SteakSauce
Active Member
Titanfall 2 Smart Pistol Build
Time: 10 Months.
Cost: Est. $350 USD
This is the first true build I have ever made for a prop, and I learned quite a bit.
After playing through the campaign of Titanfall 2, I wanted to recreate the emergency smart pistol. I really loved that mission, and the campaign in general. But, I am also an avid airsoft player, and I decided I really like making props and builds that are functional as well as great props.
Original Model/Reference
I started doing some research and quickly found that the base of the smart pistol was extremely close to a Glock 17. It looks like the original model definitely started with a G17 and was then modified. Not the easiest gun to find in airsoft, but I was able to pick up the full auto version, the G18, at a local event.
I found a model from Sluka Industries. An artist that makes fabulous models of guns for 3d printing. I bought his Smart Pistol kit, and then began work on uploading to shapeways so I could have some parts printed. With some measuring, I found that I needed to enlarge the model by about 10% in order to fit it over the airsoft pistol. From Shapeways I was able to print the front shroud/suppressor, the pieces for the grip, the rear sight, and the “wings” on the back of the slide.
From there I began the task of milling out the rear of the shroud in order to fit over the slide. This process did NOT go well. I was fortunate enough to be granted access to a mill from my local airsoft shop, ThunderkissNW in Vancouver, WA. However, this was the first time I ever had access to the mill, did not have a full set of tools/bits, and I did not think through my process before beginning. I very quickly started gumming up the bit I had, and melting the plastic more than cutting it. Near the end, I had to stop and rethink my strategy. But I forgot to remove the head of the bit from the material I had been cutting. The heat that had built up immediately transferred back into the plastic piece, and warped the top of the shroud.
Once realizing my mistake, I removed the head and went back to the drawing board. I ended up simply cutting the mistake out, and trying to use bondo to patch over the affected area. It worked relatively well, but I think if I had more patience, I could have done a much better job at resolving the issue, or starting over again entirely.
Lesson Learned = When dealing with 3d printing, really invest the time and energy to get the print exactly how you want it. IF I had waited to learn some 3d CAD, I could have edited the model to not print out in the area I ended up milling. This would have saved me a TON of time, energy and money.
I then began work on the slide of the pistol. I tried to mill out the sides of the slide to more accurately represent the in-game model. This part went… poorly. I didn’t have access to the tools I needed to pull this off, and did NOT have the skill required to accurately make these cuts. In the end, I completely scrapped this slide, but that was a bit later.
After I had a VERY roughly finished slide, I chose to work on the frame. I sanded and milled the grip frame, the trigger guard, and added the 3d printed grip accessories. I also added a flared magwell.
I then applied Bondo to the grip, to fill in the spaces around the 3d printed parts, and fill the grip out a bit more.
This is where my prop starts to deviate from the in-game model. I needed to find a way to mount the shroud to the frame, without impacting the slide. I chose to take a piece of 1 inch square tubing, and cut off the top quarter of it, giving me a “U” shape. I then JB Welded this to the frame. The shroud could then be mounted to the from of the tubing, and the slide could move (relatively) freely.
(Note the HORRIBLE mill work on the slide… SMH)
Back then I posted an update to my instagram – featuring what I had so far. I was planning to start a custom group/competition to build different airsoft guns into props, but couldn’t get enough interest to make it happen.
A few months passed, and I didn’t really work on the project. I moved, worked on some other things, and then finally sat back down to work on it. I painted the frame, added some skateboard grip tape, and was able to mount a light I had picked up at a buy/sell/trade event. I cut some aluminum pieces that mounted directly beneath the shroud to cover the gaps between the shroud and the U frame, as well as to more accurately represent what the game model was.
This was also my first time doing some weathering. This process was really fun, and really helped the piece to POP. But, I have so say, listen to the masters. The more layers you can do, the better it will look! The first pass really didn’t have the effect I liked, but it wasn’t until I started adding the 3rd and 4th layers that it really started to shine.
At this point you can also see that I switched slides. I gave up the idea of the pistol being full auto, and was able to swap parts with a different G17 type model. This gave me a fresh slide with some interesting cutouts that I decided to leave as is. I did NOT want to repeat the previous incident. The gun was about 85% done at this point, and it stayed that way for quite a few months.
After working on 3 sabers and a few other builds, I got back into this project. Unfortunately I don’t have any more build photos, but I added the “Wings” to the slide and added the large rear sight. I originally wanted to mount a laser in the shroud, and then have the light underneath be a regular light. The laser I bought and worked on eventually broke, so I purchased some LED’s for a Predator costume off of eBay, and then crammed it all into the housing of the light. I added some greeblies that I laying around, added some final paint, and considered the build to be DONE!
Instagram video of finished gun.
I learned a lot in this project. I learned to think things out ahead of time, to take my time when building, and that it’s ok to start over. I watch the build videos from many talented creators, and I see experienced prop makers able to bust out projects in one or two days. While these builds are entertaining to watch, I have learned to NOT try to be one of these people. Adam Savage didn’t bust out his Blade Runner Pistol in a day or even a week, he has spent 15 years working on numerous iterations before he got it where it is today. That’s something I am really trying to keep in mind when building my next prop. Planning and Patience are a prop maker’s best friend.
