Im terribly sorry if this thread looks funny do to the fact that I'm typing it out on my phone.
I have been working off and on a project of mine. The "sunny blockhead" shotgun from Borderlands 2.
It's made mostly of 3/4",1/2", and 1/8" thicknesses of MDF. There are also small amounts of Bondo and wood glue.
I love building things, doesn't matter much what it is. I've taken a liking to prop building due to the fact that I enjoy video games and sci-fi movies. Harrison Krix (owner of Volpin props) is a prop maker that I gain tremendous amount of inspiration from. I hope to one day meet him and thank him for doing what he does. Anyway, enough of ranting! Lets get down to the nittygritty.
I figured Tediore would be a good brand to choose a gun from for my first serious prop, mainly because of the fairly simple and consistently geometric shapes of all the guns. The shotgun I've chosen is from a Minecraft Easter egg in the game. The Sunny Blockhead shotgun (red flavor text- "Also! Try Minecraft!") is a very basically shaped shotgun that includes all Tediore parts. The gun has a graphic over the whole body that resembles the pixel pattern on some of the minecraft blocks. It is a fire elemental only gun and doesn't have a scope or magazine. This makes it very easy to build because it will be a solid object with no moving parts accept the trigger.
Bare with me, ill have access to a pc soon. Hopefully you won't have to endure this jumbled mess for too long.
The primary challenge with this gun right now is achieving detail that will allow me to make a silicone mold without having to patch and smooth and sand imperfections out on every pull I make from the mold. I'm learning that MDF can be a really great pain in the back if you don't have very precise tools to machine it with. Although, it IS very cheap and workable so for now I will deal with it. The grip section of the gun is mostly polystyrene insulating foam. Meaning that it can be dented and crushed easily. The main body of the gun however, being MDF will not be destroyed if I squeeze it too hard. This makes it safe to handle and use many different types of paints and fillers on. Polystyrene however will melt just from the fumes of bondo filler putty.
The paint that I'm using is Krylon Ruddy brown primer. It works well to show imperfections. And with the amount of detail I hope to achieve, I will need to see what I'm sanding and fixing. The previous paint I tried was Rust-oleum sand able primer. This evidently was WAY too thick! I went through sand paper so friggin quick that I was spending more money on sandpaper than I was to power the lights in my shop. Krylon is the way to go. I will be using that from now on. I will post one picture and call it good till I have more progress to show. It's 3:30 in the. Morning and I need sleep. So until next time! -Rad Zomby-
I have been working off and on a project of mine. The "sunny blockhead" shotgun from Borderlands 2.
It's made mostly of 3/4",1/2", and 1/8" thicknesses of MDF. There are also small amounts of Bondo and wood glue.
I love building things, doesn't matter much what it is. I've taken a liking to prop building due to the fact that I enjoy video games and sci-fi movies. Harrison Krix (owner of Volpin props) is a prop maker that I gain tremendous amount of inspiration from. I hope to one day meet him and thank him for doing what he does. Anyway, enough of ranting! Lets get down to the nittygritty.
I figured Tediore would be a good brand to choose a gun from for my first serious prop, mainly because of the fairly simple and consistently geometric shapes of all the guns. The shotgun I've chosen is from a Minecraft Easter egg in the game. The Sunny Blockhead shotgun (red flavor text- "Also! Try Minecraft!") is a very basically shaped shotgun that includes all Tediore parts. The gun has a graphic over the whole body that resembles the pixel pattern on some of the minecraft blocks. It is a fire elemental only gun and doesn't have a scope or magazine. This makes it very easy to build because it will be a solid object with no moving parts accept the trigger.
Bare with me, ill have access to a pc soon. Hopefully you won't have to endure this jumbled mess for too long.
The primary challenge with this gun right now is achieving detail that will allow me to make a silicone mold without having to patch and smooth and sand imperfections out on every pull I make from the mold. I'm learning that MDF can be a really great pain in the back if you don't have very precise tools to machine it with. Although, it IS very cheap and workable so for now I will deal with it. The grip section of the gun is mostly polystyrene insulating foam. Meaning that it can be dented and crushed easily. The main body of the gun however, being MDF will not be destroyed if I squeeze it too hard. This makes it safe to handle and use many different types of paints and fillers on. Polystyrene however will melt just from the fumes of bondo filler putty.
The paint that I'm using is Krylon Ruddy brown primer. It works well to show imperfections. And with the amount of detail I hope to achieve, I will need to see what I'm sanding and fixing. The previous paint I tried was Rust-oleum sand able primer. This evidently was WAY too thick! I went through sand paper so friggin quick that I was spending more money on sandpaper than I was to power the lights in my shop. Krylon is the way to go. I will be using that from now on. I will post one picture and call it good till I have more progress to show. It's 3:30 in the. Morning and I need sleep. So until next time! -Rad Zomby-
still, i can't argue with your decision - BL2 guns are pretty complex, and tediore is a great place to start. keep up the good work! :thumbsup
