RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pics)

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Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

The last print is finished and I'm now ready to share some photos of how things turned out. They're not perfect, but I think they're probably good enough for costume parts. First, here is the original UD hand plate pepped and resined:

HandPlate18_zpstrers8uf.jpg



At first I was trying to print the model horizontally and it just wasn't working due to where all the sharp angles ended up. Simplify3D technical support recommended printing this model upside-down so its flat topside could rest directly on the build platform. That ended in disaster after 19 hours of printing with the supports fused to the model and I gave up with trying to remove them:

HandPlate19_zpsa5vhyjc7.jpg



So I then went about experimenting with different orientations and support structures to achieve the best results in Simplify3D's slicing preview. Its 5-second slicing time was indispensable compared against Dremel's 45 minutes. Suffice it to say, I will not be using the Dremel software anymore for printing. After about a day of tinkering with different model orientations and support schemes I came up with a print job using 6 meters less filament and 9 hours build time. Here is the second attempt, raw and not cleaned up yet:

HandPlate20_zps4eymhvne.jpg



It does have some defects near the back due to not enough support material, but I think I'll still use it anyway and inherit the "combat damage" if it ends up not getting cleaned up with Bondo. I revised the supports arrangement and came up with this:

HandPlate16_zpsrgs6rpzp.jpg


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Oddly, with the additional supports added, build time was reduced to roughly 8 and a half hours. Here is how the final one turned out, again raw and not cleaned up yet:

HandPlate21_zpsh1aapoff.jpg



It too has a few defect areas and will take some Bondo work but overall I'm happy with the result and I didn't have to pep it - it printed through the night while I was sleeping. What would have taken me several weeks to pep (I don't get much time each day for working on this) got printed in 2 days and I get to skip the resin and fiberglassing steps.

Incidentally, perhaps you noticed the filament color. I chose to print these using silver filament. That's my clever idea for saving a few steps in the finishing process. After sanding and painting these parts they won't be dry-brushed with silver for weathering - they'll get abused and roughed up to reveal the silver base material under the paint before adding a clear coat. Later, any damage incurred while the kid's wearing it will just end up showing more silver instead of white (or some other color) interior.

I'll get the STL file uploaded later this week after I take care of some modeling on the cod project.
 
Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

Print looks great! From the tinkering that I have done with my printer, I have found that if you can print a rectangular object vertically instead horizontally print times are far shorter. Keep us posted!
 
Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

Yes, so much win! Print looks good, and for the sanding, it looks to be that it will be very minimal. Next build of mine definitely will be 3d printed!
 
Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

Thanks guys. Yep, I went into this not knowing at all what I was doing and quickly learned the "right" way to orient a model for printing. I did end up printing another hand plate, not because the first "good" print had flaws but because I figured it'd be good to have a throwaway part for testing out sanding, Bondo adhesion, and painting before doing any of that with the "real" parts. Updates will be slow here again for a little while as we prep for the annual neighborhood garage sale next weekend, Father's Day the next weekend, and doing modeling work on the Pepakura cod and STL forearm. So far the forearm model is looking pretty good, and the cod model is coming along well with getting all the in-game details. I'm thinking I might be putting this build on hold until all the models are finished and then pump them all out for a better chance of fitting the kid rather than having the first parts outgrown by the time the last parts are printing.
 
Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

Nope, not quite dead yet. Been very busy with family issues, medical issues, and difficulty in figuring out the cod details, but I think we might have the first new detail area of the cod finally finished and we're moving on to the next missing detail area. I've also been working on smoothing out the forearm model for 3D printing. The link between my PC and Mac has been hit and miss lately so that's been messing with my uploading of the hand plate STL file (as I use the PC's larger monitor for creating preview images and I'm not uploading the file without a preview image). The cod model isn't far enough along yet for a teaser image, but I'm hoping things have calmed down enough at home that I can get back to working on the models again and have something up to show you all how it's looking.
 
Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

Well, another year's gone by and it's birthday party time again next month. This year he's chosen a Ghostbusters theme (the classic, not the goofy remake) and I get to make ghost trap party favor boxes - 12 of them in less than a month. I finished drawing up the model yesterday and exported patterns from it which were cut out tonight on the Cameo. They'll be transferred to foam-core board tomorrow for building the main body. Here's how the model turned out (it's not screen-accurate because it's a party box, not a prop replica):

GhostbustersTrap.png
 
Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

Finally got these boxes done for the party. Made them from foam board, cardstock, scrap PVC pipe and wood dowels from the garage, water and Gatorade bottle caps (son's idea for the knobs since we couldn't find anything cheap), and plastic pony beads to simulate socket screws:

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And of course they open up for holding toys and treats:

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And yes I built 12 of them!

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Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

Awesome work so far.
 
Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

Thanks - I need to replace some what-turned-out-to-be-junk network gear (so my pc and Mac are "friends" again) and then I'll finally be resuming work on the cod model for Pepakura and the forearm model for 3D printing. Also, once I can access my screenshot background plate again from a dead network drive I'll be able to complete the 3D printer hand plate upload package.
 
Re: RobotChicken's Halo 3 Mk VI Master Chief, Ultra Detail, First Build WIP (many pic

I am still alive. Had to spend nearly $1000 for data recovery on a failed piece-of-crap WESTERN DIGITAL drive (family photos, videos, project files, etc.) - I will never buy another drive from them. That with some needed home repairs have effectively crimped any costuming purchases for the near future. As for working on the models, I've finally got my network functioning again but still want to replace the router because Apple apparently doesn't really know how to build decent networking hardware. Haven't had any time this last month for any hobbies as I've been getting things done around the house that have been needing to get done for years and I'm finally attacking those tasks. I hope to be getting back at the modeling work sometime in October, depending on how much of my personal time will be needed with helping my son make an Ash costume from Pokemon for Halloween this year. Be patient if you're waiting on Mk VI high-detail STL files or more of the Pepakura models - files like SirPalesAlot and I have been uploading do take a considerable amount of work to produce.
 
After a much needed break from the Mk VI modeling so SirPalesAlot and I could get some other things done, modeling has resumed on the cod for turning out another ultra detail model as it appears in the game. But due to recent changes in this site's terms of use and the seemingly apathetic regard to site design and file availability, I will not be uploading any further models to the File Archive, or Resources, or whatever other name changes it undergoes. My opinion is that this site has fallen apart over the last year so I'll be hosting the files created by SirPalesAlot and myself on my own server. The hardware is bought and will be connected up sometime next week. However it will be a little longer than that before files are ready as I'll need to design a decent download system, and working on the next model release will take precedence over web site development.
 
Taking another couple of weeks away to model the Pillar Of Autumn for my kid who has chosen "3D Prop" format for his next school book report (he's been reading the Halo novels). I got a really nice model from CPO mendez (thank you very much!) but it has too many intersecting solids, missing faces, inverted polygons, etc to be turn-key plug-and-play for Pepakura or 3D printing. So, with his permission, I'm cleaning it up to get it ready for pep or print. Pepping has definite cost advantages, but would take quite a bit of time to complete and could result in a missed deadline. 3D printing would cost more but could be printed during the night and include more detail than feasible with pep. The size will be around 2' long and that's a fair amount of filament so I'm still contemplating options while making the 3D model. Photos will be added to the Pillar Of Autumn thread I posted in the 3D Modeling forum.
 
thanks for info. i cannot access file archive because registration is blocked on this site by administrator. too bad i would have really liked to get into halo pepakura armor. i guess only way to get files these days is to buy them from ebay for around 30 bucks?
 
I agree, don't buy files off eBay - it's just wrong. The models made by SirPalesAlot and myself are now in the 405th's Armory, but because of poor admin decision-making all the files are lumped together in one big fat inappropriate .zip download. The models are available in 4 levels of difficulty. If you know what you want, pm me and I can send you files directly (they're the best Mk VI files you'll find anywhere).
 
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