First Build - ODST Tacticool Armor

[Rigel17]

Hello everyone! I'm new to the 405th and to cosplay entirely. I have around a year before I apply to and start my Physical Therapy DPT program. im a pretty avid gamer and have always wanted my own master chief costume or just anything halo. with some of the free time i have, i wanted to get into some new hobbies and the thought of making my own set of armor sounded super fun! so here we go...

My thought was to make a complete ODST costume, with a 3d printed helmet and EVA foam armor. i loved the theme of "tacticool" and was heavily inspired by other ODST creations ive seen here and across youtube. my vision is a sort of recon/sniper ODST that encapsulates the lone wolf feeling of Noble 6 while being completely decked out in cool little accessories, props, gear, etc. I've spent the past month or so researching how to get into this hobby and the past 2 weeks have been practice with foam crafting, navigating Pepakura, and getting some 3D printing connections set up. (I dont have my own 3D printer yet)

These pictures are more or less what i want to go for. I like the idea of a spartan but with the more grounded ODST equipment. so i really see the suit being a fusion of both. (i just have a hard time picking lol)

So far i have pieced together just one of the shoulder pads...

i have alot of work cut out but i have been enjoying the process so far and taking little steps

Ill keep this thread updated as i go, any advice is very welcome! super excited to be apart of this community and i hope to meet some of yall at Fan X salt lake or wherever else i might go once this project is done

 

[mrc0369]

Hey first I want to welcome you to the this amazing group of Halo fans. You will find many people here willing to give you as much advice and assistance you might need during you build process. Don't hesitate to ask even if you think it is a stupid question, we've all been there before and started out just like you are. Good luck with the build and definitely share pics as it comes along.

Monty0369

 

[SigmaProps]

DireWolf111 Looks like you've got a fan buddy!

 

[Negativecacti]

Shoulders are always a good place a start at with them being rather simple, and gotta say it's some pretty good foam work for a first timer.

 

[YTunz]

Howdy and Welcome to the 405th! Love to see another ODST build in progress! My build was mostly 3D printed, so if you have any issues with printing your helmet feel free to reach out! I know Aguilar's files have a good attachment system for his helmets since you're going for that tacticool theme.

Whats the line from Phantom Menace? "We will watch your career with great interest."

 

[Rigel17]

Howdy and Welcome to the 405th! Love to see another ODST build in progress! My build was mostly 3D printed, so if you have any issues with printing your helmet feel free to reach out! I know Aguilar's files have a good attachment system for his helmets since you're going for that tacticool theme.

Whats the line from Phantom Menace? "We will watch your career with great interest."

appreciate the tip! yeah, since i dont have my own 3d printer yet, im relying on my friends and he will be doing most of the printing for me. im still talking to him about maybe joining the 405th. (we are both brand new to this stuff) as of now he is slowly printing a master chief suit. we are both pretty excited

 

[MrBones]

appreciate the tip! yeah, since i dont have my own 3d printer yet, im relying on my friends and he will be doing most of the printing for me. im still talking to him about maybe joining the 405th. (we are both brand new to this stuff) as of now he is slowly printing a master chief suit. we are both pretty excited

Welcome to the 405th!
There are loads of super cool people in the forums here with neat 3D printed builds and EVA foam. I would suggest looking around a few threads to see how they come together. I would highly recommend starting on your arms or legs first and work towards the chest last if you feel overwhelmed. Just don't give up, and remember we all start somewhere!

 

[CTN04529]

Hello everyone! I'm new to the 405th and to cosplay entirely. I have around a year before I apply to and start my Physical Therapy DPT program. im a pretty avid gamer and have always wanted my own master chief costume or just anything halo. with some of the free time i have, i wanted to get into some new hobbies and the thought of making my own set of armor sounded super fun! so here we go...

My thought was to make a complete ODST costume, with a 3d printed helmet and EVA foam armor. i loved the theme of "tacticool" and was heavily inspired by other ODST creations ive seen here and across youtube. my vision is a sort of recon/sniper ODST that encapsulates the lone wolf feeling of Noble 6 while being completely decked out in cool little accessories, props, gear, etc. I've spent the past month or so researching how to get into this hobby and the past 2 weeks have been practice with foam crafting, navigating Pepakura, and getting some 3D printing connections set up. (I dont have my own 3D printer yet)


View attachment 355666
View attachment 355667View attachment 355668


These pictures are more or less what i want to go for. I like the idea of a spartan but with the more grounded ODST equipment. so i really see the suit being a fusion of both. (i just have a hard time picking lol)

So far i have pieced together just one of the shoulder pads...

View attachment 355670 i have alot of work cut out but i have been enjoying the process so far and taking little steps

Ill keep this thread updated as i go, any advice is very welcome! super excited to be apart of this community and i hope to meet some of yall at Fan X salt lake or wherever else i might go once this project is done

Welcome to the 405th!!