Time: 10 Months.
Cost: Est. $350 USD
This is the first true build I have ever made for a prop, and I learned quite a bit.
After playing through the campaign of Titanfall 2, I wanted to recreate the emergency smart pistol. I really loved that mission, and the campaign in general. But, I am also an avid airsoft player, and I decided I really like making props and builds that are functional as well as great props.
Original Model/Reference
I started doing some research and quickly found that the base of the smart pistol was extremely close to a Glock 17. It looks like the original model definitely started with a G17 and was then modified. Not the easiest gun to find in airsoft, but I was able to pick up the full auto version, the G18, at a local event.
I found a model from Sluka Industries. An artist that makes fabulous models of guns for 3d printing. I bought his Smart Pistol kit, and then began work on uploading to shapeways so I could have some parts printed. With some measuring, I found that I needed to enlarge the model by about 10% in order to fit it over the airsoft pistol. From Shapeways I was able to print the front shroud/suppressor, the pieces for the grip, the rear sight, and the “wings” on the back of the slide.
From there I began the task of milling out the rear of the shroud in order to fit over the slide. This process did NOT go well. I was fortunate enough to be granted access to a mill from my local airsoft shop, ThunderkissNW in Vancouver, WA. However, this was the first time I ever had access to the mill, did not have a full set of tools/bits, and I did not think through my process before beginning. I very quickly started gumming up the bit I had, and melting the plastic more than cutting it. Near the end, I had to stop and rethink my strategy. But I forgot to remove the head of the bit from the material I had been cutting. The heat that had built up immediately transferred back into the plastic piece, and warped the top of the shroud.
Once realizing my mistake, I removed the head and went back to the drawing board. I ended up simply cutting the mistake out, and trying to use bondo to patch over the affected area. It worked relatively well, but I think if I had more patience, I could have done a much better job at resolving the issue, or starting over again entirely.
Lesson Learned = When dealing with 3d printing, really invest the time and energy to get the print exactly how you want it. IF I had waited to learn some 3d CAD, I could have edited the model to not print out in the area I ended up milling. This would have saved me a TON of time, energy and money.
I then began work on the slide of the pistol. I tried to mill out the sides of the slide to more accurately represent the in-game model. This part went… poorly. I didn’t have access to the tools I needed to pull this off, and did NOT have the skill required to accurately make these cuts. In the end, I completely scrapped this slide, but that was a bit later.
After I had a VERY roughly finished slide, I chose to work on the frame. I sanded and milled the grip frame, the trigger guard, and added the 3d printed grip accessories. I also added a flared magwell.
I then applied Bondo to the grip, to fill in the spaces around the 3d printed parts, and fill the grip out a bit more.
This is where my prop starts to deviate from the in-game model. I needed to find a way to mount the shroud to the frame, without impacting the slide. I chose to take a piece of 1 inch square tubing, and cut off the top quarter of it, giving me a “U” shape. I then JB Welded this to the frame. The shroud could then be mounted to the from of the tubing, and the slide could move (relatively) freely.
(Note the HORRIBLE mill work on the slide… SMH)
Back then I posted an update to my instagram – featuring what I had so far. I was planning to start a custom group/competition to build different airsoft guns into props, but couldn’t get enough interest to make it happen.
A few months passed, and I didn’t really work on the project. I moved, worked on some other things, and then finally sat back down to work on it. I painted the frame, added some skateboard grip tape, and was able to mount a light I had picked up at a buy/sell/trade event. I cut some aluminum pieces that mounted directly beneath the shroud to cover the gaps between the shroud and the U frame, as well as to more accurately represent what the game model was.
This was also my first time doing some weathering. This process was really fun, and really helped the piece to POP. But, I have so say, listen to the masters. The more layers you can do, the better it will look! The first pass really didn’t have the effect I liked, but it wasn’t until I started adding the 3rd and 4th layers that it really started to shine.
At this point you can also see that I switched slides. I gave up the idea of the pistol being full auto, and was able to swap parts with a different G17 type model. This gave me a fresh slide with some interesting cutouts that I decided to leave as is. I did NOT want to repeat the previous incident. The gun was about 85% done at this point, and it stayed that way for quite a few months.
After working on 3 sabers and a few other builds, I got back into this project. Unfortunately I don’t have any more build photos, but I added the “Wings” to the slide and added the large rear sight. I originally wanted to mount a laser in the shroud, and then have the light underneath be a regular light. The laser I bought and worked on eventually broke, so I purchased some LED’s for a Predator costume off of eBay, and then crammed it all into the housing of the light. I added some greeblies that I laying around, added some final paint, and considered the build to be DONE!
Instagram video of finished gun.
I learned a lot in this project. I learned to think things out ahead of time, to take my time when building, and that it’s ok to start over. I watch the build videos from many talented creators, and I see experienced prop makers able to bust out projects in one or two days. While these builds are entertaining to watch, I have learned to NOT try to be one of these people. Adam Savage didn’t bust out his Blade Runner Pistol in a day or even a week, he has spent 15 years working on numerous iterations before he got it where it is today. That’s something I am really trying to keep in mind when building my next prop. Planning and Patience are a prop maker’s best friend.
