Kid’s Quick, Dirty (and Cheap) Blaster Tutorial

Ok, my last few posts were pretty heavy. I thought I’d get off my soapbox for a bit and show you guys some last minute steampunk blasters I made for my kids.

We live near two great Renaissance Faires and were given some tickets. We had already gone to this faire opening weekend, so Hunny and I decided to take the kids for Steampunk & Time Traveler Weekend. I have been working on my gear for over two years but didn’t have near enough to outfit myself, my Hunny (who decided to wear her medieval garb with just a blaster) and our five hoodlums.

More accessories would be needed.

We only got the tickets a few days ahead, and our budget for anything is always tight, so the day before we went I took a break from the kids and hit the local dollar stores. A few hours (and $15) later I headed home with what I hoped would be enough supplies to give everyone that steampunk touch.

These are the pieces I put together for the kids to wear. The eagle pouch and belt set were for Elroy (he wore a frontier Doctor Who inspired look), the green blaster was for Bam-Bam (he went as a futuristic Indiana Jones type character), and the girls wore their pirate dresses from Halloween (without the jewelry) with one of the small blasters each.

Now, on to the tutorial . . .

I got these mini squirt guns in a three pack on Target’s dollar aisle last summer. They were transparent colored plastic that showed none of the fun (Hunny says Duck Dodgers -esque) detailing. Since paint doesn’t always stick to plastic (and I didn’t want to be constantly repainting them) I wiped each one down with acetone nail polish remover to rough up the surface. These were cheap enough plastic (three for a dollar) that the plastic got cloudy and the paint has stuck no problem. I tried using the acetone on the other squirt guns (both transparent and opaque plastic), but as they were a dollar each, the plastic was of better quality and the acetone didn’t rough up the surface (the paint on these has not stuck near as well and they are already in need of touch ups).

I used my enamel paints for this (because I already had them), but if I had had more time (or a larger budget) I would have probably done a base coat of plastic friendly spray paint and then used the enamel paints for the detail work. The yellow tube gun and muzzle are actually from a ‘ninja blow gun’ I picked up at Dollar Tree (the paint does not like this plastic; these pieces came home from the faire almost entirely yellow again).

Once the base coat was on you can really see how much detail was put into these molds, which I found fairly depressing. Someone had spent a good deal of time on each of these designs; not only are they being sold for next to nothing, they’re being molded in a plastic that makes all that detail invisible. *sigh*

After the base coat, it is simply a matter of deciding which details to use each specific color for (I try not to use more than 3 or 4 colors for any one piece, I prefer a more streamlined look) and painting (and repainting . . . and repainting . . . and touching up) until I liked the look of each one.

But what about the adults, you might ask . . . Hunny decided to be my ‘Companion’ (think Doctor Who, not Firefly) and carried the long muzzled blaster in a holster made out of a piece of cheap belt and a shoe lace (sorry about the focus, this one didn’t want to photograph nicely).

 

 I carried my ray-gun, wore my goggles, and wore this great pouch (found at Harbor Freight for under $20!) filled with dollar store bits.

 

In my kit were the painted out blow gun (2/3 of it anyway), a magnifying glass (I painted the rim copper with brass details), a pair of copper rimmed reading glasses (I got lucky with those, I got a pair for Elroy and just popped the lenses out so he could see, and painted 3 coats of iridescent nail polish on the inside of my pair so they looked like the lenses were made of mica), a plastic caliper from the same tool set as Elroy’s hammer (I repainted the handle, it used to be blue) and screwdriver. I also took a small wooden toy spoon, stained it using dark furniture scratch cover and glued some decorative plastic trim onto it. The trim was actually part of an old ‘viking’ helmet that I had used for another costume a few years ago and hadn’t survived the boys’ closet. I also got all of the decorations on Elroy’s belt pouch from this same helmet trim (I just painted out the pieces for the pouch). I even used one of the horns to make an alien tooth necklace for Bam-Bam’s costume.

Everything else was something we already owned (we keep an extensive set of dress up clothes for the boys as well as the girls, it comes in really handy and since I clearance shop after holidays, I’ve been able to pick most of the pieces up for next to nothing).

We had a good time at the faire. There were some really great steampunk outfits and weapons (one guy had a nerf rifle he had modified onto a 5 foot long bazooka, it still fired). We even got pictures with a guy doing a great 10^th Doctor cosplay (staying in the character you’re dressed as). Since Elroy and I are both fans of the series (since the 2005 reboot), that was a definite highlight. Totally worth the late night putting all the props together the night before.

Anyone else do any cosplay? Feel free to share any tips and tricks in the comments.

Just a little something I put together . . .

