DM1940k
New Member
Howdy folks! This is my first post here, but I've been building props for a while now.
A few friends and I have played Team Fortress 2 a lot over the last couple of years and I've found a special place in my builds for the Winger. It's not the most effective pistol in the game, but it's great for finishing off fleeing foes and I'm happy to sacrifice some ammo for bigger hops. Plus it looks sweet with those little wings. I started the pre-build process about a month ago, building a set of blueprints in Inkscape.
I sketched up a couple other angles with the help of the 3D viewer on the TF2 wiki, and used some in game shots for reference as well. I didn't need every angle since it's a fairly simple design, the blueprint was really just to help me plan out various sections and have a base to work from. The first step was cutting out the core from 1/2" MDF and slapping two pieces together to get the basic shape. It was done using a jigsaw so there is a little bit of variation between the two halves, but it was plenty close enough to finish by hand.
The day I started to build out from the core I'd forgotten my 1/8" MDF at my apartment and I opted to use craft foam instead. Oh boy was that a bad decision. The foam flexed and compressed under the styrene I used for detailing, which caused a fair amount of cracking in the paint and Bondo I used later on. It worked out in the end but caused a few headaches and added a few extra hours. So, the details were built up using the foam and styrene sheeting. I used a rasp, files, a Dremel, and sandpaper to shape the body.
The holes in the frame marked where the bolt details would eventually go and worked as handy guides for aligning the various layers. All of the styrene to this point was pretty clearly cut by hand, which was fine since a lot of shaping was needed and any excess or variation would be cleaned up. Once I'd roughed out the body I spent quite a bit of time filling, shaping, and sanding using Bondo and Apoxy Sculpt. This is where the decision to use what I had instead of waiting until I had the right material really came back to bite me. The foam compressed, causing the Bondo and primer to crack and break off. It would also compress during sanding which lead to some areas having raised points. After a lot of work filling over or replacing the foam (usually in corners or other pressure points) it eventually turned out fine.
I added a barrel using PVC, and continued to fill and sand to get a smooth finish. The trigger, magazine, back plate, and front sight were made using Apoxy Sculpt. More filling, priming and sanding commenced.
The bolt heads were made from resin using a little tiny mold. Seriously, it's like the size of a starburst. I used a laser cutter for the wings and the grip details so they would be identical. A little more filling, a little more sanding, and a final coat of primer got me here. It's not perfect but I'm real proud of it and it feels solid and smooth.
I spent the next two days treating it like a newborn baby so as not to potentially crack any more Bondo. It was a huge weight off when I was able to get it in to a mold. I started by embedding it in plasticene, then I built a box around it and brushed on a layer of Rebound 25 to get a sharp, elastic inner layer devoid of bubbles. Then it was backed with some locally sourced silicone rubber. The next day pulled off the backing, removed the clay and had this.
I hit it with a ton of release agent since I'd forgotten that step on a recent mold, then repeated the process. After a mini heart attack caused by some sticking, I had a mold I couldn't have been more happy with. It fit together, it came apart, it was everything I could ever want. I took a test pull with some resin and my only complaint was the resin itself. It bubbled too much, leaving a fair amount of work to clean up.
Another casting using Smoothcast 300 came out much better. The only thing I wish I had was a pressure pot as some of the small details ended up with tiny bubbles sticking to them despite my best efforts. A little spotting putty fixes that though. All I have left to do is actually paint the thing. To use my final allotted photo, here's a screenshot from the game Real Life 2
Such detail, so lifelike.
I've got a number of raw casts done already, and I'm going to make at least a couple of painted ones. If anyone is interested just let me know, they'll also be listed on my website and Etsy (#heycheckoutmyetsy). I'll update with more photos once I have a completely finished, painted one. Any comments and critiques are very welcome.
A few friends and I have played Team Fortress 2 a lot over the last couple of years and I've found a special place in my builds for the Winger. It's not the most effective pistol in the game, but it's great for finishing off fleeing foes and I'm happy to sacrifice some ammo for bigger hops. Plus it looks sweet with those little wings. I started the pre-build process about a month ago, building a set of blueprints in Inkscape.
I sketched up a couple other angles with the help of the 3D viewer on the TF2 wiki, and used some in game shots for reference as well. I didn't need every angle since it's a fairly simple design, the blueprint was really just to help me plan out various sections and have a base to work from. The first step was cutting out the core from 1/2" MDF and slapping two pieces together to get the basic shape. It was done using a jigsaw so there is a little bit of variation between the two halves, but it was plenty close enough to finish by hand.
The day I started to build out from the core I'd forgotten my 1/8" MDF at my apartment and I opted to use craft foam instead. Oh boy was that a bad decision. The foam flexed and compressed under the styrene I used for detailing, which caused a fair amount of cracking in the paint and Bondo I used later on. It worked out in the end but caused a few headaches and added a few extra hours. So, the details were built up using the foam and styrene sheeting. I used a rasp, files, a Dremel, and sandpaper to shape the body.
The holes in the frame marked where the bolt details would eventually go and worked as handy guides for aligning the various layers. All of the styrene to this point was pretty clearly cut by hand, which was fine since a lot of shaping was needed and any excess or variation would be cleaned up. Once I'd roughed out the body I spent quite a bit of time filling, shaping, and sanding using Bondo and Apoxy Sculpt. This is where the decision to use what I had instead of waiting until I had the right material really came back to bite me. The foam compressed, causing the Bondo and primer to crack and break off. It would also compress during sanding which lead to some areas having raised points. After a lot of work filling over or replacing the foam (usually in corners or other pressure points) it eventually turned out fine.
I added a barrel using PVC, and continued to fill and sand to get a smooth finish. The trigger, magazine, back plate, and front sight were made using Apoxy Sculpt. More filling, priming and sanding commenced.
The bolt heads were made from resin using a little tiny mold. Seriously, it's like the size of a starburst. I used a laser cutter for the wings and the grip details so they would be identical. A little more filling, a little more sanding, and a final coat of primer got me here. It's not perfect but I'm real proud of it and it feels solid and smooth.
I spent the next two days treating it like a newborn baby so as not to potentially crack any more Bondo. It was a huge weight off when I was able to get it in to a mold. I started by embedding it in plasticene, then I built a box around it and brushed on a layer of Rebound 25 to get a sharp, elastic inner layer devoid of bubbles. Then it was backed with some locally sourced silicone rubber. The next day pulled off the backing, removed the clay and had this.
I hit it with a ton of release agent since I'd forgotten that step on a recent mold, then repeated the process. After a mini heart attack caused by some sticking, I had a mold I couldn't have been more happy with. It fit together, it came apart, it was everything I could ever want. I took a test pull with some resin and my only complaint was the resin itself. It bubbled too much, leaving a fair amount of work to clean up.
Another casting using Smoothcast 300 came out much better. The only thing I wish I had was a pressure pot as some of the small details ended up with tiny bubbles sticking to them despite my best efforts. A little spotting putty fixes that though. All I have left to do is actually paint the thing. To use my final allotted photo, here's a screenshot from the game Real Life 2
Such detail, so lifelike.
I've got a number of raw casts done already, and I'm going to make at least a couple of painted ones. If anyone is interested just let me know, they'll also be listed on my website and Etsy (#heycheckoutmyetsy). I'll update with more photos once I have a completely finished, painted one. Any comments and critiques are very welcome.
