Nerf Gun Props? YES!

[DFC Props]

Hey all!

Great work everyone. Really inspiring work on this thread (and the RPF in general). I thought I'd contribute my latest prop and just want to know what people think and possibly give feedback. I've only been doing props for almost two years so I still have LOTS to learn.

Below is a Nerf Recon (I believe it's a Recon... transparent one too... correct me if I'm wrong) that I bought at the thrift store for $4. I instantly started working on it and finished it recently. Not sure what to call it, but it's definitely a flamethrower! I would say I got inspiration from Fallout/Destiny.

Here is before:

And here's after! At first I was really unhappy with the rust and weathering. I gave it a second shot, trying to fix it, and it looks better than it did before. This was before I saw some of Vim Fuego's amazing rust effects. Unfortunately the rust on this prop looks more like dirt or mud.

First time adding lights... I've never tried lights in a prop, but I want to do more. You can see it more in the dark.

I don't think the rust on the canister is half bad. I put way too much acrylic paint on it during the first pass so I took some fine grit sandpaper, and took back some of the paint. It gave it a nice texture.

Let me know what you think! What needs improvement or what is a strength?

Regards,
Prop Rocks (or Dane)

 

[Soulinertia]

Love it!

 

[PlanetAlexander]

Prop Rocks Looks great! I just finished my first Nerf gun mod and made a foam knife with rust as well. You did pretty well with yours and you got quite a few shades of the rust colour, which is good. I'm not gonna compare yours to mine (you'd have more knowledge than me anyway) but if you want feedback, I'd say try to put the rust more in the spots where water would collect (grooves, corners) and maybe use some brighter shades to contrast the black base, making it stand out. Again, brilliant work, you clearly put a lot of thought and time into it.

 

[DFC Props]

Love it!

Thanks!

Prop Rocks Looks great! I just finished my first Nerf gun mod and made a foam knife with rust as well. You did pretty well with yours and you got quite a few shades of the rust colour, which is good. I'm not gonna compare yours to mine (you'd have more knowledge than me anyway) but if you want feedback, I'd say try to put the rust more in the spots where water would collect (grooves, corners) and maybe use some brighter shades to contrast the black base, making it stand out. Again, brilliant work, you clearly put a lot of thought and time into it.

Appreciate the kind words! That's a good point... I wasn't really thinking about the placement of the rust, which is really important to making it feel more believable. Bright shades on the black sections would be good... it kinda looks like dirt or mud instead of rust. Next time I'm going to add a texture which should help.

 

[Vim Fuego]

Prop Rocks - Nothing wrong with your rust - I think it looks really good! as PlanetAlexander says, corners and grooves... A thinned rust wash, same as a black/brown weathering wash, will give you the desired effect, and also highlights the areas where rust would realistically start to form.

Great work - looking forward to seeing more

 

[PlanetAlexander]

Don't want to knock Prop Rocks out of the spotlight, but here is the Nerf gun mod I was talking about. It's my first gun mod and first time dealing with the rust effect, so I was probably a bit of a hipocrite (just giving advice based on what I learnt for mine to do in the future).

The knife can be attached bayonet style with the bandage. I'm hoping to soon do a small wasteland photoshoot which I will upload to my Instagram.

 

[DFC Props]

Prop Rocks - Nothing wrong with your rust - I think it looks really good! as PlanetAlexander says, corners and grooves... A thinned rust wash, same as a black/brown weathering wash, will give you the desired effect, and also highlights the areas where rust would realistically start to form.

Great work - looking forward to seeing more

Yes, corners and grooves... I will remember that next time. Thanks. I might post some more projects soon. You've done some really nice paint jobs on your projects. Very inspirational.

Don't want to knock Prop Rocks out of the spotlight, but here is the Nerf gun mod I was talking about. It's my first gun mod and first time dealing with the rust effect, so I was probably a bit of a hipocrite (just giving advice based on what I learnt for mine to do in the future).
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The knife can be attached bayonet style with the bandage. I'm hoping to soon do a small wasteland photoshoot which I will upload to my Instagram.

No worries... we're all sharing our work here. I think the subtlety of your rust compliments the paint job. Nice job and I like the bayonet. I'll have to check out that photoshoot once you upload it.

