Tutorial: Scratchbuilt cardboard weapons for noobs

[marshon]

I've been asked to write a couple of tutorials for noobs regarding weapons and painting.
I will try to write these as if you know nothing at all, but it means they will be LONG and done in stages.
Please feel free to comment or PM me if you have questions, but PLEASE READ the tutorial and not just look at the pictures! then ask.

OK, so you want a weapon that's cheap, looks cool and does not use dangerous chemicals? Then let's see what we can do. This is made of card, plastic pipe and foamies:

There are three basic methods for scratchbuilding:

The assembly method: Building the weapon as if you're making a real one, assembling each individual part and then assembling them. For a really excellent example of this type of work have a look at LO5T V1N1K6 Dmr Wip. Or Ventrue's MA37
I would put PEP assembly in this category as well.

The subtractive method: Building the weapon by starting with a solid block of material (MDF, Wood, stiff insulation foam etc), then carving or CNCing the material away until you are left with the shape you want. have a look at BlueRealm's Reach AR for another excellent example of this sort of work.

The additive method: Building the weapon using a central 'core' of material, then adding material to that core and building up the shape you want. That's what I've done on my MA37 AR , and that's what we are going to use here.

Where do I start? Simple, references, references, references. Gather as many images of your chosen weapon as you can. For game weapons that should be easy, and for Halo this site carries LOADS of information. Try to get good high res images from as many angles as you can, and especially try to find an orthographic drawing that some kind soul may have made. An orthographic drawing shows an object to scale and usually from both sides, both ends and the top and bottom. You may have to trawl the net for information.

What if the weapon is a design in my head?: Good luck..... I wouldn't normally attempt it, but you should try and make a set of drawings anyway.

What if I have limited references?. As long as you can get at the very least a good side shot it is possible, but we're going to build this weapon from just one side shot and one orthographic drawing. It's a rail gun for a game, but I KNOW it doesn't exist (even in a game) because it hasn't been submitted yet. The concept artist has given me the art work and permission to build it. Mine! All Mine! Woohoo!

The render.

The orthographic drawing.

and that's all we have to work with ..... it's enough. However i don't really want the 'district 9' look of the colour scheme so we'll change that.
If you want to make a weapon that no one else has got, pop over to DeviantArt and do a search for 'Concept Weapon' or something similar. Loads of nice work on there. Don't forget to contact the artist for permission though.

Now what? We need to produce a set of full size plans that we can print off, tape together and use for measurements and to cut templates from. So you will need access to a PC and a printer (black and white is fine, laser is better).
Since I only have one measurement to go by, the next step is a little tricky. If someone knows of a better method for scaling an image please let me know?

You will need to download and install some image manipulation software. Although Photoshop is the norm, i am going to use GIMP which is free so I know you can all use it! This download link is for an older version, but it does away with compatibility issues and layer transparency (don't even bother to ask).

You will also need to download and install Posterazor this program will cut our image into page size bits. this is for the windoze version. If you're using Linux or Mac then google posterazor for other versions.

Once you have both programs downloaded and installed, and you have an orthographic image or a side view we will continue.

 

[marshon]

OK, so you have the programs installed right?

Let's continue. The only measurement I have is the overall length of the gun. 810mm or 32 inches, and once scaled out we may find that the grip is too big or too small for you. If you have to re-scale use the grip and shoulder stock distances as a guide to size.

So lets do the render side shot first cause it's easier. Open the image in Gimp, either by right clicking the image and selecting 'open with' and then Gimp from the drop down list, or open the Gimp program then click File>Open and go find your image!

At the top of the main window you can see the size in pixels: 900x424
Next we need to carefully crop the image so that only the full length is showing. On the left select the icon that looks like a little X-Acto blade. This is the crop tool.

Carefully place the cursor at the very front edge of the gun and then drag back to the very end. Next use the upper and lower edges and drag so that the gun is all visible

Once you are happy that it's all in the fame and the frame is just touching the front and rear edges, hit the return key on your keyboard to crop the image

You now have a new image that is the length of the gun. The size of the image at the top now reads a smaller size (840x334 in my case). The next stage will produce a VERY big file! It may cause your computer to seem to stop responding. Just be patient it's trying to create a massive file and needs to process the information. Don't worry this is just the way that Gimp works. the final image won't be too big to handle when we've finished.
From the top of the main window select 'Image'.