 

[Rigel17]

Hello everyone! I'm new to the 405th and to cosplay entirely. I have around a year before I apply to and start my Physical Therapy DPT program. im a pretty avid gamer and have always wanted my own master chief costume or just anything halo. with some of the free time i have, i wanted to get into some new hobbies and the thought of making my own set of armor sounded super fun! so here we go...

My thought was to make a complete ODST costume, with a 3d printed helmet and EVA foam armor. i loved the theme of "tacticool" and was heavily inspired by other ODST creations ive seen here and across youtube. my vision is a sort of recon/sniper ODST that encapsulates the lone wolf feeling of Noble 6 while being completely decked out in cool little accessories, props, gear, etc. I've spent the past month or so researching how to get into this hobby and the past 2 weeks have been practice with foam crafting, navigating Pepakura, and getting some 3D printing connections set up. (I dont have my own 3D printer yet)


View attachment 355666
View attachment 355667View attachment 355668


These pictures are more or less what i want to go for. I like the idea of a spartan but with the more grounded ODST equipment. so i really see the suit being a fusion of both. (i just have a hard time picking lol)

So far i have pieced together just one of the shoulder pads...

View attachment 355670 i have alot of work cut out but i have been enjoying the process so far and taking little steps

Ill keep this thread updated as i go, any advice is very welcome! super excited to be apart of this community and i hope to meet some of yall at Fan X salt lake or wherever else i might go once this project is done

 

[Rigel17]

part 2 of my ODST build:
Great progress so far! I feel like i’ve been getting better at foam crafting. Not only the building part, but also navigating pepakurra, especially with scaling and “optimizing” my printed templates for cutting.

I now have both shoulder pieces finished! last step which i will likely do once i have most the armor finished is sanding and smoothing out any edges for painting and stuff. (That will be its own learning curve too as ive never painted anything in my life haha)
I also took some time to test some rigging with the undersuit i bought. Just some tactical pants and a shirt i got off of amazon.

I have also pieced together one of the boots, though i still need to bevel and clean up a few things, but im very satisfied with how it fits and is comfortable/easy to put on.
I have had some great suggestions from members in the discord and threads I've been recommended on here. One suggestion was using shoes from the tall mens website. These bad boys, though a little clunky and tricky to build around, add 4 inches to my height! Im 5’11 and stand just shy of 6’3 with these on!


Thats all for now. Next goals are to finish the other shoe and start working on the shins. See ya then!

 

[Rigel17]

Pt 3 of the build. haven't updated the thread in a bit, but i've made significant progress. and I actually expect to be done foam crafting all of the armor by the end of February! which honestly I didn't think i would be finishing this build till summer. There are still quite a few things I have to do soon, and the thought of actually painting the whole suit is daunting since ive never worked with any kind of paint before. but thanks to several threads in the forum and lots of Youtube, i feel like i will be alright.

Up till now i have up to the lower chest finished. Im currently working on the base of the chest. after that i just need to finish the forearms, have my friend print the helmet, and im technically done with all the armor.
I still plan to add several Attachements and little details to the armor, but im not fully decided yet on what i want. to help with the visualization, and for my own display in my room, i bought a Mannequin, which i think will be great to not only display the armor, but with rigging, and adding little details before painting.

Picture time!

 

[RyFISH]

Looks fantastic, I envy your dedication to the cause! If you ever get tired of being a lone wolf we could use another trooper in Hunter Dispatch. If you need a theme to fall back on of course. Enjoy your time with the 405th!

 

[Rigel17]

Pt 4 Continued: I realize i left some details out of my whole build process, so for those interested in any of the nitty gritty details:

1: what's my foam? I have been sourcing foam from "the foamory" on amazon, I have enjoyed the quality so far, but havenet worked with any other foam types so i have nothing to compare it too. for most the base armor i have used 8mm, 2mm for small details like you see in the lower chest plates, and 12mm for any thicker pieces, like some sections of the main chest piece.
2: The whole armor will be made out of foam, but i do plan to print the helmet using "from the brinks" ODST STL files. I also recently purchased and am waiting for a red mirrored visor from "sean bradley" which im very excited for. for my helmet i wanted the best of the best and these two vendors were the most recommended i found.
3: If you missed it in a previous post, I wanted to make my armor look big and taller, so i have shoes from "the tall mans shoes" which is just a website. im 5'11 but with the shoes reach over 6'3.
4: i plan to rig my armor with some straps, and a mix of parachute clips and other regular plastic buckles. the armor as is (like how you see in the picture, fits pretty well so far, but it tends to slide down and is a little clunky, so with some secure straps i think that will fix that issue and add to the overall look.
5: my undersuit is something i found on amazon, dont even know the brand, just a generic "millitary pants and shirt in black" Honestly i might try something different for the pants, while they look good, they are very thick and i realized once the thighs were built that they actually feel more restricting than the actual armor itself due to how thick it is. (like wearing rough snowpants haha) Ill see how things feel after rigging, the shirt is great however!
6: My overall theme for the build is "Tacticool" so i plan on lots of accessories, body attachements, and minimum a working flashlight for the helmet. I would love to have a sniper rifle for the main weapon and a silenced pistol, but i am still unsure of a good print and or foam file to use and for starters might keep to something simple like the standard silenced SMG.
As part of this build, i have this cool Shemagh military scarf which i think will nicely cover my neck area, kinda like Jun from reach. i also recently got the gloves, both off amazon and pictured above. not sure on the brands, but if you want to know LMK and ill look it up again. and finally, i have a thick black military style belt which will be a nice anchor point for rigging.
7: and lastly, i did have quite a few hiccups through this build process, like when working the second thigh, i forgot that they were a right and a left thigh and i nearly made 2 right thighs before i saw they were different, i was luckily able to save the foam i had already cut by just sanding off some of the glue, and flipping the whole foam over, so although i lost my guidelines for gluing, both pieces came out great with some patience and time.
I have gotten much better at the overall beveling process and adding finer details. for small cracks and seams i focus on filling with kwik seal, and for larger gaps or missing foam, i have been using foam clay (also from the foamory) And i have been doing my best to reinforce the builds i have by adding hot glue to weak inside seams and more foam or foam clay.

