Meet the Makers #12 - Professional Prop Makers 3D Printer Catches On Fire - With Odin_Actual

In this episode of Meet The Makers, we sit down with Tim from Odin_Actual, a talented 3D printer specializing in crafting extraordinary cosplay helmets and props. Prepare to embark on a thrilling journey as Tim shares his experiences in the world of prop making, his passion for Star Wars, and a startling tale of his 3D printer catching on fire.

Whether you're a fan of Star Wars, a fellow prop maker, or simply intrigued by captivating stories of resilience, creativity, and the pursuit of passion, this episode is a must-watch. Join us for Meet the Makers #12 - Professional Prop Makers 3D Printer Catches On Fire - with Odin_Actual
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Where to find Tim
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@odin_actual?lang=en
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/odin.actual/
Twitch: https://www.instagram.com/odin.actual/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/odin_actual
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Come be a guest on meet the makers: https://forms.gle/wTqzxqGpsu9hZ39F6
Follow misfit printing on TIktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@misfit_printing
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Chapters 
Intro - 0:00
Tims intro to 3d Printing- 0:42 
How to make your 3d Printer quieter - 2:43 
How to use a Feeler Gauge for leveling a 3d printer - 5:46 
Cura 3D Printing: Large Prints, Layer Shift Problems -7:09 
3D Printer Adhesion - 9:43 
A 3D Printed Helmet Gets Destroyed - 13:11 
painting 3D printed helmets - 14:46 
Starwars healer series - 21:47 
Looking back at old content - 24:56 
Getting banned on tiktok - 27:14 
Live-Streaming vs. Short-Form Content - 29:48 
 Be Excited About Making Content - 31:45 
Making Props is a Learning Curve - 34:03 
Mandalorian Helmet - 36:14 
Favorite Cosplay? - 38:04 
Outro - 42:29 

Transcript

 the filament didn't have anywhere to go, so it started shooting out the sides of the, uh, the nozzle and the heat block and everything.

So, I don't know what, I don't know what happened. I woke up and I was like, okay, well I'm awake, so I'm gonna, I'm gonna go check on my print and see how it's doing. I walked in and I am hit with a face of just smoke, and it is, it smells like plastic, and I'm like, oh

 Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Meet the Makers podcast. Today I am joined by our guest. Uh, he 3D prints amazing props in cosplay pieces, and he also does awesome summaries and spoilers of all things Star Wars. So if you're a fan of that, you absolutely have to check him out. I have Tim here from Oden Actual.

Tim, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today. Uh, thank you for having me. I'm very excited to be here and talk about, you know, what I do and meet you and, you know, just discuss 3D printing. Well, likewise, I'm super excited to have you on here. Uh, you know, kind of preparing for today. I was going through your content, and I have to say, you, um, it seems like you've been making content on TikTok, or you call it the Clock app, which I think is hilarious.

Um, but I noticed you've been making content for quite a while on there and you, you're really consistent with it. You make a lot of content. Um, was that kind of your first introduction, uh, TikTok to making content or have you been doing that before?  Uh, so. I  goofed around on Vine when Vine was like a thing.

Uh, but I ne like never went anywhere. Uh, and then my fiance actually, when Covid first started happening was like, Hey, you know, you're, you should, you should check out TikTok. You should, you know it, it's funny. And I was like, okay. Yeah. So I got into it and I was like, oh. I could, I could make content, I could, you know, I could goof around with people.

That sounds like fun. So yeah, I mean, I just started goofing around with like, uh, star Wars content and just kind of fell into it. That's cool. Uh, yeah, I, like I said, it's uh, you seem like you're just really natural on camera and, uh, you have really fun, unique series of different, like things that you do.

So it's been, uh, it's been kind of fun just going through your content. When you started, kind of was cosplay, like 3D printing something that you kind of started having in mind that that's where you wanted to go? Or was that kind of just like not transitioned over time?

Not at all. Uh, I, I never saw myself doing cosplay or, or 3D printing or anything. I was just like, you know, I wanna talk about Star Wars. I wanna nerd out with some people about Star Wars and, uh, Yeah. Then I just like started seeing people dress up and I was like, wow, this is, this is really cool. Yeah, I wanna do this.

And it's just like, it's, it's always been like the, the next step in my content has always been like, because I can, because it looks cool. Cause it looks like fun. And, uh, I'm a, I'm a huge proponent of like, if it looks like fun, you should definitely try it. Yeah. It's, uh, well, 3D printing, if anybody's listening and doesn't 3D print, I can say for hand.

It's a lot of fun. Very, it's so much fun. Yeah. Yeah, it's uh, it, you know, and you seem to fall into this category too, but it seems like people start out like pretty small, one printer and then it just kind of explodes over time. One thing I noticed in your early content is I think you were printing on a 3D print, which is the longer uh Yes.

Brand, I wanna say. Yeah. I don't see a lot of people using that. How did you kind of stumble upon that printer? Um, so I actually stumbled upon that printer, uh, thanks to frankly built, uh, he was doing a giveaway for an LK four, uh, longer 3D printer. And I was like, you know what, if, if Frank is good enough to, you know, say this is, this is a printer, I'm willing to like, give away and endorses.

I was like, you know, that's a good idea. So I, I ended up, uh, buying one. It was about the same price as an ender three. Um, basically runs like an ender three with a touchscreen , uh, it's interesting to say also, like, frankly Val, he comes up every time and there's so much love around the community for him.

He's, uh, he's great. He's a staple in the community. He really is. Yeah. Um, I, I was actually curious when I started seeing your content with it, cuz like I said, I wasn't very familiar with that printer, but I. Uh, went to their website, was checking out, and they are very, like, heavy in marketing that it's a super quiet printer.

