Long-time new member - My first build thread

[RamenN00dl3]

Weekend update:

Final visor dye has gone well, thanks in no small part to the very helpful N8TEBB and their wonderful tutorials. I will be chroming these once the helmet itself is complete so I run the least risk of the chrome paint being smudged or damaged while sitting around waiting. I think the color came out quite well with these and will be relatively accurate once chromed.

Printing has finished on the chest pieces which was the most time consuming reprint I had. I've assembled the pieces, fiberglassed the insides, and am now moving into sanding and priming them. The 3DGloop I had been using to glue my parts together does not seem to be doing the trick this time around, so I've gone back to using regular old superglue. Sadly I've misaligned a couple parts that will now require a bit more post-processing to fix, but nothing too complicated hopefully.

I have an order of clear coat cans arriving either today or tomorrow, and once I have them I will do my first clear coat on the parts I have painted a base coat on. Once that has cured for a couple days I will begin weathering which is something I've been looking forward to as it means I can finally work inside rather than out where it's still reaching nearly 100°F in the afternoon. I'm hoping to get there by the end of the week.

I've sanded, primed, spot putty'd, and sanded again the reprinted helmet, so progress is being made. Sanding is by far the most labor intensive part of this entire project, and as I'm sure many of you would agree, if I never have to sand something again after this I will be overjoyed. Given I also like to do woodworking as a hobby that's probably not going to happen, but I'm definitely taking a break for a while after this project is complete.

 

[N8TEBB]

the colour came out quite nicely! Great job!

 

[RamenN00dl3]

This thing was a beast to mask properly...

Flag is functionally complete. I've got some weathering to do but the main components are done:

Progress continues on the other pieces. Torso has been spot-putty'd and needs a final sanding before final prime and paint. Helmet's main and accent paint have been applied, waiting for it to dry/cure completely before clear coat #1. All other pieces have been painted, clear coated, and are weathered or are ready to be weathered. I've got nine days left and still a good deal to do so the walls are closing in, but I'm pushing as hard as I can to get this done. I'm very, very concerned about a single setback taking down the entire project at this point, but I have to hope for the best. I see the helmet visor painting and suit strapping being the final big hurdles that I am concerned about, but for now I need to focus on getting the armor complete so I can add straps and get suited up.

 

[RamenN00dl3]

Quick look at my weathering and a comparison of a clean piece vs weathered. I hope I'm being subtle enough without being TOO subtle with it. I think it's looking decent but I haven't done too much yet. Hands, shoulders, butt piece, and a couple little odds and ends are weathered at least one layer. I'm doing 1-2 pieces a night right now but I'll know a good amount of it out tomorrow.

 

[Wendi82]

looking amazing Ramen! Really looking forward to seeing the finished project!

 

[Chronomize]

Quick look at my weathering and a comparison of a clean piece vs weathered. I hope I'm being subtle enough without being TOO subtle with it. I think it's looking decent but I haven't done too much yet. Hands, shoulders, butt piece, and a couple little odds and ends are weathered at least one layer. I'm doing 1-2 pieces a night right now but I'll know a good amount of it out tomorrow.

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Are you just using water thinned acrylic and dabbing it with a cloth or paper towel? I'm wondering because that's what I'm planning on doing, and if you're doing something different I might want to switch, since that looks great!

 

[RamenN00dl3]

Are you just using water thinned acrylic and dabbing it with a cloth or paper towel? I'm wondering because that's what I'm planning on doing, and if you're doing something different I might want to switch, since that looks great!

Thank you That's exactly what I'm doing, just some basic acrylics and water with a foam brush. It takes a little finesse to get a feeling for how long to let the paint dry before wiping, how wet the paper towel should be, and the water to paint ratio, but I think I got the hang of it after a few tries. The nice thing with the acrylics is it's so forgiving. Unless you really let it sit caked on, it's quite easy to work with and redo areas you're not happy with. I mostly followed Bill Doran's (Punished Props on YouTube) tutorial on his Mass Effect gun.

