Props Lighted Halo 3 Airsoft Frag Grenade

[Redshirt]

After I completed my airsoft Spartan Laser, I needed something appropriate to haul extra BBs out to the field due to the Spartan Laser's prodigious consumption of BBs during games. Though I don't have a Halo-themed setup that I run with on the field, I wanted a suitable accessory for the Splaser. A hollow frag grenade seemed the right answer.

A couple of years ago, Coca Cola came out with some ball-shaped bottles for the holiday season. I don't know if they are back this year, but I grabbed one last year and decided to use it as a BB bottle. Now it is becoming a Halo 3 M9-HEDP frag grenade. I'm not the first to go this route as the basis for a grenade build, but I need this setup to hold extra BBs.

I used foam rubber to make the details on the grenade body. I plan to overcoat it with some type of spray rubber. I will base the top on a Pepakura model, but incorporate the original cap and LED lighting as well as a functional arming button.

Here are the Coke Bottles as sold.

After stripping off the label, I got busy with the planning using the Halo Encyclopedia as a guide.

I sketched up a pattern and set about using tool drawer lining foam from Harbor Freight as my base material.

I transferred the pattern to the rubber using spray paint after discovering no other way to mark the foam.

I used a glue stick to paste the completed frangible sections to the grenade body, instantly getting my 3D effect.

I'll add the remaining details, then build up the whole thing with spray rubber. Looks like I'm making a Nerf grenade!

More to come!

Redshirt

 

[transmut1]

Dude, i will pay you good money to make me 2 of those!
I mean good monyey!

 

[Redshirt]

Dude, i will pay you good money to make me 2 of those!
I mean good monyey!

Thanks for the compliment. Let's see how the finished product looks.



NAPA supplied the cheap funnel. I supplied the imagination and band saw to make the neck.

I used Garland's Pepakura file as the starting point for the top. Here it is after resining.

The foam work is complete. Here it is sized up against the Spartan Laser. Scale-wise, this grenade is about 1/4 inch larger than the Halo Encyclopedia dimensions.

The bench belt sander shapes the top after Bondoing the inside.

Starting to cut in the details. The top is hollow to incorporate a switch, battery and LED as well as the original bottle lid.

I'm putting a coat or coats of rubber on the grenade. Still not sure whether to go with 3M rubber underseal, Plasti-Dip or some combo of the two.

Getting there.

Redshirt

 

[Master Builder]

This should turn out looking nice!! Good idea!

I seen those Coca Cola drinks over black friday, so there still around, I was actually thinking of buying some myself but didn't, probably should have.

 

[Noble9360]

Mightly impressive. The ingenuity of found/ things meant for other uses. These lil bottles also make fantastic HP/ Mana potion bottles with red or blue powerade and a LED in the bottom.
Love the work, jealous of the workshop.
Out.

 

[Redshirt]

This should turn out looking nice!! Good idea!

I seen those Coca Cola drinks over black friday, so there still around, I was actually thinking of buying some myself but didn't, probably should have.

I'm going to need a few more I think. I may cast these as rubber sleeves to pull over host bottles. Hollow cast resin will be brittle, but rubber is eminently chuckable!

Mightly impressive. The ingenuity of found/ things meant for other uses. These lil bottles also make fantastic HP/ Mana potion bottles with red or blue powerade and a LED in the bottom.
Love the work, jealous of the workshop.
Out.

Hadn't thought of that use. I am thinking plasma grenade next. Your workshop comment makes me laugh. True, I do have a good selection of equipment in my garage, but notice that half of my pics here and in the Splaser build are on top of the trash/recycling bins. It's usually the only horizontal surface available that isn't covered in discarded junk. Mostly my garage is dedicated to my sports car restoration project so I have to clear that to work props.

Redshirt

 

[transmut1]

looking good!

 

[RobotChicken]

Looks nice - One of the local grocery stores here (WinCo) sells similar bottles year-round. They're kids juice drinks, some of them carbonated. Same bottle shape but the wrapper is instead sports themed, like basketball, baseball, etc. I've also seen that shape in small empty spray bottles. So, doesn't necessarily need to be a Coke-Cola beverage.

 

[Redshirt]

looking good!

Thank you!

