Long-time new member - My first build thread
- Thread starter RamenN00dl3
- Start date
RamenN00dl3
Active Member
For now I've ordered this bodysuit for the techsuit and calling it a day. I have no sewing experience so creating my own was a bit more than I was willing to take on right now, and making it out of foam seemed like it would add too much thickness. I may revisit at some point, but this is an acceptable compromise for now. Originally I had intended on ordering from a company called SnakePitStudios, but apparently someone on their team passed away recently and they had to close down sadly. They had a really nice looking suit so it's a shame.
RamenN00dl3
Active Member
As a follow-up to that, I'm hoping to get a similar effect as Sierra720 here
RamenN00dl3
Active Member
DISCLAIMER: DO NOT RONDO 3D-PRINTS. SEE FOLLOW-UP POSTS BELOW.
Busy day today, got all but a couple pieces rondo'd. Sadly ran out of resin to finish off the set, but I'll get that tomorrow and hopefully be through this step this weekend. It was definitely tricky to work with and sets up faster than anticipated. First piece (shoulder) set up WAY faster than I thought, and came out a little rough. Second piece was the front chest, and while I got good, smooth coverage, it's missing a couple spots as I didn't prepare with a brush and wasn't able to push the extra around. Having learned my lesson with these, most of the other parts went without incident. I've got one thigh piece and the boot covers left to rondo. Sucks that I have to get a whole extra can of resin that I likely won't use too much of, but that's the game. I think I have enough body filler but I'll probably get extra of that as well, just to be safe.
I do notice a difference in the weight, but it's not as bad as I expected. I know a light suit is ideal, and I think in general it still is. I'll be very curious to weigh it all when I'm done!
Next step is another round of sanding/priming, and hopefully painting starts by the end of the month. I can feel the momentum and I'm really glad I got most of this out of the way.
DISCLAIMER: DO NOT RONDO 3D-PRINTS. SEE FOLLOW-UP POSTS BELOW.
Busy day today, got all but a couple pieces rondo'd. Sadly ran out of resin to finish off the set, but I'll get that tomorrow and hopefully be through this step this weekend. It was definitely tricky to work with and sets up faster than anticipated. First piece (shoulder) set up WAY faster than I thought, and came out a little rough. Second piece was the front chest, and while I got good, smooth coverage, it's missing a couple spots as I didn't prepare with a brush and wasn't able to push the extra around. Having learned my lesson with these, most of the other parts went without incident. I've got one thigh piece and the boot covers left to rondo. Sucks that I have to get a whole extra can of resin that I likely won't use too much of, but that's the game. I think I have enough body filler but I'll probably get extra of that as well, just to be safe.
I do notice a difference in the weight, but it's not as bad as I expected. I know a light suit is ideal, and I think in general it still is. I'll be very curious to weigh it all when I'm done!
Next step is another round of sanding/priming, and hopefully painting starts by the end of the month. I can feel the momentum and I'm really glad I got most of this out of the way.
DISCLAIMER: DO NOT RONDO 3D-PRINTS. SEE FOLLOW-UP POSTS BELOW.
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RamenN00dl3
Active Member
DISCLAIMER: DO NOT RONDO 3D-PRINTS. SEE FOLLOW-UP POSTS BELOW.
Rondo is sort of an old-school method of hardening a paper model, a combination of Bondo and resin. It has sort of fallen out of favor as it is messy and tends to be heavy, and honestly there are better ways I could have strengthened the parts, but it was suggested to me as the highest strength option with the least amount of work, so I went for it. It used to be used more exclusively for pepakura crafting to stiffen and solidify the model, but with that it still required some finesse as you had to seal and harden the paper before using.
I'm thinking I probably overdid it a bit as the chest piece in particular now is a bit heavier than I would have liked, but that's entirely on me. In a sense I do appreciate having a little more heft to the pieces as they feel like proper armor now, but I know wearing it all is going to be more difficult than if I had simply painted the 3D prints. Oh well, no going back now, and the pieces will be nearly indestructible as the tradeoff, so I'll take it.
