Props Tutorial: Foam/extruded polystyrene Halo 5 Magnum

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ratmonkey

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So hello. Ratmonkey(Alex) here. I will be posting once again in a long time. I will be trying to attempt a 100% or all most perfect prop of a Halo 5 magnum out of Extruded Polystyrene or project foam. I will be posting steps. And everything i use here on this thread. Kind of a full detailed thread. I will post pic in a little of all my tools, material, costs( for anything more then 5 to 10 bucks) and where i got them. Okay here we go.
20180214_002552.jpg Everything on this pic. You will need to get the best out of the prop. (Before paint.)

X-acto knives:#11 and a thin blade with a small edge to get super small detail, but is also achieved with a regular 11. I usually get the z series. The blades are coated in zirconium nitride. they last longer in my opinion.
- Cheapest place to buy: Walmart, Joanns, or Micheals

Snap off knifes: i buy the good metal holders for the blades.( i've snapped the cheap plastic ones. the cuts hurt btw.) A small 9 mm. and a big 18 mm for rough cuts. and buy some replacement blades too.
-Cheapest place to buy: Walmart for blades. Home-depot for metal holders.

(Not in the PIC) But get a sharpener. A kitchen or knife sharpener. Usually one with both a course and fine side.

A metal ruler(metric/standard) or for others(centimeters/Inches): Walmart is the best for these
Sharpies: Cheapest is Walmart, but can find these at Dollar Tree/ Family Dollar/ General Dollar/depends where you live.

Pens: What ever color you want: Dollar tree/ 99 cent stores

Sandpaper:220 grit and 400/600 grit. I buy big square sheets. Cheapest at: Walmart and Home-depot

Sanding sticks. I make my own. Just use Popsicle/Craft-stick sticks. jumbo. small. the small ones i glue them together to get different thicknesses. and then glue 220 grit on them. They last a very long time. mostly used for rough carving/Shaping.
I get the craft sticks from Walmart.

And a good pair of scissors.

And our foam.project-panels-rigid-insulation-pp1-64_1000.jpg here is the link: Project Panels FOAMULAR 1 in. x 2 ft. x 2 ft. R-5 Insulation Sheathing-PP1 - The Home Depot
I live in California. San Diego county. So finding Extruted polystrene is kinda a pain. So this is all i ever found driving and contacting companies. This is literally it. Ordering it online is almost 100 bucks for 2 4ftx8ft boards. Not really worth it if u don't have that much money. And each board would cost 20 bucks. So i use these. 2ftx2ft boards.


20180215_145014.jpg And last put not least. A high temp hot glue gun and glue stick. I use the mini ones since it easier for small props. Or smaller details. best place is Joanns. If you sign up for their coupons you should get a 50% off a single item. Or they usually have coupons. They usually have a 50% off a single item on their ads. The hot-glue guns are between 6 to 15 dollars. Depends on brand and quality. And a 100 pack costs about $6.25 after taxes.
 
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So i made a blueprint by hand. pretty damn close if not perfect on the magnum. And also different prospectives of the gun too. i will post a scan of the blueprint soon. so you guys can have it too
20180214_002017.jpgandrew-bradbury-magnum-lo-a-01.jpg andrew-bradbury-magnum-hi-b-01.jpg andrew-bradbury-magnum-hi-c-01.jpg joe-bates-m6h2-halo-5-sheet-00.jpg H5G_Render_Magnum-M6H2.png


So once i had the blueprint. I drew out two copies.one which will have a extra line drawn in to make the "base" model of the gun.20180214_002105.jpg As you can tell where i drew the extra line and drew the extra part that goes above the barrel. So then i decided to cut it in a few parts or segments to get the best detail. Since a one full part. it would be hard to get almost every detail we can.

Then we have 3 main parts the main part of the magnum.20180214_002134.jpg

Next i took the handle/grip section as the start/base to complete fully first. If we have some mistakes or slight irregularities on the other 2 pieces. We can adapt it to the handle.