I'm curious from your side is, would you say it is quiet or how does it kinda stack up to other printers? Um, so it, it does have, uh, dual fan, like most, uh, printers and they market their fans as like a, a silent running fan. And, um, it starts off silent. But like everything else, over time they do get louder.

So I actually just found it. Um, they run a lot quieter if you take the second fan off and it Oh, still runs the same, they probably don't want people doing that. But that's, they did that and it, it, it works out. Hey, if it works, it works. I guess I, uh, I have this printer behind me all the time, and I, it's like my workforce printer.

It works super well. I love it, but honestly, I need to find a different spot for it because if I'm doing like a podcast like this or I work from home soap, I sit here constantly and I won't run it while I'm at work just because it is like so loud in the background. . Yeah. I, I have looked at, uh, at ways of making printers quieter because I do, I, I also have my printers in, in my workspace, and, uh, they are allowed.

Um, so I've looked at several things and one of the. One of the most unique ways I think I've seen of people silencing their printers is they will, uh, find a spot to put their printer. They will cut a piece of, um, memory foam about the size of a, uh, a square block or something like that. Yeah. And then they will put a cinder block on top of that memory foam and then put their printer on top of that.

And it is level interesting and it is quiet because you don't have the, the extra rattling. And it also helps, uh, fix some of the Z movement, uh, that you can like, have issues with that is. So I've never heard somebody say that before, but yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Uh, Hmm, interesting. I have to, I've book a store leader.

I've ingested quite a lot of like, very weird, uh, 3D printing solutions on YouTube. And, uh, there, there's a lot out there that people do and a lot of it works. Yeah, it's, uh, you know, you can go down these weird rabbit holes almost of, uh, it's such like so many different things that you can spec into of improving your printer or quieting down your printer.

So, yeah, it's, uh, it's an endless hobby that you can delve into. Um, kind of on that note of like, you know, Dialing things in with your printer. Uh, this was like kind of something quickly that you mentioned in your content before, but I saw that you level your bed with a feeler gauge. Um, yes. I was wondering if you could possibly talk more about that, cuz I have one and I don't use it and I probably should.

Okay. Uh, let me actually find my feeler gauge real quick. This is a feeler gauge. I swear by it. It is a excellent tool for 3D printing. Uh, and essentially, instead of trying to use a piece of paper to guess the accurate, uh, depth for like, uh, 0.2 millimeters, this has a separate sheets of metal at that gauge.

Uh, and you can use whatever gauge, whatever height you wanna set it to, and get a more accurate level. Every time. Yeah. It's, uh, I hear some people who use it and they seem to swear by it. So essentially what you do with it is you just, uh, as you're kind of going through the different points on your bed, you just put that under there and just level it to that exact, uh, spot on it as opposed to kind of dragging your paper around.

Yep. And it is a hundred percent more effective than a piece of paper. Yeah, it's, uh, it's, you know, something, I, I heard people talking. It might have had a sleeve. You might have been the person who recommended it to me at some point, but I went out, I bought one. I never got into, um, Actually using it. But, uh, another thing I, I'm gonna have a lot of things to start optimizing an I printer when we get off this call.

Mm-hmm. But yeah, I'll have to try that again. Okay. Yeah. Now, for you, uh, you know, you do a lot of prints that are like big, like helmets, cosplay pieces, uh, I think you have a CR 10 too. Yes. How is, um, like how often when you're doing those pieces, do you have problems with, I guess like, um, maybe warping or is that a problem for you when you're doing these bigger things?

Uh, so I, I usually don't have a problem with warping, um, because there, there's a setting in, uh, Keira that I use where you, you start with the, the inside layer and then work your way to the outside so you're not, and you don't edge up bulging your outside layers, um, with the interior print. Uh, so I usually don't have any warping problems.

Okay. Uh, unless it's like, I don't know, hot outside or something like that. Yeah. Um, But my, the, the biggest issue that I find with large prints is layer shift. And the CR 10 ha is just notorious, uh, during, like, if you need to do a filament change, you, you will probably have a layer shift or you will have layers running into each other.

And that is at the fault of the CR 10, not, not the, not the printer. Because every time that the, um, CR 10 returns to home, which it does when you have to do a filament change. It, uh, it loses level. I don't know why. It just, it, it's reported through multiple CR 10 s, but, um, when it returns home, um, it just, it loses level and then you end up with a, a really nasty layer shift.

Yeah, I, uh, I wonder if it's a CRE thing in general because I've, I've also noticed that if I, like pause a printer or if I do like a film and swap on my prints, yeah. Every time I, it seems to have a problem with the layer. And I think, uh, my printers, they've just gone rogue at this point, but occasionally I'll have it where they even, uh, they'll start at like a completely different place on the build plate.

Not even like in terms of level, just in terms of like complete accesses. Way off. So I don't know what goes on with that, but, uh, strange things seem to happen for me when I press pause on my printer. 3D printing software is just wacky in general. Uh, it'll get you, it'll do some just unique things unexpectedly, and it's usually, it, it, there's a lot of time where it's not.

User error and it's, it baffles me. Yeah, it's, uh, it's definitely a little unpredictable, but it's, uh, you know, it's worth the fun. It's getting better though. It's, it's getting a lot better, especially with the, the new Kira update. Uh, I think it was 5.31 or something like that. Um, It, it, it's, it's a pretty good piece of software.

Yeah. It's, uh, it really is. It's nice that it's free too. Like, you know, there's, for being a free piece of software, I mean, it's really fantastic.

There's a lot of flexibility in there. So I'm a, I am a huge proponent of Free. Free is good. Yes, absolutely. Um, now kind of. On the topic of printers doing strange things and going rogue. Um, I know one of the things that you had talked about at one point was you were running an overnight print on one of your printers and you actually had a situation where it caught on fire.

