Retro Ray Gun WIP

[Plastic Cactus]

Hey Guys
I'm new to the RPF, but I figured this is the best place to ask for some advice.
I was so inspired by Dr. Grordborts rayguns at Weta and several other victorian style ray guns elsewhere online (I especially liked Darth Sabers interpretation which can be found here-->http://www.therpf.com/f9/retro-steampunk-raygun-project-wip-32781/) that I decided to make my own.

I'm already several steps into it, as you can (hopefully) tell by the attached pictures. But theres a ton of stuff that I feel is "missing" from the gun. It hasn't reached its full potential if you know what I mean.

Currently, my major concern is the handle. As the body of this raygun is an old drill, I don't want to use the handle of the drill as the handle of the raygun. It makes the finished project look too drill-y.
The idea that I've been tossing around is to cut open the handle a bit to make that back hollow part in the 4th and 5th pictures visible. Then i would put some kind of fuel cell or something in there. (I'll show you what I mean if anyone's interested)
I REALLY want to make the handle out of wood and then stain it to give it that victorian metal-on-wood vibe. but I don't really have a good way of attaching it.

As you can see, I've reached a...builder's block of sorts. so any suggestions or comments would really help out.

More updates later, pending any potential breakthroughs.

-Plastic

 

[Lurksmith]

Cool start. I joined the RPF because of rayguns (my entry was the HSIBJ Enzymatic Arbalest). Drills are highly recognizable so you’ll have to do something odd to set it apart from the standard steampunk retrofit. Since you are scrapping the existing handle anyway, I suggest flipping the body so that the “barrel” section is at the bottom of the mass. That will help confuse people’s pattern recognition. Plus I like that you’d be looking across this main body “bulge” to fire it, essentially bathing your face in radiation. Good for the humors you know.

If you rotate the body, I picture a shotgun-style pistol grip as somehow suitable. How to attach that… Depends on how it’s held. Seems like something this bulky should be a little longer to accommodate a two-hand carry. Maybe the shotgun grip centered in the back, so that your hand is inline with the barrel, and the wood curves to cradle the drill but also act as a forward grip. Like this:

Add greeblies to spice it up. But please, no functionless gears. Those bug the hell out of me.

 

[Cameron]

Nice! The label is a great touch!

 

[Plastic Cactus]

Thanks guys.
Lurksmith, that gun looks amazing. Did you actually make it? or was it some sort of submission contest?? I wasn't aware that you could modify Dr. Grordbort's guns. I guess I'll have to look into that further...
and as far as flipping the gun...sadly, I can't do that. The dangers of using super glue and JB Weld. *sigh* It would've been awesome though. More unique, at least, than a traditional drill-turned-raygun.
I like the idea of a shotgun/underslung grip though. because what I have so far is decently heavy...maybe 10-12 pounds, quite the feat to aim properly with one hand.
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As far as updates go, I painted and cut the handle making it the definitive back of the gun. So i'll have to add a sight and more greeblies to that area. Now if you look at the second picture (ignore the ****ty MS Paint quality) you can better understand what i plan to do. I'm going to cut open that part to expose the innards (which you can see in pictures 4-5 in the first post). then i'll put some sorta tube in there to simulate a fusion reactor perhaps??
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Anyway, thanks for the comments guys. The biggest trial is yet ahead as shaping a handle (be it a shotgun or regular pistol grip) will be most difficult, considering my lack of woodworking tools. Updates ahead.

-Plastic

 

[Lurksmith]

The contest was the RPF partnering with Weta to modify their plastic Righteous Bison raygun. Weta offered an unpainted version for half price, which was essentially the cost of entry, and everyone attacked it in different ways. Mine was 95% heavily modified found parts. A few more pics here, along with some of the found items here.


Definitely think about a forward grip of some kind, even if you're just going to display it. It's the one thing I'd change about mine to make it look more usable. I know what you mean about the difficulty of changing designs midstream, because there's a desperate scafolding inside my gun that can only be removed in a certain order. To change the front I'd have to start disassembly from the rear, and I'm not convinced it would survive. At a top-heavy 15 pounds and three feet long, mine is pretty much display only.

 

[Plastic Cactus]

Hey everyone,

I know its been a while since my last update, and maybe some of you will be thinking that this vast amount of time will be reflected in my work. Sadly, this is not the case. For the past couple of months I've been away at college and didn't have the resources, time, or the gun itself to work on.
Thankfully, I've been back for a couple of days and i've really been able focus all of my efforts on adding to it.
I have finalized the "barrel" portion of the gun, taking out the clunky first couple of heatsinks and adding the top part of a brass candle-holder. It makes it look like the barrel flows smoothly from the body of the gun, which is a nice effect.
I've also added a polyeurethane tube to the end of the barrel to function as some kind of conduction chamber or whatever you would prefer to imagine. Then I spraypainted the barrel one uniform color because it looked too thrown-together out of multiple little pieces. I wanted it to look like one solid piece of construction instead of various odds-and-ends found at a hardware store (which is what it really is).
For the body, I went through with the plan to expose the back part and I put in one of those green leveling tubes to look like some kind of uranium fuel cell.
I STILL DON'T HAVE A HANDLE. which is a damn shame in my opinion. I'll be shopping around local antique stores in the next couple of weeks. I'm gonna keep my eyes open for interesting-looking table legs, door/drawer handles, candelabras, and other things of that nature which would function as a cool-handle.
As of now, I can't upload any pictures because the stupid Mac that I am currently forced to use does not accept Nikon cameras for whatever reason. So, at this point, you'll have to rely on the power of imagination. Once I am able to get some pictures on here, I'd really appreciate some feedback. Because although I will admit my raygun looks pretty good, It still needs more thinga-ma-bobs and flashy lights and bits to go on it and I don't really know how to proceed.
ttyl <3

-Plastic

 

[Plastic Cactus]

Picture Update!

I was able to figure out how to import images onto this stupid computer using Mac's iPhoto feature. So here are a couple of pictures which showcase the updated technology I've been working on.
I really like how the barrel turned out. and I was considering attaching some wires or pipes along the length of the barrel to make it look like power is being fed into the polyeurathane bulb on the end.
Please let me know what you think! I could really use some advice as to how to proceed. Any tips on adding greeblies and odds-and-ends?? Updates ahead!

-Plastic

 

[Plastic Cactus]

Hi all,

I haven't been on here in a while so I figured I would post an update for anyone who is still interested.
Sadly, the majority of my efforts have been focused on a truly terrible summer job at a warehouse and I haven't really put that much time into the raygun.
I still did find time to add some rivets around the body and i added some of the wires i was talking about earlier. But that basically is it. I still need more greeblies and wires and stuff for the other side and obviously the piece-de-resistance will be the handle.

But, I just thought I would post to show that both myself and this project have not died. As always, any commentary at all is much appreciated.

-Plastic