Mythosaur's first Halo replica build - M6G Magnum Sidearm WIP

(Update on page 2)

Greetings 405th! I've been a long-time lurker, but it's finally time to post my first replica build - the Halo 3 variant of the tried-and-true Magnum. I've completed the initial prototype, but my end goal for this project is to create a highly reproduce-able, highly accurate replica that i can modify with each new version; varied accessories, attachments, paint schemes, electronics... whatever. Time for some process!

I started in Solidworks, my 3D program of choice. I modeled the gun as accurately as I could, carefully shelling the piece and eliminating under-cuts for the molding process. I decided to go with a two-piece clamshell design both to minimize material used and to provide internal space for whatever electronics or mechanisms I may want to incorporate further down the line:


I wanted the final product to be person, not Spartan-sized, so I reduced the scale from 117% to 100%, and added standoffs and ribbing to help with final assembly.


After some printer-specific modification, it was into the MakerBot Replicator 2.0:


19 hours of printing and about 6 hours of cleaning later:


I then took my prints and spent a considerable amount of time doing the sanding, filling, and priming dance. These guys needed to be as perfect as possible as they would become my masters in the mold-making process:


Once I was happy with them, it was time for silicone. I went with a 2-piece block mold for each half of the clamshell (out of Smooth-On Mold Star 16 Fast). Maybe not the cheapest option, but they're very robust, durable and will allow me to make many, many castings. Because of the thin shell thickness and the detail required, the pour/ breather holes took quite some tweaking in order to eliminate bubbles, and I even had to manually trim the male halves of the mold to thicken things up a bit:


Not the quickest process, but once they were done I could finally start pouring some Smooth-On Smooth-Cast 320 into my new molds. Again, the shelled nature of the cavity made it quite difficult, and I eventually developed a process involving injecting the un-cured resin into the mold via syringe, and incorporating lots of movement to get those darn bubbles out.


At long last, some decent castings (standing on the sprues created by the various breather and pour holes built in to the molds):


At this point I wanted to take the project all the way to a complete prototype (the stock M6G) as a proof-of-concept, so I took those first two successful casts and began assembly, using styrene dowels in the internal standoffs to align the two halves. Excitement ensues!:


Back to the priming, sanding, and filling grind to mask the seam down the middle of the gun, and after painting, weathering, and applying a laser-cut textured rubber grip, I have Magnum #1!




Next step: Production! The infrastructure is complete, and I know it all works. Now it's time to get really creative. I'm thinking silencers, muzzle breaks, scopes, extended clips, crazy colorways, LED's, sound systems, laser pointers, anything really. If all goes well, I will be updating this post periodically as I cast more shells and assemble different variants. Please let me know what you think and thanks for checking this out!

this is awesome, you should definitely put these into production

EDIT: This post is reserved for a gallery of finished variants. It will be updated every time I complete a new one.
Stock M6G:

Variant 1 - Engraved aluminum cold-cast:

The pistol looks great!

However, there is an issue with the scale. I'm not sure how this came about, but there is some misconception that there are different scaled weapons for marines and spartans. The weapons are the same size, no matter who holds them. The pistol you've created is what the pistol would look like in the hands of a spartan.

For example, in this picture...



...your pinkie finger is below the fingerguard, much like Master Chief's is in this picture...



Now, if you take a look at a marine holding the same pistol...



or an ODST holding the M6S version...



...you'll notice that their pinkie fingers are within the fingerguard. This suggests that the pistol MC is holding and the pistol that the marine/ODST is holding are the same size.

So, essentially what you've got here is a spartan-scaled pistol (the proportion the pistol would be in the hands of a spartan), which may be what you were going for, but it leaves the actual scale of the pistol a bit small.

That out of the way, and as I mentioned before, the pistol looks awesome! Beyond just 3D printing it, you've done a remarkable job assembling, molding, casting and painting it. I really dig the texture you put into the grip. I look forward to more.

Carpathia said:

The pistol looks great!

However, there is an issue with the scale. I'm not sure how this came about, but there is some misconception that there are different scaled weapons for marines and spartans. The weapons are the same size, no matter who holds them. The pistol you've created is what the pistol would look like in the hands of a spartan.

For example, in this picture...



...your pinkie finger is below the fingerguard, much like Master Chief's is in this picture...



Now, if you take a look at a marine holding the same pistol...

or an ODST holding the M6S version...

...you'll notice that their pinkie fingers are within the fingerguard. This suggests that the pistol MC is holding and the pistol that the marine/ODST is holding are the same size.

So, essentially what you've got here is a spartan-scaled pistol (the proportion the pistol would be in the hands of a spartan), which may be what you were going for, but it leaves the actual scale of the pistol a bit small.

That out of the way, and as I mentioned before, the pistol looks awesome! Beyond just 3D printing it, you've done a remarkable job assembling, molding, casting and painting it. I really dig the texture you put into the grip. I look forward to more.

Click to expand...

Ah, it's funny you should say this- I'll point out that you're both right! Actually you're both wrong!

It depends entirely on what version of the M6 you are talking about

Carpathia, the images you are linking to reference the M6C, that is human sized in H2 and H3/odst. You are correct to point out the Master Chief's pinky finger in that one (good eye btw). The Chief is huge, so when he holds it this is a correct representation.

