Stiilus' Old Weapon Builds (PIC HEAVY)

Halo Anniversary M6b Pg (01)
Halo Reach Kurki Pg (03)
Halo 3 MA5C (based of Halo 3 12" Spartan figure) Pg (08)

**Halo Anniversary M6b**

Hey hey, all... Thought it was about time I put something up to show that I actually do make stuff, and that I am not just some random lurker ...

Anyway, I was just as excited about the release of Anniversary as everyone else, but, unfortunately I live in a small backwater town where sadly I was the only person to pre-order the game... Annual meetings of my little club are a hoot! When you're the only member, you get to eat all the cake, but I digress...

I wanted to do something just that little bit special, something I could show of to the guys at work, plaster all over my Facebook page and just generally fill in some time in the process... I had 2 weeks left before the release, and time was a wastin'...

My favorite weapon from Halo:CE would have to have been the pistol. It was graceful, accurate and packed a real punch to boot. Thing is, I just love the look of the M6b from Reach so much more, so I figured that was what I should build. I checked the forums, and didn't see anyone making that little sucker at the time... And so, my journey began...

Seeing as I work at a hardware store, all sorts of cool stuff gets lobbed my way, the kind of things that other people might see as discarded crap, waste and just plain trash... One such item was a roughly sawn sheet of packing ply. Needless to say, I snapped that sucker up quick smart...

I did a rough pep of the M6b made by some kind soul here (the one with the 405th symbol on it, for the modeler, many thanks to whom ever you are) just to get some of the measurements right, and then I was set...

I drew the rough shape of the pistol onto the ply, then cut it VERY roughly from the sheet and used some Selley's 5min epoxy to glue the smaller bit down...





Never have enough clamps folks... Yes that is a plastic vice being utilized there also... After that had dried I cut the gun with my trusty jigsaw... I have a scroll saw somewhere (don't ask) that would have been more appropriate, but the jigsaw was at hand...





Yeah, I know the top of the magazine would have been cut out better with the before mentioned scroll saw, but I was pressed for time... (Can't wait to have my own workshop [I really envy some of the setups I've seen in the forums])

The next step was tracing the pattern onto a sheet of 6mm MDF (also known as craft board)...





I warn, I do come across as a little obsessive about the removable magazine... I spent a few hours that night with a file and my Dremel (love you lots, my little rotary tool) and a new 6mm router bit. Remember to get the router head attachment for this job too! It'll hold the bit at a perfect right angle to the work surface and stop the bit from jumping when introduced to your work. Also, it's depth adjustable. Nice...

The next night I glued the sides to the pistol. I cut these from the very edge of the sheet of MDF so as to have straight edges facing down on the gun (plan ahead, it'll make you work smarter, not harder)





I warned you about that clip...



Out comes the trusty Dremel again... I really don't know how I got by without it in the past...



I'm about 3 days in to the project here... I know it wouldn't have come together so quickly without using the epoxy glue... Selleys do make some good stuff, especially their Araldite. I highly recommend it...

Ok... So evidently I have a lot to say and show, so I will have to do several posts to share it all... I hope you all don't mind...

Some close ups of the work so far...
The next night I did a heap of sanding and made the top of the gun... Given more time, and even more planing, I would have made the top move when you pulled the trigger to cycle a new round... I guess that's why I like the removable magazine so much...







The next night I spent even more time sanding and prepared some of the holes for detail screws. The inside of the hand guard was pretty dodgy looking, so I cut a thin strip of metal and bent it accordingly to glue inside and cover up all the roughness...



The next night I spent more hours continuously on this little baby than any other night, clocking in about 4 and a half hours... I have very good neighbours who don't mind my little quirks and late night "building"... Anyway, in doing so, I was able to finish the bottom attachment and the bottom of the magazine, plus an unmovable trigger... Bonus...





Did I mention my obsession with the removable magazine?
The joy of using such a fast drying glue is not only how quick a project can come together, but that you can start to clean the excess off the job so much sooner, giving you the ability to move ahead on the job...



