props – Malta 3D Printing

With the release of the latest Avengers Movie – Avengers: Age of Ultron – in theaters today, there’s likely to be quite a few participants of the cosplay community who will either be coming out with their latest Avengers-inspired costumes or, after seeing the movie, will be inspired to go home and start on their next cosplay costume project.

Among those who have already gotten a head start on developing their Avengers-themed cosplay costumes is Michael Ruddy, a popular cosplay artist who uses additive manufacturing technologies to bring his costume ideas to life. Recently, Ruddy used his new gMax 1.5 XT 3D to print a full size, wearable Ultron helmet for a special client.

The gMax 1.5 XT, which is manufactured by gCreate, features 4,608 cubic inches of build volume – which is the best price-to-volume ratio for a 3D printer currently available on the market. Although he could have printed the entire helmet in a single pass thanks to the gMax 1.5 XT 16” x 16” X 18” print volume capabilities, Michael elected to divide the helmet into four separate prints – jaw, main face, top, and ears. The jaw was printed at 0.15mm layer height and took roughly 13 hours. The main face portion was printed at 0.2mm layer height and took about 30 hours, with the ears at 0.15mm layer height for an additional 10 hours. Finally, the top half was printed at 0.3mm layer height and also took around 30 hours due to placing supports in the middle.

After Ruddy’s client – Sean Shaw of Shawshank Cosplay Props – received his 3D printed Ultron helmet, he immediately assembled the jaw, face, top and ear parts into a final assembly with glue.

Once it was determined that everything fit as intended and was the proper scale, Shaw used car bondon to fill the part lines of the assembly before sanding down the entire assembled mask. Once he had reached a more finished stage, he followed the bondo with XTC-3D by Smooth On to further fill and smooth any remaining imperfections on the mask’s surfaces.

Once all of the mask’s surfaces were finished, the mask was molded using Smooth On silicone (Rebound 25 and Smooth Cast 300) to create a high-resolution mold from the original 3D print.

Finally, after casting the mask, the result was a wearable Ultron helmet that’s perfect for any Avengers fan – thanks in no small part, of course, to the ease of desktop and affordable 3D printing.

References:

3ders.org

by Simon | May 2, 2015

http://www.3ders.org/articles/20150502-prop-artist-uses-3d-printer-to-create-a-full-size-wearable-avengers-ultron-helmet.html

The fully-body Iron Man suit!

Posted on 23/03/201519/08/2015 by Malta 3D Printing

An Incredible 1.8 Miles of Filament Were Used to Create This Fully-Body Iron Man Suit!

http://3dprint.com/48264/3d-printed-iron-man-suit/

Life-Size 3D Printed Iron Man Suit Used Over 1.8 Miles of Plastic Filament, Took 14 Months to Complete

One of the areas which has seen substantial benefit from 3D printing is that of the prop and costume industry. Whether created for movie and set production or printed out as simply a hobby, the design attributes that 3D printing has to offer are taking prop and costume making to the next level.

Over the last 13 months we have seen numerous body suits and masks from popular movies 3D printed. We’ve seen entire 3D Printed Alien Xenomorph suitscreated, as well as life-sized suits such as the Hulkbuster from the Iron Man movies 3D printed and then painted. Additive manufacturing enables fine intricate details which could not have been accomplished without great expense using traditional forms of subtractive manufacturing.

In what may be one of the most detailed and largest prop/costume projects we have seen to date, a 20-year-old Marvel Comics enthusiast named Ross Wilkes has created a 3D printed life-sized Iron Man suit.

The project — which Wilkes started way back in 2013 as part of his odd, yet very creative, New Year’s resolution — has taken 14 months to finally culminate in a complete suit reminiscent of Tony Stark’s famous armor.

“Building my own Iron Man suit has been an incredible challenge,” says Wilkes. “Before I could start, I had to learn the basics of 3D printing and was able to pick up the rest along the way. I’m thrilled with what I’ve been able to create using only a 3D printer, and to be able to see the complete suit now is incredible.”

‘Incredible’ may be an understatement. Wilkes, who used only one 3D printer, a Velleman K8200, which was purchased in kit form back in 2013 and assembled soon thereafter, used quite a bit of filament for this project. A total of 32 1kg-spools of filament were used, equating to approximately a 1.8-mile-long strand. Because the Velleman 8200 has a build envelope of just 20 x 20 x 20 cm, Wilkes had to 3D print the suit in hundreds of separate pieces before fusing them all together, sort of like a puzzle.

Velleman 8200 3D Printer

Three different colors of filament were used for the main body of the suit — red, gold, and gray — and it even features the familiar chest repulsor transmitter, centered at the sternum area. Unlike many past projects we have seen, Wilkes did not paint or use any finishing techniques on this project, relying on the colors of the filament to do their job. As you can see from the images provided to us by Wilkes, he’s done a remarkable job at realizing an accurate rendition of the suit, one which appears to be 3D printed, yet still remains a very accurate representation of the suit we are all familiar with from comic books and movies.

Let’s hear your thoughts on this incredible 3D print in the 3D printed Iron Man Suit forum thread on 3DPB.com.

3DPRINT.COM

by HEIDI MILKERT | MARCH 3, 2015

3D printed props and costumes

Posted on 23/03/201518/08/2015 by Malta 3D Printing

Sky News Features A Few Awesome 3D Printed Movie Props

http://goo.gl/mFyFD7

See The 3D-Printed Hollywood Props And Costumes

Film studios are turning to special effects companies with 3D printers for quick turnarounds of detailed outfits.

