I’ve been toying with the idea of building a Steampunk gun or two. I’ve seen some cosplay props online and, while they are very pretty … they are not very durable. Virtually all of them are cast resin. If you are out there cosplaying, do you really want to break your $800+ prop? Not really.
From what I’ve seen, these props range from $200 – $2,500, so that’s a pretty hefty investment to risk breaking. I can’t see it happening, myself.
My plan is to make a prototype Steampunk cosplay prop out of aluminium and add some electronics into the mix to make these props really stand out.
I’ve started with a fairly simple design, using a drill as my template I’ve carved out the grip and body of the gun in polystyrene and then coated it in resin and filler to give it a smooth and workable surface. When I’ve finished modelling the surface, I’ll go to town with the Dremmel rotary tool to add some more detail.
I’ve added a barrel to the gun and I’ll do some more building up of the surface to make it look better.
I’ve also started designing some electronic circuits so that the gun has some dynamic visual interest. This will be delivered as a set of LED lights that do pulsing and chasing. I’m also investigating using electroluminescent wire to deepen the visual identity of the prop, but from what I’ve seen so far, electroluminescent wire doesn’t have a very long lifetime … that may have to wait for improvements in the technology.
Anyway, that’s the plan for now.
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