been such an incredible journey. I learned a whole lot, not just in terms of costuming and prop making, but what I'm capable of as well.
EchoCosplay
New Member
Aww, I love this detail! Such a great way to personalize your armour (and easy to keep adding to!).
ElvenArcane
Jr Member
Thank you! There were a few things influencing my decision. First, bomb squad clone troopers. Loved em. Second, I’m a bit of a biology nerd and love the concept of Aposematism. Big bright colours to advertise danger to potential predators. And third, I just like to be seen lol. IT’S pretty hard to miss a walking traffic cone.
Gungnir
New Member
Yeah, that is a pretty good point.
Easy to spot in a crowd and at photo shoots. Halo: Reach's EOD will forever be one of my absolute favorites. It just looks so clean.
EchoCosplay
New Member
OMG the traffic cone reason! I love that (and the aposematism reason too). I want to make my armour noticeable too, so I'm easy to pick out in pictures, lol. Currently leaning towards copper as a main colour, but keep changing my mind!
I love that (and the aposematism reason too). I want to make my armour noticeable too, so I'm easy to pick out in pictures, lol. Currently leaning towards copper as a main colour, but keep changing my mind!
ElvenArcane
Jr Member
I think copper would look pretty nice, especially if you can keep at least some of it nice and shiny. I can’t help but think back to when I used to paint warhammer minis and used gold for the weathering and highlights to paint copper. Something to consider, perhapsOMG the traffic cone reason!
EchoCosplay
New Member
Ooh thank you for the tip! I haven't ever painted anything copper before so I'll have to do some testing with gold highlights to see how it looks. I'm leaning towards copper with some black accents, though I've also considered teal and copper. I'm still a long, long way from painting, though, so I'm in no rush to decide!
ElvenArcane
Jr Member
I'm sorry, you've got me going with ideas lmao. Teal would go really nice with copper, I think. If you wanted to go with a more weathered look, another option would be to give the copper a more oxidized look. Working that teal into the crevices
