Hello again fellow makers, collectors, and enthusiasts! I want to share the build process for my full-scale Halo 4 sniper rifle that I put together over the last couple months. (I really need to spend some time on the 405th and get out of the Noob status so I can post this where it really belongs.) My customer wanted a full-size replica that had a removable magazine and a working charging handle. Full-size for this thing happens to be 63.5" long and the final weight when I was completed was just shy of 15 pounds. So here we go!
I started with the blueprint from Punished Props. I took the file to FedEx and had them plot it to the proper scale. The blueprint was cut up into the separate pieces that I wanted to build. I broke the prop apart because I knew shipping a 63.5" long rifle would be problematic. This way the receiver could be shipped by itself and the lighter, more delicate pieces could be shipped in a separate box. I just heard from my customer the other day that everything arrived safe and sound so it all worked out perfectly!
My materials of choice are MDF and various bits of plastic where details are needed since the customer said it would be a display piece and weight wasn't an issue. The receiver had the main side pieces cut to profile and then I added filler blocks for support and mounting other pieces. It's not pretty inside but it functions as intended.
The magazine is held in place by 8 neodymium magnets, 4 in the mag well and 4 in the magazine. Knowing how long the rifle would be when finished I wanted to try and keep the CG near the back end of the rifle. The grip is done out of three layers of 0.5" thick MDF laminated together. The edges of the grip and stock were rounded and beveled with a router to keep things consistent.
Back with the magazine. I had been trying to find the right ammo round to fit. I have a couple .50 BMG dummy rounds (pictured) that were close but still ended up about 0.5" short. In the end I settled on the 12.7 x 108mm rifle round. I couldn't find dummy rounds available online so I ended up turning my own on my lathe. A mold was made so I could cast several and fill the magazine.
I used a hand gouge to put the panel lines in the side of the receiver with a steel straight edge as a guide. Larger recessed areas were done with a knife and chisel. Raised areas on the receiver were done with sintra and styrene plastics.
I made a small mold for the rail pieces so they would all be identical and I used a spacer block between them when gluing them down to ensure equal spacing. The 12.7 x 108 rounds were being painted as well.
The bipod legs are a couple layers of MDF laminated together with various other bits of reinforcing. They're bolted into the side of the receiver and can be repositioned fairly easily.
The barrel is 1.25" PVC tubing. I cut pieces of sintra to fit on the end for the flash suppressor. The lower barrel is 0.75" PVC tubing as well.
The rest of the flash suppressor was built with 1/8" MDF and sintra so it's hollow and as light as possible.
Everything was just built up together from there with all the fiddly bits added!
The scope box was done with more 1/8" MDF and 3" PVC. Details done with sintra and more PVC plumbing fittings. There's a 3/8" x 6" bolt that was built into one of the knobs on top of the scope, that bolt actually goes through the scope and is threaded into the receiver to keep the scope mounted in place.
The "handle" on the front is 1/2" PEX tubing that was carefully heat formed to shape. It's filled with 65D resin to give it a little more rigidity and there are more neodymium magnets embedded into the lower clamp areas that help keep it in place on the bipod mounting bolts. It can easily be moved around as well, but isn't really structural enough to carry the rifle around by the "handle".
I ended up painting in mid February, in northern Utah. It was cold and snowy, and while I usually use the wood stove to heat my shop space while I'm working out there, it's not really practical to heat the whole shop to help the paint dry. So I would heat the shop enough for painting and then I built a 16" x 16" x 48" hot box. Big enough for the rifle receiver. With just a 75W incandescent bulb I can heat the box to about 100°F and it worked perfectly for curing the paint.
Everything received a coat of Rustoleum's Soft Flat Iron. The stock and butt pads on the receiver later got a mix of tan, brown, and brass to achieve a wood-grain/leather look. The whole thing was weathered with silver dry brush and dark acrylic wash until I was happy with the effect. A satin clear coat covers the whole thing to protect the finish. I borrowed my friend Iron-Dan and his friend Paul to do a photo shoot with the rifle. Dan has a really good spartan, and he's 6'7" in the armor, so nearly full-size himself!
