The Ultrahand was build from the ground up to be both game accurate but practical and easy to assemble and wear.
For a full write up of all the features you can find them listed on the main product page.
This Build Guide will list the following:
Require materials to complete the project
Assembly video to walk you through how to wear the arm
Recommendations for Print Settings/Orientations for certain pieces
Additional resources I used to create my Archaic Tunic Cosply
Any additional questions you have concerning the building of this prop can be sent directly to me via the contact page on my website
Build Requirements
A standard 3D printer such as an Ender 3. Most printers should be able to print this prop without custom slicing
1-2 Rolls of PLA (I prefer SUNLU) (this link has the brown and greenish/blue colors that I used to print the arm and sage rings)
Additional materials
Acryllic Paint (I got mine from a local craft store but a blueish-green and gold should be all you need)
Assembly Instructions:
This tutorial is broken into 4 separate parts
- Sizing rings and fitting the arm
- Putting on the arm
- Dying the nylon arm
- Painting the Sage Rings
Sizing Rings/Fitting the arm
This ultrahand was designed to fit around an actual human ar without the need for any fasteners or glue. If sized correctly it should hug the arm snuggly.
In order to size the arm, there are a number of sizing rings that can be printed in order to understand how the 4 major cuffs will fit around the arm.
These 4 sizing rings are named after their corresponding cuff piece and will let you know how tight/loose each ring is. Once you print it out and slide it to where it should go on your arm, you can see how much clearance there is on the widths or thickness of your arms.
You can then scale the sizing rings independently in the "long axis" or "short axis" of the arm till it fits snuggly completely around the arm. Then you can ensure to scale the full corresponding piece to the same dimensions.
You will need to lay the ring flat and line it up roughly such that the wider part lines up with either the x or y axis and the narrower part lines up with either the x or y, then you can scale it independently as needed.
In order to ensure that the arm has enough room to fit on your forearm, you also need to ensure that you have the correct length.
The default arm comes in at a lenth of 240mm. The bicep cuff is around 75mm tall. To ensure that you can comfortably bend your arm. Measure the length of your forearm from the wrist to the inside of the elbow. Make sure to leave yourself an inch/centimeter or two of clearance from the elbow such that you will be able to bend your arm when you wear the ultrahand.
Once you know that distance you can scale the longitudinal axis of each piece such that it will all together come out to needed length.
Lastly, for the ring, these are the circumferences of all the rings. The Sage versions of the rings have the same inner circumference as the regular versions.
Thumb Ring Circumference: 68mm
Pointer Finger Circumference: 67mm
Middle Finger Circumference: 66.5mm
Ring Finger Circumference: 61mm
Pinky Finger Circumference: 47mm
Putting on the arm
This video w/ written instructions shows how to put on a properly sized arm
Dying the Nylon Arm
I personally used, two dyes. I used an aquamarine and an emerald dye and created two gradients such that the emerald fades into the aquamarine.
I followed the dye instructions and continually dipped the dye on each end so that the heaviest color is at the ends and they fade together in the middle.
Painting the Sage Rings
I personally printed the rings in green and added an additional layer of darker green acryllic paint over the top to get them closer to the color I wanted. Then I painted the inlays and edges gold. I then used a heavily watered down version of the paint to fill in the runes. The runes are in the model so the watered down paint rushed to fill in this gaps.
General Printing Tips
I have a few printing tips to give on certain pieces to ensure that you get the best print quality. These are just recommendation and are by no means the only way that these parts can be printed.
The very first pieces to print of this helmet should absolutely be the sizing rings. They can be printed flat and only take 1-2 hours for the set. In the long run this will likely save you hours of printing when you can be sure that you will print the arm at the correct scale the first time around.
With that out of the way, there are just a couple tips for this reletively simple print.
All the main arm pieces can be place flat on their bases and should be placed so that the more narrow end is at the top, this will ensure that the supports only go past the inside of the arm and leaving the outside skin pristine.
For all the rings, many can be printed flat on one of their faces, but for the thumb ring and middle finger ring I recommend laying them as shown below and adding custom cylindrical supports using something like Ultimaker Cura's "custom cylindrical supports" downloadable plug-in. I say this because flat circular overhangs dont typically have nice looking surface skins.
The Time cuff, I also recommend printing on its side so that you get all the details in the rune. You can print it with its flat side surface aligned with the build plate or layed flat like the second picture with custom supports.
Personal Builds
I used this Ultrahand model to create my first full completed cosplay!
I used a premade pattern in order to create Link's Archaic Tunic
