A Collective Thread for All Them Guns

[Dusza Beben]

http://utini420.blogspot.com/2009/10/dragoncon-2009-gun-babes.html

Spectacular mod with a slave Leia FTW!

Well done!

DB

[mephit]

This here's the big one... I call her Eunice, after my cantankerous old grandmother.

(Snipped for size)

If I may, I'd like to offer a little (hopefully constructive) criticism of your wonderful job on Eunice. Overall, I think it's great! Beautiful work on the gun itself, it's just too bad the gold belt won't feed through. The various parts look like they actually work together and are meant to actually DO something. Always a great thing to see.

There were just a couple of things that stood out to me. Perhaps if you ever need to go back and repaint, you could sand down the join lines on several of the parts? I'm a bit surprised you didn't when doing the original mod since you were already dremeling and puttying the hell out of it. The line on the side of the upper grip is especially glaring to me. Perhaps that's just the flash, though.

My only other comment is about the wear on the "metallic" parts of the tripod. To me, it honestly looks like someone used cheap enamel on a poorly prepared surface so that the paint chips and peels at the slightest provocation. It doesn't really look like wear patterns to me. I find that a bit distracting, personally. Maybe once you've painted the main metallic color on, you could try drybrushing a second color of the metal (a slightly different silver, say) to give yourself a visual guide as to where to stick the salt for a more believable worn look. Or maybe you were going for the "shitty paint job by a repair tech who isn't paid enough" look and I'm just misinterpreting.

Again, overall she looks great! I love the woodgrain work and the simplification you've done. It really comes together. Except for the two things I mentioned, I think it's perfect! And that is a metric @#%$-ton of stunning women you've let fondle your gun, you lucky dog, you!

[Captain Billbill]

I say, Well Done Gordon.

[Drac]

My only other comment is about the wear on the "metallic" parts of the tripod. To me, it honestly looks like someone used cheap enamel on a poorly prepared surface so that the paint chips and peels at the slightest provocation.

that's typical for military. here's a quote about military weapons: "remember, your weapon was made by the lowest bidder!" and that's why when I was in my backup firearm was one I bought meself.

[Utini420]

Good eye, mephit.  I think you're seeing some of the basic limitations of how I went about this.  Basically, I painted everything in pieces, it was the only way to get some of the lines clean in the painting.  And tucking the edges of the wood grain contact paper inside the re-assembled gun is about the only way to keep those edges sharp and not have to worry about it pealing up.  But, ya, do it that way and the seam between the two halves is very noticable, especially around the grip (that indented bit for the thumb joint was one of the, "well, not really what I had in mind, but it will have to do," spots with the contact paper.  It got a little wrinkley in there.).  On the uppergrip, there's two lines up there, not sure which you're referring too.  One of them, the darker one, I did on purpose.  The lighter one along the very top.... ya, that one coulda been smoother.  But for some reason they used this soft rubbery plastic, just for that part.  Sanding it started to make it "furr up," if that makes sense.  It wasn't getting any smoother.  I shaved at it some, but was afraid I"d do more harm than good.

On the salt-mask wear patterns:  that technique is really hard to control.  Once you get it going, it takes on something of a life of its own; you can't really control it, just sort of guide it.  The technique comes from the scale model world, and at that scale (using much smaller sand) it works very well.  At this size, with much rougher sand, it looks pretty heavy handed.  This was my first time to try it on anything this large, or at 1:1 scale.  If I do it again, it will need to be more conservativl done.  On the other hand, I wanted it to be very obvious: too much more subtle, and it would just look like I did a shitty job painting it, rather than looking like I did a good job simulating someone else doing a really shitty job painting it.  It doesn't look quite so "hot" in real life without the flash reflecting off the base coat, either.

That said, yes, I was trying to depict a difference in quality between the gun and its accessories.  Different woods, different metals, different surface treatments.  As if the gun was hand made by the king's armory, who outsourced the tripod and ammo box to the low-cost local labor.   And that was years ago; since then the gun has been maintained, but who cares about a tripod?  Just kick it over in that pile and go get another one.