Back before Halloween I found metal gears at my local craft store. They were awesome, so I bought a few packages. I saw them at a couple other stores and so wasn’t worried about finding them again.

What was I thinking . . . ?

When I needed more of them, they were gone. No one had them. The only place I found any was on etsy where an enterprising seller had broken up the pack and was selling it in small (expensive) lots. I despaired of finding them again before next Halloween. And I haven’t.

But I did find a new series of craft gears (for jewelry and scrapbooking) in similar metal finishes. These were bigger and had different shapes than the last set, and had more interesting detail. This new series also has clock hands in a selection of styles and sizes, chess piece charms, wings, birds, crowns . . .

And then
inspiration struck. A little time and some glue later . . . .
And then inspiration struck. A little time and some glue later . . . .

Faux-Pocket Watches!

I have a metal allergy so mine will be hanging from the vest I plan to make,

but they could also be worn as pendants. So . . . what do you think?

VixiDragon Designs Page Winner!

I know I could have used a number generator,
but with only this many entries I figured I’d pick one by hand.

Congratulations!
Bam-Bam pulled your name out of the hat.


debbielynne- Jan 1, 2012 05:04 PM
I like the steamy gear earrings - multi!

You get a pair of Multi-Gear Earrings!
Email me with your info, and I’ll send them right out to you.



Didn’t win, but still really want something sparkly?
Check out my designs page for pricing and contact info.

Thanks again to everyone who stopped by and took a few moments to enter.
Hope to see you back again soon!
-Vixi

Update: Debbie got her earrings and sent me this link

http://debbielynne.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/vixidragon-designs

from her blog On the Banks of Stony Creek.

She has tons of fun thrift store finds and frugal living ideas.

Feel free to drop by and check her out. - Vixi

Ray-Gun Tutorial, part 2

So, in part 1 I put together the tank and barrel pieces for my ray-gun . . .

But how to hold it?

I still wanted the pistol style grip, even with the much longer barrel. My hope was to find a wooden rubber band or pop gun at a thrift shop or yard sale. Nope. So, online or in a local store . . . only if I was willing to pay $15 - $20, before shipping. I wasn’t. Could I have made my own? Probably, but with my limited access to my own tools (which do not include a scroll saw) and the craziness of actually getting to work on things that comes from having as many little ones underfoot as I do . . . not so much.

Fine . . . I guess I have to go with plastic.

Now, many people choose to repaint plastic guns (the Nerf ones in particular are quite popular and look very striking when painted out), but I was hoping for not just the look but the weight of a wood stock to help counter balance the length. I still hope to find one so I can trade the plastic one out in the future.

Back to the plastic guns . . . . After searching high and low at every discount, thrift and dollar store in my area, I ran across a cheap plastic gun at Wal-Mart. It was ugly. Boy was it ever ugly. A transparent neon green with blue accents and electric orange suction darts (I tried to find a picture, but apparently no one is willing to admit they have one).
But it had the shape I needed, with a grip and a clip set forward like a cross between a Glock and an AK-47 with a number of futuristic details and most importantly a flat top.
Once I painted it silver (love that enamel paint) and detailed it in gold, it actually looked like it would work.



I even had some cool brass cabinet hinges that looked vintage in my junk drawer that could hold the pieces together. It was finally coming together!

Then I tried to put it together . . . and learned that my hinges would NOT stay half-cocked at the angle I needed for long enough for the super glue to set. Which, as it turned out, the glue never did. To be fair, this was some cheap off-brand glue my mom had picked up for me, and some glues just don’t cure on certain types of plastic. So I had to scratch the hinge idea. After repainting (the glue did mar the finish) I used zip ties to hold the pieces together and craft glued the heck out of them. Once it had cured (overnight at least) I removed the zip ties and wrapped the tank onto the barrel using more of the gold floral wire (I made the coils out of this too).

Remember the threaded rod I scavenged from the old light fixture? After deciding how I would be wearing the gun (on my right hip) I used some silver craft wire to add the rod over the glued seam between the barrel and tank. I took a compass rose pendant and a plastic gear from a clock my boys broke, and made a sight that I glued on top of the tank. After looking at it, I decided the silver was too overwhelming and painted a large section of the grip a dark brown. I also touched up any glue points to look like silver solder.

So, here it is in all its finished glory. What do you think?

Hubby is so impressed with how it came out he plans to hang it on the wall with his Kit Rae Swords in the office.

I think he might be right . . . .

Next Time: my very first giveaway!

Ray-Gun Tutorial, part 1

I liked the idea of getting to carry a weapon (since I’m usually pushing the stroller or holding little hands, spending Halloween armed had the draw of novelty) so I decided to make myself a ray gun.