When you said above that "I'm not sure how this came about, but there is some misconception that there are different scaled weapons for marines and spartans" it is not a misconception- there actually IS a Spartan scaled pistol, the M6D from Combat Evolved.

If you look at the M6D when the Chief holds it in H:CE, it fits him just fine however if you pay attention to the ships crew who are using them in the Pillar of Autumn it is MASSIVE in their hands. The reason for this is Bungie didn't take the scale factor into consideration when the player would wield the weapon and an NPC would.

To get around this, the M6D was given the label "up-sized" for Spartans in the extended fiction. Yes, you read that right- the M6D was written off as a jumbo version of the M6C to account for the discrepancy. So when Halo 2/3 rolled around we got pistols that were scaled correctly for a normal human army and a super soldier holding it the right way haha

So Mythosaur, your scale isn't technically wrong if you plan to use the pistol with your own spartan armor, provided you call the pistol an M6C

Revenant1988 said:

Carpathia, the images you are linking to reference the M6C, that is human sized in H2 and H3/odst. You are correct to point out the Master Chief's pinky finger in that one (good eye btw). The Chief is huge, so when he holds it this is a correct representation.

Click to expand...

I just wanted to point out that in Halo 3, the pistol is the M6G version (as featured in this LINK), not the M6C (the M6C was featured in Halo 2 as shown in this LINK). The OP said he's building the Halo 3 variant of the pistol; therefore, he's built the M6G version.

Now that you mention it, I do remember hearing that the pistol in Halo CE (the M6D) was rather large. However, if you take a look at this picture...




...you can just make out that MC's pinkie finger on his right hand is still below the fingerguard. So, I'm still not sure where that assumption came from.

In any case, I don't want to turn this into a debate about the size of a pistol and take attention away from this thread. The OP has an M6G that is the right size if you're holding it as a spartan.

Carpathia said:

I just wanted to point out that in Halo 3, the pistol is the M6G version (as featured in this LINK), not the M6C (the M6C was featured in Halo 2 as shown in this LINK). The OP said he's building the Halo 3 variant of the pistol.

Now that you mention it, I do remember that the pistol in Halo CE (the M6D) was rather large. However, if you take a look at this picture...

...you can just make out that MC's pinkie finger on his right hand is still below the fingerguard.

In any case, I don't want to turn this into a debate about the size of a pistol and take attention away from this thread. The OP has an M6G that is the right size if you're holding it as a spartan.

Click to expand...

Duly noted- If this topic should come up again for you, just remember there was one (at this time, albiet unintentional) weapon scaled to Spartans.

As for the blocky hand, all I can do is shrug.

There's been so many versions of this pistol that it can be hard to keep them all straight! After the hand cannon that was the M6D, who can blame them!

So... now I'm confused. What exactly have I built!?

Mythosaur said:

So... now I'm confused. What exactly have I built!?

Click to expand...

Carpathia said:

The OP has an M6G that is the right size if you're holding it as a spartan.

Click to expand...

^^This is what you've built (in case you're not joking).

I see now, this was my original intention at any rate. I wanted it to be proportionately correct to real humans, not 1:1 with the video game model.

My current dilemma: weathering the rubber grip to match the rest of the gun. Anyone have any tips for making rubber look worn and dirty?

Update:
I've done some casting and some assembling over the past two days, here is the result:



... LOTS of painting in my future...

What 3D printer did you use?

Levity said:

What 3D printer did you use?

Click to expand...

MakerBot Replicator 2.0, the single material model. Overall I'd give it an 8 out of 10 in terms of the balance between quality, speed, and material price.

Also, does anyone have experience bringing a batch of replicas like this to Cons? I would like to take my current line-up with me to the upcoming New York Comic-Con, but am a little apprehensive about security concerns. Thanks for any tips!

Mythosaur said:

My current dilemma: weathering the rubber grip to match the rest of the gun. Anyone have any tips for making rubber look worn and dirty?

Click to expand...

I'd use a wire brush and scour the surface of the rubber, once that was done I'd use some light & dark brown paints and wash the grips with it.
That should give you what you're looking for.

Dave/Cereal.

Every con is different I would call the venue and ask someone about there rules and regulations. Also some may require you pistols to have a orange or yellow tip.

Mythosaur said:

MakerBot Replicator 2.0, the single material model. Overall I'd give it an 8 out of 10 in terms of the balance between quality, speed, and material price.

Click to expand...

how much did this 3d printer cost you?

walasy36 said:

how much did this 3d printer cost you?

Click to expand...

http://store.makerbot.com/replicator2.html

I would also love to get my hands on one of these.

Carpathia said:

http://store.makerbot.com/replicator2.html

I would also love to get my hands on one of these.

Click to expand...

My school has one and they work very nice, but due to the fact that we have had problems from the start with it really irritates me because the filament stopped extruding and it was down for the rest of the year, then the build plane fan bracket broke and it was down for 3 weeks. But when you get everything perfect it works just fine, I just got really frustrated with it because im the only one in my class that knows how it actually operates inside and out (due to me taking it apart several times). I would give it an 8/10 also.