Questions about sliced weapon construction.

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Alkatraz

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I plan on making a sliced MA5C and a sliced M6G, and maybe some day a halo 3 shotgun if I can find a sliced model.
I already plan on making the pistol using 2mm thick styrene slices but I'm not sure what materials I could use for the assault rifle, what would be the best approach for this? And what is considered the best method for making good weapon props?
 
Some people use Matte board (picture frame backing) or even MDF wood. It all depends on what material you are comfortable with using.
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For sectioning off into smaller workable pieces you can score and snap the MDF quickly. A band saw will probably give you the best edge for cutting, but a scroll saw is more versatile (especially since you can do cutouts). It really isn't a big deal how you decide to cut it as long as its straight, and you'll end up most likely sanding, shaving or routing all those edges anyway.

Edit: all my tools have broken down and I can't afford replacement parts so I do a lot of hand sawing and rasping for now. It takes patience but if you're good with hand tools the results are just the same. MDF is a relatively easy material to reduce with a good set of rasps :thumbsup
 
Ok thanks, I'll see if i can source some nearby for my AR. I'm cutting out the templates now so I just wanted to make sure that MDF was a good idea.
 
I'm using MDF, Bondo and styrene and this file set is awesome: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-Flat-Curve-Assortment-File-Set-10-Piece-22105HD/100091245

The needle files (half round and triangle) do detail perfectly, the rasp rasps just fine, the coarse half round does the majority of my "hogging out", the two sizes of straight files tend to crisp up corners and smooth down planes and the triangle does slots and corners very nicely. No problems with clogging on MDF and Bondo, a little with auto primer which is expectable, but I'm sure a wire brush would/will take care of it when it becomes a problem.

Those and a scroll saw do probably 60% of my work- but only because i got a bench sander, or it'd be more like 95%. They keep a flat that the Dremel just can't hold.
 
Yeah a band saw would be your most used tool, then a scroll saw, in my opinion. A bench bent sander with about 150 grit sandpaper would also be a very handy machine to have.

Now I have very little experience with MDF, but a ton in all your hard and soft woods along with plywoods and particleboard. Another good choice for a "real" wood, is balsa wood. Also any softwood should do the trick as well. Unless you have the tools, I would not suggest working with hardwoods.
 
From what I've seen digging around on here, most files call for 1/8th or 1/4 inch which you should be able to find in hardboard or MDF. Carpathia's Pistol file calls for 1/16th inch layers. Based on what we had available, we're using 1/4" and 2x 3/16" to get the 10 middle layers that are identical. Glued together and will get 10 layers in one run on the saw. For cost, MDF seems like a good material. I haven't built any props yet, but MDF is more uniform density as you're not cutting with or against grain ever, so I'd think some turns and curves would be a little easier, and it does seem like it files down very easily.

Drawback of MDF is the weight, but weight does give a more real feel. And slices give you the option to hollow out some spots to make it a little less heavy.

Based on what experience i have working with wood, and what I've seen of the files, I'm likely to stick to scroll saw as it allows for a lot more detailed cuts and can cut up to 1" thick if needed, though its less likely on a prop build. Also may use wood filler instead of bondo as that should require less ventilation.

We haven't started building yet, but on the DMR sliced file I found, I was able to join faces and connect the grip on each of them.. less cutting and gluing or taping on the template, so in pep designer you might be able to do that to make your template simpler as well. I cut out the templates already and that joining in pep designer did save me some time.

I haven't gotten far on the prop build yet, as I'm going to be juggling with some armor and am still lining things up. Subscribing and hoping that I can learn some things from your build.
 
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