Looks nice - One of the local grocery stores here (WinCo) sells similar bottles year-round. They're kids juice drinks, some of them carbonated. Same bottle shape but the wrapper is instead sports themed, like basketball, baseball, etc. I've also seen that shape in small empty spray bottles. So, doesn't necessarily need to be a Coke-Cola beverage.

Thanks! I think I saw those. If they are the ones I'm thinking of, they are slightly smaller than the 12 Oz Coke bottle. They might make an excellent choice though. The grenade I'm making is about a 1/4 inch larger than the Halo Encyclopedia calls for. Not a lot, but it is definitely a Spartan-worthy item in that size. Besides, I need lots of BBs. Joanne's has clear plastic ornament balls for about a $1.50 on sale. No screw top, but they would be a fabulous start to a plasma grenade.

Redshirt

 

[Redshirt]

More grenade progress!


I took a trip to Radio Shack and for once they actually had what I needed. I got a CR2032 battery holder, a tiny pushbutton switch and a red LED. With these, I made a tiny cicuit and hid it inside the grenade cap. Why I don't have any pictures that worked out, I don't know. To make everything fit, the switch actually is at an angle, so button travel is not straight back, but up and back. To compensate, I ground the button on the switch at an angle and glued a block of clear acrylic to it. I drilled a small notch into the top of the acrylic block and cemented the LED into it. I then painted the LED and acrylic block white for internal reflectivity, then painted the assembly flat black to prevent light leaks. The fit was very tight necessitating the removal of all excess plastic and metal from my switch to give clearance for the bottle lid.

Here is the lid being recessed into the grenade cap.

Here's the completed cap assembly. You can see the acrylic block in black and the red button from the switch.

I sprayed down the grenade body with Plasti-Dip and 3M Rubber Underseal. The Plasti-Dip refused to build up and fill in voids. The 3M underseal bubbled with thick coats but was a better product. Here's the lumpy mess. I ended up wiping all of this off and using just the underseal with a light top coat of Plasti-Dip (less porous).

Murphy's Law of Armed Conflict: Always remember you weapon system was built by the lowest bidder.

Maybe that explains the Halo 2 Magnum.


Hard to tell the difference, but the second try gave more consistent results and achieved the 'lowest bidder' cast metal look I was after.

First was the coat of Testors Olive Drab (needed to be a different OD than my Splaser).

Then I airbrushed a very dark brown/grey into the details.

I followed that with a dry brush treatment of Testors Sand color on the edges and a further dry brush of Testors Brass Metalizer. The brass gives a bit of shimmer to the whole thing. This worked very effectively on the Spartan Laser so I tried it here as well. Some of the shadows are underdone and some of the dry brushing is overdone so I'll tweak it slightly before declaring it good to go.

It feels very Nerf like. I'm striving for a crude-cast look without the prop looking crudely made.

Redshirt

 

[Master Builder]

Looking good!

So is that wired up to turn on a LED?

I think I would agree with you on the drybrushing to be a little excessive. And some more black/brown in the valleys should make it pop more.

Keep it up!

 

[Redshirt]

Looking good!

So is that wired up to turn on a LED?

I think I would agree with you on the drybrushing to be a little excessive. And some more black/brown in the valleys should make it pop more.

Keep it up!

Thank you Master Builder. Great tag name BTW. Pushing the button on the grenade causes the button to light up red until pressed again like. Of course the game grenade is lit all the time, but this seemed to add function. About the most function I could fit into the tiny cap. You'd be surprised how mindlessly entertaining it is to push the grenade button simply because it lights up when you push it!

I'm adjusting the weathering in exactly that way. I'm using less sand color and more brass overall as well as evening up the wash in the recesses.

Redshirt

 

[transmut1]

Looks amazing, sign me up to purchase 2!

 

[Redshirt]

Looks amazing, sign me up to purchase 2!

Thank you. I'll probably not get around to molding these until the new year. I'll let you know.


Final work here getting the cap done and final weathering.


I painted the cap with Rustoleum Hammertone Silver to create a pebbled cast-like surface. I then air brushed the cap with a thinned mix of Testors Jet Exhaust and Metallic Black.

I added more black to the mix and darkened the details before dry brushing with silver.