Now i outlined using the blueprint as a stencil20180215_135114.jpg and so WE BEGIN....


so you want to cut as close as you can to the line to get a rough but close cut on the part. and now u have the part rough cut. make straight lines from the corners to the width if the foam. so you can closely map out where the stencil needs to be on the other side. and take your stencil and mark it out. now cut at an outward 45 or like 15-20 degree cut. which ever you feel comfortable. Away from the line. close if not on the line. like so:
20180215_154941.jpg
And slowly get closer and closer to the line. until it looks straight from side to side. like so:
20180215_155115.jpg 20180215_155121.jpg
And keep a lookout on your pics of the gun from game. to determine or take a educated guess( guess-amate) on some pieces and parts.take your time. you will need to. and sand with 220. don't go to rough. just to get all lines straight or even.

Now for the small indents or smaller details. cut wedges from different points to get your knife in for smaller flats like here:20180215_155716.jpg 20180215_155809.jpg Make sure you are looking on both sides to make sure you are cutting on the lines. then cut down to the point to finish cutting the wedge out.
20180215_155905.jpg

next mark out the detail on the sides of the gun.make sure the are symmetrical on both sides. draw lines very lightly across the width of the foam to get as symmetrical as you can. it will never be perfect with foam. but you can make it look that way.
20180215_174252.jpg20180215_174300.jpg
Slowly on the the smaller edge. you will need to make a 45 or so degree bevel or cut. i cut it first and then sanded it a little.
20180215_174515.jpg20180215_174542.jpg 20180215_174551.jpg
Now for the front of the bevel mark about a 1/4 of an inch or about 5 mm in to know how deep you will need to bevel. and then cut. take small cuts at a time to slowly get your bevel even and straight on the lines.
20180215_175716.jpg Then sand:20180215_175728.jpg
next there is a small box underneath the part. so i eyed it. as you can tell i made it to short then drew it longer.20180215_180057.jpg Since i messed up i just cut out the section a little. to just cut a box to glue in it later.20180215_180626.jpg
if you want a outline of a box there. just draw it out just as long and wide. then bevel/ cutting 45 degree in towards the line. on each side of the line. so you get a outline.

Now the handle is cut and repeat. the from was easier since it was just rounding out the edges marking at 2-3 mm or 1/8 inch. and at the bottom of the handle where the hand guard meets. i marked it at 7 mm or 1/4 inch20180215_180626.jpg Then i cut:20180215_181305.jpg then sanded a little to get a rough rounded edge20180215_181505.jpg
Then marked the little box detail at the bottom.20180215_181654.jpg

same on the back of the handle. but instead of rounding the edges. you have to bevel pretty far then sand to meet the side evenly together. so i marked about about 10 mm in to have a 5 mm gap in between the bevel ti sand round to.And then i cut the bevel. TAKING MY TIME. slowly and evenly carving/cutting away to meet the lines.20180215_184945.jpg 20180215_184950.jpg then sanding to round out the bevel to meet one another.20180215_191701.jpg Also adding the little detail all the way on the back. i eyed it. and if you want to. its a good time after sanding to lightly draw out the "Hex-screw" detail for later.20180215_191710.jpg know it feels and fits well in your hand like so. Yay!!
Now there is a small indent rectangle where the trigger meets the body.cut at 45's to get a beveled edge around the rectangle. the cut smaller and smaller degrees: 45-35-20-10. as low as you can go. and then run your pen across the bottom to push the foam as even as possible. since it will be kinda covered by the trigger.20180215_192112.jpg As you guessed it. i eyed it. and then mark out the trigger on some foam. cut as close to the lines as you can then cut the foam width wise in half. then cut it to shape.
20180215_192821.jpg 20180215_192828.jpg 20180215_192835.jpg ( As you can tell i added some more detail for my style. or what the game magnum looks like.) it is your prop. be creative if you want to. im going for most detail of original in-game model. and last but not least i cut a shaped the little part underneath the trigger.
20180215_191718.jpg 20180215_193607.jpg i cut it out then cut the width in half and shaped it to my liking.
Next i hot glued the two parts in place. and for know this part is done.
20180215_192854.jpg 20180215_195304.jpg 20180215_195317.jpg
 
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