Once again I was inspired by Jen of Epbot.com and her lovely gun made from an old candlestick and an art glass bottle. But she had been too crazy busy to post her tutorial (it’s finally up now), and as she is on a cross country book tour currently I think I’ll forgive her for the delay . . . Even if she isn’t coming out anywhere near me.

So I spent an afternoon browsing a local thrift store and found an interesting brass candlestick which broke down into 3 nice easy pieces. I could not find a colored glass bottle the right size (or a clear one for that matter), but I did have some other odds and ends lying around. I spent a long time looking for an aluminum bottle (or compressed CO2 canister) that fit my $5-or-less budget with no luck, only to run into a heavy PVC water bottle for $2 at my local Target.

It wasn’t perfect, but it would work. I put on a base coat of gray acrylic paint and then used some more of my metallic enamel paint (found in the model car and plane section of most craft stores) to give it the look of brushed metal. Things began to come together.

My original idea had been for a pistol, but as I was rummaging for odds and ends I ran across a metal pipe from a towel rack. Not only would this be a nice way to extend the barrel, it would give me an easier attachment point for the nozzle (inverted candlestick base). The stem of my candlestick was a long plain rod so I grabbed some fender washers and nylon spacers . . .

I was able to thread one washer onto the candlestick between the stem and the base. Then I alternated spacers and larger fender washers (gluing with craft glue as I went) down onto the stem to give a better transition and to give my gun a more retro ‘Buck Rodgers’ ray gun look. I didn’t have any spacers that would fit inside the barrel (and didn’t want to return to Depot to find any), but I did have strapping tape (duct tape would have worked, too). After the glue dried, I wrapped the far end and midpoint of the stem with enough strapping tape so that it would fit snuggly inside the towel bar (this took some trial and error), and glued it inside. I wrapped the seam with another layer of tape to hide it, and painted the tape, spacers and washers until I liked the effect.

But what, you ask, about the other end of the barrel? After playing around with some different odds and ends I decided to use it to attach the obligatory coiled wires from the end of the tank (PVC bottle). To do this, I got a plastic pipe cap

And used a nail heated over a gas burner to melt a hole big enough to put the end of the wires through. I bent the ends in place and hot glued them into the inside of the plug, and put a thin coat of craft glue on the top and slightly up the wires to give it the look (once I painted it silver) of a soldered joint. I hot glued the other end of the wires into the top portion of my candlestick (where the stem would have connected) and glued the cap from my bottle into the other side (where the candle would normally sit). I wasn’t thrilled about the flat bottom of the bottle but as I had just swapped out an old light fixture, I had the attachment pieces to rummage through. I was able to snag a threaded rod (added for looks latter) as well as the bottom cap and little ball finial all in an old weathered brass. Some wood craft discs, glue and silver paint later and my bottle had become a respectable ray gun tank.

More to come . . . .

Next time: Part 2 of my Ray-Gun tutorial,

and coming soon my very first give away!

Steampunk Goggles

I first saw handmade goggles on Epbot.com (run by the incredibly funny Jen Yates of Cakewrecks.com). She and her husband put together some really fantastic pairs using plumbing supplies and some scrap leather (and has a great tutorial on her site). Hers used brass pipe fittings for the eye pieces, but as I do not have access to a Dremel tool (although it is high on the wish list) I had to find something else. After some web searching I realized I really just needed something round that was the right scale that I could glue the leather onto.

And so the search began. I looked for anything with a rim . . . Mason jar rings, PVC couplings, what I really wanted were wedding favor tins that had clear plastic viewing windows built into the lids. And after a long and fruitless search I followed an online lead to a local dollar store. I didn’t find the favor tins . . . but I did find these:

I don’t use bronzer as a general rule, and this was certainly not my shade, but the plastic lids had the right diameter, built-in heavy plastic ‘lenses’, and were a metallic aged silver color. Also they were only $1 each and I still had the makeup and brushes if I wanted them. Score! One problem . . . each lens had a small ‘etched’ leaf printed in the center. Scotch tape to the rescue! The slightly opaque tape completely obscured the leaf, but it left lines where the edges met.

So . . . colored lenses.

I had read online about a number of different lens inserts, everything from cellophane to pelxi-glass to plastic from 2ltr bottles. I live off the caffeine in soda and my stimulant of choice is Mt. Dew, so I had green plastic bottles in plenty.

I snapped the lids off the make-up cases, broke off any sharp pointy bits, and popped the lenses out. I then traced them onto some clean plastic, and realized they curled.

Problem . . . big problem. I was using craft glue (as hot glue and small children don’t mix very well) and the bend in the plastic was not allowing the glue to hold the lenses in place.