Lighting test. Sorry it's fuzzy. Push the button--light comes on. Push the button again--nothing happens, can't be disarmed! OK, the light really does go out when pressed again.

All done! I took this quick shot with my trusty old Mark VI helmet. It started life as the Halo 3 Legendary Edition case.

I will take this outside and get some more beauty shots posed with the Spartan Laser. Remember, this is designed to be a BB storage bottle to resupply the airsoft Spartan Laser on the field--or transport beverages for the next con. Whichever.

Redshirt

 

[Master Builder]

Lol, that would look really funny, drinking out of a grenade.

Anyways, it looks great! Nice work!

 

[Redshirt]

Lol, that would look really funny, drinking out of a grenade.

Anyways, it looks great! Nice work!

"I only drink the blood of my enemies--and an occasional Strawberry Yoohoo."
--Sarge

Thanks. Its good to do a project that has a fast turnaround for once.

Redshirt

 

[Redshirt]

As promised, here are the results of the photo shoot with my Spartan Laser.

The lighted button really makes this thing stand out on its own.

The bottle holds around 3,500 BBs, enough to refill the Spartan Laser.

I'm pretty happy with the results for a fast project. I'll post up in the new year if I'm able to produce some casts or sleeves to slip over your own bottle. I have some new Halo airsoft projects cooking, but I've also got some ideas about using one of these bottles to do a plasma grenade.

Thanks for following.

Redshirt

 

[ScarletOkami169]

Nice Frag though, looks like the Coke bottle could be used for a Plasma grenade too... just saw and seal the top... mabye make one of those to go with your Frag?

Also, where do you live/go airsofting at? mabye we could meet and you could help me with my armour build?

Also, what did you make your armour out of? i asked on my thread, but people keep saying "fiberglass will jsut shatter" and "foam will fall apart" so DO you wear your armour to airsoft? if so, whats the material?

 

[Redshirt]

Nice Frag though, looks like the Coke bottle could be used for a Plasma grenade too... just saw and seal the top... mabye make one of those to go with your Frag?

Also, where do you live/go airsofting at? mabye we could meet and you could help me with my armour build?

Also, what did you make your armour out of? i asked on my thread, but people keep saying "fiberglass will jsut shatter" and "foam will fall apart" so DO you wear your armour to airsoft? if so, whats the material?

Yortstorm,

Thank you. You might catch some necroposting grief for reviving a thread that's 8 month dormant. Best option is to PM the thread owner.

The Coke bottle could make a decent plasma grenade, but its a little big. Better would be the clear plastic Christmas ornament balls that Joanne's and other craft stores sell. While you are at it, swing by a Dollar General and pick up one of the rubber balls that flash red and blue when bounced. That's what I have in mind for my plasma grenade plans.

I airsoft around the Pensacola, Florida area. I'd be happy to help if you are close.

My armor is cardboard and my range of motion is not great at all. The most rigorous action it gets is to stand in line at a midnight launch. I saw the one guy that could hop on and ride a motorcycle in his excellent armor. 99% of us dream to have that durability and range of motion. Spartan armor would just be a liability to movement and situational awareness on the airfield. I do plan to build a set of marine armor to airsoft in, but anything else (including ODST) would just hamper you. You'd be better off to build a Juggernaut costume for the same result.

Fiberglass is a fine medium and won't shatter if done properly. My recommendation would be to fiberglass inside of Pepakura armor after you have resined and rondo'd it. Use 3 oz mat. If you are going to wear it airsofting, I would double layer the 3 oz mat. My Spartan Laser gets shot all day and has yet to chip the paint from a hit, let alone shatter. My fiberglass is thick and my paint is professional grade automotive stuff for just that reason, but yes, fiberglass can take it. Fiberglass can be a PITA to make the edges smooth and properly formed to fit you without pinching and cutting. Foam is more forgiving and plenty durable for CON and fan film work.

My best advice is to be honest with yourself about what you intend to do in your armor and let those goals drive your selection of materials and build plan. There is no right or wrong for materials, just right and wrong applications of materials. My cardboard armor is 'show'. My aluminum and fiberglass Spartan Laser is all 'go' but weighs 22 pounds in order to be indestructible.

Redshirt