Halo Reach Build - Jorge 052

[RealDunceGamer]

This is it, it is time to start on my Halo Reach Build and I have chosen to make Spartan Jorge 052.

After meeting members of the 405th at Megacon 2025 I have high motivation to create this armor out of EVA Foam. This year I was in Full 3d printed Mark VI armor and after the first day I was exhausted. I want this armor to be a little more practical for back-to-back use over a con weekend.
I have a list of Goals I would like to achieve for this build but some of it may not be possible.

Goals

• Easy Suit Up - I know most Spartans need some assistance with suiting up. I want to be able to get most of the armor on by myself, then accessories can be added by spotters.
• Reduce Weight - Even though the armor will be out of Foam reinforcing it will add a lot of weight to it.
• Functionality - A big pro to ODST suits is the functionality (Useable Backpacks, Pouches to hold water or Snacks, and sitting down), why can't a spartan have the same thing? I want to make the front canister able to hold a large water bottle and detach from the chest piece so there is always water on hand. Functional backpack, Store some useful tools or items acquired in suit
• Sitting - I've seen a few Spartans do it. In my 3d printed one the main issue was the Cod piece. With a strong material for the armor and elastic bands for the belt I should in theory be able to sit down.
• Cooling, A whole lot of it - Everyone does the helmet, if not you are just asking to be uncomfortable. I've heard of people adding cooling to the armor itself. Being in Florida the days get extremely hot so if possible I want to at least add vents and fans to help cool my body.

This is the current list I have but as time goes on I will be adjusting what might be possible and what is not reasonable to achieve.
My goal is to have something close to ready for Megacon 2026! This will be a long project but I'll be using this Thread to post my progress and questions as I come up to issues.

 

[ArrowsInClover]

This is it, it is time to start on my Halo Reach Build and I have chosen to make Spartan Jorge 052.

View attachment 357250

After meeting members of the 405th at Megacon 2025 I have high motivation to create this armor out of EVA Foam. This year I was in Full 3d printed Mark VI armor and after the first day I was exhausted. I want this armor to be a little more practical for back-to-back use over a con weekend.
I have a list of Goals I would like to achieve for this build but some of it may not be possible.

Goals

• Easy Suit Up - I know most Spartans need some assistance with suiting up. I want to be able to get most of the armor on by myself, then accessories can be added by spotters.
• Reduce Weight - Even though the armor will be out of Foam reinforcing it will add a lot of weight to it.
• Functionality - A big pro to ODST suits is the functionality (Useable Backpacks, Pouches to hold water or Snacks, and sitting down), why can't a spartan have the same thing? I want to make the front canister able to hold a large water bottle and detach from the chest piece so there is always water on hand. Functional backpack, Store some useful tools or items acquired in suit
• Sitting - I've seen a few Spartans do it. In my 3d printed one the main issue was the Cod piece. With a strong material for the armor and elastic bands for the belt I should in theory be able to sit down.
• Cooling, A whole lot of it - Everyone does the helmet, if not you are just asking to be uncomfortable. I've heard of people adding cooling to the armor itself. Being in Florida the days get extremely hot so if possible I want to at least add vents and fans to help cool my body.

This is the current list I have but as time goes on I will be adjusting what might be possible and what is not reasonable to achieve.
My goal is to have something close to ready for Megacon 2026! This will be a long project but I'll be using this Thread to post my progress and questions as I come up to issues.

Dude that’s gonna be awesome. Can’t wait to see the results

 

[Negativecacti]

Reduce Weight - Even though the armor will be out of Foam reinforcing it will add a lot of weight to it.

I reinforce my suits with hot glue at major connection point and long seams and its held up throughout the years. And doesn't really add a whole if any really, but being in armor in general will wear you down in general

Cooling, A whole lot of it - Everyone does the helmet, if not you are just asking to be uncomfortable. I've heard of people adding cooling to the armor itself. Being in Florida the days get extremely hot so if possible I want to at least add vents and fans to help cool my body

I cut vents into my mk.7 helmet by the mouth and cheek areas and put some mesh windows screen over it to cover up the holes.
Tho I'm not really sure where you could get away with that in the grenadier helmet, tahu505 may be able to give you advice. And for the body cooling I know people use cooling vests to help with that but also remember to stay hydrated on top of that.