I couldn't resist putting the details in on the grip, and having done so, was so much happier that I had...





See... I told you the earlier photos were still rough... The cleanup process from here didn't take too long, Think I spent just a few hours sanding with a 600 grit emery paper at this point...

I smeared a thin layer of the epoxy over the exposed plywood grain, just to fill it in nicely before cutting it back with a high speed cutter bit on my Dremel... So glad I did now, it finished so smooth...





Used the same technique on the magazine to smooth it off... Almost forgot to make it a little sloppy fitting at this point to allow for the paint... (Thanks mum for reminding me)...

Here's a closeup under the gun in case I didn't show it earlier... You can clearly see where I back filled with the epoxy to get a smooth finish between the metal strip and the plywood...



The next morning (Finally some work during the day!), I gave the gun a quick coat of acrylic auto primer... It's fast drying, and after a few coats you can smooth it off with a light sand... The good thing about it is you can apply several coats of it in one day...

Later on, after work, I gave it a quick coat of PPG White Knight Squirts Machinery Grey (I dare you to say that after a few drinks) and left it to dry overnight... Got about a week left to go at this point...

The next evening I taped the top part off so I could apply a secondary colour... I went with blah blah blah Squirts Satin Black as just a very fine mist coat... All I wanted to achieve was a darker version of the Machinery Grey... I really can't express how hard it is to do just a mist coat when the paint wants to come out in spurts... Despite about 5mins of shaking the can after the rattler sounded, this can of paint just didn't want to play the game... I sat with it between my knees for about 30mins to warm it up and that seemed to do the trick...





After the tape was removed, I really must admit I liked what I saw...
The next day, I used some Tamiya acrylic model paint left over from another Anniversary side project http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/310257_299257240098447_100000425212636_1115094_1956205610_n.jpg to apply the yellow band across the top of the pistol...
I dabbed it on using a sponge hobby brush, and with a wet tissue, rubbed it back in some areas to create the weathering... I mixed just enough red into the yellow to give it some depth. Not sure if it shows in the pics, but there is smalls dabs of red which give the impression of the gun being used to melee something red... Possibly my EVA Prototype MKVI helmet, but that would be living in a fantasy world... Uh....moving on...





I rubbed some flat black enamel into the grooves and crevices to accent the shape of the gun, but unfortunately you kinda can't see it on the darker grip and such... Oh well, it's the thought that counts...



My damn arthritis was playing up that day too, so the text didn't turn out overly wonderful, but fortunately there was more work to be done with the weathering, so ultimately it really wasn't gonna be that noticeable...





I added the usual dots and such again using the Tamiya acrylic...



... and then glued and screwed the screws into place...

After all that had dried, I did the usual hammer-tone weathering effect on all the edges, and set it out to dry...





Here's a few close ups for those interested...









I almost forgot to put the safety on it... I cut the bit out of a thin bit of black plastic and gave it a few dabs of the hammer-tone while the bush was still wet to tie it in with the gun... I ran a screw through it to hold it in place, but left it loose enough to allow for it to move...











And there's that damn removable magazine again... I had a heap more photo's of it out, but really, you can only look at that kind of thing so much before you get bored...

All this done in less than 2 weeks... And I didn't even bother getting out of my PJ's to take this photo... This is my last build, the fore mentioned EVA Prototype... Wish I could have put up my step by step of that, but my camera memory card went rogue literally just after I took that last photo of it... Maybe next time... Check the Facebook link in my sig to see what photo's I do have of the build.



Smexxxy!!!



And that's it folks. Thanks for viewing... Any feedback would be appreciated, even if you're just hating, let me know... Bai Bai...

All I can say is amazing skill that you have there working with woods. I couldn't even barely using my handsaw to cut the wood straight.
One thing that I know you may improve on is to put in a laser sight. You have it painted.