Fine, wait ‘til the kids are in bed and break out the glue gun. Same problem.
Back to the drawing board.

Maybe if I heat up the plastic I could flatten it enough to make them work . . . Brilliant! So I turned on one burner on my stove and held the plastic above the flame. It worked like a charm, until it started warping the plastic.

So . . . how does one make colored lenses for these stupid m@)*$^@*^ing goggles?!
Then I remembered having paint for plastic sun-catchers in my craft kit. Perfect!
I picked the color I liked (still went with Mt. Dew bottle green, as it went with my accents) and after gluing the lenses back into the frames, poured and spread a large blob of paint into each one.

Now that the lenses were finished I had to make the eye cups. I made a template out of construction paper (wrapped the paper to get the length and drew a curve for the outer edge of the eye cup), I then put it up to my face to adjust for the fit I wanted and when I liked it I traced it onto some scrap leather (you could use vinyl or even heavy felt if you really wanted to) leaving enough of an overlap to rivet the ends together and connect the nose piece. I glued the leather onto the frames with craft glue (for longer time to line up edges) and used large rubber bands to hold it on while the glue dried.

Once the pieces were dry, I decided how far apart I wanted them and cut a small rectangle of leather for the nose piece. Because I decided to rivet the leather instead of sewing it together (easy if you have a machine that will do it, long and tedious if you have to do it by hand) I cut my rectangle about ½ an inch longer than the distance I wanted between the eyes. This gave me room for the rivets (both front and back).

Now all I had to do was add a strap . . . .

Unfortunately none of my scrap pieces were long enough for a solid strap nor did I have enough to cut 2 long pieces and buckle them in the back.

So, how to attach it?

I had enough length for 1 long strap and a couple of shorter straps . . . Eureka! I put a buckle on either end of my long strap and attached the smaller leather pieces to the outside of each eye to buckle it into. But that would leave me with rough edges to camouflage. I had an ugly purple belt that I had picked up for 90% off on clearance (purchased only for the buckle) that was only about ½ inch wide and could be painted to look like a brass rim. So I cut down and painted out 2 sections of belt and glued them and the 2 side pieces onto the rim of the eye cups, once again employing rubber bands while the glue set.

Once they were dry I riveted down the side pieces and cut tabs and punched holes for later use with the buckles. I even glued on some metal filigree trim pieces I had gotten to make into jewelry. Because I wanted a contrast on the finish (read as some of the glue dried on the leather and made it shiny, and I didn’t feel like taking it off) I spread a thin layer of craft glue on some of the pieces of leather (the gold rims, the side pieces and the nose piece) which made gave them a nice polished shine.

And here they are . . . my very own pair of goggles. I can even see through them.

Next Time . . . Steam Punk Ray-Gun Tutorial!

Steampunk!

What happened when Goths discovered the color brown?

Steampunk.

It’s a design and art style that asks the question:
If Jules Verne or H. G. Wells crash landed in your backyard, how would they redesign our modern technology to recreate it in their time?

Steampunk (also called Neo-Victorian) is a fun way of looking at the world, a world run by pistons and gears and moved by airships, jetpacks and clockwork devices. And a world that values individual craftsmanship and ingenuity over sleek plastic mass production.
For someone like me, it is a beautiful way to be creative and work with real materials on a very small budget.

My Halloween costume (and potentially a convention costume) is almost entirely from my own closet and the accessories have cost about $15 thus far to produce. Now to be fair, this cost does not include items already in my possession or left over from other projects. So for someone who doesn’t keep scrap leather for projects or have an enormous stash of old shoes hiding in the garage, making your own might cost a little more. I am planning on a couple of tutorials based on what I have put together so far. Here’s a picture of the main elements:

Want to make your own? I have tutorials for each of these pieces, and I'll start with the cuff bracelets . . . .

Cuff Tutorial

The cuff bracelets were made of an old belt (the metal work was part of its closure) a couple of mirror rosettes (from Depot)and some big economy buckles from a leather supplier (thrift store belts work well if you don’t care if things match).

First I removed all the hardware from the old belt (it had a tie closure so no holes or buckles). Then I cut the belt down to size for my wrists (plus a few inches overlap). Next I attached the buckles, and decided on the placement of the decorative pieces.

Then I riveted the metal work and rosettes onto the pieces of belt, and punched holes for the tongues of the buckles.

I achieved the multi-metal look by painting accents on the metal (and rivets) using metallic enamel paint (used for models and miniatures, sold in most craft stores) and playing with the shading until I liked the effect. Behold, my finished cuffs:

Next time . . . make your own Steampunk Goggle Tutorial!