Then look down the list and click 'Scale Image'.

A dialogue box will appear showing the current size of the image (in pixels) and the resolution (in pixels). Next to the size in pixels is a drop down menu. Click the down arrow and select your preferred measuring scale. I'll use inches.

You will notice that the sizes have now changed to reveal the image size in inches. Next we are going to change the width to 32 inches, then click the little chain icon next to the size and the height will be automatically set as well.

Next click the 'Scale' button. You will get a warning about the size of the file being created, just click scale again and then wait .....

Yes it looks a little blurry but that's not a problem we need it just for templates. Next click 'File> Save As' and save it with a new name. Let's call this 'Side_View.jpg' and save quality as 100%

The size in pixels is now quoted as 9600x3817 so it's BIG. You can now close Gimp, you have a full sized side image! Congrats!

Next instalment is how to cut up this big image into printable bits.

 

[marshon]

OK, so now we have a huge file that is a full size scale drawing of our weapon. 'What about the other drawing?!', I hear you cry. Well my PC hasn't got a lot of memory in it so I simply followed the above method to create 4 separate full sized images. To work out the height I very carefully cropped the side image for length and height then noted down the full height (in pixels) of the generated image and used that figure to scale the other bits.
Our problem now is that we have 5 images that are too big to print. We need a method of slicing them into page sized parts that can then be reassembled.

Open Posterazor, and open the folder containing the big images. It's easiest to drag and drop the files into Posterazor, but you can use the little folder icon to find them if you want to.

Click 'Next' once your image has loaded

On this screen select your paper size (A4 for me), the orientation and the borders. I usually leave the borders at default.
Click 'Next'

On this screen you can decide where you want each page to overlap so that you can re-assemble them later. Click 'Next'

This screen will show you the final product. MAKE sure that the size in percent is fixed at 100% to get a full sized image. Click 'Next'

The final screen will output a PDF file for you to print. Strangely you have to click on the little yellow block on the upper right hand window for this to happen. I don't know why there isn't just a 'Save' button, but it is free software after all.

Give it a usable filename and save it. A new window will open showing the PDF. If you don't have acrobat reader installed, google it and install it.

You can now print out the PDF file and get 8 pages (in this case) which we will tape together to create a template. Repeat this operation for any other files or images you need to use for templates.

Here's the reassembled PDF printed out on paper and taped together, sitting on the chair in my workshop.

 

[marshon]

So now you have a set of full sized plans right? Cool, now we can start thinking about creating this thing.

What tools will I need? I've spent the last 30 years assembling my tools and workshop, and no-one expects you to spend that kind of money overnight! The trick is to buy 'what you need' and then add to it as jobs and projects come up. Eventually you will be amazed at how much sh*t ... er 'equipment' you will amass.

The bare essentials: Don't even THINK of starting a cardboard scratch build if you are missing ANY of these.

1. A good comfortable working area. You need to be warm, have good lighting, a decent chair and a work area at least as big as the final piece will be. This gun is getting on for a meter (or 3 feet) long. You need to be able to get the entire model on your worktop or bench. Don't work in the garage if it's freezing cold, or in a dingy basement with only one flyblown bulb. If you don't have decent lighting you can rig something up. I use those cheap external security lamps.
Fatigue, cold or aching back or limbs will lead to mistakes and carelessness that could land you in the ER
I cannot state this strongly enough!

2. A decent sized cutting mat. This not only protects your work surface, it also helps to control any cutting. The tip of the blade goes through the work-piece and the tip will go a tiny way into the mat. This ensures a cleaner cut, it also helps to protect you and the blade by making it easier to control.
For this sized project I would suggest at least an A3 sized mat. I mostly use an A2 sized one. These are available for a reasonable price at those cut price art places. Or try fleabay.

