I am new to prop and costume making. Most of my stuff is for costumes from anime or original designs. I was wondering the best way to make a prop gun. Is it okay to use wood and other materials and cover it with styrene for the prototype? Eventually i'd like to make molds of my original designs.
noob question
- Thread starter Wes R
- Start date
Prince NEO
Sr Member
Well it really depends on the gun, For some, using foam board it good, others pvc pipe, what gun are you looking to make, provided it's not Ebony and Ivory from DMC, I can probably help you out.
(Ebony & Ivory are the two things that I just can't get my hands on! Tried wood, failed, tried modding colt airsoft, failed, tried using foam, failed, pep, fail, etc, etc.)
(Ebony & Ivory are the two things that I just can't get my hands on! Tried wood, failed, tried modding colt airsoft, failed, tried using foam, failed, pep, fail, etc, etc.)
Mostly its original ideas. One is a gun for the character Mihoshi from Tenchi Muyo for a friend who cosplays her. I'd love to have a cnc machine and just mill the things out of blocks of material lol. maybe eventually. I'm gonna look into kits on here now and then but sadly alot are way out of my price range considering what i have to live on a month. (no Aliens Pulse Rifle for me).
Prince NEO
Sr Member
I know what you mean, and for that I would use wood or a block of foam if not some kind of sculpting material. As for original ideas, I would go with the same thing if you have the picture in your mind, it shouldn't be too hard, if you have any doubts though, you can always show me a picture and I'll give you my 2 cents
My mom works at lowe's so i can get stuff at a discount lol. I got 6' of pine board for 6.00 since all the wood we have here is pretty crappy even for this. I figured i'd make the master, cover it in styrene and go from there. I'm adding touches as its a rather boring gun.
Prince NEO
Sr Member
Good choice, sounds good, make sure to post a WIP and let me know where it is if I don't catch it, I can't wait to see what you come up with.
Prince NEO
Sr Member
Haha, sounds good, I have tool swaps instead since I don't have much money anymore, I have a belt sander, my friend has a dremel, we meet up for a day and use each others tools. If you know someone like that, it's an easy way to save money. (Hey, just wondering since you said you make anime costumes, can you make dog tags?)
I don't even have a belt sander. half our power tools are older than i am and since they don't get used much they don't get replaced. My dad does crafts so dremels and sanders are the most used, the bandsaw when it isn't breaking blades. I don't have the setup for dog tags, I ordered my ex gf's set online and it was just the basic tag info. Now that you mention it i need a set for my costume.
Prince NEO
Sr Member
Glad to remind you, and good luck then, you never know, I became a close family friend of some people I met a few months ago, and it turned out that they worked in dry way, and their father wanted me to use his tools for all my wood working needs. Also, if you have a Stage Craft drama class, they tend to have tools you can use.
