PROPS AT LAST!

This lesson it was time for the part I was most anticipating - props making!
In this and the next lesson we were to select and make a prop either from a photo/design we had brought in or from one of the example images provided.  Our tutor had provided a range of images from simple to make to relatively complex, and considering that I'm new to props and want to learn to make them well I felt it best to ask for his advice on what to go for on my first try!

With this in mind after some discussion, we decided on this prop gun as out of the prop guns it had the most interesting detail and was different from anything I had done before.

 

 

The first step was to break down the prop into sections in terms of how to make it, how 3D it is and different layers. This it turns out is quite complex in terms of layers, with the back obviously not visible on the image but a number of layers being implied. The decision to make is how many layers - it is either 5 or 7, and how they fit together is also going to be a challenge. 

 

The first section to make was the handle with the trigger, and making it large enough to slot into the main body of the prop. After discussing it with my tutor he recommended making it out of MDF, so I drew out the shape on a 1cm sheet of MDF and after a demonstration on using the bandsaw got to - under the supervision of the tutor since it has been a while since I've used it - cut out the shape!

 





 The next step was making the other large parts out of blue foam. I started with finding a cylindrical section for the main front barrel which was luckilly the right diameter, and cutting it to the right length using the hot wire tool. I then found a segment for the main body of the gun, which I marked out and again but to the right size and shape with the hot wire tool.

Above - creating cuts with the hot wire tool!



In order to get the front curve right for the tapering I marked out the center working outwards and marked the diameter for the front barrel dowelling. I then marked in dots the length of the tapering down the barrel, then began filing away at blue foam.

During filing

Here are the finished sections!

 

 

The final task of the day was to make the top fin for the front barrel, and after marking out the length of the front barrel on a piece of the correct diameter dowel, I used yellow foam - a much more dense foam then the blue - and used a scalpel to cut the shape. I chose to use the yellow foam as, because it is more dense you can create cleaner finer details then with the blue.

 

Next times session will be carrying on with our props!