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[Padawan]

My first big step towards my kit (yay!)

A few days ago I was browsing the internet, and came across a picture of a blaster rifle that looked similar to my nerf gun (a nerf elite delta trooper) and I decided to make it my summer project to mod my nerf gun into a blaster rifle

Here is my inspiration:


So here is my gun before I did anything to it (with the barrel attachment and the stock, which I probably won't use)


(I might mod the stock, I'll see)

So I completely gutted it and removed pretty much everything so it is just the shell


And I began to sand some of the logos off


I would have started to work on some of the bigger logos but I ran out of time

So what I was thinking is putting a pvc pipe as a barrel and putting a side mag and maybe a scope on it

For those who have done nerf mods before: is there anything that I should do? Anything that I shouldn't do? Any advice for products that will aid me in my project?

(also since this is my summer project and my summer is relatively busy I don't know if I will be able to work on this every day but I will see)

[Reshar Gin]

And so it begins... 

There’s some great tutorials and articles on here that cover nerf mods precisely.
I’m part way through modifying a nerf  stampede rifle, and let me tell you, IT’S A LOT OF WORK.
At least a couple of times I’ve wished I had just scratch built a rifle. Now I have so much time invested in it that I just have to forge ahead.
Then, just when you’ve modified it to hell and back, mod it some more. 

Best of luck, and I’m keen to see what you come up with.

[Kurz]

Well, good luck Vod! Starting with a non star wars nerf blaster is a loooooot of work. I started with one and after few weeks I decided to scratch build one, much easier... Even though this specific model isn't very nerfy. They made a great tutorial for the conversions.
http://mandalorianmercs.org/forum/index.php?topic=159524.0

[Padawan]

Then, just when you’ve modified it to hell and back, mod it some more. 

Thanks for the tip, vod!  I will be sure to do that

Starting with a non star wars nerf blaster is a loooooot of work. I started with one and after few weeks I decided to scratch build one, much easier... Even though this specific model isn't very nerfy. They made a great tutorial for the conversions.
http://mandalorianmercs.org/forum/index.php?topic=159524.0

Thanks for the link, some of those conversions are really cool

[Anansi]

The best thing you can do is plan, plan and plan. If you're going to cut the body to match a different profile, figure out how you intend to fill in the cut area. Make sure you have enough support structure to attach panels or bondo and if you don't, figure out how to add it. work on as much of the blaster as you can before closing it up so if you have to make adjustments, you're not breaking things apart to get to them.

As everyone said, it's a lot of work but it can be very rewarding.

[Padawan]

The best thing you can do is plan, plan and plan. If you're going to cut the body to match a different profile, figure out how you intend to fill in the cut area. Make sure you have enough support structure to attach panels or bondo and if you don't, figure out how to add it. work on as much of the blaster as you can before closing it up so if you have to make adjustments, you're not breaking things apart to get to them.

Thanks for the advice

Update:
I began sanding some of the bigger logos off


So I want to put something on the orange part to make it even with the blue part. What materiel would I use? Sintra? Polymer clay?

Also, would a wet bandanna be sufficient to block plastic dust? (this is totally hypothetical hahahaha why would I be stupid enough to not cover my face while sanding plastic hahaha)

[Kurz]

You might also think about cutting away the blue part in front of the trigger.

[Padawan]

You might also think about cutting away the blue part in front of the trigger.

I think I will try that, thanks for the suggestion

[Padawan]

Ok, so I was thinking about trimming along the red line that I drew:


What do you guys think? (I drew it on with a red dry-erase marker so it might be a little tough to see)

[Kurz]

I would keep the trigger guard

[Padawan]

I would keep the trigger guard

I think I'm going to keep the trigger guard, hakuna matata


I will probably make the barrel a bit longer with some greeblies on it, I'll see how it turns out

[Padawan]

So I began cutting of some of the excess plastic below the red line and a few minutes in I realized that sawing through plastic is a LOT harder than sawing through wood

Any suggestions as to how to cut it?

[Kurz]

Rotary tool with a cutting wheel is the best pick.

[Anansi]

If you can't get a rotary tool, a fine toothed saw such as a hacksaw, can make easy work of Nerf plastic. In some instances, it's even preferable when you want to maintain fine control of the cuts instead of hacking off a big piece.

[Padawan]

Thanks for the advice,  I think we have a hacksaw in the basement

I'll see how it works

[Padawan]

Ok, here is an update:
I found my multi-tool and it has an awesome knife blade so I've been using that to cut through the plastic
Here is where I'm at right now:

I've sanded the one half and cut it, and now I'm working on the other half
I think what I'm going to do next is finish sanding and then put bondo on the orange part to even it out

Is it possible to do something like a leather wrap on the handgrip thing? It just looks too nerfy and it might help with the look of it

I'm considering making it a heavy blaster pistol (like the Imperial Guards' pistols)

I just need to find more pictures of it

[Padawan]

Update: So I finished trimming the bottoms of the two halves, now I am finishing up sanding.

Since I need to use something to even out some of the surfaces, I would like y'all's opinions on what I should use. Bondo? Apoxie putty? Play-doh?

Also, what should the trigger look like? I know I have to trim it, but I don't really know how little/much I should trim

And what should I do about the grip? It looks really nerf-y right now and I dunno what I should do about it

[Jag Cabur]

Concerning the nerf grip, you could always fill in all the details with bondo, and then carve a crasshatch pattern into it.

[Padawan]

sorry for the necropost lol

sooooo it's been a while

I got a little done tho

I finished sanding the body and cut and painted the trigger
(haha quick story about the trigger, I went to paint it and accidentally sprayed it with the rubber used for cars and didn't realize it until the paint started peeling off so I had to redo the trigger)



It looks kinda weird in the picture but I promise it looks better irl

Here's the gun with the trigger



I screwed the two halves together and am (mentally) preparing to do the bondo within the next few days

I also cut the mag in half to make my side mag



(it's the bottom one, and I dremeled along the black line to smooth it out)

[Padawan]

cool it's been 24 hours

alright

I decided to sacrifice my sense of smell and begin bondo-ing today

I used almost all of the package that I bought, but I got a lot done





(that black rectangle is where I'm going to attach the side mag)







Before I paint it, do I need to prime the bondo-ed areas?

Edit: so I attached the side mag to the gun and bondo-ed it together (my dad suggested that I cut a hole in the side of the gun so that it would be a bit more secure) and it looks pretty good considering it's my first time ever working with bondo


(please excuse the blurry image and the bad lighting)








I hope I never have to smell bondo again lol

[Yodamann]

That's looking like a pretty cool hand cannon! I'd definitely sand that down to a 220 grit, and then prime it before painting. Do you have any plans for the nerf stock mounting point?

[Padawan]

That's looking like a pretty cool hand cannon! I'd definitely sand that down to a 220 grit, and then prime it before painting. Do you have any plans for the nerf stock mounting point?

I don't really have any yet, maybe I'll attach a small stock or smooth it out

[Anansi]

If I may offer a suggestion before painting: this would be the best time to put in some accent lines on the body of the blaster so that it doesn't look like a big, angry, imposing slab. That'll also cut down on the amount of greebles you'll need to flesh it out.