Fallout 3 Laser Rifle

[Dark asylum]

Nice work on the rifle, lots of wood work, would of been great to to of build the full gun out of Lexan then it would of been indestructable, given all the work you put into it would like to see it last forever, cudos, great work.

 

[Volpin]

The flat head screw heads make the parts appear like plastic or wood (which they actually are made of). However, if you are going for a metal appearance I'd use socket head cap screws or (to keep with the 50s style) slotted fillister head screws in counterbored holes.


You mentioned somewere there are some detailed blueprints for the laser rifle on the web. Do you have a link to those?

Wish I'd had that suggestion earlier! smart idea, and I'll keep it in mind for my upcoming laser pistol build. Unfortunately, these are epoxied in place. No changing them now...

The blueprints I was referring to used to be hosted on rapidshare, but aren't available anymore. I wasn't able to get a copy before I started this build, so I just stuck with the ones I made myself.

Nice work on the rifle, lots of wood work, would of been great to to of build the full gun out of Lexan then it would of been indestructable, given all the work you put into it would like to see it last forever, cudos, great work.

Thanks for the compliments! Unfortunately, my shop really isn't set up to work with anything but wood and some thinner plastics. A lexan build would probably be beyond my scope at this point. So long as the AER9 is kept indoors and out of the elements, I don't see any reason why it would ever distort or break. MDF does swell a lot with varying humidity and temperature, but I think this one will be pretty well cared for.

 

[franz bolo]

Great Job so far!

FB

 

[fuelish]

I have another technical question.

First a pic for reference.

Did you do the curve along the length of the barrel with a router and then finish it with a belt sander(I see a belt in the lower right) or did you do it freehand with just a belt sander?

Also, I really need to expand my mind about what I can do with my wood tools.

 

[MooCriket]

Loving this!thumbsup

 

[Eclipse]

Man I LOVE this game and this replica is every bit as awesome! Really stunning work on this! I wish you would do a run as I would love to have this, or just about anything from the fallout 3 universe, haha.

 

[harleystone]

I would love one of these for a wall hanger, or even better an Airsoft version Truly amazing work sir! I'm on my third time through the game, I love it might play it through again after lol

Dan

 

[PhoenixVader]

Every time I think that I am just starting to get good at this hobby I find a thread like this and understand that I am just a Putz.

Very nice. I only wish I could afford to commission you to make me one.

thomas

 

[Nexus6]

Every time I think that I am just starting to get good at this hobby I find a thread like this and understand that I am just a Putz.

Quoting ^THIS^ for me as well.

x 1000.

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

That's why I love when people post in progress shots. A lot of times they're doing stuff that makes you say "Why didn't I think of that?" It really helps.

 

[PropsPainter]

Wow wow WOW! What a cool buildup! I had so much fun with Fallout 3 last summer! This is great!

 

[Kroenen77]

One word:AWESOOOOOOOME!
I love Fallout 3 GOTY..what a great game..and your gun looks so good,that you can use it in a Falloutmovie.)

 

[Volpin]

I have another technical question.

Did you do the curve along the length of the barrel with a router and then finish it with a belt sander(I see a belt in the lower right) or did you do it freehand with just a belt sander?

Also, I really need to expand my mind about what I can do with my wood tools.

The rounded edge was done with a 1.5" rounded bevel bit on my router table. The small seam it left was finished off with hand-sanding. Truth be told, I've never been terribly steady with a belt sander - I always end up shaving off about 150% of what I needed to, so I only use it for really rough work.

This build was a big leap for me in a lot of ways. This was my first build I used Sintra on, and the first one where I had a lathe at my disposal as well. More of this gun was plastic than wood like my previous version was, but I still love me some MDF.

That's why I love when people post in progress shots. A lot of times they're doing stuff that makes you say "Why didn't I think of that?" It really helps.

Thats totally the reason I take so many progress shots and share them wherever I can. I spend a ton of time reading people's threads and seeing the work that everyone else does on their builds and I want to share that knowledge and maybe help out someone else on their projects. Nearly everything I know about this hobby has been gleaned from other people's work, I just want to pay it back.

Despite the Georgia snow, I managed to get a coat of silver down on the rifle barrel and stock, as well as a few other small parts this weekend. They're a little brighter than I'd liked, so I'm going to knock them down with a coat of matte clearcoat before I start weathering everything. Unfortunately, all the pics I took of the painting process were fuzzy and out of focus, so they'll have to wait a bit until I can share.

Hopefully more updates coming in the next couple days.

 

[PhoenixVader]

As popular as this is getting you should make molds of the plastic parts and sell a semi kit with some templates for the MDF.

thomas

 

[Volpin]

As popular as this is getting you should make molds of the plastic parts and sell a semi kit with some templates for the MDF.

Can't afford to, unfortunately - would cost too much in time and personal financial investment. I have about 4 other projects on the bench that I'm behind on and need to get done, so the ol' AER9 is staying a one-off. Also, I'm in the middle of molding another replica firearm for another RPF member, so all my casting rubber is already spoken for.

Other things I need to finish ASAP:

and about 5 more things coming up fast!

 

[fuelish]

Is that shotgun also made from MDF? WOW
How did you taper the barrels, lathe?

 

[Volpin]

Is that shotgun also made from MDF? WOW
How did you taper the barrels, lathe?

The shotgun is only MDF on the stock & grip. The rest is sintra, PVC and apoxie sculpt. The trigger and guard are machined aluminum, a favor from a fellow propmaking friend of mine.

The barrels were actually hand-shaped apoxie sculpt (read: sanding block and a whole lotta time) over PVC pipe. A weird way of going about the process, but it worked out very well. You can check out those build pics here if you're interested:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14455307@N07/sets/72157623024519808/

 

[fuelish]

Man, that sounds like a lot of work. I will check out the build, thanks.

 

[onrina903]

Awesome work,love it.

 

[Volpin]

This is a little too bright, but some matte clearcoat and weathering should knock it down nicely.

Support rod wasn't finished in time for the basecoat, so it didn't get paint just yet.

Weather is looking good for this weekend, so I'm hoping to get the green on the barrel, yellow on the cell & tube, clear the whole thing, then start weathering as early as Sunday.