Halo Reach Spartan Build

[S225]

I've finally started building my Reach MKV suit. Years ago I started one with paper and later foam, and now I have begun 3D printing what I hope will be my perfect suit.

This is my end goal. Last night the left forearm finished and I will be expanding out from there.

After adding some minor details to a model Im using in google sketchup, and comparing to my foam forearm, I increased the size just a hair and let my printer go to work. I am beyond pleased with how it turned out. It might be missing some detail from the game model but I made the choice to stick with it. It feels a little cleaner with out some of the holes and random details stuck on.
I printed this with an Ender 5 at .2mm layer height using Overture branded PLA at 205c. The print has two inner, and two outer shell walls with the interior being hollow with about 15% infill. I was ball parking with the settings but the end print is rock solid!

Prior to this I finished a 80%scale plasma rifle as well.

I'm about 80% the size of a true spartan, 5'7" with my shoes, so most of my scaling begins with this and I proceed to refine as I go.

I'm looking forward to more work and posting updates as I go. The biceps and cod/ belt will likely be next up.

I've also taken a Halo 4 carbine model from thingiverse and am currently slicing it and adding support pegs, "functional" magazine, bolt/charging handle and room for lights and magnets. I'm giving similar treatment to the suit in some spots adding pockets and other functions!

 

[booyaalex]

Heck yeah man! Just started printing myself. Can't wait to see more!

 

[Koentju2]

Looking great.

There's another model you might want to look at on thingiverse. The needle rifle by oddverse, it's really high quality and has a lot of moving parts.

 

[S225]

Heck yeah man! Just started printing myself. Can't wait to see more!

I'll have to take a look at that once I'm off work. I'm testing myself and my printer with things like this.

 

[S225]

Second forearm is printed!

I've detailed the bicep but am printing out the shoulder pieces first so I don't run out of PLA during a bicep print

Ive taken the MK6 shoulders and hollowed out the inside so I can get some lights in there to shine out the bottom. I'll be starting the front half once the back is finished.

 

[S225]

Late night update! Left bicep and hand plates are done and the scaling is perfect!

Still have to clean up the edges before sanding, filling, and paint.

The old foam chest I have was always just a little small but its a good representation of whats coming.

Scaling has always been a concern when it comes to each piece being either to tight or looking disproportionate to everything else. I'm using a few methods to get everything looking and fitting right.
- I start with images of my spartan or going into theater mode in game to see where his armor starts and stops on his body.
- Using sketchup (if I could work other modeling software I would) I scale the whole piece down so the length fits me with an extra 10-20mm for a little extra bulk and make sure the openings are big enough for my limbs. I can either stretch the model out or increase the scale before I send it to CURA but so far I'm able to slide everything on once the height is right.
- Whats funny is the forearms looked too small while printing the biceps looked too big! The more I look at the spartan 3s in game the smaller some of the armor looks. Its cannon that every spartans armor is scaled to them so for the best look possible I'm scaling one piece at a time as.

 

[S225]

Totally for got to detail the shoulder pad like a dork. Second one will look better. The bicep is also from the Noble 6 set on thingiverese.

 

[S225]

Both arms are now printed.

I might upscale the shoulder pads a little later on. I had an idea to use knee braces to secure the thighs and allow them to move with me and it works great with my old foam pair! I plan on beefing up the 3D printed ones in that area so they don't snap. I will couple this with straps so they don't sag and I'm wondering if I can get the calves to secure to the bottom of the braces. The braces have removable hinges that im going to try and use to let my shoes hold the lower legs up as I walk. Wishful thinking. A harness would be easier but I'm just letting ideas flow.

 

[S225]

I have a few prints left in the belt before its done. The front and left side are finished and I added a few details that weren't present which look really good! I've cut the butt plate in half and have added support/ merging zones so everything slots together nicely. I've also been carving and detailing the torso. The model im using from Google sketch up is good but lacks in smaller details. It's also perfectly aligned on a XYZ axis ( thank you whoever did this ) so im having an easy time slicing and adding merge areas. The whole chest should print for me in about 5-7 pieces and will take a few days overall. I'm unfortunately not able to run prints as much as I like during the week. The thighs are sliced and scaled so I can print those at any time. I'm using the thingiveres models for them again.