Can you talk about that a little bit? Uh, yeah. So I was doing an overnight print. Um, the print lost adhesion to the bed, and, um, it. Ended up sticking to the nozzle and the, um, the filament didn't have anywhere to go, so it started shooting out the sides of the, uh, the nozzle and the heat block and everything.

So, I don't know what, I don't know what happened. I woke up and I was like, okay, well I'm awake, so I'm gonna, I'm gonna go check on my print and see how it's doing. I walked in and I am hit with a face of just smoke, and it is, it smells like plastic, and I'm like, oh, well this isn't good. First thing I do is unplug the printers.

Uh, I didn't care what other prints were running at the time, I just unplugged all of them. Um, and, uh, I, I just kind of like took a putty knife, a metal putty knife, and started scraping off the plastic to try and stop the smoking and everything like that. But once they did it all cooled and like hardened and stuff like that, I was like, okay, well we need to make sure print adhesion is a, uh, Is is secure next time.

And ever since then, I don't, I don't have prints coming off my bed. Yeah, that's honestly, I mean, that's like worst case. That's one of my biggest fears. Um, I don't run overnight prints super often, but occasionally I will run them and, uh, yeah. I mean I, uh, that's I think for a lot of people, kind of like something's ahead is a little scary when they think about it.

It's, it's not, it's not something I was thinking about until it happened and I. I think it's something that needs to be talked about because people will do overnight prints like willy-nilly. Yeah. And not, you know, assess the risk that comes with 3D printing because you are using hel a self heating device that gets up to 250 degrees Celsius sometimes.

Um, it's hot. It's hot enough to start a fire. Yeah, it's, uh, you know, something that I think you can get so familiar with the machine and just be like, oh, it's fine, it's fine. And I wanna say almost, I wanna say it was Uncle Jesse, maybe somebody else, I can't remember who it was, but kind of a similar thing that you were talking to where, you know, maybe they got a new printer, they ran it, uh, for the first time, thought it was fine, walked away, and I think a similar thing had happened, so.

Mm-hmm. Um, yeah, definitely something that I think is worth talking about more. And, uh, you know, when you're new at. It might not be the first thing that comes to mind, but definitely a serious, uh, serious concern for people. Now, um, after that happened, do you kind of have a new method for what you use for Ben Adhesion after experiencing that?

Uh, yeah. So I, I use Elmer's Glue. I use a Elmer's Glue, uh, water soluble glue, glue stick, and I just put it on and it, it sticks so much better. I, I, it's very simple, easy solution. I'm, I'm a fan of simple. That's interesting. Yeah, I'm, uh, I have like an entire classroom size pack of glue sticks over here right now.

And, uh, I uh, I was just posting the other day about like wondering um, if glue sticks a actually are used for adhesion. Cause remember seen people on, they're like two, like very distinct sides. And actually I just like had somebody comment this morning, they're like, of course it's not for adhesion. It doesn't help at all, blah, blah, blah.

But. I don't care what anybody says. I feel like it works. I don't know. I, I, I fullheartedly believe that it is for adhesion, but it also, uh, I've been noticing recently on like, uh, prints that have like a flat bottom. If I use glue on the bottom, I'll sometimes, uh, get an impression of, uh, like parts of the glue stick.

Maybe like, I put too heavy. So I think it's also like a, a texture grabbing thing as well. Mm. Interesting. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Um, no, it's, uh, like I said, I swear by it and at the end of the day, I mean, it only cost maybe a penny to lay it down. So I feel like it's good peace of mind for me. I like using it. Exactly.

I'm, I'm teaming glue stick over here. Um, now um, You do really amazing jobs post-processing. That one. Thank you there for anybody again, who, if they don't follow you, go check out, um, your work. It's really just like very in depth and, um, you seem to crank out a ton of helmets.

I, I was surprised. Going back to your out content, how many you crank out. One of the things that I saw, um, happen to you along your journey of post-processing, I want, I can't remember what helmet it was specifically, but um, you had done a clear coat over it and there seemed to be like a reaction with the clear code.

I don't know if you remember what I'm talking about. Yeah. Um, do you know why that happened? I've never seen something like that happen before. I. Um, actually speaking of, uh, frankly built as we did recently, uh, I, he put out a video, uh, about the same thing that happened to that helmet. Uh, it, it happened to get some, uh, reptile scaling.

Uh, we u we were actually using the exact same products. Uh, it was one K clear coat, um, and one k clear coat just has. Uh, an ability to react sometimes, and that's just like the gamble that you're taking with it. Um, sometimes paint will react poorly. It could be some dust, it could be the temperature. Um, it almost literally anything.

And it, your, your paint could get ruined and, uh, then you have to start over or you gotta sand it down and it sucks. But, uh, it's, it's just part of the process. It's, uh, part of the experience. Yeah, it's, uh, you know, everything with 3D printing and kind of like the maker hobby, it seems like it's a lot of just trial and error and, uh, there's no such thing as, uh, a hundred percent guarantee that things work.

But I think that's part of the fun in it and part of the. Piece of the hobby that I really enjoy is just figuring out those unique scenarios, um, for you as you're, you know, you know, you laid down a print for a super long time, you kind of stand it down, do Bondo on it, all that stuff. Do you ever get nervous getting to the point of when you're printing it?

Is that like stressful for you or is it kind of just like happy to see it reaching the end of the project? Uh, I, I get sad sometimes when I get to the end of a project because I, I've put so much effort into this thing and, you know, I, I get to see it and it's, it's very cool and I'm very happy and proud of what I've done.