DISCLAIMER: DO NOT RONDO 3D-PRINTS. SEE FOLLOW-UP POSTS BELOW.
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RamenN00dl3
Active Member
So, major, MAJOR setback. The rondo was a massive failure and has effectively broken half the prints. Even after plenty of research on how hot these things get with their chemical reactions, it was apparently not enough and many pieces have melted to a point of not being salvageable. The boots, belt, shoulders, bicep pieces, all more or less warped to a point that I can't use them. Heat gun does seem to start to help reform them, but I'm not convinced there is enough to allow them to look normal and not malformed.
I'm not sure what to do at this point. Half of me wants to reprint and try again (without rondo this time), but my timeline really does not have the time built into it to allow for this significant of a setback. Another part of me just wants to scrap the entire idea because this is so frustrating. I know there are plenty of people that would carry on and trudge forward, but I already have enough stressors in my life I really don't want something that's supposed to be a fun hobby to be another. The only other option is to scrap the idea of being done by Halloween, but if I wait another entire year I may lose any and all motivation to finish it at all, another problem I have with starting projects and never finishing.
Dare I ask if anyone else has had to deal with significant setbacks like this and what you did? I know I'm not the first to deal with this, and I do feel like I'm just yelling into the wind and woe is me, but this really is disheartening for me. It may not be the most significant issue ever and maybe I can salvage more than I think, but it's such a blow to my motive I'll need time just to process and understand what needs to be redone. Maybe I'm being too much of a perfectionist, but if I'm going to spend the time and money I've already invested into this, I'm going to be damn sure it's as perfect as I can make it.
I appreciate anyone willing to read through my venting and frustration. Far from the kind of update I want to give but I do want to document my issues as well as my successes, and maybe this will help someone else. As a disclaimer, if you EVER see someone saying they plan to rondo their 3D printed suit, TELL THEM NO, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU TRY THAT. IT CAN HAVE DISASTROUS EFFECTS.
Thanks for hearing me out. I'll come back to this when I have some idea of my plan moving forward.
I'm not sure what to do at this point. Half of me wants to reprint and try again (without rondo this time), but my timeline really does not have the time built into it to allow for this significant of a setback. Another part of me just wants to scrap the entire idea because this is so frustrating. I know there are plenty of people that would carry on and trudge forward, but I already have enough stressors in my life I really don't want something that's supposed to be a fun hobby to be another. The only other option is to scrap the idea of being done by Halloween, but if I wait another entire year I may lose any and all motivation to finish it at all, another problem I have with starting projects and never finishing.
Dare I ask if anyone else has had to deal with significant setbacks like this and what you did? I know I'm not the first to deal with this, and I do feel like I'm just yelling into the wind and woe is me, but this really is disheartening for me. It may not be the most significant issue ever and maybe I can salvage more than I think, but it's such a blow to my motive I'll need time just to process and understand what needs to be redone. Maybe I'm being too much of a perfectionist, but if I'm going to spend the time and money I've already invested into this, I'm going to be damn sure it's as perfect as I can make it.
I appreciate anyone willing to read through my venting and frustration. Far from the kind of update I want to give but I do want to document my issues as well as my successes, and maybe this will help someone else. As a disclaimer, if you EVER see someone saying they plan to rondo their 3D printed suit, TELL THEM NO, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU TRY THAT. IT CAN HAVE DISASTROUS EFFECTS.
Thanks for hearing me out. I'll come back to this when I have some idea of my plan moving forward.
- Member DIN
- S098
What were the parts printed with? Do you have post rondo images?
RamenN00dl3
Active Member
Prints are all PLA+. From what I've read, the rondo can get up to 150°C, which thinking "oh, well it needs to be 200°C to actually print, surely 150°C will be alright if it's short term." This whole problem is on me. I really shouldn't have done the rondo, let alone think I need reinforcement like that. It's just added weight and it's not like I'm actually going in to battle with this thing. I just wanted the support in case I took a fall at a convention or something as I've seen plenty of damaged suits that would just kill me to have to repair after all the finishing that goes into it.