3. An exceedingly SHARP KNIFE. There is no getting around this one, every modeller needs a very sharp craft knife. If you are a younger noob, then this is going to be the one thing that your parents are going to be very concerned about. It is a true statement that a blunt knife is MORE dangerous than a sharp one because of the extra force required to make a cut.
A box cutter or snap blade knife (Stanley type in the UK) is NO GOOD the blades are too thick and not capable of fine work. It is possible to get good results using industrial razor blades, but I find they need a lot of skill to master and they make my fingers ache!

A better bet for noobs is the traditional X-Acto knife. made in the USA and of good quality. I have a few handles, there are also far eastern imports that are cheap and cheerful. However, a word of warning ..... ONLY EVER use true X-Acto blades, these are well made and sharp. You will need quite a few as will be explained later. At the very least you will need a fine pointed blade, and possibly a rounded blade.

After many years of model making, there is only one type of knife I use for this kind of work. The Swann and Morton surgical scalpel.

Made in the UK when we could still turn out things of quality and beauty. Swann and Morton have been around for a VERY long time. They are available world wide.
I use the following blades; 10, 10A, 11, 15 and 15A and they cover everything I need to do. I use a number three handle (I now have 5 of these). The grip is much better and these are capable of very fine work indeed. Blades are top quality surgical steel, they are cheap and readily available. Most art shops carry them and ebay is full of them.
Now a warning. Surgical scalpels are designed for only one thing ..... slicing through human flesh! They do this exceedingly well and in the past I have cut my finger to the bone using one of these and they are so sharp that the first I knew of it was when my work-piece was covered in a red liquid.
Treat your knife with TLC and respect.

4. Measuring equipment. You will need a tape measure of at least 6ft (2M), you will need a good 12" (30cm) steel ruler with well marked gradations, and it wouldn't hurt to have a handy 6" (150mm) steel rule as well. All cheap and readily available.

5. A cutting edge. This one can be tricky, in theory we can use our 12" steel ruler as a good cutting edge on which to rest our knife. However the reality is that a good ruler of flat steel on a good surfaced flat card will tend to slip. usually just at the point when you are making a delicate cut!
For noobs or younger modellers I recommend that you seek out a true cutting ruler. this has a machined indent in the back with a piece of firm rubber glued into it. When you press down on the ruler it grips the surface and greatly reduces the chances of slipping. I use mine ALL the time.

6. A roll of tape and some elastic bands to hold stuff while the glue sets. Possibly some cheap plastic clamps as well.

7. A good set of pointed tweezers

8. A blunt tool. Erm, how to explain this? i use a dental tool with a flattened blunt area at one end and a smaller blunt end at the other. this comes in so handy for poking around at inaccessible areas or to push stuff down into places too small for fingers etc. I got mine on ebay for less than 5 bucks. It's the one on the far left, I bought a small set.

That's the bare basic tools to get started.

 

[Kadus27]

"Federal regulations require me to inform you that this tutorial... is looking pretty good." -Glados, Portal 2
All game quotes aside, this tutorial looks really nice, and I'd love to see weapons coming out as good looking as yours. Thanks for contributing, hopefully I'll get around to using it sometime.

 

[hellome]

"Federal regulations require me to inform you that this tutorial... is looking pretty good." -Glados, Portal 2
All game quotes aside, this tutorial looks really nice, and I'd love to see weapons coming out as good looking as yours. Thanks for contributing, hopefully I'll get around to using it sometime.

The cake is a lie!!! or is it.. But ya very nice tutorial

 

[marshon]

OK, so now you are armed with the correct basic tool kit right?

If you have a few pennies left over burning a hole in your pocket, here are a few non-essential tools that you will find make life a LOT easier!

1a. A basic circle cutter. In reality a compass with a blade instead of a graphite 'lead'. I now use a cheapo plastic one since some basta*d stole my metal Olfa one. Cheap ones are a couple of pounds or dollars. Olfa ones are much better but usually cost around £10 or $15. This will cut circles or holes from 10mm (just under 1/2") to 150mm (6").