But the, the work is done. Uh, that was, that was, that's kind of like, uh, my joy of doing, doing some of these projects is. Is doing the work and then, you know, I'm, I'm done and I'm like, time to time to make something else, you know? Yeah, yeah. No, I, I definitely can relate to that. I keep all my prints so I don't have to worry about this, but um, you know, you work on these amazing pieces and then you sell them often.

Um is it like difficult kind of parting with these sometimes, or how is that for you? Yeah. Uh, famously my profile picture for my TikTok, uh, is, is a helmet that I sold, and I love that helmet. I think it's very cool. It's one of my favorite helmets I ever made, but I, I sold it so I don't have it anymore.

And yeah, I mean, I make some really cool stuff for some really cool people, and I'm happy they get to enjoy the cool stuff. I just, you know, sometimes I wish I'd made two. , for the people who you sell stuff to, do they tend to be pe like, um, are they other creators possibly who you like, kind of keep in touch with or do you ever like, uh, get to see maybe your props like used in, um, at like.

Conventions . Yeah, so, uh, I, I do see, uh, a lot of my stuff at conventions, which is very cool, very surreal for me. Um, I've, uh, I've seen some of my, my cosplay ar uh, some my cosplay armor that I've printed, uh, in, in news articles, and I'm like, wow, I, I helped with that. That's, that's really cool.

Um, but I, I actually recently ended up, Quit doing commissions, um, because, uh, it, it, it is kind of hard, uh, to, to make something like that. Uh, but another thing that I really do enjoy doing is, uh, pro bono work for other creators. Mm-hmm. Other small creators, uh, and just people in the community in general, because I think, uh, creators do a lot of good stuff.

Uh, and I and creators that I do think do good stuff, I think deserve cool, cool stuff. So I end up, I end up making, uh, Stuff from like their, their favorite, uh, whatever they talk about and send it in the mail to them. And they're like, whoa, this is unexpected. I'm like, well, you, you do cool stuff. You talk about good things and you bring a community close together.

You deserve something cool. That's, uh, that's so cool to hear. And yeah, it's, uh, so many people out there who just make such, inspiring content and it's unique that, um, I think TikTok particularly, I, I, maybe it's just my feet and what I get recommended, but I see so many people who have such specific talents and such specific crafts and it's, uh, it's really inspiring to just see , um, you know, how much time and how much work can go into these different things.

And it's. Cool in the sense that, you know, for you, you can kind of pass that on to other people and maybe, um, when they share that with their audience, maybe it inspires people to explore 3D printing and get into other stuff. So, all around the way that that whole, um, whole, whole ecosystem works, it's, it's really interesting to hear.

I've, I, I've had a lot of people tell me that the, my, some of my content has got them into 3D printing, and that's, it's really in it, it means a lot to me to hear something like that because I, I think 3D printing is, is definitely like a, a future and like, Um, we can do a lot of really cool stuff with it.

So the more people that get into it, the the more excited I get and it's just, I don't know, it's, I love it. Yeah, no, likewise. It's, uh, it's cool to see all the different areas that I can kind of spec into, um, off that topic. Like I know there's, in different industries, obviously, you know, we're kind of in the more, I guess, what you would consider hobby space of, um, you do props and cosplays.

I do. Bless. Cool stuff, goofy stuff in my head. No, you do cool stuff. Well,  thank you. I appreciate it. But, um, there's also like, there's a ton of applications and technology too that, um, are really cool that I don't think maybe people who aren't interested in 3D printing might not realize. But, um, are there like any, um, technologies that you see being used in that, like particularly interest you a lot right now?

Uh, yes. So the medical application of 3D printing is, Insane. Uh, I have seen 3D printed organs, uh, prosthetics are next level. I, it's, it's so much farther than just printing a, uh, a replacement arm. It's, you can make something that, uh, people can control with their muscles, where they can close their hand where they've never had a hand before.

Um, we're able to test. Drugs for Alzheimer's on small, itty bitty 3D printed brains. Mm-hmm. It, it, and we've we're so close to finding something that can help those people because of 3D printed technology, it, uh, people who get their bones crushed in, in traumatic accidents can now have steel replacements printed for them at the hospital.

The, the imagination for this kind of technology is limitless. Yeah. Uh, it's something I started looking into recently and when I first started coming across the articles of this, , it seems like it's almost not real. Like it, it sounds sci-fi, it sounds like it's couldn't, it's insane.

It's so cool. Yeah. Yeah. It's, uh, you know, it's exciting to see how that's gonna push the boundaries of. Um, just, you know, people who are maybe involved in bad accidents or, um, organ transplant lists. I know that that's such like a difficult thing for, um, people to kind of live in their daily life, uh, who are waiting for those organs.

So it's really exciting to see how that's potentially going to impact, uh, so many people as millions of lives dances. Yeah. It is just, you know, um, I, there there is definitely a future for 3D printing in almost every, uh, applicable field, uh, that there is today. And I, I, I have friends who, uh, work at C N C factories that are, are getting into additive technology as well, and they're, they're discovering 3D printing.

I'm like, yeah, I, I do that as a hobby. What you do for, for work? I, I do for fun. And it's, it's interesting to, to see how, um, this technology is starting to make its way into, from, from hobby, small scale, hobby to, uh, industrial. Uh, additive manufacturing. Yeah. The one that comes to mind for me, uh, I'm sure you've seen these videos online, but there's the people who like 3D print the houses now.

Yes. Which is an, it's another application that I see and it's, it's crazy to think, and it looks, you know, shockingly similar as though you just expanded up the size of a 3D printer. How, uh, You know, the layer lines go down. But yeah, I mean, just so many cool things happening in technology right now that, uh, I will say the one thing I don't like about the 3D printed houses is like with most of my prints, the, the build.

