Fallout 3 AER9 Laser Rifle Build Thread - FINISHED

[Jm419]

Re: AER9 Laser Rifle Build Thread - LOOKING FOR CASTING SERVICES - SEE POST 75

At least one.

I'll have to see. This run will not happen without a caster who's willing to take this on. I could paint them up when they're done, for an extra charge.

If you're interested in getting one of these, then it's up to you as well to help me locate a caster for these. I am not willing or able to cast them myself. If you're reading this with the intent to buy one when the run happens, then you should try and help me find a caster too.

 

[Volpin]

Re: AER9 Laser Rifle Build Thread - LOOKING FOR CASTING SERVICES - SEE FINAL POSTS

Yeah, why not? Lol.

I need a professional caster for these. If you're reading this, please PM me and we can work out the details. I'm interested in getting a price not exceeding $100 a unit, in resin if possible. You, as the caster, would then own the mold, and once I conclude my run, you would have the rights to the mold and sell any copies you like, provided I get a 10% royalty on every piece sold.

Having built one of these guns myself, I can say that you're going to have difficulty getting someone to make copies at that price point.

Ideally, these would be around 6 different molds. There's just no way to get the whole rifle done in a single pour. I would think you'd have a front of the barrel, rear barrel, main body, stock, lower bar, and MF cell. Ancillary bits like the piping, trigger, and knobs may also need to be separate parts as well.

For a piece this complex, and with that much rubber, the cost will have to go up. From your perspective, you'll need to build the piece with molding in mind - a fully assembled and painted gun won't be able to be tossed in silicone and copied. Consider how the rifle would go together as individual pieces that can be easily cast, then go from there.

 

[Jm419]

Re: AER9 Laser Rifle Build Thread - LOOKING FOR CASTING SERVICES - SEE POST 75

True. If it's going to be that difficult, I may just not cast it. Frankly casting is a whole other can of worms, and one that could cause a lot of problems.

 

[Jm419]

Re: AER9 Laser Rifle Build Thread - LOOKING FOR CASTING SERVICES - SEE POST 75

Casting services found. Thanks for offers, everyone. Big update coming tonight.

 

[Jm419]

re: Fallout AER9 Laser Rifle Build Thread

Finally back on track... it's really getting close. It's fun to pick this thing up, and it's like, "Holy crap, this is a Laser Rifle from Fallout 3..." It's a lot of fun.

Anyway, I've been working on this for the past few days during the Saga of Getting these Things Cast, so I have quite a few fairly large upgrades to this thing, which really make it look almost complete. The last major structure now is the tubing along the top of the barrel, but the rest after that is detailing.

Who cares, right? No one read that anyway, lol.

We'll start off with the least exciting update, and the worst picture.

As you can see, the barrel is now sealed - the MF chamber is now a set depth, and miscellaneous parts will no longer disappear into the netherworld of the barrel...

Another thing I got done was the round things on the stock. Volpin lathed these, I think, but I just used nylon washers and wood putty, and boy, they add to how this thing looks. Here's the large "dial" on the stock. Maybe it's supposed to be used for adjusting the length of the stock, or something.

Here's what I'm most excited about. I interpreted the plans differently than Volpin or another fellow by the name of Ryan did, in that I made this section a series of tiered steps, like a South American pyramid, rather than a lip. Why? Two reasons;
1. Ergonomics. It doesn't make sense to grip something like a lip where the hand's supposed to go, especially if it's made out of metal. That'd hurt like hell.
2. The blueprints are unclear. I'm working from NeXxt's excellent blueprints, but these aren't engineering plans - they're close, but some views are lacking. There is no view from the bottom of the gun, so the stock is a lot of guesswork. This section could be either a lip or a steppe, like I've made it, but it isn't clear from the plans themselves. I made it a step, which is one place where my rifle'll vary from Volpin's.

Here, you can see that the end of the barrel is sealed, along with what I mean about ergonomics. The steps really make for a nice, thick grip, which is much easier to hold than the half-inch MDF was before. It really makes for a comfortable grip, and in this shot, you can really see how the gun's coming together.

And an overview, from the right side of the gun. This shot, like all the others in this thread, is flipped - a mirror image. Fear not, the MF cell (or MDF cell, whichever you prefer, as both are right) is on the correct side. This shot really shows how the rifle's coming together, and I must say I'm proud of my work thus far.

 

[darkchylde80]

re: Fallout AER9 Laser Rifle Build Thread

*jumps up and down* Looking great!

 

[Jm419]

re: Fallout AER9 Laser Rifle Build Thread

Lol, thanks. I'm glad people are liking this so well.

 

[Delta7]

re: Fallout AER9 Laser Rifle Build Thread

I just started to make one of these myself. I've spent the last weekend just on the stock. I've finally got it cut out and can start sanding, then cut out nice, simple rectangles for the body. Keep up the good work!

 

[Jm419]

re: Fallout AER9 Laser Rifle Build Thread

The barrel's the most fun. Cut straight lines, glue some stuff, route the corners, make a cut for the ammo cell... presto!

I'm not sure I'd want to do that stock again. Just looking at yours made me throw up in my mouth a little - not because of your craftsmanship, of course (in fact, your holes'll probably end up better than mine, because I had to cut and file them by hand), but because I remembered that hellish time of getting all of it to look right, have the edges straight, and the little freakin details...

Like I mentioned over in your thread, though, if I can lend any help, let me know. Trick #1: An easy way to get the dimensions right is to literally project them on to the board, so you won't need a paper copy of the plans at all. Just trace them right on to the wood.

 

[Delta7]

re: Fallout AER9 Laser Rifle Build Thread

The barrel's the most fun. Cut straight lines, glue some stuff, route the corners, make a cut for the ammo cell... presto!

