Questions a new builder has

[FerventToast303]

So I wanna try making an armor for a con I have in April. I wanna make a Mark VI or Mjolnir armor with maybe an Energy Sword or a MA40 rifle. I just...have no idea how. This would be my first ever build and don't know anything. I understand at the minimum that I need 2mm EVA foam and need to seal it with a heat gun and something else. I just have no idea what I do. I don't know how I would model it, how I cut the foam, all of that. I could really use help as I am very passionate about this and very excited. Thank you for the help, it is *greatly* appreciated.

 

[Negativecacti]

So I've made afew weapons now and made guides on how to make them. This is mine for my AndrewDFT ma40

Props - Next logical build. MA40

So now that I've done yet another mk.50 sidekick (3rd Pic and 3 in total) it's time to try my hand at something a bit bigger, the MA50 from infinite. I do have the nerf one but I want something lighter and can easily attach to my back without fear of falling off and breaking. I'm using the...

www.405th.com

 

[SgtSaint]

Two people the same height still may not have same measurements.
One can have a long shin and the other a long thigh. One is built like a power lifter and the other like a slim swimmer. You have to match each armor part to YOUR body part. Blindly saying that a uniform scale of 103% or whatever is a fairly sure way to have a big pile of recycling. It's really, really common to have to go (as an example) 103% around because you have muscular legs, and only 99% in length to avoid joint conflict. So you have to scale part by part to your body. The most common way to handle this is a program called "ArmorSmith". There's lots of chatter around it still being functional (it is), but there's a summary post for it here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArmorsmithDesigner/posts/2660530210821520/
Armorsmith is for both foam and 3d printed sizing.
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My regular 'new armorer' post:

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If you didn't know - the 405th Reddit and Facebook and Discord server/pages are just a social media front end to the much large 405th organization. Tip of the iceberg. Head over to the proper 405th website for a vast amount of material, help, articles, resources and what will probably help you the most: Other people's build threads.

The welcome book lays out what you need to know.
https://www.405th.com/.../405th-welcome-booklet.52168/

The actual 405th website has a vast armory of files.
The Armory
And 3d model index
Free 3D Model Index

A curated list of tutorials:
https://www.405th.com/forums/threads/tutorial-index.45940/

One of many, many, many build threads.
MK-VI gen3, as Silver timeline (TV series)
https://www.405th.com/.../build-2-mk-vi-gen-3-with-some.../

Discord server:
Join the 405th Infantry Division Discord Server!

Not saying: Don't ask
Am saying: There are so many experienced armorers that have poured collective man-years into really good build threads, articles and tutorials filled with do's and don'ts and wish-I-had-knowns that you're doing yourself a disservice by not reading them. A casual afternoon of reading the tales of those that came before you would put you MONTHS further ahead, save you time, money, effort, wastage and exasperation. Not to mention after all those people's hard work making the articles it would be a shame for them to not get read.

Next build your skills. Don't use your helmet or real armor as test parts to learn on if you've never done this before, don't know sanding plastic printed parts etc. Maybe print 20 test XYZ cubes at like 60mm. Use those to learn good sanding, smoothing and painting techniques. If you can't make a flat cube look like metal then you know you aren't ready to tackle armor. Plus you have 6 sides per cube to test painting on and use as a visual record of "This is silver over gloss black" etc.

After the simple cubes move on to a "speed shape". These are commonly used to test paints on over various contours. This gives you a good model to practice sanding more complex shapes with curves and grooves on. Again, you're working up towards the complex shapes of helmets and armor. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4826498

Helmet probably should be last, not first. Yeah yeah, everyone wants a helmet to drool over. But it's the thing everyone stares at so you want to do it AFTER you've developed a process, techniques and skills.
Personally I always recommend starting at the feet & hands then working up & in to the body.
• You're going to weather and distress the boots more than anything else... and they get looked at with the least critical eye.
• Then shins which have to ride on the boots.
• Then thighs since you have to avoid joint conflict so you can sit etc.
• See how this goes? Up from the boots, and inward from the hands to forearms to biceps to shoulders.
• By the time you get to the chest and helmet; the parts at eye level that everyone stares at, looks at first, is right there in your face in every photo - you can make them look stellar.
And if you start at the boots you're looking at parts that are only a day or two per part not 6 days per part. So you can hone your scaling skills.