The build lines. Yeah. I don't know what it is. It just, I am not a big fan of it. Yeah. You know, when I first saw those, I, I thought the same thing. I was like, oh, I don't know if this is for me, but I have seen, um, some more of like the finished products, and I don't know why I didn't like, put two intuitive that they would do this together, but like, obviously the inside of the house is, they finished them with like mm-hmm.

Stainer drywall and so, Inside looks pretty normal. The outsides, I think it's, you know, it's something you might have to the love a little bit, but yeah, I'm out there with Bondo and trying to stand down. Yes. Standing down the entire house. Oh man. Yeah. Yeah. It's, uh, I don't know, I, I don't think it would be my first choice, but something is, uh, I guess inherently cool about is a 3D printer, at least being able to be like, yeah, my house is 3D printed too, and 3D printing inside my house.

I guess a weird type of inception there. That would be, that would be pretty wild. Yeah. Um, now kind of like on the note of, we talked about, um, 3D printing and like its applications in medicine. One of my favorite series that you had done kind of earlier on, I'm not sure if you still do it, uh, still, but you had this series where you were kind of this like healer type character and you would talk through different Star Wars, uh, people and like what they were coming in with.

Can you tell people a little more about that series? Cuz I just. I absolutely loved it. Yeah. So I came up with a Jedi healer character who, um, his name was Cam and he would go through the Star Wars galaxy basically during like the Clone Wars eras, just kind of, um, being a begrudging medic, uh, to, to these characters and kind of, you know, having terrible bedside manner and just cracking jokes and the.

It's, it's funny to me because that's, I, I used to serve in the Navy and that's the kind of person I was. I was this guy who, you know, he'd take care of you and make sure you were, you know, taken care of. But I, I was gonna crack jokes at you the whole time. That's, uh, yeah, like I said, if, uh, for anybody who hasn't seen that series, I know you have it like all bulked together on a playlist and , uh,  I've just recently started getting into Star Wars for the first time.

I'm just going through it now and, uh, thank you. Thank you. Um, but you know, even as somebody who's like not super familiar with all the intricacies of the series, like it, it was just such a fun series to watch and it's cool hearing you kind of talk about like, Um it seems like it's inspired by real life, I guess, like the character.

Yeah, there's a, there's, there's some, there's some truth to the, some of the stuff that I do in, uh, in that series and, uh, I don't do it anymore. Um, but it was, uh, it was fun for me. It was a, it was a way for me to deal with a lot of, uh, the trauma that I had actually, uh, experienced when I was in the Navy.

And, uh, In a way, getting to do those skits and kind of make entertainment out of, uh, events that were almost life changing for me, um, provided a lot of healing. Yeah, I have to imagine for people watching it too. I mean, it's, uh, I have to imagine it was probably a series that was relatable in, um, a lot of ways for different people and it, it seemed very popular.

Um, people really enjoyed it. Um, well, I'm glad you know, you enjoyed it as well. Yeah. I look back at it now and sometimes I feel a little, a little cringe about doing it, but, uh, I'm also just very glad that like, you know, people still enjoy it. Yeah, I think it's, uh, kind of cross section into different fields was something that was really cool for people to see.

And, uh, I kind of laugh when you said, you know, uh, you know, that character's personality, maybe like your real personality was just, uh, healer. Maybe it doesn't have like the best bedside manner will like crack jokes at people, but I think, you know, maybe it's, I kind of have a dark sense of humor, but I think that can almost.

In a weird way, be comforting for some people to, uh, to have that type of approach in, uh, care. Uh, a lot of the, a lot of the veterans that I took care of in a hospital, um, were, were actually very appreciative that I had that kind of demeanor because it made them feel more at home like they were hanging out with one of their friends instead of receiving medical care in a hospital.

 I can definitely see that. I think it's, uh, you know, when you're in healthcare, especially if you've never had to, you know, have procedures or be in a hospital type setting before, I think it can be like a kind of strange and like foreign place. But to have something that is just a little more close to home and comforting, I feel like that was probably, uh, probably made a big difference for people.

Mm-hmm. Yeah, it was, uh, it was just part of the job making, making people feel good. Well, that's awesome.  Um, now one of the things you did talk about  in there as well is like, um, you know, kind of looking back at that content and maybe feeling like, oh, I don't know, is it like, not like knowing how to feel about your content when you look back on it.

And I know for me that's like something I, I feel all the time looking back, even like a couple months ago. I'm like, oh man, that's a little, that's a little cringe. But, um, how has that process been for you?  Like experiencing your content grow 

um, it, it can be a lot sometimes. Um, I, I've dealt with, uh, imposter syndrome feeling like, you know, I don't, I don't deserve the following that I have, or people aren't like really interested in what I'm doing. I'm just kind of like shouting into the void. Uh, So it, it can take a lot on a huge toll on you mentally.

And I am a huge advocate of people just not posting if they don't feel like posting. Yeah. And it, I know that you're like, oh, but the algorithm, or, you know, I gotta, I gotta stop. Just full stop. Take care of yourself please. Is. You can't continue to make good content or consistent content if you don't feel okay.

So you need to, you need to take care of yourself before you can take care of your content. That's so important for people. And I know for me there's been, uh, times where I, I just do this for fun, but even still, you can get so wrapped up in this trap of like, well, I, I have to post every day or I have to do this.

And, um, I think it's important to step back and realize at the end of the day, uh, I mean, obviously it's maybe a little different for people who are doing this as living, but mm-hmm. Um, I think it's important to step back and, you know, Say, listen, it's okay. I don't, I don't have to do this. Uh, and if you're not having fun with it, I think it's almost better to maybe take a break from it.

, at least for me, I feel like it can kind of come through in your content if you're just making a video to put out a video or not actually having fun on what you do. So, yeah, I agree. I'm a big proponent of, uh, taking breaks when you need to, and, uh, you know, doing what feels comfortable for you there.