Thanks for the constructive criticism.  And ya, it was hella fun to take out to DragonCon.  There were 3 or 4 of us with modded Nerf Vulcans, so we all had to get our pics taken together -- fun seeing what others did with this design.  And yes, we had a good time winning the hearts and minds of the local native women.

[mephit]

Good eye, mephit.  I think you're seeing some of the basic limitations of how I went about this.  Basically, I painted everything in pieces, it was the only way to get some of the lines clean in the painting.  And tucking the edges of the wood grain contact paper inside the re-assembled gun is about the only way to keep those edges sharp and not have to worry about it pealing up.  But, ya, do it that way and the seam between the two halves is very noticable, especially around the grip (that indented bit for the thumb joint was one of the, "well, not really what I had in mind, but it will have to do," spots with the contact paper.  It got a little wrinkley in there.).  On the uppergrip, there's two lines up there, not sure which you're referring too.  One of them, the darker one, I did on purpose.  The lighter one along the very top.... ya, that one coulda been smoother.  But for some reason they used this soft rubbery plastic, just for that part.  Sanding it started to make it "furr up," if that makes sense.  It wasn't getting any smoother.  I shaved at it some, but was afraid I"d do more harm than good.

Mostly I was talking on the "metal" parts, like the sides of the upper grip, not the grip itself. Oddly enough, seam lines in the wood don't bother me at all. I guess I just put it down to "seam in the wood." On the metal parts, though, you wouldn't be seeing seam lines as they'd have been filed off. And the rubbery plastic is often used on grips and such to make them "grippy-er" or such.

On the salt-mask wear patterns:  that technique is really hard to control.  Once you get it going, it takes on something of a life of its own; you can't really control it, just sort of guide it.  The technique comes from the scale model world, and at that scale (using much smaller sand) it works very well.  At this size, with much rougher sand, it looks pretty heavy handed.  This was my first time to try it on anything this large, or at 1:1 scale.  If I do it again, it will need to be more conservativl done.  On the other hand, I wanted it to be very obvious: too much more subtle, and it would just look like I did a shitty job painting it, rather than looking like I did a good job simulating someone else doing a really shitty job painting it.  It doesn't look quite so "hot" in real life without the flash reflecting off the base coat, either.

That said, yes, I was trying to depict a difference in quality between the gun and its accessories.  Different woods, different metals, different surface treatments.  As if the gun was hand made by the king's armory, who outsourced the tripod and ammo box to the low-cost local labor.   And that was years ago; since then the gun has been maintained, but who cares about a tripod?  Just kick it over in that pile and go get another one.

OK. That makes more sense. Looks like you did what you were wanting to do. I was wondering how much of what I was seeing was flash induced.

Thanks for the constructive criticism.  And ya, it was hella fun to take out to DragonCon.  There were 3 or 4 of us with modded Nerf Vulcans, so we all had to get our pics taken together -- fun seeing what others did with this design.  And yes, we had a good time winning the hearts and minds of the local native women.

One of these days I may just brave the crowds and go to Dragon and try not to freak out at the people I don't know that are touching me and getting in my personal space and TOUCHING ME and I'm gonna kill 'em! <twitchtwitchtwitch> and try to have a good time. I do so enjoy beautiful women in well made costumes! And the merchant's room(s) and costume contests and such like.

[harleyrider86]

And ya, it was hella fun to take out to DragonCon.  There were 3 or 4 of us with modded Nerf Vulcans, so we all had to get our pics taken together -- fun seeing what others did with this design.  And yes, we had a good time winning the hearts and minds of the local native women.

In the picture you share with one of the native women, I spy a PEM Bomb on your waist??

Mark

[cyberjacques]

Ladies and Gentlemen, honourable inventors, adventurers and crackpots,  The Gentlemen's Gadgeteer Society of London would hereby appreciate the opportunity to present our latest in particle-flinging technology:

THE ATHENA'S JAVELIN electric pistol (model 1).