Master Chief is Iron-Dan Designs
I started with the blueprint from Punished Props. I took the file to FedEx and had them plot it to the proper scale. The blueprint was cut up into the separate pieces that I wanted to build. I broke the prop apart because I knew shipping a 63.5" long rifle would be problematic. This way the receiver could be shipped by itself and the lighter, more delicate pieces could be shipped in a separate box. I just heard from my customer the other day that everything arrived safe and sound so it all worked out perfectly!
My materials of choice are MDF and various bits of plastic where details are needed since the customer said it would be a display piece and weight wasn't an issue. The receiver had the main side pieces cut to profile and then I added filler blocks for support and mounting other pieces. It's not pretty inside but it functions as intended.
The magazine is held in place by 8 neodymium magnets, 4 in the mag well and 4 in the magazine. Knowing how long the rifle would be when finished I wanted to try and keep the CG near the back end of the rifle. The grip is done out of three layers of 0.5" thick MDF laminated together. The edges of the grip and stock were rounded and beveled with a router to keep things consistent.
Back with the magazine. I had been trying to find the right ammo round to fit. I have a couple .50 BMG dummy rounds (pictured) that were close but still ended up about 0.5" short. In the end I settled on the 12.7 x 108mm rifle round. I couldn't find dummy rounds available online so I ended up turning my own on my lathe. A mold was made so I could cast several and fill the magazine.
I used a hand gouge to put the panel lines in the side of the receiver with a steel straight edge as a guide. Larger recessed areas were done with a knife and chisel. Raised areas on the receiver were done with sintra and styrene plastics.
I made a small mold for the rail pieces so they would all be identical and I used a spacer block between them when gluing them down to ensure equal spacing. The 12.7 x 108 rounds were being painted as well.
The bipod legs are a couple layers of MDF laminated together with various other bits of reinforcing. They're bolted into the side of the receiver and can be repositioned fairly easily.
The barrel is 1.25" PVC tubing. I cut pieces of sintra to fit on the end for the flash suppressor. The lower barrel is 0.75" PVC tubing as well.
The rest of the flash suppressor was built with 1/8" MDF and sintra so it's hollow and as light as possible.
Everything was just built up together from there with all the fiddly bits added!
The scope box was done with more 1/8" MDF and 3" PVC. Details done with sintra and more PVC plumbing fittings. There's a 3/8" x 6" bolt that was built into one of the knobs on top of the scope, that bolt actually goes through the scope and is threaded into the receiver to keep the scope mounted in place.
The "handle" on the front is 1/2" PEX tubing that was carefully heat formed to shape. It's filled with 65D resin to give it a little more rigidity and there are more neodymium magnets embedded into the lower clamp areas that help keep it in place on the bipod mounting bolts. It can easily be moved around as well, but isn't really structural enough to carry the rifle around by the "handle".
I ended up painting in mid February, in northern Utah. It was cold and snowy, and while I usually use the wood stove to heat my shop space while I'm working out there, it's not really practical to heat the whole shop to help the paint dry. So I would heat the shop enough for painting and then I built a 16" x 16" x 48" hot box. Big enough for the rifle receiver. With just a 75W incandescent bulb I can heat the box to about 100°F and it worked perfectly for curing the paint.
Everything received a coat of Rustoleum's Soft Flat Iron. The stock and butt pads on the receiver later got a mix of tan, brown, and brass to achieve a wood-grain/leather look. The whole thing was weathered with silver dry brush and dark acrylic wash until I was happy with the effect. A satin clear coat covers the whole thing to protect the finish. I borrowed my friend Iron-Dan and his friend Paul to do a photo shoot with the rifle. Dan has a really good spartan, and he's 6'7" in the armor, so nearly full-size himself!
Master Chief is Iron-Dan Designs
