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[Valkir]

I have started the CAD side of my Late Crusade armor, I wanted to make sure using a specific model from SWTOR was acceptable before I began work as this will be an intensive build in time and money.

http://mandalorianmercs.org/forum/index.php?topic=92867.msg1358382#msg1358382

I work in CAD making miniatures for table top gaming as my day job, so when I wanted to feed my Boba Fett-ish it seemed a natural choice.

I am tall, 6’5” so I am a bit large for a canon Boba, I have no interest in making a Vader or Wookie costume…. Poking around I found you guys and as I sometimes play SWTOR I had just the thing in mind 

I will use an FDM printer to bring the CAD files into the real world as wearable armor. Here is my ultimate goal. I wanted to keep it as true to the original model as I could so I made a set of cardboard calipers and started measuring my knoggin. 10” deep tip of the nose to back of the skull, 7.25” wide ear to ear and 9.5” tall chin to top of head.

I took a CAD human dummy and started my tweaking there, this provided me with a 3D representation of my head dimensions. As I use Rhino 3D for my CAD work, it provides accurate measurements down to the micron. I use Zbrush for most of my organic modeling but nothing does hard plate armor like Rhino.



This is where I begin my journey… Using screen grabs from the game I start roughing in the initial shape, knowing full well a bucket with tapered sided was not the final goal.



You can see me working through the process, refining the shape. The shape is a little more complex than you would think, there is a change in form at the front of the helmet, it’s not just a cut the nose off kind of thing. After a couple hours of tweaking I have the basic form where I want it but I need to go back and rebuild the face area from scratch to refine the eye slot and the nose area and make the design fit as close as I can get it to the in game model.

While working through this process, I discovered the ears were not in the right place for a human… I had to move their position and refine the helmet details to match their revised placement.


Here you can see a 95% completed helmet.
I threw some quickie textures on it just to give it a spin. As Shea Viz has some great close up art I patterned my mic tips? off of hers. I tried to copy every detail present in the game model. The game model is fairly plain but that’s fine by me as it more closely matches Fett, where Shea Viz is much more busy and the shape of her helmet more curved and form fitting.









I will keep this build log rolling until the entire armor is complete, I thank you for stopping in and viewing my WIP. Please feel free to make suggestions or ask questions.

All the best!
V

[Boz Ving]

Dude that's amazing!

[Briks]

I really like that helmet look  8) Can't wait to see more progress! 

[YourMaster]

 I likes it a lot too but how u print somthing that big in sections?

[Valkir]

I likes it a lot too but how u print somthing that big in sections?

The printer I have coming will deal with 12" square, so the helmet will be one piece the chest will need to be broken up.

(The small detail parts on the helmet will need to be done on a different printer, as FDM does not give the surface quality for small details.)

[Ralin Voth]

You have entirely too much skill vod. I can't wait to see how this turns out.

[Mando707]

I don't even know whAt To say ... Aside from Rock and Roll... Doesn't look like anything I've ever seen in Star Wars land, but what do I know? Incredible job and can't wait to see this project I'm real life.

[Valkir]

I don't even know whAt To say ... Aside from Rock and Roll... Doesn't look like anything I've ever seen in Star Wars land, but what do I know? Incredible job and can't wait to see this project I'm real life.

Heh, yeah it comes from the Star Wars The Old Republic MMO... I hear you though, A lot of designs coming from the comic books are new to me. This kind of thing like the comic books fall under the 'expanded universe'.

[Zeafus]

I hope i run into you one day so i can check out that helmet in person. Its freaking sweet

[Valkir]

The long wait for the Kickstarter printer is over!

My Raise3D N2Plus arrived in good condition. After a few small test prints to get the feel for the software, printer and materials I finished up the helmet and jumped right in.


I settled on PETG as my build material, it has some flexibility and is very impact resistant. PETG can be a pain to print in and there are very few solvents that can be used to glue parts together, lucky for me, this is a monster sized printer.

I needed to do a bit more work on the CAD model and shell the model for the proper wall thickness, I tried to keep it at about 1/4 inch thickness for strength.
I removed the ears and mic. to print them separately, I made the ear sections hollow so that I could put some screening over some small detail holes to aid in hearing while the helmet is on. I may take apart some shooters ear muffs and put the electronics in to use as amplifiers.






Here is the first shot of the helmet being printed, we are about 24 hours in on a print that will take nearly 200 hours to complete. I could have easily done it in a quarter of the time but that would mean a less desirable finish and more time spent on cleanup... Plus this gives me a good chance to work out if there are issues with the printer as a torture test will show if there are mechanical issues I need to worry about.

[Sulkon88]

Amazing! How much does a printer that can build that large of an object run for? If you dont mind me asking.

[Valkir]

The kickstarter price was $2600 or so. They are now $3300.00 still expensive but compared to a makerbot Z18 at $6300.00 its one hell of a deal. Heated bed and enclosed with a 12x12x24 build area. So far it has been stupid simple to operate and is giving great results so I am pleased with the printer.

You can take a gander here:
http://www.raise3d.com/products/raise3d-n2-plus-pre-order-fdm-3d-printer

[Zeafus]

The long wait for the Kickstarter printer is over!

My Raise3D N2Plus arrived in good condition. After a few small test prints to get the feel for the software, printer and materials I finished up the helmet and jumped right in.


I settled on PETG as my build material, it has some flexibility and is very impact resistant. PETG can be a pain to print in and there are very few solvents that can be used to glue parts together, lucky for me, this is a monster sized printer.

I needed to do a bit more work on the CAD model and shell the model for the proper wall thickness, I tried to keep it at about 1/4 inch thickness for strength.
I removed the ears and mic. to print them separately, I made the ear sections hollow so that I could put some screening over some small detail holes to aid in hearing while the helmet is on. I may take apart some shooters ear muffs and put the electronics in to use as amplifiers.






Here is the first shot of the helmet being printed, we are about 24 hours in on a print that will take nearly 200 hours to complete. I could have easily done it in a quarter of the time but that would mean a less desirable finish and more time spent on cleanup... Plus this gives me a good chance to work out if there are issues with the printer as a torture test will show if there are mechanical issues I need to worry about.

This bucket makes me giggle from how awesome it looks. Im so excited to see it finished.

[Valkir]

I restarted the print last night, it was not liking being printed with the helmet upside down. The supports on the inside were not sticking to the inside walls. I flipped it over as the supports should have no problem when attached to the build table.

I also changed the thickness of the walls down to about 3/16. the 1/4+ was overkill. I could have beaten the helmet with a 2X4 and I doubt you could break it and the added weight was not needed. Guess I just needed to sacrifice a spool of filament to the print gods...

Second print started last night, about 100 hours remaining.

[Den Barren]

Vod this is beyond awesome!