2a. A paper punch. Again cheapo ones are fine. This will punch circles and holes from about 6mm (1/4") down to a couple of millimetres. Excellent for detailing work. One like the one below costs about £10 or $15 but you can find cheaper ones.

3a. A rotary tool. The creme de la creme for a modeller, such a versatile tool that I personally wouldn't want to be without one. I've owned one for the last 20 years and now have two that I use EVERY day!
The one best known is obviously the US made Dremel, these are great quality but pretty expensive. Of the two I own, one is a Black & Decker and cost nearly as much as a Dremel, the other is a cheapo far eastern import, but it was supplied with a flexible lead for the chuck head. If you decide to get one you won't regret it.
Make sure you get a bunch of sanding drums, cutting wheels and burrs. Usually you can buy a set of these cheaply.

I'm sure you will find other useful tools over time, rat tailed files, a razor saw, heat gun, soldering iron, micro torch, the list is endless....

 

[BLACKULA727]

Thank you marshon, I am super grateful for this. I was wondering how to get started in creating the weapon templates. Thanks again my man.

-Tony

 

[marshon]

For god's sake, c'mon Si. When are we actually gonna BUILD SOMETHING??!!

Patience dear builder, patience ......

When I was about 14 I decided I was going to build one of those flying model aircraft. You know the one's made of balsa wood and tissue paper? Well I totally fu*ked it up. I ended up with something that looked like 'Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines'. A total piece of crap!

My dear old dad, a gentle soul told me, ' You forgot to use the 6 'Ps' son'.

Eh?

Proper planning prevents piss poor performance

Get it?

He then spent 2 weeks helping me to build it again, taking time and care. We ended up with a beautiful, working flying model. God how I loved him for that.............. I flew it into a tree and ripped off both wings, but hey ho, sh*t happens.

The point is planning and getting help. You can always ask someone to give you a hand see.

What materials will I need? I'm going to try and build this as cheaply as I can, so the main material is going to be card. There are a HUGE variety of types available.

Corrugated card (the stuff big boxes are made of). I don't really like using this stuff too much, it has little side impact strength, the corrugations give surface flaws, it bends too easily in one direction and not enough in the other, it crushes easily, it's notoriously difficult to cut accurately and it's 'holes' mean lots of work to seal em up. BUT most general stores will let you have an almost unending supply of it for free, and it can come in huge sizes (good for us).

Cereal packet card this is much better stuff to work with, it is a dense card with a good surface, even better if it has print on it. Flat and stable it cuts well and again is in ready supply. Just stop throwing it out. Open out the packets and cut all the raggedy bits off, then store the flat sheets for later use. Free and simple. Corn Flakes packets and frozen pizza boxes are my faves because they come in a reasonable size. I end up saving any bits of card that I can. Usually between 1/2mm and 1mm thick

Dense card OK, here's where the pond seems to make a difference. In the UK I use either Matt Border (the stuff they mount watercolours in for framing), or 'Layer Pads' a dense thick card used for the packing industry. I don't really know what these are called in the US? The packing card might be known as 'Card Stock', and the border matt as 'Show Card'. if someone can help out with the translation then please do!
Anyway, this kind of card is similar in nature to cereal packet card, but MUCH thicker. It comes in thicknesses from 1.5mm to 4mm it is very strong and very stable. The border matt comes in various colours and the surface is smooth and perfect for our needs.
It is also known as 'Mountboard'

In the UK it costs about £3.00 for an A1 sized sheet which will last a long time. i doubt we'd use a whole sheet on this entire project.

The layer pads come in sizes to suit industrial pallets. Euro pallets are about 5 foot square, so the last 5 I was given have lasted me 3 years. They are used for separating layers of product for packing. I only use the solid grey card type and I get them from a local factory. I just ask for any that are ripped or damaged and they let me have them for free.

If anyone stateside knows what these are called over there, please post up for me. Ta.

