Props RoxyRoo's Guns and Things

[vargatom]

Did you see this tutorial, Roxy?
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/32627-Tutorial-Scratchbuilt-cardboard-weapons-for-noobs
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/32396-Noobs-MA37-Assault-Rifle-from-cardboard-(pic-heavy)

I think it's probably the best overall piece I've seen - the materials are cheap and easy to work with, the instructions are very detailed, and the result is quite amazing. The paint job is one of the best I've seen, but the model itself is also very good and nearly indistinguishable from proper molded props IMHO (at least on photos)

 

[drack]

Its a shame most of the pics are broken on the first link

 

[vargatom]

Yeah it's unfortunate, but I think it's still possible to figure the method out, especially for someone as accomplished as Roxy

Don't get me wrong, FrontlineTrooper's approach is just as valid, requireing even less tools and cheaper materials, and he does some great stuff. But it's hard to carve out the kind of precise angles and corners that you can get with this cardboard-foamies-scraps approach.

 

[RoxyRoo]

Good god... I frakking love foamies. No, I have never seen that tutorial (the bottom one). Frak.. i need to head over to the props section and see if there are any more of those laying around. I'll read through the first link after posting this to see if I can get what he's saying without pictures. I wonder if I can mix these two ideas together? Use a mixture of everything, cardboard, foamies and insulation foam? hm...

 

[drack]

Yeah you can. I have seen it done somewhere, forget which thread though. As long as glue can stick to it then you can use almost anything. I know you are not stupid but remember to use glues that will not melt (due to heat) or eat the foam (due to chemicals).

Looking forward to what you come up with,
Tom.

 

[vargatom]

The assault rifle's thread has enough pictures to give you a nice start. I'd say you can use your existing templates of the Magnum for a cardboard approach just as well.

 

[Prettyfloralbonnet]

I combined foamies and cardboard for my pistol but with insulation foam I worry about finished panels and edges too much to try it.

 

[BiffyBob]

First off im gonna gush over how much i loved reading through your armor build it was fantastic! Secondly have you tried sliced files maybe? They are pretty easy to work with and are pretty sturdy compared to foam and are able to handle all sorts of chemicals thrown at them. As for the Knife I saw that Nick Nack Patty Wack (please forgive me if misspelled that) used styrene sheets and from what i gathered from his thread they worked like a charm! Im going to see if I cant find some of those sheets around here so I can add a nice flare to my odst build! Keep up the good work!

Ps: I Think you should build the Shotgun

 

[thorn696]

Knife looks great. as to the foam sorry to hear about how that went down. It was looking sweet. I'll be posting pic's of mine soon, But I'll tell you now. You'res would put my M6 to shame.

If you you seal small section's with white glue you can sand fine detail into you're foam easier. This prevents chipping. With that and Polycrylic as a 2 coat sealant(water based. wont eat foam) I bet you could do one that would be Epic in scale.

Well keep posting and I'll keep watching you're awesome work

 

[captaincaliflour]

This thread gave me ideas on how to make a decent pistol with a removable mag. I now have a mission

 

[RoxyRoo]

I've been making some adjustments to my armor lately, instead of building new weapons. I'll be back to building new stuff soon, when my store gets me a regular schedule. it's kinda crazy since we're moving locations right now. I'll be taking a look at those other tutorials you guys linked.

 

[Nigh]

I also followed DFTs tut on the magnum. I used spray paint but didn't have any melting issues. Here's why...
I only had 2 colors of spray, black & white. I wanted a base coat of grey so I sprayed a "puddle" of each next to each other on a newspaper. I then used my brush to mix them into a grey. By 1st spraying the paint onto the newspaper, I gave the excelerant a chance to evaporate. The excelerant is what melts the foam, & is very chemically similar to (if not exactly) paint thinner. It's the solvents that cause the damage to both the foam & your nervous system. Then I just brushed on the color & viola! Done.

Next, I tried a "real" gun. The Glock 17 pistol. The sculpt came out nice but I tried a different tactic when painting. (I can't afford to waste anything, so I'm using spray paint till I run out. I'll buy acrylics when I'm empty.) Some guy on utube who builds & paints RC planes has a vid of how to spray paint foam w/o melting. All he does is spray from much further away than recomended. The concept is the same though. The excelerant evaporates before reaching the foam & only paint lands on the part. The problem is you waste a lot of paint. The overspray is spread out so much that very little of the paint coming out of the can is actually making it onto the part. This caused me to get closer & closer (w/o realizing it) until I was close enough that excelerant made it to my Glock & melted some small detail parts.

Third attempt: Lessons learned...again with a Glock 17. This time with a laser sight attached under barrel. The sculpt went well, and cosmetic improvements made it my favorite to date. Not wanting to ruin it with spray paint, I fell back to a method I learned from those building armor from foam. (like you & plasti-dip) I sealed it with pva glue. Yep, 1st coat 1:1 glue to water to get into small spaces...2nd coat, 3:1 glue to water. Everything sealed up nice & I sprayed primer & paint directly onto the part w/o any melting issues, & I didn't lose any detail in the sculpt!

It turned out great. I'll get dome photos up as soon as I find them.

PS: I'm inspired by all of you.

 

[Nigh]

Ok, I guess I can't upload from photobucket from my phone...
Ill check it out from home.

 

[Nigh]

This is the magnum and my 1st sculpt from foam. I didn't add the hand guard because I gave the gun to my nephew who will run around outside playing "war" and making laser sounds with his mouth. lol It would be broken in seconds.

This is my 2nd sculpt and first Glock. The paint melted the mag release and a few other small details.

Here is the latest Glock with laser sight and primer. The pva glue did a great job of sealing. You can see the mag release has its detail intact.