If you've never done an armor build before you might want your first armor to be one without the really tight tolerances of a Spartan or Ironman. I confess I made about 3 Spartan armors to get my first one right. It was very Goldilocks of "This is too big, this is too small, this is just right" with every part. If I had known then what I learned through the process I would have made a Mandalorian (least actual armor) then an ODST then Spartan and actually gotten 2-3 good wearable costumes instead of a lot of waste. I mean, if you're going to print 3 costumes either way, might well have 3 costumes- instead of 1 + a pile of wrong-sized prints, right?
There are a lot of new skills to learn if this is new to you. If building an accurate avatar isn't in your wheelhouse right now you can have it done for you through my store, and cut down on reprinting waste.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1847746841/digital-avatar-creation-service-cosplay
Least tight of tolerance first, and work towards tightest tolerance.
So like:

1. The Mandalorian
2. Aliens Colonial Marine
3. ODST
4. Spartan
5. Ironman

If you are new to 3d printing or considering buying your first 3d printer just so you can make an armor:
3d printers have come a long way since I started with them in 2009. But they still aren't fully plug-n-play like a department store inkjet: But some of the newest & smallest ones are getting there. There's a lot more to 3d printing than just hitting print: Like knowing your different materials and when to use them. Or knowing when more walls and less infill, or more infill and less walls is the right choice. You should expect there to be a learning curve and at $20/spool that curve comes with a cost. I'm just saying walk into 3d printing with your eyes open.
"What's your printer?" thread on the 405th forum:
What's Your Printer?
I wish I knew this about printers before buying discussion:
"I wish I knew" Tips When Starting to 3d Print
My favorite section of any YouTuber's channels is the recent post by Frankly Built who is well regarded in this genre - about taking some time to learn before doing:

Jumping right to armor is really not the best way to go when beginning 3d printing. You really want to work up to something this big and specialized. Work up to things so big that a 3% goof can mean added costs, joints that lock up and you can't bend your elbow etc. Little easy things first… Things with no supports to start. Move up to props like pistols. And keep moving upward over time.
• A few settings differences can be the difference between a part too weak to be used and printing your armor so heavy it's exhausting to wear. The difference between a $10 part and a $40 part adds up to a significant difference over an entire armor.

If it's your first printer taking a hybrid approach can actually save money. Get the small bed printer for home use and see if you even like doing this. Large 500mm-1000mm machines aren't cheap and take up space and fails are proportionately expensive. If you love doing it and can justify the big printer as your second or third machine, go for it. But if you want to make the smaller things at home and outsource the big stuff to a print farm like www.starbase3d.com (mine for transparency) the extra-large printers mean being able to have big armor pieces like legs/chest/back done in strong seamless single-prints instead of several pieces to be glued and blended into invisibility.

 

[SgtSaint]

I noticed you're mentioning foam... If you're sticking to that direction there are some excellent YouTube channels for foam cosplay builds - in addition to all the foam build threads here on the site.

There are also a huge number of YouTube channels dedicated to cosplay.

• https://www.youtube.com/@KamuiCosplay
  Amazing foam work.
• https://www.youtube.com/@HawkWorley
  Sewing for cosplay
• https://www.youtube.com/@pandapropsncostumes
  A mix of skills for cosplay
• https://www.youtube.com/@punishedprops
  Foam, printed, metal, leather, modding toys to props

 

[Cadet]

We have an extensive Tutorial Index with threads covering many of your questions:

Tutorial Index

Tutorial Index This index is a gateway to a wealth of knowledge shared by community members here at the 405th. Each of the tutorials below was created by a community member who wanted to share their own expert tips, strategies, and creative solutions with all of you! This index is updated...

www.405th.com

For a foam build, the most common method is to use a Program called Pepakura designed for paper craft model folding to open template or pattern files in the .PDO format. You can also use the ArmorSmith Program to open, display, and print .PDO files. There are tutorials for both of these programs in the Index.

The Armory here o nthe website contains all of the .PDO files for both Armor and weapons that have been generously donated by Community members for others to use free of charge. They are organized by Game, Armor Set, and Faction (UNSC or Covenant.) Files will be packed together in one .ZIP files, and those files that have been optimized for use with Foam will have "FOAM" in the file name, though it is entirely possible to use the standard .PDO files for a foam build.

The Armory

www.405th.com

The Foam Guide covers the basics of Foam builds:

Foam Guide

Contributors: RandomRanger , Fallen Introduction This is a tutorial targeted at beginners to help understand what EVA foam is, the different types of EVA foam available, how and where to buy EVA foam, and some basic tips/tricks/and tools for working with EVA foam. Index What is EVA foam? What...

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[FerventToast303]

Thank you all! I'm truly grateful for all of you. I don't have a 3D Printer as of now so foam is really my only option. I'm debating going as a Spartan, ODST, or just going as a Marine for my first time. Thanks again!