Iron Man mkIII 3D Printed

[kenlandrum]

Well, I'm finally ready to share some photos and techniques while I proceed on my latest endeavor...
My full scale Iron Man mkIII Armor

I intend to run through the process of:
-Smoothing and assembling 3d printed parts
-Skeletal fabrication for display (this will be a scale display not intended to be worn)

My final goal is to end up with something like this.

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So to start things off here is the raw helmet print. Unlike a wearable costume I am not concerned with having to distort parts to make them fit. With this display build I am keeping to the movie scale.



The upper half printed.

Right leg printed.


A boot, hip pod and upper leg shields.


Unibeam. Casting this part in clear.

What is not shown is being smoothed at the moment.

 

[jamesmcintoshjr]

wow that's a lot of printing!

 

[kenlandrum]

wow that's a lot of printing!

That's less than half of it too. I have been bad a taking a lot of photos as I go.

 

[jamesmcintoshjr]

what printer are you using? curious about your build volume.

 

[kenlandrum]

what printer are you using? curious about your build volume.

Sorry, I'm not really sure what brand they are being printed on. I basically prepare the models for print and have them printed. I wish I could share the ins and outs of the actual print process, but I can't. I HAVE learned what works and what does not when it comes to modeling and preparing the files (size, thickness etc)

The real interesting part has been the finish and assembly portion of the build. I think I'll be able to share quite a few little tips that might help others in the future.

 

[IM Nation]

Hi there ken this is an interesting project.
About the helmet with measurement.That size fit to what head size?
Gud luck to this more power to you bro.

 

[kenlandrum]

Hi there ken this is an interesting project.
About the helmet with measurement.That size fit to what head size?
Gud luck to this more power to you bro.

THANKS!
I have no idea regarding size.
Those measurements are taken from the 3d model used in the movie. Note that most of the wearable suits you see around have a larger helmet in order to fit on a human head. That is why most suits look to be "off" somehow. To actually fit into the cg suit you would have a really small head and/or a helmet made of something non-rigid.

 

[GhostMinion]

Can't wait to see this baby come to life!!!

 

[drumguy560]

This is looking awesome Ken!

Little funny tidbit on the size of the helmet -

In the extras on the 3 disc version of the original Iron Man movie, Shane Mahan is talking about how when they were casting a stunt double that was the hardest thing to find, someone with a small enough head to fit the helmet. He said doubles would squeeze and squeeze trying to get it on and say "No it's fine! just give me a minute!" trying to get it on! lol!

 

[kenlandrum]

UPDATED FIRST POST WITH MORE PIX.

Also, I shared this on my other IM thread with the free models... thought it would be better suited for this thread.

I had searched for a way to get a clean groove between the MANY little parts. After trying a few different things I came up with this technique and it has been working out great! I end up with a super clean line that I can vary in thickness by using different size rubber bands. Not all the grooves are the same on the suit. And when a part is a bit larger I push strips of screen into the bond to help strengthen things. I guess if you were going to wear these parts you could use rondo or fiberglass as long as the chemical reaction does not heat up the part too much and warp. Anyway, here is what I do.

 

[GhostMinion]

DAMN that looks good!!!

 

[kenlandrum]

This may be common knowledge to most, but I have had some folks ask about the smoothing process of a 3D printed part. This is by no means the only way, but it is working pretty darn good for me. enjoy!

 

[kenlandrum]

Photo update.

Here are the waist parts with a coat of glazing putty... and a finished belly.



Left thigh is almost there. Same with the left lower leg.

 

[MiddleFinger]

Awesome work, man! And great tips too. I'll be sure to try them once I get my printer up and running.

 

[kenlandrum]

http://www.thepinnaclelist.com/prof...-9826-la-jolla-farms-way-san-diego-ca-by-day/

The real Stark pad is for sale if anyone is interested... Kinda off topic but cool.

 

[tehfailsafe]

Amazing work. I am just starting out on a MKVII build exactly the same way. Though I wasn't able to send parts to print due to costs, I decided to do the tony stark thing and just build my own 3D printer first. Hopefully my parts come out as nice as yours... I'll definitely borrowing that rubber band line trick, genius.

 

[kenlandrum]

More pics...


Helmet is coming along... little more work on the chin and it's paint time.


rib details... the little parts that give the illusion of an understructure.


misc. parts...

 

[Kevin Gossett]

You've been busy!

 

[kenlandrum]

Here are the smoothed chest parts. Because they've been printed in so many smaller parts I needed a way to be sure things were going to align with the back (which is not done yet) so I've decided to temporarily tack together the back. I used small beads of hot glue to do this. They are small enough to pick off when I need to disassemble & man do they hold tight. Also, the hot glue had no effect of the PLA.

Just thought I would share...

 

[kenlandrum]

A small update, but WTH...

Hope to finish assembly tonight.
Anyone know of a clear lens/and or metal bezel that fits??