I don't have any pictures at this moment, but if you can imagine a once rigid belt piece that has deflated into a flat, stiff mess, you have an idea of how the pieces warped. The parts that were self-supported seem to be OK at best, so the thighs, bracers, and leg/knee pieces might be alright. The helmet looks ok currently but I haven't inspected it too closely for deformation or fit. The other thin, flatter pieces are likely scrap. I will try heat treating the parts and see if I can mold them at all back into shape, but I'm not too optimistic. The belt 100% has to be reprinted. The chest front and back are no longer aligned, so that may also be a reprint, depending if I can heat it back into shape.
I don't have any pictures at this moment, but if you can imagine a once rigid belt piece that has deflated into a flat, stiff mess, you have an idea of how the pieces warped. The parts that were self-supported seem to be OK at best, so the thighs, bracers, and leg/knee pieces might be alright. The helmet looks ok currently but I haven't inspected it too closely for deformation or fit. The other thin, flatter pieces are likely scrap. I will try heat treating the parts and see if I can mold them at all back into shape, but I'm not too optimistic. The belt 100% has to be reprinted. The chest front and back are no longer aligned, so that may also be a reprint, depending if I can heat it back into shape.
RamenN00dl3
Active Member
Update time: I'm reprinting the parts in order of most impacted to least, and hoping to get everything I messed up reprinted by mid-September if I'm lucky and efficient. Based on my slicer's settings and time estimates, if I reprint all the pieces I want to, it will take approximately 30 days, although the estimates tend to be a bit more than what they end up being, so I'm hopeful that I can be done sooner while I work on everything else.
Starting with the belt, then shoulders, then the bicep pieces, then chest parts. The chest is by far the most time consuming as it is both the largest and has some of the most detail, but if I can fit it in I plan on doing it. In the process of reprinting, I went ahead and re-sliced everything to get better supports, as well as scaled the chest slightly differently to hopefully solve the mid-section pinching I was having with the original. In addition, I cut the parts up a bit differently to require less gluing in hard-to-clean areas. One issue I had with the chest was the "straight down the middle" approach I took to cutting the parts up. This ended up creating a number of issues with cleanup, requiring a good amount of spot-putty and sanding in hard-to-reach and/or detailed areas. With the new cuts, I should have much cleaner joints on larger, flat areas, which in turn will ideally cut down on the post-processing time which I am sorely going to need as I get to crunch time. I also set the shoulder pieces to print in one piece, rather than six. This will take more material, but given how much my support and print settings have evolved since I first printed these, I think this will drastically cut down on post-process work by eliminating so many joints.
I'm still very concerned with time on this as I have approximately two months left and still a LOT to do, but I'm going to keep working on the the salvaged pieces while the reprints are printing. The thighs, gauntlets, hands, greaves, and most importantly the helmet are more or less fine and seemingly unaffected by the rondo mishap I had. The boot pieces are a bit warped, but I may be able to salvage them for now. Given my time constraints I will probably make them work for my deadline, but redo them eventually for cons. I did the detail sanding on most of these over the weekend and I will be applying the last primer coat this week with wet-sanding to follow, however it is both my wife's and my own birthday over the next week, so I'll definitely lose some time with those as we have plans with that. My goal is by the end of the month, I will have the parts I have ready for first coats of paint, with some of the reprints ready for post-processing.