In reality, this is an art object I created as a commission for a good friend. He'll be gifting it to his good lady wife this very Christmas.  it seems she saw some of my other past works and hasn't ceased to remind him how interesting she thought they were. So he contracted with me to get an original made.








Thank you all for looking!  

Merry Christmas, Steve!

-Gordon

Wow, that is really nice!  I must admit I have a weakness for rayguns made with flintlock stocks.  They're just so purdy!

[Utini420]

harleyrider86, yes, I had two of the clipped on.  A fun little addition, somewhat lost in all the junk I tend to have on my belt.

mephit, do you do the con thing at all?  I've wondered once or twice if you weren't the gentlemn in a couple I had the pleasure of meeting at another, smaller Atlanta con.  In any event, I can't (though I often will try) recommend DragonCon highly enough.  I'm no fan of crowds, either, but its beyond worth it to take a few days off in total geek immersion.

[mephit]

mephit, do you do the con thing at all?  I've wondered once or twice if you weren't the gentlemn in a couple I had the pleasure of meeting at another, smaller Atlanta con.  In any event, I can't (though I often will try) recommend DragonCon highly enough.  I'm no fan of crowds, either, but its beyond worth it to take a few days off in total geek immersion.

I do go to a few cons. Mostly they're local ones to me (Memphis) where I know basically everybody. They're also pretty small, just a few hundred folks. I go to one semi-large one near Saint Louis (Archon) that's a few thousand people, but it's stretched out over a whole convention area and multiple hotels so it never gets really crowded. Even then it's sometimes too much for me. I've not yet been to Atlanta, so I'm afraid I can't have been the gent you met before. Now, if you've come to either of the Memphis cons, we might have met before.

[jezones]

Here is a gun i made for one of my friends for christmas.  it has seen better days and looks like its been sitting in the rain for awhile. this is the second gun that i have completed and i hope to try something new each time.  this one was just a simple paint job, some weathering and added a guage for that extra touch.  hope yall enjoy and im sure i'll get some constructive criticism on this one. 

[Cknerr]

Maybe I can help. Making gunstocks is what I do to pay for a living. Brand new on this board, so please forgive me if I step where I shouldn't be going.

Have a look at my websites gallery if you want some ideas: http://riflerestorer.com/gallery/gal.htm  just click a thumbnail for more details and pics.

Trying to read through all the entries kinda creates the glazed eye look. So I may be repeating others words, please accept my apologies if I do. This is what works for me.

Use anything you can get your hands on to remove the majority of wood that doesn't belong. Chain saws, community karate class, etc...you get the point. Gouges, rasps, course sand paper, grinders, etc all work pretty well.

Since you do not have to worry about recoil, cast off, toe out etc won't be an issue. Save yourself some headache -make the center line of the butt plate in-line with the bore and the top of it about 1-1/4 below the top of the rifle. 

Make a butt plate before going much further. (sounds kinda backwards for the  moment). Screw it on to the back of your stock blank. Now you have a pattern to follow. I can send you a printable pattern if needed.  The same thing for the pistol grip (don't do that yet. The flat surface of the pistol grip should point at the bottom of the butt plate.  The sides stay pretty much perpendicular to the flat "bottom" of the grip. Starting out with the back of the receiver, I reduce wood until there is no more then 3/8 of an inch of wood either side of the receiver. This of course precludes you already have the metal inletted. The wood under the receiver is hard to judged. Most of mine have magazines. Come to think of it, there is one single shot in the gallery. I size it for where the trigger guard goes. Leave a lots of room for your fingers between trigger guard  and the pistol grip. When the trigger guard is in put the pistol grip cap on. Use it for a pattern or  or keep it.  Aesthetics will tell you what to do.  Taper the stock until you have just 3/16 to 1/8 of an inch or so on the sides of the forend at the end of the stock. The bottom should be deeper, maybe 3/4 to 1/2 of an inch. Slant the front of the stock back a few degrees at the bottom. Then round out the sides a little...try to resist having perfectly flat sides at the end of the stock. You can use flat sides, but not easy to incorporate. Might save some headache by not trying that the first time.

