Reach Mark V[B] - First Spartan

[Hadone]

On the heels of wrapping up my ODST build (seen here) I have begun the process of planning the grueling task of my first spartan. Like many of us, the Reach Mark V(b) is may favorite Halo Spartan style, and so I have chosen it to be my first spartan. To make this task even more challenging, I am planning on shooting for maximum detail and accuracy, because if its worth doing, its worth overdoing.

Step One: Deciding the Armor (and weapons)​

To refresh my memory I used this tool to learn what my Reach spartan had on him the last time I played.

With this in mind I found a designer who made nearly everything I needed, albeit it is the Halo Infinite Mark V(b). Close enough counts for horseshoe and hand grenades, and Halo has plenty of hand grenades so we can let it slide.

TitleWave Designs​

He has a functioning hard case for the thigh, a TAC pad for the left arm, the TAAP armor attachment that I decided to go with instead of chest pouches, his legs came with the FJ Para knees, everything is set up to use lights, but the only thing missing was the shoulders. He had many shoulder but not the Gungnir shoulders. HAD, because I messaged him asking if he could just add the mounting system he uses for the Mark V(b) armor to the Halo Reach Marine Guard shoulder that he already had designed and posted, as they are essentially the same thing. Instead this madman designed the perfect recreation and posted it in 24 hours. Despite not planning on starting the 3D printing anytime soon, I felt obligated to immediately buy all the files I needed from him for his excellent service.

If anyone is looking to do any 3D printing, I implore you to consider him, but enough shilling. He didn't have the Pilot helmet, so where did I go for that?

Nerd Forge Designs​

Now some people maybe asking, "Nerd Forge Designs has tons of parts, and already had the shoulder made, why didn't you go with his files?" and to that I would say "Thank you for asking that very specific question that helps me build a narrative to tell a story" and he didn't have the FJ Para knees, or the hard case, or the TAC pad. But that seems like a small detail, with a bit of time, that could be easily adapted, and the truth is, I really didn't want to. I thought about reaching out to him about the knees, but as many people who have bought his security shoulders with kukri know, he seems to have dropped off the face of the earth. When people bought the file, it did not come with the actual security shoulder. Enough complaints and refund requests seem to have come in and CGTrader has taken down that listing, assumedly. And truth be told, once I had a stellar experience with TitleWave, he had nabbed me as a customer for life, but I still needed a helmet, so I picked up Nerd Forge's helmet and went on my merry way.

Galactic Armory​

A man who needs no introduction around here. I have his ODST files, and trust what I've seen and printed and will be getting his Reach DMR. Since his Magnum is technically not from reach I haven't decided on what pistol I want to use, if any. If you have a recommendation I'm all ears.

Step Two: Learning How to Size Armor in Armorsmith​

This is where we are now. I was lucky enough that all of the important pieces in my ODST build were nearly perfectly sized, but with a spartan needing more fine tuning to get the tolerances right, I thought it would be prudent as well as economical to spend the $40 on software to save time and filament. I am now researching many other threads and tutorials on doing it properly. As a lanky 6'2" 215lb man, I doubt I would be lucky enough to have all armor made just for little ol' me. Here is what I have now.

I am fairly certain I need to increase the size of a few things, the biggest thing is the shoulders. It technically being a Halo Infinite armor set, the shoulder are a lot smaller than Reach, they will need to be sized up to get the right look.

Step Three: 3D Printer Goes Brrrrrrr​

I have a Bambu Labs P1S, and with the amount of experience I have with setting up slicing, it's just a matter of waiting for the parts to come out.

Step Four: The Undersuit​

This is were it starts to get difficult. My first armor I made was a foam ODST set from the foam files here in the Armory. I can confidently say, I suck at it. There is a reason all of the armor I am making is designed by someone else and fabricated by a robot. I just don't have it in me. To compensate for this I plan to copy use as reference the work that KitKatGoose did on her Reach armor seen here.

Step Five: Mounting​

I put buckles and magnets and straps on it.

Step Six: Painting and Weathering​

My favorite part of any prop. Going to prime, silver layer, black layer then color (teal and white) layer, using toothpaste to layer the damage and create chips and scratches. I also have a cricut for making accurate decals.

Step Seven: Powering up​

Planning on adding the lights to the shield emitter spots an putting fans in the helmet as well as a speaker/mic if there is room.

Closing Statements​

If you have any experience with what I am planning, or know of any threads that cover what I am going to be doing, please share them. I am in the information-soaking-up phase. I look forward to this build and being able to stand side by side with my fellow Spartans in the future. Not to set lofty goals and rush this project but I would like to try and have this trooping ready for Megacon 2025 in Orlando, FL (Feb 6-9), but I understand that is a very fast timeline. Luckily I work in education so Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks I could work on it full time. Baring that I'd aim for Metrocon 2025 in Tampa (July).

 

[Hadone]

Reserved for Step Two and Three​

 

[Hadone]

Reserved for Step Four and Five​

 

[Hadone]

Reserved for Step Six and Seven​