Starting with the belt, then shoulders, then the bicep pieces, then chest parts. The chest is by far the most time consuming as it is both the largest and has some of the most detail, but if I can fit it in I plan on doing it. In the process of reprinting, I went ahead and re-sliced everything to get better supports, as well as scaled the chest slightly differently to hopefully solve the mid-section pinching I was having with the original. In addition, I cut the parts up a bit differently to require less gluing in hard-to-clean areas. One issue I had with the chest was the "straight down the middle" approach I took to cutting the parts up. This ended up creating a number of issues with cleanup, requiring a good amount of spot-putty and sanding in hard-to-reach and/or detailed areas. With the new cuts, I should have much cleaner joints on larger, flat areas, which in turn will ideally cut down on the post-processing time which I am sorely going to need as I get to crunch time. I also set the shoulder pieces to print in one piece, rather than six. This will take more material, but given how much my support and print settings have evolved since I first printed these, I think this will drastically cut down on post-process work by eliminating so many joints.
I'm still very concerned with time on this as I have approximately two months left and still a LOT to do, but I'm going to keep working on the the salvaged pieces while the reprints are printing. The thighs, gauntlets, hands, greaves, and most importantly the helmet are more or less fine and seemingly unaffected by the rondo mishap I had. The boot pieces are a bit warped, but I may be able to salvage them for now. Given my time constraints I will probably make them work for my deadline, but redo them eventually for cons. I did the detail sanding on most of these over the weekend and I will be applying the last primer coat this week with wet-sanding to follow, however it is both my wife's and my own birthday over the next week, so I'll definitely lose some time with those as we have plans with that. My goal is by the end of the month, I will have the parts I have ready for first coats of paint, with some of the reprints ready for post-processing.
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Moku Knight
New Member
Heyyyy so cool 
!! Same printer I got, too! :3
Can't wait to see how it turns out! I'll be sure to watch the thread!
!! Same printer I got, too! :3Can't wait to see how it turns out! I'll be sure to watch the thread!
tahu505
Sr Member
- Member DIN
- S505
It's been so long since I've used rondo that I forgot how much it heats up. This is definitely good information to document for others to see in the future. As for if anyone else had significant set backs, I once warped my entire chest piece beyond repair. I knew that meant reprinting the largest part of my armor and I was so disheartened I decided to take a break. I didn't have a set deadline and was focusing on school at the time so that break ended up lasting about 6 months. The most important thing to remember is that all of this is for fun. There are going to be ups and downs, and it is perfectly fine to sit back and take a breather during the downs. That said, I think you have a really good plan for reprinting parts in order of most to least damaged. Glad to see you already back at it!
RamenN00dl3
Active Member
If you ever want any settings I use feel free to DM me, I think I've got my slicer and print settings pretty well dialed in at this point. This is my first printer and first time printing out anything substantial so it's definitely been a learning experience.Heyyyy so cool
Can't wait to see how it turns out! I'll be sure to watch the thread!
RamenN00dl3
Active Member
Painting has begun on the parts that are ready for it, which at the moment are just the hands and some spoons for tests:
That said, I'm pretty happy with the color selections. I tried a few different shades of blue, and I think this one gets closest to what I'm trying to replicate. I plan on doing some different areas than what's shown and possible in Halo 3, more mimicking the layout of paint from Halo 2, so I'll have this accent blue color in more areas. I'm also not doing blue on the helmet, but I'll be doing a stripe of this grey instead. One way I'll make this a bit more of my own.
Reprinting is underway, and so far I've had some decent success. The bicep and shoulder pieces are now a single piece each, which will reduce cleanup and seam work needed. Originally the shoulder piece was 6 individual pieces, so this was a big update that I wish I had had the knowhow to print well the first time. The belt is still multiple pieces but not much I could do about that. Helmet is being reprinted after realizing that the front had warped enough that the visor would likely not work, so I bit the bullet and recut the entire thing. It is not made of 5 pieces, rather than 8, again in an effort to reduce cleanup time. Seams are in more accessible spots to help with that, and overall I hope it's more sturdy. 3 of 5 pieces have been successfully reprinted, the other two should be done middle of the day tomorrow.
