Hey there! Welcome back to another episode "
Anyhoo! Before I could start on this project, I needed to identify each piece and what customization options I was going to use. Here's the loadout on my Spartan:
- Helmet: HAZOP
- Right Shoulder: FJ/Para
- Left Shoulder: HAZOP
- Chest: Mk. V
- Knees: FJ/Para
So I had to go through and make sure I had all the (correct) parts before I could do anything else here. I wound up downloading the Noble 2, Noble 6, and the HAZOP sets from the 405th's 3D printing model index. Once I had those, I needed to scale them to my size. Bear in mind, the models that MoeSizzlac made were designed for someone who's 5'10". I'm 6'5", this is NOT gonna work out of the box!
So I prototyped!
This screenshot comes from a wonderful little app called Armorsmith Designer. It's made by The Armored Garage, and for the low, low price of $40, it makes patternmaking armor so much easier! When you first set it up, it asks you for all your measurements. And I do mean all of them! It measures your arms, legs, chest, head, hips, hands, you get the idea. Then it builds an "avatar" of your proportions. You import the 3D models into it, and then you scale them to your body. Once you have that done, export the models piece by piece and you got yourself a suit of Spartan armor scaled to your body!
All it takes now is printing. Whiiiich...depending on what printer you have, this could be a problem. I have a Creality Ender 3, which has a 210x210x250mm print volume. Check this out:
This is the left bicep piece. It's 221.85mm tall. And this is one of the smaller parts. I can't fit most of the parts on here! This is one of the few that will work!
So what do we do about the bigger pieces? I can't just print them full size, and I don't want to scale them down. The solution?
Split the file! This is the forearm piece. By itself, it's a little too big to print. But if I cut it in half and print at a diagonal, I can fit it in the printer. Yay, hypotenuse shenanigans!
I'm currently printing the pieces I can, and then I'll start slicing more files. I plan to modify these models a bit to give me spots to put some magnets to hold the whole thing together. Stay tuned for more cosplay and 3D Printing!