Movie props and costumes are getting more elaborate and intricate because of an unlikely new character in Hollywood – the 3D printer.

Film studios are increasingly turning to special effects companies with 3D printers so that outfits can be created more quickly and with some impressive detail.

The process isn’t cheap – but there’s less of a need for actors to stand around nearly naked in plaster casts anymore.

Grant Pearmain, director at FB FX, told Sky News the design process has been revolutionised by the technology.

He said: “A 3D printer can make something that a normal person just can’t physically make, by the way it prints, kind of overlaps and underlaps.”

Among the many blockbuster movie pieces co-designed by Mr Pearmain’s company is the helmet worn by actor Chris Pratt when he starred as Star Lord in Guardians Of The Galaxy.

It was printed ready to wear straight away.

The A-lister’s co-star Djimon Hounsou – who played the baddie Korath – also received the 3D printer treatment.

Mr Pearmain added: “The designer wanted a look on that film of a kind of armour that you just wouldn’t traditionally be able to make – it would be really impossible to do.

“We worked quite hard to create 3D-printed parts that were strong enough that that entire costume could be built that way.”

Parts of Christian Bale’s helmet and armour, as he played Moses in Exodus: Gods And Kings, were also 3D printed.

Gary Miller, head of 3D printing facility IPF, told Sky News: “It’s got to the stage now where if you don’t have access to this technology you’re kind of working with one arm tied behind your back.

“It’s so fast. We’re printing in the evening on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and supplying the studios on Monday morning to go fitting straight onto the actors.”

The method also means special visual effects designers in the UK can send over prototypes to US studios for approval more quickly.

However, 3D printing has been criticised for being expensive. There have been rumblings over potential job losses too.

Technician Jack Rothwell operates a digital 3D body scanner for actors at Shepperton Studios.

He said: “I think there are fears, I think especially for people who haven’t grown up with computers who are traditional model makers … it’s a struggle to incorporate this into their work flow.”

However, film journalist Tom Butler, told us the situation may balance itself out in the long run.

“You will always need a skilled engineer at the front end to design the thing in the first place.”

And as the cost drops and the tech improves further, there are high hopes for the future.

He added: “I don’t think it’s too far-fetched to think that in the future Star Wars films the storm troopers will be wearing 3D-printed costumes.”

NEWS.SKY.COM

by Gemma Morris, Sky News Presenter | Friday 20 February 2015 20:30, UK

3D printed halo guns!

Posted on 23/03/201517/08/2015 by Malta 3D Printing

Lucky Winners at the UGC Received Incredibly Detailed 3D Printed Halo Guns as Prizes, Including a Sniper Rifle Measuring in at 5.3 Feet in Length!

http://goo.gl/osM4vo

3D Printed Halo Guns Take Over Ultimate Gaming Championship’s Recent Tournament

One area in which 3D printing has really excelled as of late is in the reproduction of weapons and props from popular video games. For decades, gamers have been trying to reproduce these often intricate virtual pieces in the actual physical world. The ability to turn an item within a game into a 3D model and then fabricate a near-exact replica of that item on a 3D printer has certainly taken things up a notch or two.

If you are a video game enthusiast, then it’s likely you have either played in, watched, or at least know someone who has participated in some sort of gaming tournament. Some people actually make careers out of their incredible gaming skills. One company called Ultimate Gaming Championship (UGC) caters to these types of people. Whether you want to show off your skills, or make perhaps thousands of dollars, UGC hosts tournaments and leagues in which gamers can meetup, socialize, and have a blast.

Earlier this month, UGC hosted a tournament in St. Louis, MO where gamers came together to compete for $20,000 in prizes. Yes, I said $20,000! The occasion for such a large giveaway? November marked the 10th anniversary of the Halo 2 launch, the first-person shooter video game which was developed by Bungie Studios and released in 2004. I think it’s fair to say that those reading this article have at least heard of the game before.

The event, which drew in over 500 gamers worldwide, and took place over a three day period, from January 2-4, had an extra special component to it this time. Owner and Founder of UGC, Matt Jackson, turned to 3D printing as a way to add to the excitement and energy at the venue.

“I developed and 3D printed several weapons from the game Halo to co-align with the theme of our last event which was a Halo 2 Anniversary 4v4 $20K payout tourney,” explained Jackson to 3DPrint.com. “I thought this was an interesting way to bridge the exposure of 3D printing game props to competitive video gaming.”

Jackson printed out a total of three weapons from the game, which included the standard M6 Hand Gun, a gold MVP Award M6 Hand Gun, and the grandaddy of them all, a Halo 4 Sniper Rifle, which measured a staggering 5.3 feet in length. The weapons were all a big hit, showing the capabilities that 3D printing has, and how those capabilities can be integrated into the gaming space, allowing for the virtual world to merge with that of the physical.

In the end, there was only one Grand Prize winning team, DenialEsports, but in actuality everyone was a winner, as they all seemed to have a blast, as 3D printing inched its way a bit closer to the mainstream. Check out some additional photographs that Matt Jackson was kind enough to share with us below, as well as a video showing the final moments of the tournament. Lets hear your thoughts on yet another amazing use for 3D printing. Discuss in the Ultimate Gaming Championship forum thread on 3DPB.com.

3DPRINT.COM

by BRIAN KRASSENSTEIN | JANUARY 11, 2015