I was going to post a cosplay photo today, but decided to do another of my tutorial type things insteadπ©βπ«. This time itβs for the steampunk handgun I used in my recent Typhoid Mary shoot and also seen in a few of my earlier pics. Iβve found it super useful to have, as it suits a bunch of different characters. If you want to rustle one up yourself, youβll need these ingredientsβ¦
1 x Nerf gun or similar β Choose your gun carefully, as it will dictate what your finished weapon looks like. I went for something small, but chunky, which I picked up cheap in a thrift store (π my bargains).
Sandpaper for prepping the gun.
1 x can of black spray paint (or possibly more depending on the size of your gun β tbh I regularly misjudge how much paint Iβll need for stuff and end up having to make extra trips to the craft store to stock up πΆββοΈπ©
Silver acrylic paint and ποΈποΈ to give the gun a metallic look (or gold if you want to bling out).
Assorted fixtures for decorations β I used some gears left over from another project, a bit of an old speaker and some circuitry from a broken tablet, but loads of other stuff will work. Btw, if you havenβt tried it, itβs super therapeutic pulling bits out of an old tablet, especially if itβs one that used to crash on you a lot like mineπππΒ
Β Plastic knob β Replacement for the cocking thingy at the back of the Nerf gun, as this totally gave away that it was a toy. My piece was stripped off a toy gun I used in another project, but you can use whateverβs available.
A piece of leather β Trim for the barrel to add to the steampunk vibe and (hopefully) make the gun look a bit more realistic.
Needle and thread πͺ‘ β Most of my projects involve sewing in some way, as itβs something I like doing. Here it was used for finishing the edges of the piece of leather.
Fixative spray β Used to try and ensure I donβt accidentally scratch off any paint when Iβm using the gun in a typical display of klutziness π₯΄
Normally when I do these tutorials, I start rambling on at this point about whatever bits of the project pop into my head, but this time, Iβm totally going to be structured about it, so hereβs a step-by-step guideβ¦
Sand off any logos and stuff on your gun, as these always make them look toy like. If the gun youβve chosen has any smooth surfaces, you might want to sand these as well, as the paint will go on better that way. Top tip here is not to use really rough sandpiper or youβll end up with nasty scratches.
Strip off any fittings on the gun which donβt look realistic and replace if necessary. In my case, this included replacing the thing for getting the gun ready to fire (Iβm sure thereβs a technical term for this, but it beats me what it is). I screwed the new bit into the end of the mechanism, so it still works, which is pretty cool.
β«π¨ Spray the gun matt black to prime it, plus any of your fittings which need to match. Usually this has to be done in a couple of stages, as if youβre working on a table or something you wonβt be able to turn anything over until itβs dry. Also, no matter how good a surface looks at the time, you often come back to find the paint hasnβt covered something properly π π . Hereβs another tipβ¦ go off and do something else between coats rather than waiting around for however many hours it takes the paint to dry π‘
π¨ Add the metallic distressed look with the arcylic paint. For this to work, you need to dust the paint on super lightly. I usually wipe my brush on a bit of paper each time I dip it in the paint to get rid of the excess.
Once the paint is dry, attach your fittings. The trick here is to try to make them look like they have some kind of purpose and arenβt just window-dressing. Glue is the easiest way to stick things on, but I use bolts and screws when possible πͺπ§, as these are more secure and allow gears and stuff to spin around if you want them to. If youβre using leather like me (or any other material), youβll probably want to sew in a folded overedge before attaching it to stop it fraying πͺ‘.Β Β
Touch up any damage you did to your paintwork when working on step 5. Maybe youβll be luckier than me, but no matter how careful I am, there always seems to be some.
β«π¨ Spray on your fixative for protection. This should be done in steady lines with the can about 30 cms away from the gun. Itβs best to do a few coats, sometimes working from side to side and sometimes from top to bottom, so you get good coverage. My tip for this stage is to shake the can well before use and do a quick test spray first to make sure the fixative is coming out evenly.
Pick up the finished gun and start rocking it /Μ΅ΝΜΏΜΏ/βΜΏβΜΏ ΜΏ ΜΏΜΏ ΜΏΜΏ ΜΏΜΏπ₯
So there you have it. Hopefully if youβre new to projects like this, it will give you a good starting point. I think you get good results for some pretty easy steps. Let me know if you found it useful or if you have any questions π¬, and stay tuned for more cosplay stuff.
Luv your friendly neighborhoodΒ cosplayer, Christabel β€οΈπ§‘ππππ
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