Plastics I use quite a bit of plastic in my work. Small interesting bits are stored in a box and used when they look like some part I need to make or fit. I also use a lot of PVC pipe, drainage and plumbers plastic pipe. Excellent for making gun barrels, telescopic sites and whatnot. If there is a building site, or someone doing their kitchen or bathroom, just ask if you can have the off-cuts of pipe. They only get thrown away so that's how I get mine. Now and again I buy those garden hose fittings, I keep bottle tops and all manner of round plastic things. Cylinders and circles are the most difficult things to actually 'make' so anything that will help you out would be cool.

Foam Again i use a lot of foam in my work. Again there are hundreds of types. You will definitely need to buy some 'Foamies' (in the UK known as craft foam or 'Funky Foam'). Get a pack of the 2mm thick stuff, we will use a lot of this for surface work and detailing. In the UK a pack of 10 A4 sheets is about 3 quid.

OK, that really only leaves glue ..... we will sort out glues as we go along because there are so many types, brands and uses that we need to establish which is which and what they are for.

You will spend more money on glue, paint and knife blades than anything else in this project tutorial.

 

[marshon]

OK Si, can we please MAKE something today? - Yes dear reader, we can now start to make stuff ....... well nearly.

We need to make a few decisions before we put knife to card. First of all, if you compare the orthography to the render, you will notice that the concept artist has made some minor changes. Most notably to the grip base and a shorter magazine. I like the flow of the render so I will go with that one. Also do we want to fit the LEDs? Is the magazine going to be removable? Only you can decide these things since they will add to the complexity of design.
To keep it simple, but still have a wow factor, I'm going to leave the mag fixed, but add the LEDs (somehow).

So we now have the tools, the materials and a set of paper templates. We need one more item and that is a card template. I have re-printed the render side onto 110 Lb (180 gsm) printer card and assembled it. We will take measurements, add notes and design bits to the paper ones and actually cut up and use the card one.

Notice that I have saved all the card off-cuts from the template assembly? We will use those later. Waste not want not eh?

OK, next we need to assemble our 'core', we are going to use corrugated box card for this. We need to establish the narrowest point down the length of the gun. Looking at the top view it's obvious that it's the bit behind the two cylinders and in front of the shoulder stock. I measured mine and it came to 25mm. By the way, from this point on I will be using metric, only because we stopped measuring in imperial over here years ago. However you use whatever system you want to, you'll get the gist of it.

I next drew two red lines along the paper top template to check using a fine tip CD marker.
I did the same along the two ends, as long as every edge falls OUTSIDE those lines we are good to go.

Next I decided what to build into the core and what to leave out. The rear most part of the shoulder stock, the very tip of the barrel end and the scope were all left out, as was the trigger and part of the trigger guard. These will be built and added separately. Next I drew a blue line on my card template all the way around the core parts allowing a gap of about 2mm from the edge of the template. This will allow us to add cladding materials to cover the corrugated card.

Now it's time to put a brand new pointed blade into your knife and using your cutting ruler carefully cut around the blue line. the only part i had to freehand cut was the curve at the front of the trigger everything else was done with a ruler.

For the first time you can actually hold the template and see what the dimensions are like. Retain all the bits you cut out including the outside parts of the template. We will need them later.
Next we need to transfer the template to our cardboard. We need two sides which are identical. The method to use is this, lay the template onto your card (if you didn't have a long enough bit, tape them together as I had to, it'll be fine.) Using small bits of tape (I've used red tape so you can see it) carefully tape the template down in as few places as you can get away with. Try to tape along long straight parts so you will be able to fill in the gaps. Using your CD marker pen and working on small sections at a time, trace around the edges of your template. Repeat this operation for the other side once you have removed the template and filled in the gaps left by the tape, then CAREFULLY cut around the lines trying to keep the knife blade as perpendicular to the work as possible.
You should end up with two identical cardboard sides? Woohoo!

Next post will be joining the two halves, then we'll start building up the magazine so you can see the process in action.

 

[Kirrou]

Wow it is great to see how you work. Your AR build looked amazing. This tutorial is very informative. Thanks a lot for taking the time and making it for us.

 

[gutrot45]

this tutorial is great! i wonder if it might have been Bristol Board that you might have hinted at? i'll use it in almost every drawing/tattoo that i create due to it's strength and ease. slightly less rigid then card stock, but also if any markers are used, there is barely any bleed produced to have to deal with.

anyway, i'm foaming at the mouth waiting to see how this progresses!