Well, if you just, like, if you're, if you're constantly hammering something and. You, you usually carry like a sense of enthusiasm or something for it. Uh, over time it's what you're hammering is gonna start to feel like work and you're gonna not like to do work and then you just end up not doing it at all.

And I, I'd rather keep doing something that I know that I enjoy, but take a break from it and come back to it later. Completely agree. I, uh, I definitely had, uh, you know, other types of social media that I've done in the past where it feels like a job after a while and, uh, it can kind of lose that magic of being the thing that you're excited about.

Now one of the things that I've seen you also struggle with, and this might be something that's like a little more unique to you in the types of props that you make and uh, the content that you make, but you seem to get hammered by the Clock app with, uh, having community guidelines, things and all that stuff.

Can you maybe speak a little bit to how that has been and just what that process has been like? Uh, yeah. So first thing that I've uh, stopped doing to, uh, stop getting guideline strikes was stop showing my weapons props. I if it, if it looks like a firearm, I just, I don't show it anymore. Like, I made this beautiful blaster back here.

It's a, it's a West Star 35 from Star Wars. Um, I can't show it on TikTok because they'll be like, Hmm, no, no. Thank you. But there's like plenty of people on shooting ranges and all this other kind of stuff, so it just kind of, it seems funny to give the guideline strike to the guy who's like, look, I got this cool plastic toy.

And yeah. But, uh, I mean, uh, so the first thing was, you know, stop doing that. And then, um, I just started posting that kind of content on Instagram and it's, it's been working better there. Um, so I just, that's all I did was, uh, just kind of like a content shift was, you know, uh, blasters weapons, props, that kind of stuff is for Instagram, uh, helmets, cosplay, armor, and sometimes belated props for TikTok.

 Yeah, uh, TikTok seems to be really stringent. I've had, uh, not, not as many as you, but I've had a couple videos of mine where they've gotten taken down and a lot of times I'm, it's like shocking almost. I'm like, Baffled that that is something that is  too much for their platform.

But have you found yourself, it's interesting you said, uh, going over to Instagram, I hear a lot of people seem to feel like that platform has a little more freedom for creators in terms of like what they're posting and things like that. Do you, um, see yourself maybe being like a little more drawn to going to that platform in the future?

Or is TikTok still kind of like the place that you like to post primarily? So TikTok is where a majority of my audience is. Um, so I will probably continue to post on TikTok until it, it's dead. Um, yeah, and that is probably gonna be my, my main area, but I actually do see myself moving over towards live streaming more.

Mm. Okay. I recently, just this past week, Bought a new pc, uh, for, for Jedi survivor because my, my PC currently is a, is a brick and, um, it's, it's capable of doing this, but like anything else and not so much. Um, so, but with this new PC, I'll be able to do live streaming. Uh, I'll be able to just do more content and, uh, have it look nicer.

Um, but for the most part it's, it's gonna be TikTok. Twitch, uh, and sometimes some Instagram posts if I, uh, if I get one of my friends to take some cool pictures of me. That's awesome. Um, as you start getting into the live streaming side of things, do you find, like obviously, um, the, the way that you kind of approach making content as a streamer versus as somebody who's making shorts or TikTok, that type of content is like pretty different.

Uh, do you find it to be, I guess, um, challenging to like shift between those mindsets or like manage, I guess like where to put your time into going onto these different platforms? Um, I've had a lot of training as far as like live streaming, uh, through TikTok because they have their live feature. Yeah. So I, I've kind of like familiarized myself with how I should pace myself, my live content and uh, that kind of stuff.

So yeah, there is, there's a little bit of a switch that you have to kind of turn over because when, when I'm making like TikTok videos, I gotta be fast. You've got. Anywhere between like 15 seconds to 60 seconds to like actually really capture someone's attention or otherwise they're just gonna scroll away.

Um, so you gotta, you gotta be quick about catching someone's attention when you're posting the short form, but when you're, when you're doing the live stream, you gotta pace it out and make people want to stick around longer. Yeah, that makes sense. I, uh, personally, I don't do much long form content these days.

I, I used to back in the day, but I know even, uh, when I would like post more long form YouTube videos as opposed to the short form, like you said, I feel like you, at least for me, I feel like I almost have to like, boost up my energy levels and, uh, like you said, just paste it a little faster when you're doing that short form because the attention is so, um, quick of how it shifts there.

So, yeah, it's, uh, It's definitely feels like a, a different, different type of mindset that you have to be in. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And just like, uh, in, in live streaming, you also have to like project a lot more, whereas like when you're doing the short form of the camera's right here, the microphone's right here, so you don't really have to like say a whole lot.

But when you're doing live streams, you gotta like project and make yourself excited and, uh, again, like also trying to get that that person who's just like passing by their attention real fast as well. So it's all about, At people's attention spans.  Now you seem to have like, um, a pretty good grasp on like, um, kind of identifying like the different ways to approach people's attention spans and, um, obviously your content spend wildly successful on TikTok.

People really enjoy it. Do, do you have advice maybe for somebody who's, um, looking to get into starting creating content, um, on that platform for the first time and kind of growing their audience? Be patient. It is, it's hard. Um, I, I know a lot of people make it look really easy, but making content that's hard and uh, is making entertaining content is, is even harder.

Um, but if you are patient, you will find people who love what you do. Love what you talk about. And will want to build a community around what you're doing. And I, I think that's great. I think TikTok is great for building or starting communities like that for people who normally don't have a shot at building communities.

So if you, if you're looking to get your start in content, I highly recommend TikTok. Um, and just being you and being excited about being you. Yeah, I think that's great advice. Um, particularly what you said about being excited about being you. I, um, think one of the best things that, uh, it took me a while to learn, but not trying to, you know, imitate someone else's style and just like really leaning into what your personality is and what you think is cool.

