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[Oren-Cathal]

This is awesome. Wish there was a like button that I could hit about 100 times. The concept blaster was what I actually wanted to scratch build for my Mando's sidearm, again this is an awesome undertaking. Can't wait for updates on this.

[Syko Voss]

Aw shucks, guys - you're all so kind.

Hoping that by sharing my step-by-step it might inspire you to take a shot at making something even more awesome.

Anyways - a fantastic afternoon here in Nottingham in the UK, spent gluing everything I could to the main body before I have to paint it to continue assembly.



The mid-barrel section was made to look like metal with some silver Rub 'n' Buff - I've found that the more heat you generate while polishing, the stronger the resemblance to metal.  After much polishing, I hit it with 3 coats of spray gloss varnish for protection.



Lots of minor additions as I assembled - the exposed screws are simply cut down and glued in place (since the real ones would drive right through the whole blaster to the other side) and the circular metal domes in the base of the gun butt are a couple of old metal furniture feet that I found when helping my father clear out his garage.



I've also made an insert for the back of the stock - two strips of 6mm Foamex (Sintra) glued together with cuts made at 5mm intervals with an Exacto knife.  I hit that with the heat gun and draped it into the slot in the back of the stock and was really pleased that the Foamex acted just like I hoped it would - it bloomed at the edges giving the section a 'foamy' appearance.  That I'm going to spray black or dark grey and then finish with a gloss varnish so that it will look like a completely different material from the rest of the gun.



So it's 9pm now here in the UK - I'm just heading outside to hit this thing with the black spray paint for the first time...

Hope you guys have a terrific rest-of-the-weekend and a great start to the week.  Thanks for all your encouragement - it's really appreciated.

[Reyn Vok'chi]

Just love it. Can't say much more than that  8)

[Am Vindam]

This is how you scratch build something! I'm overly impressed. Very, very nice work, vod. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the end result.

[Bewilderedwolfman]

This build is so great! Can't wait to see it finished!

[Droxis Sturm]

I'm simply awestruck. you really have some talent. Cant wait to see it in paint

[Syko Voss]

Thanks all!  Well, here's the first coat...



MDF grain is still showing through in a few places, particularly the side sections so I've been sanding dry with 600 grit (going wet and dry with a higher grit made it worse - the sandpaper exposed the grain, which then started swelling due to the water...)

So this evening's task is to Rub 'n' Buff some silver on the inner barrel workings, assemble the barrel, cap it off at the various connecting points and apply filler.

Then it'll be waiting for more matt black spray to arrive in the post as I ran out last night.  (At 2.38GBP per 400ml with Free Delivery, local stores can't compete with Amazon on Hycote spray paint)

Great to see this bunch of components looking more like a single object though!

[Havelock]

A non-weekend update?  SCORE!   

This is looking amazing.  Of course.

[Cattfish]

This is one of the best build projects I've seen in a long time. Keep up the great work. 

[Syko Voss]

Okay, here's an update from last night (while I take a tea break from my real job...)

Glued the barrel parts in place and found that in reality I only really needed to cap the back end of the barrel since where the silver mid-section connects with the front and the rear barrel are so dark you wouldn't be able to tell - better to have a neat finish than a rough edge where I couldn't get the filler to go exactly as I'd wanted...



More filling on the screwheads on the front of the barrel area due to the MDF swelling when I tried to wet-and-dry sand it (and I'd already primed the MDF with PVA weeks ago...and it had two coats of adhesion aid and the black acrylic spray...) and numerous cover-ups for small split lines that have appeared where the MDF panels meet...



So, here it is ready for some DRY sanding next.  Pleased to see that it's starting to look like the concept image, and quite proud of it...



...but still annoyed about the wet-and-dry failure earlier this week since I have noticed that the MDF section underneath the barrel has bowed out due to the MDF swelling.  Thankfully it's reasonably uniform and it's one of those 'I'll notice it but no one else will' kind of errors that creep into every DIY project, but just kicking myself for not knowing how much MDF would swell with such little water.  Grrr! 

...but if that's the worst that happens on this entire costuming project, I'll take it. 

[Welkin]

That looks a-maz-ing!

[Syko Voss]

Once again, thank you!

It looks even better with 3 coats of matt black paint (used a small wrap of baking foil and masking tape to keep the mid-barrel from getting sprayed too - from the reference image I want to keep that really shiny!)



Today things got even more awesomerer as I introduced the whole gun to Mr Rub and Mr Buff...



After going head-to-toe with Rub 'n' Buff silver...



I took some Humbrol Gunmetal acrylic and painted over the top on some areas - brushing them with strokes that all go in the same direction - the result - the appearance of brushed metal, and a tone that's slightly darker than the rest of the Rub 'n' Buff.

Then I took a couple of shades of blue acrylic paint and gently washed them over the top - the result, a very subtle blue tinge to some of the metal. (Most obvious in this shot is the difference between the body of the gun and the magazine.)

The look I'm going for here is to try and make it appear that the gun is made up of several different types of similar metal so this is the start.

Here's some close-up shots:



I also took sandpaper to all of the parts that are actually metal so the real metal pieces will still show through...





I've now given the whole gun 3 coats of gloss lacquer and am setting it aside for 24 hours.

Once that's cured, I'll apply a whole bunch of masking fluid and throw in some rock salt before I go at it again with matt black spray.

Decided I'd try this approach first, since layering paint is more authentic.  If it fails, I know I can achieve a good effect with drybrushing, but I'd like to replicate the feeling of chipped paint if I can....plus, if it gets damaged for real the chances of it improving the look will increase!

Hope you're all having a great weekend - I am - so excited that this baby is finally coming together!

[spideyplumhead]

wow stunning job ...really dont need to say anything else 

[Bewilderedwolfman]

This just keeps getting better!

[TheBloodyHanded]

Man this is looking so good. I may need to take your idea and just build the pistol for my sidearm. I love the feel of this gun.

[Kalo_Kloudwalker]

This is the kind of stuff I'd like to be able to do in the future. It looks amazing Simorph!

[Dhagon Varad]

This needs to be made into a kit. It would fly off your shelf.

[Syko Voss]

Gee, thanks folks.  Really appreciate it.
Waiting desperately for the weekend so I can finally mask it up, give it its top coat, peel off the masking, scratch up and weather it!

I hope by documenting this step-by-step this is useful/inspirational to you guys - if you find any good tips, better ways of doing things (like carving rings around PVC pipe without a lathe, for example) please share!

Have a great week - hoping to share up the final stages with you in a few days.

[thereclaimer]

Must.....make......this gun!!!! This is awesome!

[Syko Voss]

When I'm done, if it's useful, I'll clean up the to-scale Photoshop files I made for it and post them in this thread.

Biggest considerations were working around the diameters of the PVC pipe I had to hand and making sure that I trimmed the barrel to a length where it wasn't dragging on the floor - the temptation to keep making the 'business end' longer was almost too much!

[spideyplumhead]

can we have some finished pics please 

[jett drexel]

you should have a word with talos kot or saz or someone and get a mold of this made... can you imagine what it would be like in cold cast aluminium?

[Syko Voss]

Sounds all rather exciting...let's see, once I get it finished, I can look into it.

Spidey - finished pics?  I've got to finish it first!

 

[spideyplumhead]

my bad ...read when im done ...as well im done ...doh

[Syko Voss]

No worries, fella.  You have a great evening/rest of the day.