Questions About Reinforcing/modifing a NERF N-Strike Longstrike CS-6

[Jaxxik]

Hey, so, I'm endeavoring to turn a NERF N-Strike Longstrike CS-6 into a replica of Roxy's Crockercorp Appearifier Rifle from Homestuck. I've run into a couple of issues so far.

First bit, how do I reinforce the gun from on the inside to help keep it from getting damaged, and actually able to support the PVC pipe I'm using to extend the barrel.
This is definitely my biggest issue, and I've looked up lots of NERF mods and stuff like this but none of it has really shed light on the process. Maybe there's another way I can extend the barell to make it lighter, yet still durable?

Second bit. So, I know, obviously, this gun isn't the perfect thing to build my prop off of, but it's extremely close to the actual design and I'm sure I can do something to make it work, but, I'm having a few issues with the looks. For example, the notches cut that have been cut into the barrel of the rifle in the comic re a thing I'm pretty unsure about, I was thinking multiple PVC pipes, one inside the other, but that seems as though it could work, but would do nothing to help me get the barrel lighter.
After that it's the gun itself, now the NERF gun I'm using as a base has a lot of little things on it to make the gun look more like an "authentic" gun, I suppose, but that leaves me with the issue of putting the CrockerCorp symbol (the fork symbol) on the side, as I have no idea where I would even fit it on. I had the idea to fill in areas with foam, but it seems like it wouldn't quite do the trick. Any tips for that?
My last question is about the very back of the gun where you can see (on the NERF gun) there are little places to put clips or something, I don't need those and I'm tempted to just cut them off, but I'm unsure how it would work exactly.

I apologize for the fact I have so many questions, but I'm extrememly new to prop building, and if anyone has suggestions or can help with any of the above that would be really amazing, or if you have other tips on how I can turn my NERF gun into a good looking replica of the Crockercorp Appearifier Rifle, I'd love to hear those.

Thank you guys in advance!


*Note: I've removed the barrel attachment, seeing as it won't be useful in making the gun look accurate to the comic. I've also removed the cocking mechanism from the NERF gun, seeing as how it would just get in the way.

 

[ApophisV]

First bit, how do I reinforce the gun from on the inside to help keep it from getting damaged, and actually able to support the PVC pipe I'm using to extend the barrel.
This is definitely my biggest issue, and I've looked up lots of NERF mods and stuff like this but none of it has really shed light on the process. Maybe there's another way I can extend the barell to make it lighter, yet still durable?

Do you want the gun to be still functional after the mod? In case it will be a static prop (I guess so since I imagine a nerf dart going through approx tripple the length of the original barrel won't fly that far, if it leaves the barrel at all ) I would insert a (wooden?) rod inside the barrel. It should start at the closest point to the trigger side as possible (probably somewhere beneath the jam door) and end something like a foot from the barrel's end. Painting the tip of the rod black would still get a depth impression when looking in the barrel, but add lots of support to the whole gun. That's at least what I would try to do.

Keeping at least a part of the front barrel will probably help to stabilize the whole barrel. You could try to strip off the blue hull and parts of the rail on the bottom of the barrel extention in order to blend it in. I did something quite similar to my Nerf Centurion mod, I kept the rear part of the barrel extention and it really helped stabilizing the whole barrel.

Second bit. So, I know, obviously, this gun isn't the perfect thing to build my prop off of, but it's extremely close to the actual design and I'm sure I can do something to make it work, but, I'm having a few issues with the looks. For example, the notches cut that have been cut into the barrel of the rifle in the comic re a thing I'm pretty unsure about, I was thinking multiple PVC pipes, one inside the other, but that seems as though it could work, but would do nothing to help me get the barrel lighter.

First of all, I don't think "light weight" is a realistic option considering the length of that gun and the added length of the barrel:



Therefor I'd go with a second PVC pipe that has cut outs to create the ribs of the barrel (after all, PVC doesn't weigh THAT much, so I shouldn't matter much considering the overall weight of your 2 meter rifle )

After that it's the gun itself, now the NERF gun I'm using as a base has a lot of little things on it to make the gun look more like an "authentic" gun, I suppose, but that leaves me with the issue of putting the CrockerCorp symbol (the fork symbol) on the side, as I have no idea where I would even fit it on. I had the idea to fill in areas with foam, but it seems like it wouldn't quite do the trick. Any tips for that?

Depending on how durable the prop has to be you could use putty to create a flat surface above the trigger, especially if you are going to lose the priming lever. I applied polyester putty to my Centurion and it worked out pretty good, though my rifle doesn't have to withstand any physical stress. IIRC there is some sort of primer you can apply to plastic to make putty stick better to it, but I don't recall the name of it.

My last question is about the very back of the gun where you can see (on the NERF gun) there are little places to put clips or something, I don't need those and I'm tempted to just cut them off, but I'm unsure how it would work exactly.

You can remove those clips, but cutting them will lead to small in the hull since the clips aren't solid. This spots can definitively be filled with putty since it's not likely you will get any stress on those small points. Nonetheless I would think about keeping the clips, carrying the gun with you a longer time without some strap will be pretty annoying in long terms! And you always can use snap hooks to make the strap removable if you don't like the look of it while being held in hand!

Hope that helps!