 

[S225]

I've seen a lot of questions about infill, shell walls and support for 3D prints and have yet to give my 2 cents. I'm still very new at this but am having success with varying settings. The cod piece and belt are printed as solid parts ( so not just the outer wall and a hollow, carved out back side). I printed 3 walls at .5mm thickness with a .4mm nozzle and 10% grid infill so from inside the outside, its 3 walls, infill, 3walls. Early on i said the forearms I did first were 15% infill. This was a lie, as I reviewed the files and it was only 5% with 2 walls at .5mm each. When I scaled those parts, I took a copy of the forearm and shrunk it to form the inner structure and fill in a ton of empty space so my arms would fit tighter in there. So technically they have 4 wall layers. The biceps are just a hollow 3wall shell seeing as there's not a lot of space for filler. Im still considering how thick the walls of the thighs and calves should be seeing as they will be taking most of the punishment from moving, sitting, tea bagging. I'm open to ideas, opinions and results anyone might have to offer.

 

[S225]

 

[S225]

I apologize for the bad image quality, I have no idea how to screen shot my laptop.

Any way, here is the model I'm using for the torso. The original is on the left and the one I'm detailing is on the right. Just adding all the tiny bits and bobs, fixing some of the mesh geometry like holes and bad vertices, and making it a solid model opposed to the OG which is just a hollow shell.

I export the file as a .dae file into the base creality slicer and then run that as an .amf file into Cura Cura cant read the .dae files well and while this is probably over complicated, it works and the models scale does not change. The models are rather low polygon but it makes cutting them up and modifying the mesh easier for me because I've been using sketch up for almost 10 years. I use mesh mixer for the high resolution models like the thighs to cut them to a good print size.

 

[S225]

Front of the belt is done!

Aiming to finish the back tomorrow. I can't wait to get everything else printed and start painting. I'm so excited with how this is coming together!

 

[S225]

So 2 kg of PLA got me here,

I've run out of my preferred filament and will be taking a short break in the meantime to do some different prints. I have just enough to finish a second buckle for the back of the belt to keep it together. Had my first minor issue with the butt plate as it warped just enough to not be flush at its mid point. I figure some bondo and sanding will fill what gap there is but I plan on using the commando fanny pack so any imperfections will be covered by that. Once I get started on some other projects and order more of overture PLA ( this stuff is great by the way) I'll begin the thighs and try and get the torso started. I'm having a hard time getting the lower legs to scale good enough to just slide them on as one piece so I will tackle those and the helmet last. I still have some eva foam and I might do the boots and knee pads with that. I'm also working on getting the spine armor to articulate as I feel this would be a nice detail to add. Happy crafting everyone! I will return soon!

 

[N8TEBB]

Man this is looking good! You're also going really fast! I wish you luck on the upcoming steps because it looks like you got a lot of sanding ahead of you. I look forward to seeing your process for finishing these pieces. Also quick tip: To take a screenshot on windows press the windows key and print screen button at the same time. Or just press the windows key and search for the snipping tool. Either way works.

 

[S225]

I figured I'd use the down time to start preparing everything for paint. The PLA I like is out of stock until next month so between that and some other print projects I've got time.

 

[primalbog999]

wow that is awesome what 3d printer did you use

 

[S225]

wow that is awesome what 3d printer did you use

I'm using a Creality Ender-5. It was a surprise gift so I'd not had any information about it until I got it. Overall its an awesome printer. Print bed is 220mmX220mm and can print up to 300mm tall, which is a crazy amount of space to me. There are bigger printers but I couldn't be happier with how great this thing is.

 

[S225]

As the back of the belt was printing i realized I had engineered a problem. I didn't have a way to secure it to the front of the belt in order to wear it. There were guide pegs but that was no nearly enough. To solve this, I drew some cute little snap buckles that hold it in place better.

This did a better job but I added some well placed velcro to finish the job and now I can move around and bend with out it popping off!

The back didn't print well(print bed wasn't heated and it warped on the corners) and has a crack down the butt plate, fitting i suppose.

 

[N8TEBB]

Looking good! You've got yourself a nice printer. I've heard really good things about the ender 5. Looks like you're using that 22x22cm bed to its maximum potential! I assume those buckles you added were drawn right on to the files. If that's the case, what program did you use? I know some people use fusion 360, tinker cad, or SketchUp. Just wanted to know your preference