I'm not sure I'd want to do that stock again. Just looking at yours made me throw up in my mouth a little - not because of your craftsmanship, of course (in fact, your holes'll probably end up better than mine, because I had to cut and file them by hand), but because I remembered that hellish time of getting all of it to look right, have the edges straight, and the little freakin details...

Like I mentioned over in your thread, though, if I can lend any help, let me know. Trick #1: An easy way to get the dimensions right is to literally project them on to the board, so you won't need a paper copy of the plans at all. Just trace them right on to the wood.

:lol I wish I had the resources to project it onto the wood. I just used a calculator, ruler, compass and protractor then calculated the scale ratio and sketched it onto the board by hand. At one point, my roommate asked me what I was doing and I deadpanned "Suffering" as a reply.

It won't end up the prettiest thing on the block, but I think that actually just makes it fit into the Fallout universe that much better.

 

[Jm419]

re: Fallout AER9 Laser Rifle Build Thread

True. I just thought the stock was really really nasty to try and reproduce on the wood itself. It would have been really nice for it to just fall out of the MDF, ready cut, but that's not how it works. The sanding is endless...

 

[clancampbell]

re: Fallout AER9 Laser Rifle Build Thread

Looks really good! I just wish someone would tackle a plasma rifle!!!

 

[Jm419]

Re: Fallout AER9 Laser Rifle Build Thread

Someone has. With lights. Google it, lol.

 

[Jm419]

Re: Fallout AER9 Laser Rifle Build Thread

Made some major progress since my last update. Check it out.

That's right. I got the hose in place, and secured on both ends. I made the front end on my lathe in about fifteen minutes, and the back end was pretty easy to make too.

Here's a closer look.

So, do you see how I have a coathanger in the tube? It's just there to hold the shape, and the rest of it basically works itself out when it's clamped down.

These copper things are are just hose straps bent to be anchored by one screw, like it is on my plan. These are structural, and obviously secure it very well.

This evil little thing has been the bane of my existence recently. The worst part is, it's a found part. Recognize it? Chevrolet fans might.

There, better? It's one of the spare set of wheels from the 1/32 Corvette model. I don't remember the brand, but I know it's one of those build-it-yourself models.

In any case, I had to drill right through it and screw it down onto the body. Then, I put a thumbscrew on top to disguise the threads. It works, it's accurate to the plans, and it looks good. It was just a pain in the rear to put it on, because there's a tremendous amount of force on it because of the hose. Since the hose is bent over the raised lip, it's putting a ton of torque on this wheel. It was nasty, but it's a great part.

Here's another shot of the rifle.

It's sure getting close.

 

[Jm419]

Re: Fallout AER9 Laser Rifle Build Thread

I also gave the "beard" a trim. One problem with this gun is that there's nowhere to put it down, no flat surfaces for it to rest on. The Plasma Rifle has this problem too, to a greater degree, but no real-world rifle would have a similar problem.

For instance, that hose assembly - it's terrible design. Sure, it may look cool, but the sheer amount of force that hose is putting on the dial/Corvette wheel would automatically rule it out in a real-world design. If that dial had to be there, it would be on a raised platform, so the force would be cut down significantly. I considered putting it there, but chose not to do so in the name of accuracy.

Another terrible concept is the trigger. Why would anyone think that was a good plan? It'll actually make it easier to do, but the trigger could easily snap off, or get clogged by dirt, etc.

[/rant]

 

[Jm419]

Re: Fallout AER9 Laser Rifle Build Thread

One more quick update, but it adds a bunch.

Got the fins on the barrel ends. Still have some detailing on both ends, but this is just one more thing I got done on this seemingly endless project.

 

[Jm419]

Re: Fallout AER9 Laser Rifle Build Thread

Three updates later...

As you can see, the grips are on. They're only rough, right now, so we'll talk about them next time. The main updates here are on the action section, namely the MF cell connection toward the butt end of the gun, and the small weird thing immediately below the action. Not sure what it is, but it's on my replica.

A better shot of the action. More stuff on here, still, and I need to make a mechanism for the actual action part - the reloader - but other than that, this is getting pretty darn close to done.

I also got the endcap done. Compare to before, in the post right above this one, or in this shot here.

Before:

After:

Better, eh? I tore out the old stuff and completely redid this. It has to be the most accurate part of the rifle on principle - it's the only part you really ever see when you're using it. I've flipped the following shot to its proper orientation, unlike every other photo in this thread.

In any case, you can see how close this is getting. I'm pretty pleased with it.

 

[Presidentd]

Re: Fallout AER9 Laser Rifle Build Thread

Loving it so far. I have no skills or experience with carpentry work, so I can only guess at the difficulty of this project. Just seeing the fins on the butt of the rifle body, though, made me realise the amount of work it would have required to cut them out and sand them. I think that the end result definitely shows the effort that you've put in.

On the resin copy side of things, you've found a pourer/pouring facility? Would be very interested to know if you plan on casting it as one solid piece, as was your original pan, or having it cast in separate pieces like Volpin suggested? While I'm sure that casting it in one pieces would reduce the workload on you yourself, the definite upside of casting it into seperate pieces would be so that others (meaning me) can perform modifications - i.e LED's, etc.

Again, apologies that this can't get posted in the Junkyard. Blegh.

 

[Jm419]

Re: Fallout AER9 Laser Rifle Build Thread

It's fine, lol. Volpin's right - this'll be casted in six to eight pieces and shipped that way, so that'll make it easier on everyone. I do in fact have a caster, which is nice, and we're well on the road. Everything's in place for a run, I just have to finish it first.

Thanks for the compliments.

 

[darkchylde80]

Re: Fallout AER9 Laser Rifle Build Thread

Looking mighty fine! Can't wait to see this finished aaaaand then have one on my display wall lol