One thing to note, I have a layer of clear coat under the weathering. So my process is to get the primary colors painted, in this case the blue and greys, then clear coat, then weather, then when that is 100% how I want it, final clear coat.

 

[SpicyMcTuna]

Quick look at my weathering and a comparison of a clean piece vs weathered. I hope I'm being subtle enough without being TOO subtle with it. I think it's looking decent but I haven't done too much yet. Hands, shoulders, butt piece, and a couple little odds and ends are weathered at least one layer. I'm doing 1-2 pieces a night right now but I'll know a good amount of it out tomorrow.

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The weathering adds nice depth! I like it!

 

[JTF4]

Fantastic job so far on this build! Your prints are SUPER clean and the paint looks fantastic!

 

[BlazingForge]

Quick look at my weathering and a comparison of a clean piece vs weathered. I hope I'm being subtle enough without being TOO subtle with it. I think it's looking decent but I haven't done too much yet. Hands, shoulders, butt piece, and a couple little odds and ends are weathered at least one layer. I'm doing 1-2 pieces a night right now but I'll know a good amount of it out tomorrow.

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Holy... that weathering looks awesome! Hey by any chance what black acrylic did you use i need some more cause I'm running out...

 

[RamenN00dl3]

Holy... that weathering looks awesome! Hey by any chance what black acrylic did you use i need some more cause I'm running out...

I appreciate that, hoping the rest of the suit will live up to the expectation. I'm just using some basic acrylics from Michael's, this brand is just the "Craft Smart" matte acrylic from them. Not sure if it's a store-exclusive brand or not, but it's nothing fancy.

 

[BlazingForge]

I appreciate that, hoping the rest of the suit will live up to the expectation. I'm just using some basic acrylics from Michael's, this brand is just the "Craft Smart" matte acrylic from them. Not sure if it's a store-exclusive brand or not, but it's nothing fancy.

I’ll look for it online later thanks!

 

[RamenN00dl3]

Update time:

I was able to get the suit functionally complete in time for my party, which was my original goal. There were plenty of things I wish I had had more time for, but the big goal was met, so I'm content. Strapping the entire thing was tricky, and I'm very glad I was able to wear the suit for a couple hours at my party as it revealed a number of issues that I need to correct if I'm going to wear this to a convention or consider traveling with it. I'll have another post in the future that details some of these items, but for now I just wanted to share some photos of the finished suit as a cumulative post (please ignore the numerous cat toys). I do plan on getting some professional photography done eventually, but for now I just want to take a breather as the last month in particular has been a significant strain to get this done. Overall I'm happy with everything, and for my first attempt at a costume this elaborate, I think I did alright.

 

[tahu505]

Update time:

I was able to get the suit functionally complete in time for my party, which was my original goal. There were plenty of things I wish I had had more time for, but the big goal was met, so I'm content. Strapping the entire thing was tricky, and I'm very glad I was able to wear the suit for a couple hours at my party as it revealed a number of issues that I need to correct if I'm going to wear this to a convention or consider traveling with it. I'll have another post in the future that details some of these items, but for now I just wanted to share some photos of the finished suit as a cumulative post (please ignore the numerous cat toys). I do plan on getting some professional photography done eventually, but for now I just want to take a breather as the last month in particular has been a significant strain to get this done. Overall I'm happy with everything, and for my first attempt at a costume this elaborate, I think I did alright.

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The parts came out great! I love the paint work and weathering! Also glad you made it in time for your deadline!

 

[TH3TA]

Update time:

I was able to get the suit functionally complete in time for my party, which was my original goal. There were plenty of things I wish I had had more time for, but the big goal was met, so I'm content. Strapping the entire thing was tricky, and I'm very glad I was able to wear the suit for a couple hours at my party as it revealed a number of issues that I need to correct if I'm going to wear this to a convention or consider traveling with it. I'll have another post in the future that details some of these items, but for now I just wanted to share some photos of the finished suit as a cumulative post (please ignore the numerous cat toys). I do plan on getting some professional photography done eventually, but for now I just want to take a breather as the last month in particular has been a significant strain to get this done. Overall I'm happy with everything, and for my first attempt at a costume this elaborate, I think I did alright.

