Making a Gun Prop for Cheap?

[peanutsfan1995]

Hey

A friend and I are working on a science fiction film right now. Unfortunately, being freshmen in high school, we're new to the construction of props. We were wondering if you guys would be able to help us. We're hoping to construct three prop submachine guns. However, we have a relatively small budget of around $50. Pitiful, I know. So, we were hoping that you guys could fill us in on some basic methods of making these weapons.

I did do a sketch of the basic idea of what the gun should look like. Hopefully, the attachment will work. And I apologize for the horrible drawing quality and crudeness. But, come on. Cut me some slack. Haha.

So, I'd just like to say thanks in advance for all of the help.

 

[Anomaly]

with that budget, the best thing you could do, is find a toy that resembles your weapon closely, and use that as a base.

Add what you need to personalise it, then repaint and weather it.

 

[AlHazred]

I recommend Dollar Stores and Salvation Army. Dollar Stores have insanely crappy gun toys that might look okay with a coat of primer and some detailing. Salvation Army typically gets Nerf guns right now (after Christmas, when people get rid of stuff they got they don't want) and those can usually function properly with a repainting job. Farscape ended up using water guns repainted for several of their gun props, and they had a much higher budget!

I was Props Master for my college's Dramatic Society. Good luck!

 

[propalooza]

agreed, find a nerf gun, or maybe a cheap pellet gun and customize it, I'd suggest MDF for the hand grip that has to be added, if you can't find one that already has the grip, and some PVC pipe for the muzzle area, just drill some holes in it. Paint it a gun metal color and hit it with some highlight colors.

 

[peanutsfan1995]

Alright. Do you guys have any specific NERF models or pellet guns in mind?

 

[Mxlplx]

I would suggest you start with some dollar store toy guns and some black spray paint. Add some hardware store doo dads and have a blast with your build. Look at some of the nerf gun repaints, or the super soaker threads here. A lot of talent with cheap materials has gone a long way. Best of luck.

 

[Aestivalis]

A few years ago, I made a bunch of PVC props just to see what I could accomplish. I just uploaded most of the pics to my Photobucket album here;

http://s33.photobucket.com/albums/d70/aestivalis_in_irvine/PVC Props/

Maybe some of these will inspire you. Don't ask for parts lists - I really don't remember (a lot of time was spent in the PVC aisle of a big home store looking lika a crazy person with the parts all aligned on the floor trying to figure out the right combinations...).

 

[lonepigeon]

agreed, find a nerf gun, or maybe a cheap pellet gun and customize it, I'd suggest MDF for the hand grip that has to be added, if you can't find one that already has the grip, and some PVC pipe for the muzzle area, just drill some holes in it. Paint it a gun metal color and hit it with some highlight colors.

What you've basically drawn there is a tommy gun.
Search "toy tommy gun" on eBay and you'll find some options.
One seller has 20-inch long plastic guns with front handgrips as you've drawn 2 for $20 buy-it-now. Normally, I wouldn't post such specific info for an auction but they have a bunch available. They're not limited.

The same cheap tommy guns could probably be found in stores too. Try dollar stores.

 

[Delmustator]

I was going to say that there are some options on eBay.

Or you can go to airsoftgi.com and pickup a non-working SCAR Movie Prop gun for $25 each.

http://www.airsoftgi.com/product_info.php?cPath=29_64&products_id=4584

 

[Averjoe]

If you want them to all be the same I would say PVC with MDF for the handles and mags would be the way to go. Check out some of the tutorials at The Blaster Builders Club and you might want to check out some of Blind Squirrels stuff here since he does a lot of projects using MDF.

 

[AlHazred]

See, I see the limiter as the budget -- as everyone recognizes, $50 is insanely cheap and basically leaves you with limited options.

• The Dollar Store may be worth exploring not only for the toy guns, but also other parts. Check out the Dollar Store lightsaber contest entries that hit this board a short while back; they were very inspiring material, and most came in at a fairly low budget.
• Salvation Army sometimes has ridiculously low priced gun toys after Christmas.
• Wood shop. One thing school productions usually have available is a plethora of wood from previous productions. With access to a woodshop and paint, you can make serviceable background pieces.

Try looking for cheap water guns and Nerf knock-offs like Buzz Bee. They're usually cheaper and work just fine for appearances. Try to find the Automatic Tommy 20.

 

[g05ty]

anything can be done on the cheap if you think about it and are prepared to do a bit of searching around (or wombling as i call it, do a search for "womble" if you dont understand that)... this was made for around £12 not sure what that is in dollars but its not much im sure.
The £12 includes paint,primer and glues it isnt finished yet but should be soon when its a bit warmer for the paint.

 

[Robot Monster]

Found objects are your friend.

 

[fuelish]

Think cheap. To show how cheap(and quick) I knocked this off from a scrap of shelf board, some 1/4 round , cardboard, black spray paint, silver marker, and masking tape. I used a band saw but you could use a coping saw(cheap). No other tools were used. I spent 15 minutes(also after a couple of beers) The paint was still wet when I took the photos(at 11:15)

Not good for closeups, but great for "guy holding gun". With an hour(or two) of work they could look real.

 

[Averjoe]

Fuelish may have the right idea. If you don't need the props to be super-sturdy you could likely make them out of cardboard tubes and card stock, most of which you could get from a dollar store. A little bit of paint and some good weathering and they should do fine for everything but extreme close-ups.