 

[nesbitt101]

Will try to do this after I'm finished my armour build!

 

[marshon]

OK guys n gals. Ready for the next instalment? Then let's talk glue(s).

Please don't ask me if Elmers, or Gorilla Glue will work. I don't live in the States and so I've never used them. What I will be able to do is tell you the attributes required of each glue, and give a general description of the ones I use. Again, anyone Stateside who can help out please feel free to post.

Over many years I have tried and tested many different types of glue, only in this way can you finally settle on ones that suit you.
(Then they usually stop making the one you like!).
For card I use hot-melt, cyanoacrylate (super glue), a solvent based impact adhesive (like Bostik), and a solvent free general purpose glue which is basically a PVA paste in a tube. For those in the UK the two best ones I've found are B&Q own brand General purpose glue. One in a red tube (solvent based) and one in a green tube (solvent free).

To successfully glue corrugated card, the glue must be thick enough not to run down the holes, be a fast grab so that the card stays where you put it, but be flexible enough to stay tacky for 5 or 6 minutes (you'll see why in a minute).

Cyano is too runny and simply disappears down the holes. Impact (contact) adhesive does not give you any room to reposition the piece once stuck and although hot melt would seem ideal, as you will see by the time we get to gluing the second half on, the glue laid down on the first strut will have dried before we get to the last one.
You can use either the solvent based impact adhesive as a 'normal' wet glue, but I much prefer to use the solvent free stuff since it covers all the bases.

OK, so we have our two halves cut out and we know that the final central core needs to be 25mm thick in this case. By measuring the thickness of the two halves (in my case 2.5mm each or 5mm total) and subtracting that from the total (25mm - 5mm) we get a total spacer size of 20mm.
We could cut out another 8 templates and try and glue them all together in a laminate, but this has a number of drawbacks; I don't have that much cardboard available, it's a total waste of a HUGE amount of glue, and believe it or not - it won't be strong enough and is liable to curl up like a big banana.
All glues shrink a small amount when they dry. We would be laminating along the corrugations which is the direction that the card likes to bend, as each subsequent layer was added this effect will get worse and worse.
Finally, even when completed all the laminates would have the same direction of corrugations. One good whack, even in to something soft, and the gun would bend.

Plus I can't be arsed to cut ten bloody sides out!

We will, instead be using a bit of space-frame technology using card.

First, using any bits of the boxes that are left over, start cutting a whole series of 20mm wide strips. Make sure you are cutting ACROSS the corrugations which will help to prevent crushing. You will need LOTS and they need to be accurately cut to 20mm. Any length will do but I'd stick to about 300mm or 1 foot so you can use the length of your cutting edge.

I tend to start at the front of the gun and work towards the rear, but there are no hard and fast rules here. Begin by gluing a strip along one edge, try and get it to meet the edge, but if it's a tiny little bit out that's OK as long as it's INSIDE the edge.
Then begin crossing the body of the gun adding strips and building up a pattern of generally triangular shapes. Again no rules as long as when you are done every edge is covered and you have a good number of strips criss crossing the body.
Pay extra attention and add extra strips around the grip and the shoulder stock since these will get the most handling.

For any curved areas (the only one on this gun is around the trigger) cut a series of lines HALFWAY through the BACK of the curve and gently bend the card into shape. The high grab glue should hold it in place while it dries.

Once you are done let it set for an hour or two before trying to fit the second side.

Here's where the hot-melt would fail you, you now need to coat each and every strut with a bead of glue, the hot melt at the start point would dry by the time you do the last one!
Gently lower the other half into place and reposition it so that it matches the first. Gently smooth it down adjusting the position if required. Once you are satisfied that it's in place, put some heavy books and stuff on top and leave it for a couple of hours.

Once it has had a chance to dry off remove the weights and handle your new creation. It should be lightweight, strong, un-warped and fab! This will form the basis for every other operation!

I'd now leave it for 24 hours to fully set.

Next instalment we will start to build up the magazine so you can see additive work in action.