Most pieces have been rough sanded and are ready for first priming which I will also probably do this weekend. Last big hurdle is going to be reprinting the entire torso, which is by far the longest and largest pieces, totaling nearly two weeks of straight printing time. I've also recut these for more ease of cleanup and working, and so far I'm happy with the strategy I've had. I've also managed to design and print out pieces for a replica Halo 3 flag which I'm pretty stoked about. Once I have that actually assembled and finished I plan on sharing the files I've made. Nothing too complicated really, just some simple adornments to try and match the H3 design. I've gotten the custom flags delivered and will share once I get the wrinkles out.
I do plan on adding fiberglass resin and cloth to some parts to add strength (mainly the torso and helmet), and have some faith in that method as I've seen others here use the same process. I'm not as worried about the heat produced because it will have the fiberglass cloth to help with structural issues (I hope). I'm also thinking that rondo simply gets hotter due to combining two different substances, rather than just the one resin with fiberglass. In any case I'm going to test it as strictly as possible before actually using it on the pieces as I've learned my lesson there.
Still not as far along as I had hoped I would be at this point, but as long as I keep my head down on being efficient with my time, I think I can get there. Strapping and the detail work is going to bite me in the ass I think as that's where I'm least comfortable, but I have a basic strategy that I hope will work. More on that when I get there.
Cheers,
-Ramen
That said, I'm pretty happy with the color selections. I tried a few different shades of blue, and I think this one gets closest to what I'm trying to replicate. I plan on doing some different areas than what's shown and possible in Halo 3, more mimicking the layout of paint from Halo 2, so I'll have this accent blue color in more areas. I'm also not doing blue on the helmet, but I'll be doing a stripe of this grey instead. One way I'll make this a bit more of my own.
Reprinting is underway, and so far I've had some decent success. The bicep and shoulder pieces are now a single piece each, which will reduce cleanup and seam work needed. Originally the shoulder piece was 6 individual pieces, so this was a big update that I wish I had had the knowhow to print well the first time. The belt is still multiple pieces but not much I could do about that. Helmet is being reprinted after realizing that the front had warped enough that the visor would likely not work, so I bit the bullet and recut the entire thing. It is not made of 5 pieces, rather than 8, again in an effort to reduce cleanup time. Seams are in more accessible spots to help with that, and overall I hope it's more sturdy. 3 of 5 pieces have been successfully reprinted, the other two should be done middle of the day tomorrow.
Most pieces have been rough sanded and are ready for first priming which I will also probably do this weekend. Last big hurdle is going to be reprinting the entire torso, which is by far the longest and largest pieces, totaling nearly two weeks of straight printing time. I've also recut these for more ease of cleanup and working, and so far I'm happy with the strategy I've had. I've also managed to design and print out pieces for a replica Halo 3 flag which I'm pretty stoked about. Once I have that actually assembled and finished I plan on sharing the files I've made. Nothing too complicated really, just some simple adornments to try and match the H3 design. I've gotten the custom flags delivered and will share once I get the wrinkles out.
I do plan on adding fiberglass resin and cloth to some parts to add strength (mainly the torso and helmet), and have some faith in that method as I've seen others here use the same process. I'm not as worried about the heat produced because it will have the fiberglass cloth to help with structural issues (I hope). I'm also thinking that rondo simply gets hotter due to combining two different substances, rather than just the one resin with fiberglass. In any case I'm going to test it as strictly as possible before actually using it on the pieces as I've learned my lesson there.
Still not as far along as I had hoped I would be at this point, but as long as I keep my head down on being efficient with my time, I think I can get there. Strapping and the detail work is going to bite me in the ass I think as that's where I'm least comfortable, but I have a basic strategy that I hope will work. More on that when I get there.
Cheers,
-Ramen
Draxes
Member
Man your armor is looking great. I love your color scheme. I wish I could see your armor in person. You are printing it out so different than me but I love how light your armor is probably going to be.
