So what happens when you have an over active imagination, the ability to weld plastic and possibly a little too much free time?
I've ended up building myself an Ork Slugga, converted from a Nerf hand gun. Specifically, the Barricade RV-10.
Here's what I started with;
Now I am certainly not the first to modify this gun (a quick Google search will give you enough video tutorials to make your head spin, let alone the images!) but I think I might have been the first to turn it in to an Ork weapon! First thing I had to do was test fire it as it came out of the box. Well, it is a toy after all!
Soon as that was done (may have been quite a while...) I started taking it apart and working out how it worked, how it fired and what I could and couldn't take out.
I gotta say, that was a lot of fun. There are a LOT of screws, but it was worth it. Looking at the mechanism I decided it would be best to paint the shell whilst it was unassembled. Naturally, wanting the finished product to look realistic, the main body had to look like it was made of metal, even if I painted over it later.
I started with a grey primer coat of spray paint to make sure I had a nice even colour across the whole piece, covering over the very toyish orange and yellow. That was followed with an aluminium spray over the whole thing. Unfortunately, I ran out of paint part way through giving me some grey blotches, but given that I planned to build up the shell beyond the original I wasn't too upset.
Naturally, the next step was a rebuild and retest. I had a couple of issues with things sticking, but letting the paint wear down freed up the firing mechanisms quickly enough. I then had my first modifications; cutting away the guard for the rotating cylinder magazine and building up the body of the gun from various thicknesses of Plasticard, friction welded into place and to each other.
I also made a box magazine, in part to hide the magazine, in part to match up to the original Games Workshop Ork models.
The odd teeth shapes at the top work in conjunction with some angled blocks welded to the main body of the gun to lock it into place, whilst still being easy enough to slot out of the gun one handed.
Once the finally assembly had been finished, it was time to repaint; starting with a black base and a bright metallic overcoat.
Colour and texture were next on the agenda. I made a wash out of wood ash, charcoal, water and some hand soap. I liberally coated the whole gun in it, letting it dry unevenly so that there were loads of streaks and dusty deposits.This was followed with a coat of Purity Seal (a spray matte varnish) then started working up certain panels in red, neatening up the metallics on the welds and then working up some details in other colours. I also used a black spray paint to mimic carbon scorching around the muzzle and case ejection breach.
As you can see I also added some extra detail in the form of a leather-like wrapping on the grip. I made that from a white tennis racket grip, soaked over night in a pot of tea to give it colour. I then used a rotary tool to put a tight twist into it (similar to the way string is made) to give it a more natural texture. Once it was uncurled, I used hot-melt glue to secure it in place, adding little dabs as I wrapped it around the grip. Certainly made it more comfy to hold! As the pictures above don't show the detail on the grip very well, I've put in a couple more below.
And that is where I am up to so far. I still need to do a load of weathering on the pistol; dirtying it up with some brown and black washes, another application of my charcoal/ash wash and maybe even some orange wood varnish I have left over from another project. I also have a little of the faux-leather from the grip left over, so I want to use it to make a loop that will hang from the bottom of the pistol grip, holding a large animalistic tooth that I'll sculpt out of milliput.
I've got some more plans for this kind of stuff in the future. In the past I have made a Plasma Pistol that glowed (although unlike this, wasn't based around a working toy gun, so didn't actually fire anything) and have plans to help a friend who wants to build a Dark Eldar Splinter Cannon for one of her fantastic costumes.
I also have plans for a Storm Bolter as, although I have seen many Nerf Bolt Gun mods, I've yet to see the heavier, double barrelled variant. Nothing like a pointless challenge!
Matt
I've ended up building myself an Ork Slugga, converted from a Nerf hand gun. Specifically, the Barricade RV-10.
Here's what I started with;
Now I am certainly not the first to modify this gun (a quick Google search will give you enough video tutorials to make your head spin, let alone the images!) but I think I might have been the first to turn it in to an Ork weapon! First thing I had to do was test fire it as it came out of the box. Well, it is a toy after all!
Soon as that was done (may have been quite a while...) I started taking it apart and working out how it worked, how it fired and what I could and couldn't take out.
I gotta say, that was a lot of fun. There are a LOT of screws, but it was worth it. Looking at the mechanism I decided it would be best to paint the shell whilst it was unassembled. Naturally, wanting the finished product to look realistic, the main body had to look like it was made of metal, even if I painted over it later.
I started with a grey primer coat of spray paint to make sure I had a nice even colour across the whole piece, covering over the very toyish orange and yellow. That was followed with an aluminium spray over the whole thing. Unfortunately, I ran out of paint part way through giving me some grey blotches, but given that I planned to build up the shell beyond the original I wasn't too upset.
Naturally, the next step was a rebuild and retest. I had a couple of issues with things sticking, but letting the paint wear down freed up the firing mechanisms quickly enough. I then had my first modifications; cutting away the guard for the rotating cylinder magazine and building up the body of the gun from various thicknesses of Plasticard, friction welded into place and to each other.
I also made a box magazine, in part to hide the magazine, in part to match up to the original Games Workshop Ork models.
The odd teeth shapes at the top work in conjunction with some angled blocks welded to the main body of the gun to lock it into place, whilst still being easy enough to slot out of the gun one handed.
Once the finally assembly had been finished, it was time to repaint; starting with a black base and a bright metallic overcoat.
Colour and texture were next on the agenda. I made a wash out of wood ash, charcoal, water and some hand soap. I liberally coated the whole gun in it, letting it dry unevenly so that there were loads of streaks and dusty deposits.This was followed with a coat of Purity Seal (a spray matte varnish) then started working up certain panels in red, neatening up the metallics on the welds and then working up some details in other colours. I also used a black spray paint to mimic carbon scorching around the muzzle and case ejection breach.
As you can see I also added some extra detail in the form of a leather-like wrapping on the grip. I made that from a white tennis racket grip, soaked over night in a pot of tea to give it colour. I then used a rotary tool to put a tight twist into it (similar to the way string is made) to give it a more natural texture. Once it was uncurled, I used hot-melt glue to secure it in place, adding little dabs as I wrapped it around the grip. Certainly made it more comfy to hold! As the pictures above don't show the detail on the grip very well, I've put in a couple more below.
And that is where I am up to so far. I still need to do a load of weathering on the pistol; dirtying it up with some brown and black washes, another application of my charcoal/ash wash and maybe even some orange wood varnish I have left over from another project. I also have a little of the faux-leather from the grip left over, so I want to use it to make a loop that will hang from the bottom of the pistol grip, holding a large animalistic tooth that I'll sculpt out of milliput.
I've got some more plans for this kind of stuff in the future. In the past I have made a Plasma Pistol that glowed (although unlike this, wasn't based around a working toy gun, so didn't actually fire anything) and have plans to help a friend who wants to build a Dark Eldar Splinter Cannon for one of her fantastic costumes.
I also have plans for a Storm Bolter as, although I have seen many Nerf Bolt Gun mods, I've yet to see the heavier, double barrelled variant. Nothing like a pointless challenge!
Matt
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