Introduction: Phillipe Starck £1300 Gun Lamp Replica

I have always admired Phillipe Starcks lamp and thought there must be an easy way to make a good looking one on my own.  Photo below is of the real...£1300 pound lamp

I set myself a budget of £10 and came up with this...


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Step 1: Materials Needed

This lamp can be customised depending on the materials you have/buy and the size of the lamp you want.  It is possible to make a large one using a toy AK47 or similar and a floor lamp.

My first issue was how to get the great gold colour used in the Phillipe Starck lamps.  Electroplating would have been ideal - but not at the cost I was looking for.  Rustoleum make a great metallic gold spray paint but to stay within budget I used a gold spray paint and a clear lacquer with gold glitter impregnated in it that was left over from a previous project.

The materials I used for this particular project are:

- A toy gun or pistol
This I purchased from a discount store for £1.50

-An old lamp - similar size to the gun you have/buy
I bought a black lamp from Tesco on special for £3

-Gold spraypaint

-Glitter lacquer spraypaint

-A black lampshade
Purchased from Homebase for £2.50

-Basic Handtools

Step 2: Ready to Paint

Firstly I undid the two screws holding the pistol together.

Then using a craft knife cut away any excess plastic - do this only so much that you can reassemble the gun around the lamp stand.
Depending on the lamp/gun combo you use you may also need to remove the light fitting (by clipping wires) and refit once the pistol is wrapped around the light.  BE VERY CAREFUL! If you are not familiar with house power please get someone experienced to do this.

Once the gun is reassembled around the light fitting it is time for painting.  You may need to lightly sand the gun/base to ensure the first layer of paint adheres properly.  I also painted the first foot or so of power cord to ensure continuity of the look.

For this project I used 5 coats of gold spray followed by 4 coats of the clear gold lacquer.  Depending on the type of paint you have/find/buy you may need more or less coats.  Allow plenty of time for each coat to dry.

Step 3: Finishing Touches

If you had to disconnect the light fitting now its time to connect everything back together.  REMEMBER BE CAREFUL. Household power is very dangerous.  As lighting fittings differ from country to country ensure you are re-connecting the correct wires.

I had to use superglue between the light fitting and the top of the pistol to hold everything in place and ensure the lampshade sat where I wanted it to.

Now screw on your lampshade and there you have it.  A quick easy project saving you £1290! Enjoy!

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