I didn't want to hijack your WIP thread, so I thought I'd do a very "quick & dirty" gun tutorial for you in a new thread. SO, here goes...
1. I usually take the artwork (I'm using the art you supplied for your space soldier) into photoshop and make a basic shape on a new layer. This will be the basic shape I use for the gun.
2. I then scale down the shape to lifesize, in this case 17mm long, and then print it out using an inkjet printer.
3. While the ink is still wet I take a piece of scotch tape and press it onto the printout. I rub the tape for a second or two and then peel it off.
It will lift off quite a bit of ink without tearing the paper. Then I place the tape on a flat sheet of Milliput that has already been cured.
This particular sheet of Milliput was 2mm thick. I use standard grey/yellow, NOT superfine white as it is way too brittle for this.
4. I use a Jewelers Saw to cut out close to, but not all the way to the lines.
5. Then I use various needle files to get the overall shape refined.
At this point I would also file the backside of the gun blank if the piece needed to be thinner.
6. Still using the needle files I start to shape the parts of the gun that need it.
Here I'm starting to shape the barrel and a little bit of the grip.
7. I drill out the trigger guard using a small bit and a pin vise.
8. Here I've filed down the grip and the trigger guard using a flat file. It's very easy to create ledges and shelves in Milliput this way.
9. All said and told, it's taken about a half an hour of computer work, cutting, and filing to get to the detailing stage.
Since this is a "quick & dirty" tutorial, I'm not going to spend the time tricking out the gun the way you have it in your art (although it's VERY cool that way
)So for the detailing stage I start with VERY thin sheets of cured greenstuff. These are .5mm - .25mm thick. It's good to roll out and save your extra bits of putty
for just such an occasion.
10. Here I've cut out a piece of greenstuff sheet and set it on the gun to see if it will fit.
11. Once I cut all the pieces I want using a scalpel and a straight razor, I glue them onto the blank using Aves Apoxie Paste. It takes 24 hours to completely cure.
Being "quick and dirty" I used superglue for the tutorial, but if I were going to have this put on mold I would use the Apoxie Paste or even greenstuff.
to stick the parts on the gun blank. Super glue is a NO NO when going to production!
12. Here's the gun blank with bits glued on and shaped using an scalpel.
"Quick & dirty", obviously you'd want to be much cleaner and more precise than I'm being here.
13. Finish off the gun with various fresh greenstuff details like rivets and such. That's about it, no muss, no fuss.
I hope you find this method of interest.
Gene
