River Song alpha meson nerf blaster

[JesperW]

Hello The RPF -

OK, so I'm in the midst of my first actual attempt at a prop build - specifically (as the astute reader of post titles will no doubt have discerned already) River Song's "alpha meson blaster".
Yes, this is also with, and for, my whovian daughter, who wants it for a River Song costume she'll be wearing at next year's "Fastelavn", a danish equivalent to Halloween.

Like the original, ours, too, is based on a Nerf gun - we've elected to use a Nitefinder as the basis because we happened to have one of those already.



We then started taking a hacksaw to it:



No, we didn't cut off the rear loading handle (the gun is disassembled at this point, for easier cutting) - you see, the kid wants it to be functional so she can go around nerfing her friends. This turns out to tie in well with the fact that the blaster has a slightly larger muzzle diameter than the Nitefinder - I found a bit of PVC plumbing that fits perfectly, and this oversize muzzle will now hide the tell-tale business end of the nerf dart, which both makes the gun look a bit cooler loaded, and helps her get the drop on those friends of hers.



Then we cut some more...:



- and sanded the "badge" down; we're going to put a shroud on the upper body and the badges made it have to be too wide.

After cutting off the bit in front of the trigger guard, to get more of that curve of the original gun, I realized I had to tinker with the innards a little; the "laser sight" turned out to be housed in that bit so I had to turn the tiny circuit board holding the LED sideways, and extend the internal housing with a slice of nerf:



It still works, though, as you can see - also, note the "hidden" nerf in the barrel.

So far, so good - we're just about done destroying things, and begin building the gun up to look right... hope to post some pics of that soon.

 

[foldart]

Nice work! (As is your TARDIS.) I have something like this on my "to do" list.

Here's my quick-and-dirty adaptation of a Sidestrike:

 

[JesperW]

No, we haven't given up, or forgotten to update - a few more pics from the build process, perhaps demonstrating just how haphazzardly we're going about this.
The receiver shroud, which is PVC, is getting its curved top, carved from a piece of wood, glued on.

Meanwhile, the weaponlight bit has been rounded off, and the gaps sealed with wads of plumber's epoxy. This will then be sanded down to shape.



- and here, we see the young lady hard at work at the kitchen table...



Hopefully we'll be ready for final assembly and paint soon - the deadline for when it is to be used looms only a few weeks away.

 

[JesperW]

Just a quick shot - I popsicle'd the receiver shroud with some PU foam and then spackled and sanded it - at this point it's had a coat of primer and it's ready for affixing to the gun body...



The deadline is monday next or thereabouts, so we're probably going to have to cut some detail corners, like greeblies and even decals. Oh well, next time.

 

[foldart]

Yes! Nicely done. It looks like the shroud is built on two lengths of PVC "L". I may have to steal that idea!

For mine, I printed text on "clear" (semi-clear) adhesive-back shipping label.

 

[JesperW]

Yes! Nicely done. It looks like the shroud is built on two lengths of PVC "L".

Yup, that's exactly what we did, nicely spotted! That's a good idea for the decals, if we have time to make them (or, you know, for doing it later).

Oh yeah, and I never said: The "panels" on the receiver are made from paper clay, of all things; i rolled out some sheets a few millimeters thick, dried them between two sheets of plywood to prevent them from warping, then cut them with a hacksaw blade. It's actually a very nice material, lightweight and sturdy, cuts and sands really well - I wish you could buy it in sheets.

I've now de-popsicle'd the shroud and glued it on - then, I skooshed some expanding PU foam under it to fill out the gaps (regular insulation stuff, like you get at Home Depot I guess), let it set, and started carving:



There's still some slight dings and nicks etc. which I'm probably not going to spackle; the blaster has a bit of a beat-up look to it that I like so we're going with that for ours, too.
I like the weathered look on your Sidestrike, Foldart, how did you accomplish it?

 

[foldart]

like the weathered look on your Sidestrike, Foldart, how did you accomplish it?

Here's a second version based on a Firestrike, which I like better:



Grunge in crevices is an acrylic wash -- Testor's FX "Driftwood", I think. (Maybe I darkened it; I forget.) Brush a stripe of wash in the valley, then wipe off excess. Edge wear is thinned Testor's silver enamel, wiped on with a nearly-dry paper towel . . . like dry-brush technique. Surface crud is thinned flat gray or flat black enamel, also applied with a nearly-dry paper towel -- just enough to smudge the surface. I don't really have a standard process, as I have been doing this for only a short time. I hope that helps.

 

[JesperW]

Yay, we're done! - well, no, we're not, and when is one ever really done with a prop replica...?
Anyway, the deadline is reached and we managed to get a piece of this project that the kid's proud, both to have helped build and to be wearing on monday's "fastelavn".

Following the previous state I carved away the foam and started spackling/filling, sanding, and repeat - then I hit the whole thing with a white high-particulate primer, and spackled some more, with a finer filler this time...



- and then I painted it with 5-6 layers of high-gloss spray paint, just basic white (RAL 9010).

Finally, we did a double-header this afternoon, and while I did weathering and decorations, using some watercolor paints, a bit of coffee (yes, really - thank you, Adam Savage!), a silver marker and a black sharpie, as well as cellotape, an xacto and my fingers...



- she set to work on the holster. We did not try to match anything River wore on-screen, but rather did our own custom holster, shaped to hold the gun as comfortably and snugly as possible:



Finally, we added a belt loop and thigh lace (oh, and I cut away a bit over the trigger well for a better draw) and gave it a coating of leather grease, significantly improving the color and look - and presto, she's ready to rock:



Hope you like it - we're quite happy with our first real prop project!

 

[foldart]

Congratulations! A creditable first piece, and evidently your daughter likes it . . . critically important! I admire your inventive technique.