With the rounded profile of the butt plate, slant everything from it to the the wrist. Wrist thickness is the same as what the back of the receiver is. Blend it all together an voila....sand smooth and finish.

This is a link to a lever action I am carving  from the woodworking guild I am a member of: http://www.woodworkersguildofga.org/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1239854926/

Left out cheek pieces, that is something to do after you have straight stocks figured out. They are carved out just like they look.

I can add more if you want...don't want folks reading this falling asleep from boredom.

Hope this helps.

...and I was just looking for a place with steam punk ideas lol!
 

Good luck,
Chris

[von Klank]

Chris -

That's some knockout work. Truly first rate. Says a lot about a guy's work when someone hands them an antique firearm, minus a bit or two, and tells 'im to have at it. I'll have to mark your site for ideas.

[sanityattack]

Another not very steamy weapon from me. I've called it the Sun Gun, based on the premise that it fires concentrated sunlight. Particularly usefull against leeches of the night.

[Finnlock]

Nice, simple and right on.

Good work!

Finnlock

[Dusza Beben]

My latest work in progress. Sorry for the pics as our good camera is on the blink.

The Volcanic Arms Model X in presentation case

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Inside label scorched from putting pistol away "hot".

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Fitted case containing Volcanic Model X ray gun, beam tuning tubes, Volcanic brand gun oil, spare parts and cleaning kit. I still need to weather the satin lining and the weathering on the labels really doesn't showup well in these pics.

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One more for the heck of it.

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Comments and critiques welcome.

DB

[maduncle]

Very classy kit there Dusza -

I do like rayguns in boxes with accessories and labels, and I particularly like such details as a scorched label from stowing a hot gun, now that is imaginative.

The gun itself looks simple and therefore elegent. It captures the essence of the steampunk stye without the need for too many other doo-dads attached hither and wither.

A posing picture of your good self wielding the weapon would give us an idea of scale.

Smashing job, thanks for sharing!

[Dusza Beben]

I'll see what I can do Maduncle! I wanted a more utilitarian-yet-elegant look as most actual firarms aren't covered with superfluous crapola. The "cleaning kit" in the lower right-hand corner of the case was formerly an altoids tin if that gives you a scale reference.

DB

[Hydroblitz]

Hey! Don't know what you're gonna call that rifle but it looks great. Where you going for a Winchester repeater crossed with an AK-47? That's what I'm seeing.

Winchester and AK. Hmm.

Wincakster. No. Rubbish name.

AK-Minster. Nope. Sounds like a carpet brand.

Winchester AK-1847?

I don't know. But nice work.

Wincaster has a nice ring to it.

[Khunag]

sanityattack: that's a great looking gun, would work quite well as a movie prop

[Captain Billbill]

A beautiful piece of work Dusza... Well crafted and a nice presentation.

[Finnlock]

Just a heads up for those looking for a revolver base on which to build.
The "Dollar General" store near me had more pistols in, the kind I used to make this;

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They where $1.50 each, I bought 4.
They come in a cardboard  "holster" which I'm thinking of reping in Sintra for futrue projects.


Finnlock

[zenraven]

Another not very steamy weapon from me. I've called it the Sun Gun, based on the premise that it fires concentrated sunlight. Particularly usefull against leeches of the night.

is that a gun from time crisis?  where did you find it?
Great over all i like the led setup nice touch

[Hey Joe]

I finished this one with a rheostat control. I call it the Peaceforcer.

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[maduncle]

Hey Joe, where are you going with that very groovy 'Barbarellesque' gun in your hand?

I love it - it looks like no other gun on this thread which is a challenge in itself!

Well done.