When Gary Sterley made a Warhammer 40K Crimson Fist Space Marine Costume, most compliments he received were about the articulated Power Fist. He used 3D printing to bring the hand/weapon to life; he chose 3D printing over foam because he thought it would be more durable and allow him to add the mechanical movements he wanted. He wanted to be as accurate to the game model as possible, make each finger articulate, and fit the entire piece together without using visible hardware. Sterley decided to go with 3D printing even though he didn’t have any background in 3D modeling. He used Google Sketchup to turn his 2D sketches into full models. And from there, it was all about trial and error.
He learned a couple of things from his first printing attempt but got it right the second time. Here’s how he assembled all the pieces:
Since I am printing in ABS plastic, I used acetone to bond all the panels together. This created a chemical weld, way better than glue in my book. But for god’s sake….use a respirator kids, those vapors are nasty.
One by one, all my segments were printer. I was able to run both my elastic bands and pull strings through the interior of the digits, and then snap all the fingers together. During this time I made improvements the the forearm mount. This was made from 1/4″ ABS plastic sheets. That I heated and bent around my arm. Foam padding was added, as well and velcro straps to snug it down onto my arm. It was finally a wearable prop!
Now it was time to add the foam body, embellish, and paint!
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