01) WIP: Home Made Foam Halo 3 SRS99D-S2 AM Sniper Rifle

[TheRealVictor]

Hey Guys! I have no idea how these threads work but hopefully I can manage. Anyway, Here I will post my steps/ progress towards my very own prop sniper.
I studied the rifle in forge mode and made sketches/designs in my sketchbook. The "base" rifle is just 2 pvc pipes and 3 layers of 1/2" eva foam. This is the structure, a PVC Sandwich!

 

[PlanetAlexander]

Welcome to the 405th! Looks like you're off to a good, solid start already.

 

[TheRealVictor]

Welcome to the 405th! Looks like you're off to a good, solid start already.

I appreciate the welcome! I’m actually way more ahead into the build but I am going through my early documentations because I would like to share the full break down with the forum

 

[TheRealVictor]

Adding details is a great way to give your projects more life and realism! Here I implement (2) simple yet highly effective techniques: scoring+heating and recessing. Lightly graze the surface of eva foam with a sharp blade and apply heat with a heat gun. This will cause the opening to expand and create nice detail lines. Recessing is cutting out a shape and pushing it passed flush, this will create a nice recessed surface that fits perfectly. Take care everyone!

 

[ODCA]

Build is looking good!
Keep us posted!!

 

[TheRealVictor]

Build is looking good!
Keep us p

Build is looking good!
Keep us posted!!

You know it man!! Thank you

 

[TheRealVictor]

“Curved Top Part”
This Part was a bit tricky because I wanted the curve to look as smooth as possible. My solution was to make a long thin rectangular shape that would wrap around the pvc pipe in a “C” shape. By wrapping it around the pipe, it would give me a nice structure so the foam can follow the shape. Think of it similar to pipe insulation for plumbing. I cut in details to the shape, and used a heat gun to bend it to shape. This is a bit tricky so to help I cut out channels on the interior side to make bending much easier. I then glued it in place. It isn’t perfect but I like the curve and that was my goal!

 

[TheRealVictor]

Barrels and Cone Carving?!

-The front barrel of the rifle Is a pvc pipe. I added thin strips of eva foam to try to emulate fluting

-The barrel also has a cylindrical cone shape. To make these, I make a block of eva foam and carve away at an angle to create a rough shape. I have (2) circles drawn on the top and bottom to denote the faces of the final shape. I then sand it with a rotary tool to smooth it out. It’s sort of like sculpting but with foam.
-I also used an old wrapping paper roll and wrapped it with craft foam for the tube shape. This was just a simple cardboard/paper material but they are way more sturdy than the typical toilet paper rolls.

 

[TheRealVictor]

Hand guard, Barrels, & Barrel Brakes

-The hand guard was made of (3) layers of crafts foam. The inner layer had an opening where I placed a broken chopstick. This will help anchor it to the body of the gun. It’s not an integrated structure like the hand grip, but I'm ok with that.

-The lower barrel was a simple pipe inserted through a circular cutout. I will later wrap it with craft foam for details

- The barrel brake (I know the shape is a bit off) is essentially an octagonal block. I made (2) octagons for the front/back and connected the edges with strips of craft foam. I then recessed faces for details. I add the top “sight” later on too as well as other details

 

[TheRealVictor]

The Magazine

-The Magazine is just a box. I tried my best to make craft foam shapes that would recreate it.
-Construction wise, it looked like the magazine had 2 main parts, the upper and lower parts.
-I recessed some of the faces by cutting out the shapes and pushing them passed flush
-I add more details with my dremel later on

 

[TheRealVictor]

The Carrying Handle- Super DIY!

*The carrying handle is just a bent pipe. If possible, I advise you find a 1/4” or 3/16” aluminum rod and bending that. But, here is what I did:

-Find a metal coat hanger
-Bend and cut to a “U” shape
-The coat hanger is too thin so I beefed it up by repurposing an Ethernet cable wire. I removed the internal wires and used that housing

 

[Harri51]

He did the thing!!!! Good stuff Victor. I swear you just can ever throw metal hangers out.

 

[TheRealVictor]

He did the thing!!!! Good stuff Victor. I swear you just can ever throw metal hangers out.

Coat hangers are super useful!

 

[TheRealVictor]

Ye ‘Ol Bipod

*This was surprisingly more complex than I thought! As always, I just look at my reference photos and try to make the corresponding pieces

I can break down the bipod into (3) main sections: the foot, the stem, the head.

-the stem is the coat hanger wire sandwiched between 2 layers of craft foam. This part will be glued at a slight angle to the “head” to give that anglebipod mount look

-the foot is a flat top pyramid. Again, I layer eva foams and carve away at the sides to make the shape. I glue another layer to the bottom of the foot too complete it.

-The head is hard to describe. It looks like a wing-nut in profile. It’s a circle with angled sides. I stack 2 foam layers and carve away.
*i will add smaller details in the end

(repeat this twice to make a pair!)

 

[TheRealVictor]

The Scope
*I break down the build into 3 main segments: the front, middle, and back.

-the front is the cardboard tube, wrapped with craft foam + thin strips

-the middle is a rounded box. This was made by wrapping 2 ellipse shapes With a large rectangle

- the back is sort of a combination of the front and middle. It’s an extruded/rounded ellipse

-I scavenged my own Xbox game case for the green display

-one bottle cap was recycled for the top knob

-I sculpted other portions with the stack/layer techniques from before as well

*I also make the mount that attaches the scope to the rifle body

 

[TheRealVictor]

Painting & Priming- Crash Course

-Heat seal all eva foam props with a heat gun prior to sealing

-Seal the foam. I like to use black Plastidip spray. White glue such as Elmers glue could also work but I like the rubber flexibility of Plastidip (This acts as my primer). Use 2-3 layers for full coverage

- Use acrylic paint and brushes to create your own paint job. I’m keeping it to a battle damaged UNSC and use black and silver paints

Thats it!

 

[Harri51]

Very good break down Victor. Will most definitely help other members looking into doing the same prop.

 

[TheRealVictor]

Very good break down Victor. Will most definitely help other members looking into doing the same prop.

Thanks man! All that's left is to share the final product

 

[TheRealVictor]

The Final Results

Here is the link to my YouTube tutorial on this sniper rifle:

As always, there are countless ways and methods as to how you can create. Experiment, find something you enjoy, and gradually step it up!