Oblivion Inspired Nerf Prop

This is all because I stopped by a yard sale and saw a Nerf gun for a dollar. A dollar.

I had to buy it. It was missing some pieces, the extension barrel, the scope and the clip. BUT IT WAS A DOLLAR!

So I had to build something with it.

I had recently watched Tom Cruise in Oblivion and loved the style of the film, and saw potential in this Nerf.

Tools:

Sanding stuff

X-acto knife

soldering iron

Supplies:

Card stock

Primer

Paint- Grey and Black (little bit of orange, little bit of white)

Bondo autobody filler

Stuff-it spray foam

Epoxy resin

E6000 silicon adhesive

Decals

The front supports were removed, and the rear sliding stock was also removed.

I looked at some Oblivion designs online for inspiration, since this was going to be an "Inspired" build, not a screen replica.

With the front folding supports removed, I used some foam to fill the cavities, just spray foam then a little resin to harden it up. I made sure the foam was below the surface of the rest of the rifle, to make sure I had enough room for filler.

I also made the front flash shield out of some card stock.

The final Oblivion rifle had a low barrel and a flashlight above it. This will have a high barrel and a flashlight below it.

Ok, this is where I should of run the wiring. Before I filled the screw holes with auto filler. My brain fell asleep. I filled the holes.

Adding the bulk to the front of the Nerf and filling the holes.

I am not going to post picture after picture of me sanding. I did a lot of sanding and filling to get to this point.

Then I primed with some grey primer. Looks good so far!

The front grip is made out of some 2 part modeling clay I use. Mix part A with part B and it hardens overnight. Great stuff.

This was sanded into shape as well. I use everything from a belt sander to a detail sander.

Again looking at the final design from Oblivion for inspiration, I dug through the junk drawer and found a camera flash, Sun something or other and glued it to the top of the rifle. The inside was gutted and we will be able to hide the batteries for the flashlight in there.

I used E6000 to glue it down. Then primed it.

Ok, this where I should of run wiring first.

I had a cheap LED light from the gas station. Cut off its LED portion, and unscrewed the switch/cap.

I drilled out the base of a plastic protrusion and screwed the switch/cap into that spot.

Using the base of a CD spindle, I then glued the LED lens portion, (After wiring) down.

So everything was test fit, then I used some wire to solder everything together. Boy if the rife was apart, this would of been MUCH easier. Next time plan ahead.

I glued things in, and let it set overnight.

So you may have noticed, I primed it grey first, then sprayed the whole Nerf black primer.

No real reason. But if I sand through the color, shades of grey show up BEFORE the original yellow. Useful when sanding/weathering.

Ok, Nerf has some great lines to use to mask your paint to. I followed those lines and painted the black first, let that dry then masked off for the grey.

This. This right here made a HUGE difference on this build.

Mad props go out to Jeremy over on wwwtherpf.com. He can be found by searching "fatal5150" and he has a decal set that is just amazing. Ok, they were $30.00, which for a $1 Nerf prop, may seem silly, but holy shmoly, do they make the difference.

If you've ever built models as a kid, you'll understand the soak-slip-place method of slipping these decals into place. I blot them with a tissue, and let them dry. Once dry I hit them with some satin clear spray paint. I used a lacquer, to avoid any bubbles or issues. (I first used a Rustoleum satin enamel, that that bubbled on the decals)

A clean prop... looks fake to me. Have to muss it up a bit.

First are the scuffs.

Spray some aluminum paint into a plastic lid, then using a terry cloth rag, scuff on some paint on all the high spots, wherever wear would naturally happen. Corners, edges, places like that.

Then I mix up some "gack"

A bit of water, some black enamel, a shot of orange paint and a shot of white.

USUALLY I use paper cups, I was short of those and used a styrofoam. What a mess, the orange ate through it, requiring me to get busy quickly.

Wash the entire rifle with this mess. Let it settle into cracks and crevices. Blot it off the high spots as it dries.

The Nerf is fully functional and now I can play in the dark!

This build was started June 2014, when I found the Nerf, and finished February 2nd 2015!!!

To be fair, I have a day job and was working on my masters... so I was busy.

I'm really happy how this came out.