Sub's Vk78 Commando build (Turbocharizard files)

[SubXzeroXhero]

Howdy folks,

I wanted to make an outline for the VK78 Commando rifle that I recently finished. I thought I would share the journey and a few things that I tried and learned along the way as well as share some of the assets that I put together for anyone else who was looking to make a commando rifle.

The files that I used were from TurboCharizard from the Free 3D model index.

link to that build thread here.

I made this prop to 100% scale from the files.

Tools:

• sandpaper
• filler primer
• airbrush
• XTC3D model resin
• dremel
• E6000
• superglue
• various paints
• angelus acrylic top coat
• petg sheet plastic .2mm
• printer paper
• PVC pipe
• steel rods link to amazon.

Software:

• Ultimaker Cura for 3d printing
• inkscape for making the stencils

Printing:
Not a ton interesting here. Technically i printed this all off at the end of 2021 but kept having to be pushed off to finish other projects and commissions. The important part of this is to remember to look ahead as to how the whole project will come together. there are parts that should be glued together and there are some parts that will be easier to glue together after you have sanded and primed at a minimum.

Rough assembly to check the size. Also you can tell i was going through the last bit of my silk PLA stores. (new armor coating ideas.

Prepping:
I used XTC3D on this but honestly it is a double edged sword, fills in the layer lines but you end up having to do a lot of sanding. I would probably use the bondo putty method if I was to do this again. now for hours and hours of prime and sand and prime and sand. Pro tip: I like to double side some tape and stick a bunch of parts to a piece of cardboard while doing the painting and priming step so that I can grab the whole piece of cardboard to paint from different angles and not get surfaces covered in paint.

 

[SubXzeroXhero]

More painting! I still keep everything disassembled so that i can paint each of the pieces separately based on the colors that are needed. I wanted to combine two different weapon coatings to match my ODST. The bottom one i liked because of the color match to my armor but I did the white stripe of the standard coating since it matched the colors of my ODST.

Started laying down the colors. Here is the lineup for all the colors and paints that I used.

Once all the base parts were painted I went to assembly where E6000 and some superglue are your best friends.

Nerd for scale.

Next was adding the stripe and the details for the logos. The stripe was as easy as masking off a section and adding white paint with an airbrush. very simple. The logos however took me a little longer to make. First I imported a screenshot of the logos from the game into inkscape and then I created the shapes using paths to make the logo lockup. I had to mess around with the fonts a bit too in order to find something that looked similar to the font that is on the gun. A little custom kerning and we had the logo. The initial idea was to make these into waterslide decals, however I havent done much with these and I was having a little bit of issue with them so I opted to do what a crazy like me would normally do.... make a stencil for my cricut and paint the logo with an airbrush. I still have the inkscape files for anyone looking to go that route for the logos and they are pre sized to fit this model perfectly so feel free to use them. I will also include the link to the cricut files for those who wish to do it that way.

As a little added bonus I ordered me some superintendent weapon charms that I made. Added some weathering and then coated it all with the angelus top coat with a little added duller to make it not so shiny. Final details included adding the ammo counter with the petg insert which I backed with foam and the scope which I made by using a piece of painters tape and laying it across the plastic where I wanted the line and dot and using that as a guide to make sure my hand stayed strait while painting.

Cricut link: Cricut Design Space

I hope this brief rundown and guide helps. Please feel free to use the logos for your own builds. I would love to see the results if you use them!