 

[tahu505]

Tho I'm not really sure where you could get away with that in the grenadier helmet, tahu505 may be able to give you advice.

I put my fans in the forehead of the grenadier helmet. On recent helmets I have not had ventilation for the fans, they have mostly been for airflow to prevent the visor from fogging. This is out of personal preference since I tend to not be bothered by heat. In the past though, I have made a grenadier helmet where I made a thin rectangular slot on the top of the helmet, where I've highlighted in this pic. You could probably also add a channel to help the air flow directly to the fans or make more vent holes between that bump and the UA. The important thing is that area tends to be visibly covered by the UA attachment.

 

[Bloxxer]

This will be awesome to see! I love a big Jorge cosplay!

With cooling, whatever you do, I would recommend at least two fans in your helmet. One to circulate the air around the helmet, and one blowing on the visor to keep it from fogging. Visibility is important, especially in big bulky armor!

I've never done anything with cooling the armor itself, but adding to what Cacti said about his helmet, functional vents could be super helpful throughout the armor, if there are good places to do it.

Best of luck with the build! Looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

 

[RealDunceGamer]

I reinforce my suits with hot glue at major connection point and long seams and its held up throughout the years. And doesn't really add a whole if any really, but being in armor in general will wear you down in general

I'll give that a shot! I was looking into some epoxies to use on the inside, but I guess in the end wear and tear is going to happen so might as well just us the hot glue.

I put my fans in the forehead of the grenadier helmet. On recent helmets I have not had ventilation for the fans, they have mostly been for airflow to prevent the visor from fogging. This is out of personal preference since I tend to not be bothered by heat. In the past though, I have made a grenadier helmet where I made a thin rectangular slot on the top of the helmet, where I've highlighted in this pic. You could probably also add a channel to help the air flow directly to the fans or make more vent holes between that bump and the UA. The important thing is that area tends to be visibly covered by the UA attachment.
View attachment 357328

Thanks for the tip! I like to have one on the top of the helmet to blow down the visor and that looks to be a great spot.

This will be awesome to see! I love a big Jorge cosplay!

With cooling, whatever you do, I would recommend at least two fans in your helmet. One to circulate the air around the helmet, and one blowing on the visor to keep it from fogging. Visibility is important, especially in big bulky armor!

I've never done anything with cooling the armor itself, but adding to what Cacti said about his helmet, functional vents could be super helpful throughout the armor, if there are good places to do it.

Best of luck with the build! Looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

Appreciate it! I hope to actually have the massive look for it and will need to practice the walk he does with the M247.

My last helmet only had one fan and was just enough to help with the visor. I'm definitely going to look into a second fan position.

 

[Negativecacti]

I have two intake fans unfortunately right by my ears that are also covered in 2 layers of mesh and one pointing down

 

[tahu505]

Thanks for the tip! I like to have one on the top of the helmet to blow down the visor and that looks to be a great spot

I forgot to ask, is the helmet going to be 3d printed or foam? If it's going to be printed, I highly recommend adding the slot into the model before printing.

 

[KaeSpoon]

You would absolutely rock as Jorge-052! He is also my favorite Spartan.

If you need any foam tips, I'm always a DM away. I cannot wait to see how this turns out.

 

[RealDunceGamer]

I have two intake fans unfortunately right by my ears that are also covered in 2 layers of mesh and one pointing down
View attachment 357338

That is what I was thinking. I saw multiple people with shooting range headphones which I was thinking of adding too. Maybe that would damper the noise in the ears?

I forgot to ask, is the helmet going to be 3d printed or foam? If it's going to be printed, I highly recommend adding the slot into the model before printing.

