Weapon creation idea

[Sarge8170]

So Ive been reading and poking around this site for a while now, trying my hand at pep armor, and finaly decided to register and such. Ayway, Ive had to put my pep armor on hold due to the unpredictable NW Ohio weather (cold/windy/rainy/cloudy doesen't seem to be cohesive to the resining process), so now I decided to work on a few weapons. I have some scrap, 1/2 inch solid wood sheets, so I thought I would start by cutting out the basic shapes of an AR, Battle Rifle, and SMGs, then layer some of the rough detail, like the cowel on the AR for example, with thiner 1/8 inch wood or resined foam core board, then use some body filler and dremeling to get the finished details. So my question is, do you guys think this will work? Has anyone tried anything like this? Any input is welcome. I figure tommorow I'll bust out the drafting tools and start drawing up scaled templates. I'll try and post pics as I go along.

 

[MysticLegend]

Sounds pretty good, though I'd suggest leaving the foam completely out of the equation. In addition to reacting poorly with the resin, it's gonna be more of a pain than an aid for the method you've chosen.

What kind of wood are you using? If it's a soft, solid wood like pine, I'd skip the resin part completely. It'd weigh less, and you can still succeed in making it smooth and such. If you're using something like particle board, then nvm....go with the resin too.

Ohio.....rain....ick. I knew the feeling; lived close to Toledo (Perrysburg) for a while. Ya know....waiting for the bus in freezing rain is not my idea of fun.

 

[Spartan 161]

There have been dozens of deferent builds using everything from wood to foam board insulation. Your really only limited by your imagination. I made my MA5K out of wood, steel tubing, bondo, Sculpey and Sheet metal. Turned out better than I imagined. you can see the thread by using this link. Or if that doesn't work look for it in the weapons section its the only MA5K thread up with pictures.

MA5K Build

Oh yaa I know what you mean about unpredictable weather, I live just north of you in south east Michigan. Hope this post helps you. Welcome to the board Sarge8170

 

[Sarge8170]

There have been dozens of deferent builds using everything from wood to foam board insulation. Your really only limited by your imagination. I made my MA5K out of wood, steel tubing, bondo, Sculpey and Sheet metal. Turned out better than I imagined. you can see the thread by using this link. Or if that doesn't work look for it in the weapons section its the only MA5K thread up with pictures.

MA5K Build

Oh yaa I know what you mean about unpredictable weather, I live just north of you in south east Michigan. Hope this post helps you. Welcome to the board Sarge8170

Actually what you did was almost exactly what I was planning on doing, I just hope my projects turn out even half as good as that. About hw long did it take you to ake that? Also, where did you get the magnets you used in the magazine?

MysticLegend- Thanks for the warning on foam, I probably should have known that, but its good I found out before I got that far. Also, I live in Perrysburg, right off of Route 20.

Thanks for the advice guys, this site is incredible. Before I stumbled across this place I had pretty much resigned myself to having to spend thousands of dollars to buy a suit, but now Im very confident I can make my own accurate armor and weapons.

 

[Spartan 161]

From start to where you see it in the last photo was about 2 weeks. I didn't work on it all the time, about 3-4 hours a day. Had I spent a whole lot of time on it I could have probably busted it out in a week. What took the longest was sanding and bondo work.

The magnets I got at a local Michaels arts and crafts store. They are ProMAG® Neodymium Magnetic Buttons 1/2", High power magnets. When they say high power they are not fooling around. I stuck one to the refrigerator and then took 20 minutes to get it off. They work perfectly to hold the magazine in. Here is a link to the Michaels web site for the magnets. If it doesn't work google them. Sometimes my links work sometimes not lol.

Magnets

I agree with you 100% Sarge this site is incredible. Before I found this site I had never herd of Pepakura and was shocked to find such a program being used to make a wide variety of props. There is some Real talent here and many examples of people making movie grade props on a shoe string budget.