And, um, I think it's, when you're authentically you, I think you'll find kind of your people in your group and that's, uh, for both sides of that relationship. I think it's really fun. What caught my eye with your content was when you put filament through your nose and I was like, yep, this is, these are my people.

These, these are my type of creators. So, uh, seeing that and seeing just like how goofy you are and like how interactive you are with your content and just, uh, you're a very entertaining person. You should be very, very proud of your content. Well, thank you so much. I, I appreciate it. And, uh, yeah, it's, uh, there's definitely, I'm sure the type of people out there who would watch me string a fulfillment through my nose and not, not be their cup of tea, but, uh, I think that's, uh, that's okay too.

You know, I, uh, I'm certainly not gonna be everybody's cup of tea, but that's, uh, I think it's better for me. I like just having kind of my, my group of, uh, I guess fellow misfits you could say. So it all works out in the ends. I was, uh, I was talking to one of my friends recently and I was saying that, uh, there, there there's a very small group of, uh, 3D printers and I like to, I like to call them the, the alternative printers.

Yeah. Uh, and I, I d I wholeheartedly believe you fall into the, the category of alternative printers. Yeah. Yeah. I think, uh, I, I would agree with you. I think, uh, alternative would be a good word to use. Say so. Yeah, no, I agree with that. Um, \, kind like staying in tune with giving advice for people who wanna make content, are there things that you would kind of give advice for people who are looking to get into making props?

And I guess was it, um, did you find yourself having it, the transition of maybe starting out and projects not coming out, how you were hoping for, and then, uh, seeing that skill develop over time. Yeah. Um, so one of my, my first prints was, uh, something that I didn't, um, I actually personally did not print.

It was something I bought from, uh, Aaron Hughes at Galactic Armory. Mm-hmm. Uh, a great 3D modeler, great printer, great content. Go check 'em out. Um, I, I bought a helmet from him and, um, It looks awful. I'm, I'm gonna be really honest. It looks, it looks really awful. It looks good on camera. Yeah. But as soon as you get close to it, it, it's, it loses its magic.

But it's, it's the first thing I ever worked on. It's the first thing I ever made. And I love it. Yeah. And it, it's always gonna be a part of me. Um, but after I finished that prop, I was like, yeah, this is, this is something I'm gonna have to. Build up, it's gonna, it's gonna have to be a skill that I work on.

So, uh, it, it is a labor and, uh, there's a learning curve, but sticking with it has incredible payoffs. It's interesting hearing you say that about like, if you get a little too close to it on camera, the magic kind of goes away. Um, is somebody who, you know, you've done commissions on props before, you also make content with props.

Um, do you find yourself having a different maybe, uh, level of like what you consider finished for a prop that's like what might be a camera prop as opposed to what might be something that's like getting shipped out to somebody to hold and interact with in real life? Yes. There, I, there's a. Uh, a cer a certain level.

Um, whereas like, so if I'm doing like something cosplay, um, I'm gonna be walking around in it. I, I don't expect people to like, what are you, what are you wearing? Uh, I, I don't, if you're that close, I'm gonna ask you to back up. Um, but if I'm like, you know, making something that's gonna sit on someone's shelf that, you know, they're gonna get real close and look at, I wanna, I wanna make sure the layer lines are gone.

I wanna make sure it's nice and smooth to the touch. Um, if there's texture that's there, I want it to be there. Um, And these are all things that come with practice and testing and finding what's good for you. But, uh, yeah, there, there's a very distinct level of difference between like a cosplay prop and what I would consider a display prop.

Interesting. Um, now I'm like the cosplay side of things, I guess. Um, how do you like often go to conventions and, uh, get to like wear your own? Cosplays that you've made. Um, I actually surprisingly do not go to a lot of conventions, and I want to, I, I, I really, really want to. I just, I'm so busy all the time.

Yeah. I just remodeled my house and, um, now, but now I'm like, I'm settled here and I'm ready to like, start going to conventions again. And, and, uh, but the few conventions that I have been to, I've always worn one of my helmets because it's okay. It's just like, it's fun. It's one of those places where I can wear a helmet and no one's gonna be like, well, no.

What are you doing? Yeah. Yeah. Um, no, that, that makes sense. I, I've never gone to a convention, but I see people, I don't know, uh, I don't think you've been, cause you just said that you haven't been recently, but I saw recently they had, uh, that Rocky Mountain. Rough, rough r I never know know how to say that.

Uh, I'm not sure if you're familiar with that one, but I'm not printing one. But, uh, yeah, it's, uh, kind of to your point, like you were saying, if you could wear like a helmet to a, a standard convention and nobody bats an eye, it was like the same thing. I saw this whole room full of like 3D printers. It just looked like, it looked like a fun experience to have of getting to be in a room full of people who you all kind of have that same level of, I guess, nerdiness around something.

I am trying to, uh, normalize at my gym though, the fact that, uh, I, I, I'm gonna come in and lift with my Mandalorian helmet on. Uh, as part of like a, a content thing. Uh, it's, it's definitely breaking, uh, my, my comfort zone. But I think, yeah, it, it would genuinely be good content to just go into the gym with my Mandalorian home and lift.

Oh man. I hope you pursue that cuz I feel like that could turn into such a great series and I feel like you'd end up being surprised. I might, a lot of people probably at the gym would unexpectedly be like, Super into it. I, I've approached some people at the gym who've got like some Star Wars stuff on and I'm like, oh, hey, well, uh, I, I make these and like show 'em my Instagram.