 

[Rigel17]

Looks fantastic, I envy your dedication to the cause! If you ever get tired of being a lone wolf we could use another trooper in Hunter Dispatch. If you need a theme to fall back on of course. Enjoy your time with the 405th!

I may hit you up on that offer. I love the idea of being apart of a larger group/squad at a con. Im a lone wolf right now because im new to the group hehe. I have only been to Fan x in SLC thus far, but i may hit up LVL up in vegas and fan X again this year. If i could join up with a group at one of those events i think it would be fun!

 

[N8TEBB]

If you missed it in a previous post, I wanted to make my armor look big and taller, so i have shoes from "the tall mans shoes" which is just a website. im 5'11 but with the shoes reach over 6'3.

lol I'm the same height as you and got my shoes from the same place XD

Your build is coming along! Foam work looks nice!

 

[Rigel17]

Pt 5: chest is done! I like the fit, but im somewhat skinny so while the width is perfect, the length on the inside has a pretty large gap which i will probably have to pad out one way or another, which means i still need to buy more foam and wait a bit.
I really loved what hero’s workshop did with his build (im using the hero’s forge pepakura files) of adding a magnet-velcro system to help open and close the chest. This makes putting it on so much easier and just feels more realistic in my opinion.

For the base armor, i now just have the forearms left and im hoping my friend can have the helmet printed sometime in the next 2 weeks. (He is pretty busy printing his own master chief armor)
But once that is done, i will likely take some time and start adding detail foam pieces like straps, buckles, accessories (kukri knife, pouches, grenades, etc) again, this build is supposed to be “tacticool”. So just the base armor isnt enough for me .

Another thing i started looking into were some custom decals like my name for the chest piece, the helljumpers symbol for chest, and other various vynyl decals i can place around the armor for that added bit of detail. Those decals and fo ts were sourced from this:
Thread 'Halo 3: ODST Decals and Details'
Halo 3: ODST Decals and Details

Next update from me will probably be once the helmet or forearms are built, until then!

 

[RageGoblin]

Pt 5: chest is done! I like the fit, but im somewhat skinny so while the width is perfect, the length on the inside has a pretty large gap which i will probably have to pad out one way or another, which means i still need to buy more foam and wait a bit.
I really loved what hero’s workshop did with his build (im using the hero’s forge pepakura files) of adding a magnet-velcro system to help open and close the chest. This makes putting it on so much easier and just feels more realistic in my opinion.
View attachment 357738

For the base armor, i now just have the forearms left and im hoping my friend can have the helmet printed sometime in the next 2 weeks. (He is pretty busy printing his own master chief armor)
But once that is done, i will likely take some time and start adding detail foam pieces like straps, buckles, accessories (kukri knife, pouches, grenades, etc) again, this build is supposed to be “tacticool”. So just the base armor isnt enough for me .
View attachment 357739

Another thing i started looking into were some custom decals like my name for the chest piece, the helljumpers symbol for chest, and other various vynyl decals i can place around the armor for that added bit of detail. Those decals and fo ts were sourced from this:
Thread 'Halo 3: ODST Decals and Details'
Halo 3: ODST Decals and Details

Next update from me will probably be once the helmet or forearms are built, until then!

This is coming along so well. This looks fantastic!

 

[Onyx Props]

Great progress so far! I'm not new to cosplay, but I'm making my first ODST suit as well out of foam. For being new to the hobby, your work is very clean. I'm going for a very tactical look also. I'd like to bounce some ideas back and forth with you!

 

[Rigel17]

Great progress so far! I'm not new to cosplay, but I'm making my first ODST suit as well out of foam. For being new to the hobby, your work is very clean. I'm going for a very tactical look also. I'd like to bounce some ideas back and forth with you!

Yeah! Hit me up in mountain regiment discord or dm me on discord too! “soothsayerplayer” or Rigel17

 

[Onyx Props]

Yeah! Hit me up in mountain regiment discord or dm me on discord too! “soothsayerplayer” or Rigel17

Awesome, I added you on discord!