First time maker, help starting portal gun?

[Revilo62]

Ok so I really want a replica Portal gun for PAX Prime because I think that would be awesome to have. I looked online for them and found Volpin's work on his portal gun (Volpin Props: Portal Gun), I just found it extremely amazing and have been wanting to get into making costume replicas and props from video games and thought why not start trying to make something similar to this?

So I got the general idea of how to make this thing. But I'm only in High school so I have no tools really, so I need to know what I need to go buy, or borrow to try making something like this.

So could any of you help me start a list of stuff to buy and maybe some advice on how I could get started on this? I know since this is my first replica ever made it's not going to be even near as good as Volpin's but why not try?

I know I'll need Styrofoam, a dremel, some glue (Dunno what kind), some sort of resin maybe to make the Styrofoam harder and smooth, sand paper, soldering iron if I want the fancy lighting he did and then like PVC pipe for the body.

So where and what should I use for the clear piping stuff in the center? The tubes connecting to the arms? The arms themselves? The grate in the front? The board that controls the LEDs?

Sorry that I'm such a noob in this stuff, just thought that would be a good place to get right into the scene of replica stuff.
Kind of intimidating looking at how skilled some of you are on here when I know how to do nothing.

Well thanks for any help, and sorry for such a long boring post.

 

[jeremiahjw]

I'll be a "how to" video on making a Portal gun that mentions things that Volpin did.

 

[Revilo62]

Sorry don't really understand what you are saying.... Are you saying you're going to make a how to on how to make it?

 

[jeremiahjw]

Yes, I will be doing that.

 

[Revilo62]

Awesome. When do you think you'll be doing that?

 

[jeremiahjw]

Hopefully in the next month.

 

[Revilo62]

Awesome, just in time for summer.

 

[RedEyeJack]

Hopefully in the next month.

I'm super-excited at the prospect of this tutorial! I love watching and dissecting other people's processes... it's fascinating and helps me learn

I have plans to eventually make my own Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device as well, but I'm a complete n00b at this whole "making" thing. I'm starting with something niiiice and symmetrical first... like a Companion/Storage Cube...

 

[Revilo62]

I feel like a Companion cube would be harder because it'd be so big. You would need a lot of Styrofoam. That does sound fun though, maybe i'll attempt making one of those also.

High five for noobs! YEAH! haha

 

[RedEyeJack]

The companion cube is definitely not going to be a cakewalk, but I'm hoping it'll help my brain get accustomed to thinking in 3D xD There will definitely be much swearing...

As far as the portal gun goes, Volpin posted a link elsewhere on the forums to the Flickr account of a dude by the name of Belbor. He's working (or has worked? it might be completed...) on his own replica, and has some awesome pictures up:

Portal stuff - a set on Flickr

And... BLUEPRINTS!

Portal Gun Drawing | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[jeremiahjw]

I have plans to eventually make my own Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device as well, but I'm a complete n00b at this whole "making" thing. I'm starting with something niiiice and symmetrical first... like a Companion/Storage Cube...

I'm a complete n00b when it comes to prop making, never made a prop in my life until the Portal gun. I do want to try something easier as my 2nd prop, as I was pressed for time and money on my Portal gun. It's actually fairly easy, just takes time and patience.

Belbor just has the blueprints BTW.

 

[EZBSVS]

Hey, I made my own Portal Gun based off of Volpin's model. It was one of my earlier props, but even with a full machine shop it took me a good couple months to do. Yes you will need styrofoam, but Polyester resin (the most common sort you'll find at your regular hardware or auto store) will melt your foam parts faster than you can cry about it. So keep that in mind. For mine I used Bondo over the styrofoam, then fiberglass resin to add durability.

Overall I think your biggest asset in this project is to learn how to bondo and invest in sand paper.

Also, just as a tidbit, The main barrel of Volpin's is PVC. 3" within a 4" pipe, with 4" unions for the rear part under the shell. For the clear acrylic tubes, Petro Packaging, Plastic Tubing, Custom Extrusions, Extruded Tubes is a decent place to look around. The grate in the front barrel is off a paper spool. Go talk to a print shop, they might have some lying around.

There are a billion other suggestions I could make, but I'm sure Volpin would stumble through here and be offended that I'm giving away his secrets. So go read his blog, there is a lot of great stuff between the two posts for his V1 and V2 Portal Guns.

Good luck kiddo!

 

[jeremiahjw]

Bondo, sandpaper, and apoxie sculpt. Get a sanding block, it makes things a lot easier.

 

[EZBSVS]

^----- What he said.

 

[jeremiahjw]

When you start out you will have a very bumpy surface, and it might seem like it's impossible to get smooth, but with enough time it will be smooth. I went from a rock-like surface to something "perfectly" smooth. Use 80 grit to break everything down, 150-300 for more smoothing, and a 2000 wet sand for the final smoothing.

When you paint the objects you want to stand further back and cover it with a cloud of spray paint. I messed up the paint job on mine because I was too close, it could have been fixed, but I would have to stand everything off and start over (messed it up as far as smoothness).

You will want to alternate the colors of the primer, and make sure it's not the same color as your sculpt or bondo.

 

[JBomm]

I'm super-excited at the prospect of this tutorial! I love watching and dissecting other people's processes... it's fascinating and helps me learn

I have plans to eventually make my own Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device as well, but I'm a complete n00b at this whole "making" thing. I'm starting with something niiiice and symmetrical first... like a Companion/Storage Cube...

I feel like a Companion cube would be harder because it'd be so big. You would need a lot of Styrofoam. That does sound fun though, maybe i'll attempt making one of those also.

High five for noobs! YEAH! haha

Not to Derail, but I'm working on a companion cube right now..and have been for a while :unsure It's not that it's difficult. My method is just very time consuming. But the point I wanted to make is If you make the Cube full size, from the measurements others have come up with, It won't fit through a standard door. My cube is going to be about 30x30x30 when it's all done.

 

[bevbor]

Hi,
Now I made papercraft template for that thingy.
If you are interested, go THERE

 

[Volpin]

There are a billion other suggestions I could make, but I'm sure Volpin would stumble through here and be offended that I'm giving away his secrets. So go read his blog, there is a lot of great stuff between the two posts for his V1 and V2 Portal Guns.

No secrets, I wouldn't post my write-ups if I didn't want people to emulate and learn from them. I get a kick out of seeing people use techniques of mine. Steal away.

If you're interested in my "plans" for the Portal Gun, you can download them here.

This .zip file has everything you need from research images to wireframes, schematics and hundreds of build images of my own gun (the V1 model)

The electronics are simple enough, and if you're familiar with wiring diagrams there's a PDF which shows how my gun is wired. There are some blank spots - this was never really intended as an instruction guide, but just my own research, materials, and process images of my build. That being said, it is fairly comprehensive. You can check out my build process detailing the production of my V1 and V2 guns here and here.

 

[Revilo62]

Decided I wanted to make a replica a little easier than a portal gun for my first, so I did a pokeball. Seriously how do I get this thing smooth? I used a Styrofoam ball and bondo and it just wont get smooth. I keep having like deep craters. Also my painting sucks but I just read how to make that better (Farther away) How many layers of bondo is supposed to be used? And how do I get rid of all these little tiny craters I think caused by holes in the Styrofoam.