Oh and just so you know, pla and pla+ is exceptionally easy to shape if you need to bend it around a bit to make it fit looser or tighter. I had to do it on my chest piece. Just dipped it some 190 degree Fahrenheit water for 10-30 seconds and presto you have a few seconds to shape that part to yoir liking before it cools. Might be even quicker with your set. I even did it after I painted it and it didn't harm the spray paint and varnish.
Oh and just so you know, pla and pla+ is exceptionally easy to shape if you need to bend it around a bit to make it fit looser or tighter. I had to do it on my chest piece. Just dipped it some 190 degree Fahrenheit water for 10-30 seconds and presto you have a few seconds to shape that part to yoir liking before it cools. Might be even quicker with your set. I even did it after I painted it and it didn't harm the spray paint and varnish.
RamenN00dl3
Active Member
I'm curious now, what am I doing that is so different? Figured this was a pretty typical way of going about it given that I don't have a huge printer. If I could print the helmet in one piece I absolutely would, and after my setback I did consider buying a larger printer to get it reprinted faster, but ultimately decided against it since its use will be limited.
Chronomize
Member
Wow
Sorry to hear about the rondo mishap
It was all looking so good, too!
Good to hear you're soldiering on, though!
I'll keep watch on this thread
Good luck!
Sorry to hear about the rondo mishap
It was all looking so good, too!
Good to hear you're soldiering on, though!
I'll keep watch on this thread
Good luck!
Moku Knight
New Member
Ooooooooo the colors! :3
ssbhhsbhb I've been gone for a little bit trying to do test prints of different figurines because I feel extremely intimidated about starting a cosplay though I want to already start on it- but I'll get there... eventually I think. My gosh it looks so clean thouuughhh!
RamenN00dl3
Active Member
Progress continues:
Briefest of brief updates; helmet has been reprinted, primed, and spot putty'd, need to sand and finish. Visors have been formed and I've practiced tinting once before realizing the color packs were not the right type (not poly Idye) so I have ordered the correct type, should have that complete this coming weekend.
Chest back is reprinted and glued together, front is in the home stretch of reprinting but I've had a couple issues with the files and printing poorly so that is delayed longer than I anticipated. After chest is complete this week I'll reprint half the boot pieces as what I have is warped more than I like and I didn't like the way the rondo reinforcement was cracking. Fiberglass resin reinforcement has worked well for the reprints so far aside from a couple tiny, minor cracks at seam lines which I'm able to repair with superglue and cover with paint/weathering. Seems to only be an issue on the belt for some reason.
Base layer of paint is done on the thighs, greaves, biceps, shoulders, gauntlets, and hands. First layer is done on the belt and flagpole, need to mask the accent colors on that next.
Still a lot to do but we're getting there. Should be able to start weathering the pieces I have late this week while the final parts are reprinting. Big effort still is finishing the helmet and chest parts as they're large and complicated.
*Edit- Added a couple extra photos I forgot about
Briefest of brief updates; helmet has been reprinted, primed, and spot putty'd, need to sand and finish. Visors have been formed and I've practiced tinting once before realizing the color packs were not the right type (not poly Idye) so I have ordered the correct type, should have that complete this coming weekend.
Chest back is reprinted and glued together, front is in the home stretch of reprinting but I've had a couple issues with the files and printing poorly so that is delayed longer than I anticipated. After chest is complete this week I'll reprint half the boot pieces as what I have is warped more than I like and I didn't like the way the rondo reinforcement was cracking. Fiberglass resin reinforcement has worked well for the reprints so far aside from a couple tiny, minor cracks at seam lines which I'm able to repair with superglue and cover with paint/weathering. Seems to only be an issue on the belt for some reason.
Base layer of paint is done on the thighs, greaves, biceps, shoulders, gauntlets, and hands. First layer is done on the belt and flagpole, need to mask the accent colors on that next.
Still a lot to do but we're getting there. Should be able to start weathering the pieces I have late this week while the final parts are reprinting. Big effort still is finishing the helmet and chest parts as they're large and complicated.
*Edit- Added a couple extra photos I forgot about
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