I plan on 3d printing it. I'll try that out. I know the basics in Blender so I'll give it a shot.
After looking at the helmet I think I can add a small fan on the top attachment part to blow down on the visor. I do not think anyone will be tall enough to see vents on the back.

And I noticed that these slots are blackish gray look and could cut these out to add vents. Do you think that would ruin the look?

You would absolutely rock as Jorge-052! He is also my favorite Spartan.

If you need any foam tips, I'm always a DM away. I cannot wait to see how this turns out.

Thank you! I'll make sure to keep you in mind for questions.
I was talking a bit to Jocko03 at Megacon and he was thinking about trying to get Monthly get togethers for suit building or just to get the 405th together to do something. I'm hoping we can actually make this happen so when build issues do come up I can bring them up here and get some help.

 

[Negativecacti]

I mean yeah range headphones would theoretically work, the trick is making them fit inside your helmet along with your head

 

[tahu505]

And I noticed that these slots are blackish gray look and could cut these out to add vents. Do you think that would ruin the look?
View attachment 357340

Those areas normally have details on them. It could work if you aren't adding those details. You want to make sure the visor can be hit by the fans. The scaling could also affect it because you want to make sure the fans aren't hitting your cheeks. I have padding in my cheeks to prevent the helmet from dipping forward

 

[RealDunceGamer]

Those areas normally have details on them. It could work if you aren't adding those details. You want to make sure the visor can be hit by the fans. The scaling could also affect it because you want to make sure the fans aren't hitting your cheeks. I have padding in my cheeks to prevent the helmet from dipping forward

Oh you are correct. I overlooked the details. Maybe I can add the detail but make it hover a bit to help with air flow. I'm gonna print it with the holes and mess around with it. If it doesn't work I can just glue the detail onto the hole to close it up.

 

[tahu505]

Oh you are correct. I overlooked the details. Maybe I can add the detail but make it hover a bit to help with air flow. I'm gonna print it with the holes and mess around with it. If it doesn't work I can just glue the detail onto the hole to close it up.

You also might be able to put a wired mesh layer for the details to sit on while air flows past. But go for it! I'm excited to see what you come up with!

 

[Jocko03]

I definitely want to get build days together, I just have to get a few of the fires in my life put out or at least under control. Soon though. I cant wait to be able to collaborate on builds. I am also available for foam questions

 

[PapaBear271]

Here is a link to my Jorge build pics. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out

Jorge Build - Google Drive

drive.google.com

 

[RealDunceGamer]

Small update. Found most of the pdo files for Jorge. Got it all sized and used a CNC machine this weekend to cut the pieces

And thanks to DRChefboyRD recommendations I got a new printer coming in some time next week to start printing the helmet and M247

 

[DRChefboyRD]

The CNC machine is such a rad tool for this. I tend to stray from foam because it seems like no matter what I do, ill have some sway in my cut

 

[PapaBear271]

Small update. Found most of the pdo files for Jorge. Got it all sized and used a CNC machine this weekend to cut the piecesView attachment 357518

And thanks to DRChefboyRD recommendations I got a new printer coming in some time next week to start printing the helmet and M247

How do your edges come out using the CNC? Are they smooth or do you have to sand them? Also, do you bevel the edges after they're cut by hand?

 

[RealDunceGamer]

How do your edges come out using the CNC? Are they smooth or do you have to sand them? Also, do you bevel the edges after they're cut by hand?

The edges came out great! It is 10mm foam so we just had the machine do 1 pass on each part 8mm deep. The more passes it did the rougher it was. We kept 2mm all the way around since I will have to bevel them by hand, but I can easily cut it flush if needed.

the reason we kept 2mm around was to make it easier on the machine and so I could keep all the foam parts on a sheet for transportation. It will also help me keep track of what part is for what. If I took them all off the sheet there would be a high chance I'd get them mixed up.
My only complaint about this is some of the thin corners would tear up a little bit but I figure I could get the pieces together and then use Foam putty to patch those mistakes if needed.