I really like how you show all the steps. And finally, I'm amaze your ingenuity in making EVA visor. This is one of the kind.

please for the love of god give us a more detailed look at that gorgeous helmet of yours! how did you make the visor?
btw freakin' nice pistol

CoolC said:

All I can say is amazing skill that you have there working with woods. I couldn't even barely using my handsaw to cut the wood straight.
One thing that I know you may improve on is to put in a laser sight. You have it painted.

I really like how you show all the steps. And finally, I'm amaze your ingenuity in making EVA visor. This is one of the kind.

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yeah, i know what you mean. i wanted to go all out, but time was a huge factor on this baby... the next build i do i'll go for even more details...

Pringle said:

please for the love of god give us a more detailed look at that gorgeous helmet of yours! how did you make the visor?
btw freakin' nice pistol

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thanks... i'll get a post going soon showing it from a few different angles... i wish my card hadn't corrupted cause it was just awesome building it, even more so than my mkvi helmet. i really wanted to share that experience with everyone...

Great build! The gun and helmet both look amazing!

Wow nice job, you got some great wood working skills and love the helmet I never would have thought to take bubble visors and make them work like that amazing job. Please next time you build something make a build thread I like your build style

Sick!! And i mean that, great way to solve the EVA visor issue. Looks real good. Also, I'll definitely agree with everyone on the pistold too. looks legit! Great work, I look forward to seeing your next masterpiece.

Tony

Awesome work. Doesn't even look like wood anymore. I'm impressed. It's amazing what the grim and weathering effect can do to really make an outfit or prop pop. Well done.

vshore100 said:

Great build! The gun and helmet both look amazing!

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thanks vshore... i'm a huge fan of your cqb build and been following it for a while. your pep skills are incredible...

Hyperballistik said:

Wow nice job, you got some great wood working skills and love the helmet I never would have thought to take bubble visors and make them work like that amazing job. Please next time you build something make a build thread I like your build style

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i was gonna do that, but i guess i kinda got carried away in the moment... i know for sure that there will always be something else to build, so next time i will...

BLACKULA727 said:

Sick!! And i mean that, great way to solve the EVA visor issue. Looks real good. Also, I'll definitely agree with everyone on the pistold too. looks legit! Great work, I look forward to seeing your next masterpiece.

Tony

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thanks blackula... i don't have a vac former, and lacking a proper work-space i really couldn't set up a home made rig... also, i didn't like the thought of using the oven to heat the plastic. anyway, when i saw the visor on ebay while just looking for visors in general, i had a brainwave... the rest was just figuring out how to implement it...

p.s. i like your commando helmet

holy crap man =O this is fantastic =D and your EVA helmet is freakin awesome and how did you do the visor like that? well great work man =D really enjoyed the pics

Jizz. All. Over. My. Keyboard. Your pistol is the pinnacle of AMAZING!! AWESOME JOB!!

thanks for all the kind words folks... if i get some time over my xmas break i'll take some more photo's of my EVA and put them up.

i'm currently working on a modified mkv helmet, trying to combine the looks from both reach and halo:ce, but with the release of halo:cea i've had to go back and rethink some of the parts, maybe try to incorporate that look into it as well...
progress has been slow as of late as there has been heaps of rain at home this year and the garden/property has just gone crazy (the grass is about 5" tall in the back paddock) so that has been keeping me as well as all the slackers that won't turn up to work that i need to fill in for... (i had 2 weekends off in the last 13 weeks?! bugger that, i'm only meant to do every second one, but alas, nerds don't have social lives apparently...)
hopefully i get some time off in the new year and work on the helmet will kick off again .

with every new build i do i get just that little bit more ambitious, trying out something new, so hopefully i can pull this off... i'll put some photo's up later on the progress of it so far in a separate thread...

thanks once again to all for the encouragement... it means alot to me...

Excelent Work!!!! Please make a tutorial of how to paint like that!!! love the effects!!! i wanna one!!! and an AR!!! and DMR!!! and a copy of your brain! XD!!