Marvel fans? Star Wars fans? Or maybe DC fans?
Well, if you are a DC fan, you are definitely in for a treat. This time, Frank from Frankly Built went ahead to build a 3D print cosplay helmet of one of the hottest DC superheroes, with his movies currently showing in cinemas worldwide (at the time this was written).
If you think about Blue Beetle, you are correct!
Frank mentioned that although he's an avid collector of cosplay 3D models, he has never been that much into Blue Bettle. That said, everything changed when he saw an Instagram post of a Blue Bettle helmet, and he has been hooked since. He knows this needs to be his next project, and here we are.
Preparing the 3D Model Files
Before you start with any 3D printing, no matter what you are making, you'll need to start with the 3D model files.
For this project, Frank used the 3D files from the DO3D Blue Bettle helmet. He loves how the helmet model was broken up so perfectly for 3D printing, whether you are using a resin 3D printer or an FDM 3D printer.
In addition, the dome of the head was also smaller, so you could easily print it out with a medium size printer. But this time, Frank will use the Sonic Mega 8K so he can print the whole parts of this cosplay 3D model in just two building plates.
Frank noted that you might not need a resin printer to create this model as he has always been using an FDM printer as well, but once you started with a resin 3D printer, the quality is just insane, all the details preserved, and it saves you so much time with the sanding and post-processing.
Printing the Blue Bettle Cosplay Helmet
When it came to printing the helmet, Frank fired up his Sonic Mega 8K and was frankly impressed with how easy it was to use and set up. This isn't his first venture into a large-format resin 3D printer, but it's definitely his best experience yet. "Took it out of the box, turned it on, didn't have to level it, that was awesome."
In his opinion, a large-format resin 3D printer that came leveled was amazing because he has another large-format resin printer sitting just next to the Sonic Mega 8K, untouched because of how tedious it was to use.
In total, it took him just a little over two days to finish printing the whole cosplay 3D model helmet. It prints amazingly, he doesn't encounter any issues, and all the prints come out perfect with stunningly smooth surfaces.
A Fully 3D Printed Cosplay Model
After some cleaning, post-curing, and removing all the supports, Frank finally got himself on the tightest helmet he had ever printed. It fits his head so perfectly, and even better, every part of the model was also printed to perfection and lined up really nicely with a perfect fit.
Next, he started by adding the magnets into their slots. The great thing about using a resin 3D printer over FDM for this type of model is how everything was printed with utmost precision, exactly like how it was modeled. This means every magnet hole is exactly the perfect size, snuggling all the magnets really nicely without any difficulty, which is definitely less work compared to heating and expanding the holes before tucking the magnet in like he needs to do when working with PLA from an FDM printer.
Painting the Blue Beetle Helmet
After some sanding that barely felt like anything, Frank went through with painting the helmet. He started by spraying the 3D cosplay helmet with a DupliColor sandable primer to create a smooth, clean finish. He highlighted that since the resin 3D printed model doesn’t have any visible layer lines like FDM, he doesn't even need to use the filler primer, and a really thin coat of sandable primer will do.
To start coloring the helmet model, he used the flat Krylon black paint as a base. The black base will provide a nice dark base to better showcase the metallic features. Then, before going with the blue metallic, Frank did a nice layer of silver. According to Frank, a lot of people tend to make a mistake by using a chrome layer as a base instead of silver. Although they are both metallic, the silver just gives a clearer and nicer base for the blue, so that's exactly what he did.
Lastly, to mimic the slight iridescent feature of the real Blue Beetle helmet, Frank decided to use some random leftover paints from his collection and start experimenting. Among them, he used a couple of shades of color-shifting green paint, a pearlescent paint, then layered with silver and matte paint. He said he was not a hundred percent sure about what he was doing either, but he encouraged us to just try, experiment, and find that sweet spot to know where to stop.
Last Finishing Touch for the 3D Printed Cosplay Helmet
Once all the parts had dried from painting, Frank cut down the plastic lens from a typical dollar store polarized sunglasses to create the eyepiece for the helmet. The trick is to stick a layer of tape on the lens before cutting it to avoid sharp clipped glass bouncing around your workspace. Once you are done, give it a little sand to remove the sharp edges and tape it to your helmet.
What do you think of the final result? Frank is definitely loving the result. He thinks it’s one of the coolest paint jobs he has ever done, and we believe it’s definitely justified. Are you planning to make your own cosplay 3D print helmet anytime soon? Let us know in the comments!
Lastly, make sure to watch Frank’s video below to see his whole creation process and check out the Sonic Mega 8K or Sonic Mega 8K S for a reliable large-format resin 3D printer.
