Before 3D printers, your choices for cosplay sets were limited to cheap Halloween costumes or expensive foam armor sets. Thanks to 3D printing, you can now 3D print entire armor sets at home with some rolls of filament.
It’s important to note that many of these armor sets were 3D modeled with the intention of printing them on a large 3D printer. While having a larger 3D printer will definitely make printing your own armor set easier, you can print any of these armor sets on most standard-sized 3D printers if you care to split the part into pieces using a modeling program and then glue the printed parts together.
There’s a surprising amount of 3D modeled armor sets out there from a whole range of movies, TV shows, and video games, and we picked five of them to showcase. If you see a set you really like, but don’t have the means to print it yourself, try a 3D printing service like Craftcloud to get your pieces printed by professionals! With that said, let’s dive into our 3D printed armor picks!
Iron Man
The Iron Man helmet is one of the most iconic 3D printed armor in recent years, popularized by Youtubers such as Frankly Built and Emily The Engineer. The comments section of their videos is a great place to check for help from other makers who are also taking on their own Iron Man builds.
This Mark 85 set is a fan-favorite Iron Man suit that translates perfectly into 3D printing. While it may seem like a lot of pieces, many of them are simple shapes that won’t require a lot of filament.
You’ll need to make sure you size the armor to fit yourself before going off and printing the whole thing. Some makers recommend using the Armorsmith Designer from The Armored Garage to size your build. They also recommend printing test rings, a slice of the smallest opening of a given part, to make sure everything is sized correctly before printing the entire piece.
You’ll also need a helmet to complete the suit, like the free model posted by levy3d.
- Who designed it? Budwin
- How printable/popular is it? Nearly 4,000 makers have downloaded this suit, with 5 sharing their impressive makes.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Master Chief
A list of armor models is not complete without Master Chief showing up. The Mark 6 armor set is special to many makers who grew up with the Halo game series.
When it comes to cosplay, this is one of the simplest choices on the list, as you can print many of the pieces in your favorite color to avoid painting later on. You’ll need to source a helmet for your suit separately. There are some great, free options available, such as one posted to Thingiverse by big_red_frog.
One user, SCPlastics2021, who shared their make of this suit pointed out that it may require around 11 kilograms of filament for the whole suit, with room for errors. They also opted to use a soldering iron to weld their armor together for a stronger connection. Spray paint gives the final touch to bring these pieces to life!
You’ll need to find some way to keep all of the armor on your body. The traditional method involves harnesses, velcro, and some adhesives.
- Who designed it? moesizzlac
- How printable/popular is it? Over 16,000 Halo fans have downloaded this suit. 11 were kind enough to share their makes.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Mandalorian
Our next pick may come as no surprise. The Mandalorian helmet nearly became the new 3DBenchy with how many people were printing it after the premier of the TV series. Now, those same makers are taking it one step further with complete Mandalorian armor sets.
We have already outlined plenty of good Mandalorian armor sets in our Mandalorian armor article, and our pick for this list is one of the most popular versions available by far. The model is free to download and features just about everything you need for your own Mandalorian armor set, if you know where to look.
While moesizzlac’s suit is impressive, there are a few missing pieces to the set that are not included in the downloadable files. Be sure to check the project description for all of the relevant models and hardware moesizzlac used in their build.
- Who designed it? moesizzlac
- How printable/popular is it? With well over 46,000 downloads, it’s safe to say this armor model is a hit. There have even been a whopping 52 makes shared!
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Stormtrooper
Stormtrooper armor from the Star Wars movies has been a popular cosplay option for many years now. The simple yet distinct design plays well with 3D printing. You can print the whole thing in white filament and not have to worry about painting, although some sanding and smoothing will definitely be necessary to achieve a clean shine.
There are many different models and designs for Stormtroopers. We chose yet another free model that includes just about everything you need to print.
The designer recommends splitting up the models into smaller pieces using Microsoft 3D Builder and assembling them later for easier printing. Also, keep in mind that the suit is sized to fit a 180-190 cm tall person, but some makers have successfully scaled the suit using Armorsmith Designer.
You may need to scale your prints up or down to fit your armor. You might want to compliment your suit with some accessories, of course. A E-11 Stormtrooper Blaster from Thingiverse user mh319 is a good choice.
- Who designed it? Mave3Dprints
- How printable/popular is it? Makers seem to like this model, having downloaded it over 5,000 times. Just two makes have been posted so far. Be one of the few to share your print!
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Batman
This design is a big step up from all of your other Batman busts and gadgets. Batman’s armor can range pretty drastically in design, from simple cowls and gauntlets to full-fledged battle-ready suits. The Arkham Knight set is a good balance of armor while maintaining a minimalistic approach.
Many of the pieces in this armor set should fit on a standard i3-sized 3D printer. You can choose to go with an all-black look or touch up your prints with some metallic paint to really make your armor shine.
While this is one of the only paid models on the list, the quality of the model is worth it. If you’re interested in a different version of Batman armor, you can check out Do3D for complete sets and single parts.
License: The text of "3D Printed Armor: 5 Amazing Models to 3D Print" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.