Hello!
I wasn't sure if I was going to post about this or not, but I decide "why not". As some of you may already know, I'm primarily obsessed with the Terminator Endoskeleton. But, I also have a lot of love for Alien and Aliens. Lately, I've been working on some props from the Alien(s) franchise for fun (as well as a much needed break from my ongoing Endoskeleton project). I've wanted to have a Colonial Marine helmet in my collection, and while for some replicas I love to hunt for screen lineage parts or the found items that were used... for this project I wanted to take a different approach. And I'll tell you why.
I am a capable 3D modeler and sculptor. I've also become very addicted to 3D printing. And, I recently got into 3D scanning with a Creality Raptor. I love using these skills/tools for this hobby. I really love it. I also noticed that information is getting harder to find regarding original items and sourcing the parts is always a challenge. In looking over the film in 4K and various recent high resolution auction photos, I've also found some room for improvement when it comes to replicating certain aspects of this helmet. Hopefully I can achieve some of that. I'm also debating offering parts or kits in the future. Perhaps at some point I will sell files so that more people can print/make their own. We'll see. But, that's why I'm taking this particular approach with this prop.
I started by acquiring a reproduction M1 helmet. I know, I said I wasn't going to source real parts (well technically this isn't a REAL M1 j/k). The reason I bought one was so that I could 3D scan it as the base for making the other components. Eventually, I'd like to make a fully 3D printable helmet that has the front strike/bump plate, side cutouts and holes already incorporated into it. But that's a bit down the road.
Here's a photo of the M1 helmet with reflective markers attached for scanning using the blue laser mode on the Creality Raptor (there are also markers placed inside the helmet):
After scanning and processing the super high detail mesh, I simplified/reduced the resolution so that it was easier to work with in Fusion where I'll be modeling many of the parts:
I decided to start with the camera that mounts to the side of the helmet. It's a cool and complex looking feature that also needs to conform to the compound curves of the helmet. It took lots of iteration and test prints to get to this point. I'm really happy with how it came out. I'll talk about some of the details on the other side of these images of the final model from Fusion:
I designed the camera so that it can be printed in a few separate parts for both quality and ease of cleanup/post processing. I'm also making a version that can be printed in 1 piece, but the tradeoff will be some quality. It's pretty minor though. I also designed it so that a real Pentax 110 18mm lens can mount using a printable bayonet ring. If mounting a resin cast of the Pentax lens or even my 3D printed Pentax lens (more on that in a bit), you simply don't need to use the bayonet ring that I've designed because I made it a separate part. So, it's flexible. There are two "nut traps" for M4 square nuts on the backside of the mounting plate (see third Fusion pic). The square nuts drop into the square holes and snuggly press fit into alignment with the round holes by sliding them over. Oh, and you'll notice all the little holes around the part are meant for using real screws.
While it doesn't have some of the "raw" scratch built tells from screen lineage castings, I did try to keep it from looking too perfect by retaining some of the odd nuances of the originals. I've also noticed that some resin castings that are available for this part may be 5-10% too small (from what I can tell) based on the size of the Pentax lens when compared to the main circular mounting surface. This could be shrinkage from generations of molds made in the fan community. I also added some tells that this is my designed part in case this ends up getting copied in the future.
Here's what all of the printed parts and stainless hardware look like before assembly:
A couple other angles of the main camera body:
And here's how it all comes together with a real Pentax lens mounted:
Overall it's a pretty clean print for FDM style printers. The main camera body was printed at 0.2mm layer height with a 0.4mm nozzle. The knobs and rear greeblie were printed at 0.10mm layer height with the same nozzle. Sure it will need some clean up, light filling, sanding, etc. But, overall I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I could print this in resin, but honestly I think that the overwhelming number of hobbyists with FDM 3D printers motivates me to try and make things work with these limitations knowing we can all put in a little (or a lot) of post-processing labor to reach our own personal goals.
If you got this far, thanks for checking out my thread. I hope you enjoyed. The next installment will cover my printable Pentax 110 18mm lens.