 

[tmax]

As a big fan of the District 9 weapons I thought it would be cool to make a D9 style pistol to go with my AR & SMG

The Rival Kronos was the perfect base for this...

So after numerous hours modding and painting...

Pretty stoked with how it turned out. Might even offer a couple of these for sale.

 

[DFC Props]

As a big fan of the District 9 weapons I thought it would be cool to make a D9 style pistol to go with my AR & SMG

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The Rival Kronos was the perfect base for this...

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So after numerous hours modding and painting...

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Pretty stoked with how it turned out. Might even offer a couple of these for sale.

Wow! Looks amazing. I've been thinking about getting that Nerf Gun because of the aesthetics, but also the price. Can't beat $15 or so.
I appreciate your attention to detail with the paint and stencils. Stencils look awesome. Did you 3D print the small tubes on each side, or are those resin copies? Also, is it still functional?

 

[tmax]

Wow! Looks amazing. I've been thinking about getting that Nerf Gun because of the aesthetics, but also the price. Can't beat $15 or so.
I appreciate your attention to detail with the paint and stencils. Stencils look awesome. Did you 3D print the small tubes on each side, or are those resin copies? Also, is it still functional?

Thanks mate. Yeah it's a great blaster and a fun mod. Decals were some slightly under-sized prototypes from Soulinertia from our SMG run. Tubes are empty metal gas tubes (from blowback bb guns) which give the thing good weight. Win/win.

 

[DFC Props]

Thanks mate. Yeah it's a great blaster and a fun mod. Decals were some slightly under-sized prototypes from Soulinertia from our SMG run. Tubes are empty metal gas tubes (from blowback bb guns) which give the thing good weight. Win/win.

Real metal tubes? That's a nice touch and weight always gives it realism. Nice job.

 

[DesertDan]

So much inspiration in this thread, fantastic!

 

[tmax]

Real metal tubes? That's a nice touch and weight always gives it realism. Nice job.

Yeah I like props with weight. Sorry forgot to answer functionality... no, it lost the ability to slide, plus I covered the loading panel. But the trigger still works which is a nice bonus.

Looks good with it's buddies too...

 

[tmax]

Not a Nerf, but custom painted vintage 70's toy ray gun...

 

[DFC Props]

Not a Nerf, but custom painted vintage 70's toy ray gun...

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Nice. Sometimes a simple repaint can be pretty fun.

 

[Noeland]

Tmax, bravo on getting those Co2 cartridges PERFECTLY placed. That had to be a paint in the butt.

Great work overall on that pistol.

 

[tmax]

Tmax, bravo on getting those Co2 cartridges PERFECTLY placed. That had to be a paint in the butt.

Great work overall on that pistol.

Dunno about PERFECT... Lol. But thanks for the compliments.

 

[Vim Fuego]

I'm knee-deep into a Hyperfire mod at the moment, but it's slow going... I needed to do something quick and fun in the interim, and so I present:

The Nitefinder Oxidizer.

The Fallout look was not a conscious decision - it just came out that way due to the colour choice.

The corrosion is a bit different to my usual technique in that I didn't do a rust base - I was going for an oxidized aluminium appearance, so the rock salt went on over the top of the stainless steel base and then coated with a light dusting of white, more salt, then the blue on top of that.

...and it has a party trick! Before I rinsed the salt away, I added one more layer of paint - Rustoleum's glow-in-the-dark enamel spray. Interestingly, it's semi transparent with a very slight greenish tinge to it, so it doesn't affect the colour underneath at all really. And it has the added bonus of acting like a clear-coat, protecting the paint underneath - neato!

So in true Fallout style, it's irradiated too - experimentation bonus FTW!

 

[PlanetAlexander]

Sweet! Brilliant job with the salt weathering, can't wait to try something like that myself. The glow-in-the-dark appearence is freaky as well.

 

[DFC Props]

Merry Christmas to all!

Thought I'd share a quick WIP. Just one picture. I'm using probably the most recognizable Nerf gun... the Maverick. Most recognizable in my opinion since it's almost impossible to make it look like anything else other than the Maverick. I've been trying to use more wood and styrene and I think it's not half bad for the first time, however, I'm having trouble trying to to blend the transition from the Nerf gun to what I've created from scratch. Got any tips? I'm just gonna go with the flow and work something out.