I'm like, whoa. I'm like, yeah. Well if you ever want to see any, just let me know. I'll, I'll bring 'em to the gym. Yeah, no, I, uh, I, like I said, I really hope you make that series cuz that sounds like that would be a. That would be really cool. It's, it's very high up on my list. Yeah. Um, now I guess like kind of in that theme of cosplays that you've done or, um, is there like a cosplay that you really stands out that you've done that, um, maybe is your favorite?

And then on the other side of that, is there a cosplay that you haven't done that you really wanna do? Uh, yes. So the cosplay that I've done that was my absolute favorite, uh, was my Darth Niles cosplay. Mm-hmm. And the reason why is, uh, I 3D printed the mask for it, and a lot of people go with like this bright white kind of, uh, for Darth Niles mask and color scheme.

But I dirtied it up and I made it. I looked, made it look battle damaged and more true to like, uh, what I would think he, his mask would look like instead of something nice and clean. And, uh, just wearing like all the black robes and the mask and not really actually being able to see my face. I just, I felt bad, you know, I felt, 

so it was, it was empowering, it was cool. Um, a cosplay that I do want to do. Um, so Galactic Armory Aaron has, uh, recently made these, uh, halo Spartan helmets that are a cross between Halo and Star Wars. Okay. And they look incredible. And what I want to do is I want to take, uh, one of the Mandalorian helmets that he's designed as like a Spartan helmet.

And then print all the spartan armor and Okay. Be this big hulking, Mandalorian, Spartan. I think that would, I think that would look really cool. That sounds cool. Um, interesting. Well, A couple of things there. So I guess, uh, one of the things that you said, like you, in the cosplay that you really enjoy, you're like, oh, I just feel bad wearing that.

I, I don't know what it is, but I've noticed a couple people that I've talked to who do cosplays, they seem to really enjoy, I don't know if this is something that you can relate to, but like, seem to really enjoy cosplay, like villains. Is that, is that a thing? Is that normal? Yeah, I mean, like, It's, it's always fun to pretend to be the, the bad guy because you're not actually the bad guy.

But it's, you know, like, you know, I'm, I'm this person that like, you know, other people are afraid of. And it, it's cool walking around and seeing reactions of people and people being like, that's so cool. Or like, oh my God, it looks so real. It, I, I honestly do it all for the attention. I'm gonna be real, I do it all for the attention.

Um, and it, it's just fun. There's no other way to describe. It's, it's just a lot of fun. That's interesting. Do you find, uh, have you ever had like Interac, I guess, uh, I'm not, again, I've never gone to like one of these events before, but, um, do you have any like, interactions that stand out of maybe people like being interested in the cosplays that you've done or like coming up to you?

Or maybe like, do people, are people ever like scared of the cos place when you guys do them? Uh, no, uh, I for, I haven't done a lot of like, out and about cosplay because I'm a big wimp. Um, but, uh, the, the helmets and stuff that I've made, people have always come up to me and been like, yo, this is, this is really cool.

What did you make it out of? And I tell 'em, you know, a 3D printer. And the first thing that people always tell me when, you know, I made it on a 3D printer is, uh, I wish I had the money for a 3D printer. You probably do. Yeah, you probably do have money for a 3D printer. The, the 3D printing technology is incredibly affordable nowadays.

Um, I'm not saying that it's, you know, cheap, but it's, it's more affordable than what it has been in the past. Uh, but it's, it's just always, uh, fun to like get reactions outta people. Yeah, I have to imagine it's probably really fun and uh, just. Like you said, getting the attention and seeing people's reactions, especially when it's, it's such like a labor of love of something that you've spent so much time on.

I feel like that probably makes it extra special. I mean, not that it's not cool just doing it in general, but when you've, uh, spent all those hours kind of crafting something, that's gotta be really cool. Mm-hmm. It definitely is. Now, uh, on the flip side of that, you mentioned, um, kind of like a crossover between like a Halo and a Star Wars cosplay.

I'm not sure if you're, um, Familiar with him on TikTok. I wish it, it's, uh, something, Moses, you might know who I'm talking about. He has like an entire room full of like filament and Stormtrooper helmets. But one of the crossovers that he does, which might sound a little goofy, I, uh, absolutely love, he has like this hello kitty storm pooper helmet, which I just think is the coolest thing ever.

But, uh, he does a bunch of crossovers and that's something I think is really cool is like seeing those different variations of maybe props that you don't, wouldn't normally see in, uh, I guess. Uh, other scenarios. So I thought that was cool, hearing you see that crossover. I've never thought of a Hello Kitty Stormtrooper helmet, but now I want one just so I can wear it out in public.

I'm gonna, sounds incredible. I'll have to tag you in his content, uh, when we hop off here. It's really cool. But yeah, he, uh, he has a whole bunch of crossovers that he does and he must have like a hundred storm trooper helmets. He, they're just like amazing and they're beautiful and they're so colorful. I love that.

So, yeah, he'll, uh, I think he'll really enjoy his content, but, Yeah. That's very cool. Um, well, as we wrap up here today, I had such a great time talking to you. I feel like I learned so much about you, and I feel like we could have talked for another couple hours here. But, um, is there a place for people who, again, maybe aren't following your content?

Where are the best places, uh, on the internet where people can kind of follow your work and see what is upcoming for your projects? Uh, yeah. So you can follow me on TikTok at oden underscore actual. Um, you can also follow me at Instagram where it is oden dot actual, and I will start streaming on Twitch here within the next week or so.

And you can follow me at Oden actual, uh, with an extra l slash twitch. No, that's not right. Uh, it's twitch.tv, uh slash oden. Actual with an extra l my bad. Perfect. Awesome. Well, Tim, again, it was such a pleasure having you on here today. Uh, looking forward to all of your content that you have coming up, particularly that gym series.

Stay tuned for that one. Um, but thank you again, and with that side, that is our episode of Meet the Makers.