View attachment 337813

WOW!! everything looks super clean from start to end! Definitely makes me want to hop on my second build and test out 3D printing. Do you have any trouble sitting or moving in terms of damage to the suit? I have never done 3D printing and I definitely want my next suit to be 3D printed so I can have more durability. I wasn't able to sit at all in mine because of the foam and some build issues I had structurally.

 

[RamenN00dl3]

WOW!! everything looks super clean from start to end! Definitely makes me want to hop on my second build and test out 3D printing. Do you have any trouble sitting or moving in terms of damage to the suit? I have never done 3D printing and I definitely want my next suit to be 3D printed so I can have more durability. I wasn't able to sit at all in mine because of the foam and some build issues I had structurally.

I am noticing some minor scratching of the clear coat at the point where the thighs tend to touch, as well as a few other random areas. The clear coat isn't as strong of a protectant as I had expected, and in cases where it's flaking off, it's taking the weathering and paint with it unfortunately. It adds a bit to the overall weathering I suppose, but it's less than desirable.

For mobility, it's definitely limited. I can walk (slowly) and I can crouch a bit and move my arms, but if I flex the wrong way the shoulders tend to pop off. I may eventually glue them in place, but having them detachable is nice for storage so we'll see. Only other issue I have is if I bend over, the magnets holding the chest halves together tend to give, so the front falls off. I think I'm going to add some velcro over the joints to help with that. I need some time to assess what's feasible and what's manageable for storage. Currently I'm able to get everything except the boots into the bin I have, however I had originally gotten the bin to travel with, and I'm not confident my pieces would survive as it is now, even with some padding. I'll likely have to get another, smaller bin for the items that don't fit in the current one when fully secured and padded.

 

[SigmaProps]

Update time:

I was able to get the suit functionally complete in time for my party, which was my original goal. There were plenty of things I wish I had had more time for, but the big goal was met, so I'm content. Strapping the entire thing was tricky, and I'm very glad I was able to wear the suit for a couple hours at my party as it revealed a number of issues that I need to correct if I'm going to wear this to a convention or consider traveling with it. I'll have another post in the future that details some of these items, but for now I just wanted to share some photos of the finished suit as a cumulative post (please ignore the numerous cat toys). I do plan on getting some professional photography done eventually, but for now I just want to take a breather as the last month in particular has been a significant strain to get this done. Overall I'm happy with everything, and for my first attempt at a costume this elaborate, I think I did alright.

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Oh. My. Jesus. This looks amazing dude! Awesome work, easily one of the best H3 multiplayer suits I have ever seen.

 

[JTF4]

The finished build looks amazing!

How are you rigging your shins?

 

[PlanetAlexander]

Absolutely killed it! The weathering is subtle, which actually adds a lot to the costume.

 

[TH3TA]

I am noticing some minor scratching of the clear coat at the point where the thighs tend to touch, as well as a few other random areas. The clear coat isn't as strong of a protectant as I had expected, and in cases where it's flaking off, it's taking the weathering and paint with it unfortunately. It adds a bit to the overall weathering I suppose, but it's less than desirable.

For mobility, it's definitely limited. I can walk (slowly) and I can crouch a bit and move my arms, but if I flex the wrong way the shoulders tend to pop off. I may eventually glue them in place, but having them detachable is nice for storage so we'll see. Only other issue I have is if I bend over, the magnets holding the chest halves together tend to give, so the front falls off. I think I'm going to add some velcro over the joints to help with that. I need some time to assess what's feasible and what's manageable for storage. Currently I'm able to get everything except the boots into the bin I have, however I had originally gotten the bin to travel with, and I'm not confident my pieces would survive as it is now, even with some padding. I'll likely have to get another, smaller bin for the items that don't fit in the current one when fully secured and padded.

Hmm yeah, I was in that battle of storage vs mobilitiy. I've been bouncing between looking at PLA and ABS to build my next one. Good to know that the print itself is holding up even though the clear coat isn't. Thanks!