Oh, by the way, now it's time to change your knife blade for a new one even if you think it's still sharp. Mine is starting to pull so change it now BEFORE it gets blunt and slips.

 

[marshon]

Did you change your blade? Good.

Now we can start to get down to it. Under normal circumstances I would next tackle whatever I think is the most difficult part, but since this is a noob tutorial let's start with the easiest part to get some confidence going.

Let's tackle the magazine.

Using the front or rear paper template we can clearly see the width of the mag, mine came out at 40mm. We know that the core is 25mm wide. That leaves 15mm or 7.5mm each side to play around with.

Next get your card template back and decide where the mag is and cut it out.

I next cut two corrugated pieces to take up some of the width, you can either glue these on to the gun and work directly on the model (better), but I'm going to build these off the model so you can see what I'm doing.

Now we need to decide what is the lowest part of the mag. I think it's the bit with the small control at the bottom and what looks like the ammo showing through a little window slot.
I cut out the slot, retaining the bit of template for later use.

Next I cut two sections of mountboard using the new template.

These were glued into place on the corrugated card. I then had to decide which bit was next 'lowest, and divide the remaining template into those parts.

I cut two more bits of mountboard and added them, then divided the template again and did the last pieces in foamies. There are three reasons for doing this. Firstly, with a sharp blade foamies cut more accurately than the card, secondly because they are foam they can be used to take up any minor discrepancies in my cutting out, and finally they feel nice. remember this is a tactile prop we are going to handle.

Then the entire sides were added to the gun.

The detail and cladding we will deal with later, but that's how additive construction works. Build it up slowly.

Next time we'll tackle something a bit more challenging.

 

[Vulgarmas]

amazing cant wait to try this

 

[hellome]

What would be the best starting weapon to do this? I want to practice before i make a mass efect weapon.

 

[marshon]

What would be the best starting weapon to do this? I want to practice before i make a mass efect weapon.

The easiest to make a good job of is probably the MAC 10 which is basically a couple of box shapes, but would look cool with a silencer fitted. There are loads of references for this gun on the net.
Of the Halo wepaons, I should think that the SMG would work out the easiest to get started on.

 

[marshon]

So we now have the basic core and the magazine panels made. Are we ready for something more challenging yet?

I hope so, because next up is the barrel / front grip assembly so we'll take it slow and easy on this one.

We needed to use the front view of the gun to establish the shapes for the barrel panels. However, when I checked them, they didn't match the side view and were no where near correct for the render view.
I cut out the barrel/grip section for the render master template, leaving out the very front section to be made later.
I decided to do my own template based on the front view, but with angles that matched the render view.

I did this by starting with a centre line, then adding my two red lines for the core. I then built out the sides based on the front view, but lining the angles up with the lines on the render side view. I then cut one side of the template off to use for my bracing.
I recessed the side where there appears to be a slot for the vents.

Next I used the render template to cut two base panels from mountboard. These will be used to build a ladder frame on for cladding later. these panels will then be glued to the sides of the weapon

Next I used my end template side to cut a series of braces. Looking at the drawings there are very slight differences along the length of the barrel. this would have meant making slight variations to each and every brace to get the shape. I took the decision to make every brace the same and just trim the bottoms to fit. this means that all the variation will fall at the bottom of the barrel. Fine with me.
Next i began to glue the braces to the panel, adding struts between the braces to keep them in line.

I had roughly marked out the panels where I wanted to fit each brace and strut.

I continued doing this until the frame was complete.

Once the frames had been given an hour to start to dry off, I glued them to the sides of the core.

Now change your blade for a fresh one.
Next time we will start to clad the frames.

 

[hellome]

The easiest to make a good job of is probably the MAC 10 which is basically a couple of box shapes, but would look cool with a silencer fitted. There are loads of references for this gun on the net.
Of the Halo wepaons, I should think that the SMG would work out the easiest to get started on.

OK I will start with the mac 10. Also 2 things. Can you make a working trigger with this method, if so how? And if I was to want to make a muzzle (i think there a bit better then silencer's) How exactly would I do that?