-Dana
I wasn't sure if I was going to post about this or not, but I decide "why not". As some of you may already know, I'm primarily obsessed with the Terminator Endoskeleton. But, I also have a lot of love for Alien and Aliens. Lately, I've been working on some props from the Alien(s) franchise for fun (as well as a much needed break from my ongoing Endoskeleton project). I've wanted to have a Colonial Marine helmet in my collection, and while for some replicas I love to hunt for screen lineage parts or the found items that were used... for this project I wanted to take a different approach. And I'll tell you why.
I am a capable 3D modeler and sculptor. I've also become very addicted to 3D printing. And, I recently got into 3D scanning with a Creality Raptor. I love using these skills/tools for this hobby. I really love it. I also noticed that information is getting harder to find regarding original items and sourcing the parts is always a challenge. In looking over the film in 4K and various recent high resolution auction photos, I've also found some room for improvement when it comes to replicating certain aspects of this helmet. Hopefully I can achieve some of that. I'm also debating offering parts or kits in the future. Perhaps at some point I will sell files so that more people can print/make their own. We'll see. But, that's why I'm taking this particular approach with this prop.
I started by acquiring a reproduction M1 helmet. I know, I said I wasn't going to source real parts (well technically this isn't a REAL M1 j/k). The reason I bought one was so that I could 3D scan it as the base for making the other components. Eventually, I'd like to make a fully 3D printable helmet that has the front strike/bump plate, side cutouts and holes already incorporated into it. But that's a bit down the road.
Here's a photo of the M1 helmet with reflective markers attached for scanning using the blue laser mode on the Creality Raptor (there are also markers placed inside the helmet):
After scanning and processing the super high detail mesh, I simplified/reduced the resolution so that it was easier to work with in Fusion where I'll be modeling many of the parts:
I decided to start with the camera that mounts to the side of the helmet. It's a cool and complex looking feature that also needs to conform to the compound curves of the helmet. It took lots of iteration and test prints to get to this point. I'm really happy with how it came out. I'll talk about some of the details on the other side of these images of the final model from Fusion:
I designed the camera so that it can be printed in a few separate parts for both quality and ease of cleanup/post processing. I'm also making a version that can be printed in 1 piece, but the tradeoff will be some quality. It's pretty minor though. I also designed it so that a real Pentax 110 18mm lens can mount using a printable bayonet ring. If mounting a resin cast of the Pentax lens or even my 3D printed Pentax lens (more on that in a bit), you simply don't need to use the bayonet ring that I've designed because I made it a separate part. So, it's flexible. There are two "nut traps" for M4 square nuts on the backside of the mounting plate (see third Fusion pic). The square nuts drop into the square holes and snuggly press fit into alignment with the round holes by sliding them over. Oh, and you'll notice all the little holes around the part are meant for using real screws.
While it doesn't have some of the "raw" scratch built tells from screen lineage castings, I did try to keep it from looking too perfect by retaining some of the odd nuances of the originals. I've also noticed that some resin castings that are available for this part may be 5-10% too small (from what I can tell) based on the size of the Pentax lens when compared to the main circular mounting surface. This could be shrinkage from generations of molds made in the fan community. I also added some tells that this is my designed part in case this ends up getting copied in the future.
Here's what all of the printed parts and stainless hardware look like before assembly:
A couple other angles of the main camera body:
And here's how it all comes together with a real Pentax lens mounted:
Overall it's a pretty clean print for FDM style printers. The main camera body was printed at 0.2mm layer height with a 0.4mm nozzle. The knobs and rear greeblie were printed at 0.10mm layer height with the same nozzle. Sure it will need some clean up, light filling, sanding, etc. But, overall I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I could print this in resin, but honestly I think that the overwhelming number of hobbyists with FDM 3D printers motivates me to try and make things work with these limitations knowing we can all put in a little (or a lot) of post-processing labor to reach our own personal goals.
If you got this far, thanks for checking out my thread. I hope you enjoyed. The next installment will cover my printable Pentax 110 18mm lens.
-Dana
