Pirate-esque Nerf Gun Conversion

How to turn a plain, ordinary, off-the-shelf Nerf gun into a sorta-piratey themed gun with the use of a few paints, some sandpaper, and a 3-day weekend.

Step 1 Gather your materials

You will need:

1. A plastic weapon of your choice. I went for the Nerf Maverick Rev-6, it's a pretty accurate gun with good range and a good heft to it. Not particularly piratey, but them's the breaks.
2. Sandpaper - medium (about 100 - 120 grit) and fine (200+ grit)
3. Matte black spray paint.
4. Red & brown spray paint in hues that you choose.
5. Black model (acrylic) paint.
6. Yellow or orange acrylic paint.
7. Rub'n'Buff in your choice of colours. I used Antique Gold, and Silver Leaf.
8. Matte & gloss finish coats.
9. Old brushes.
10. Old clothes.
11. Somewhere to get all painty.

Comments

[Random Dent]

I found it easier not to take all the "guts" out of the inside and left the "barrel-turn" mechanism in-situ, mostly so if it fell apart I would end up crying (",).

I took everything else apart (view my page for result) - very simple to put back together - it basically puts its self back - and if I can do it anybody can (",)

RD

[arjun24]

Oh man...sweet mod, my son has about 15 nerf guns and is always looking for the next new one, turning him on to this baby!

[swhitewood]

You should also add that the paint rubs off the nerf nightfinder gun cock mechinism because it constantly rubs against the top

[curious youth]

bro thats a pretty sexy paintjob well done

[sonofstone]

i am steampunking two mavericks at the moment, i've glued the recon barrels onto them, to make it look a bit more like a huge revolver. all in all, your mav looks great, the wood detailing works out pretty cool, nice job

[jaybird1164]

its easy to take apart but sucks to put back together. I took two of these apart to switch around the covers ( felt like it lol) and my oldest one is still a fudger to cock and shoot but rotates fine, and my other newer one works fine but is loud as hell now. Now I am afraid to take them apart...Too many springs and screws...

[DaPope]

Nicely done, I picked one of these up the other day as a base model to try and do a Steampunk retrofit!

[seabananers]

thats epic

[flio191]

Looks like a fantastic way to personalize your nerf gun! You should make the finished product your first picture though, to show off to other people who haven't seen this page yet your work, and entice them to come. Otherwise, it seemed like a normal maverick gun, and the picture wasn't very descriptive. Just a friendly tip :D

[Edgar]

I discovered quite by accident that graphite, scraped off a pencil and rubbed into matte black paint will give you an old iron look. How that survives the final paint fixing layer is another mater...

[SiderAnne]

I've found that mixing "copper" acrylic paint with boring brown acrylic paint (in a 1:3 or 1:2 ratio) makes an awesome worn leather look... since worn leather gets shinier with age.

[Zeppelinfreak]

Looks alot better, too much work for my likey though :(

[lucek]

looks great. too bad you can be arrested on the street with it because you painted the orange.

[geodez]

everybody knows that this, does not look like a real gun, it looks well, goofy.

[lucek]

I'm just commenting on how the law is written. the gun dosn't have to look real for it to be illegal. lets face it the origins of the law came from a misseeing a gun and someone dieing because of it.

[geodez]

i know, but this is not going to be misseen (unless you are drunk or on drugs and have some kind of weapon on you.)

[lucek]

never say never.
the ignorance of people should never be underestimated. again people die because of that.

[geodez]

i know, but you can't tell me this looks like a real pistol, and once yellow/orange foam sticks start coming out the front, it will seem obvious that this is not a deadly weapon.

[lucek]

but by then the stupid kid who runs around with one at night could be bleeding to death because of an equally stupid adult.

[geodez]

I know, let's just have the guy put an orange tip on it.

[purplemonkeydishwasher]

I dont think anybody will think that is a REAL gun, but when I paint my nerf's i keep orange (just take the orange part out for the paintjob). But still, keeping it orange is a good precaution.

[Biohazard1194]

I always paint my Airsoft tips black.. Then I just keep a roll of Neon Orange duct-tape on hand.

[aeislugh]

he could always get some bright orange tape to put over those areas that need to be bright orange for use outside. something that won't pull the paint off.

[Biohazard1194]

Great paint job, mate :D

[anishka]

Wow, thanks for the very nicely put together tutorial. Though I think I'm going to do more of an steampunk thing with it. Have you had any experience attaching anything to the plastic?

[geodez]

i can sort of see almost steampunk in it, it looks both old and futuristic together.

[MrSalvador]

bummer, I started my nerf mod and found this one halfway thorugh! Ill post mine though

[thealeks]

hey that looks awesome! im in the process of modding my mav but im prolly gonna end up painting it. ill keep this in mind!

[Zansion]

Hey, great Instructable! I just panted my Maverick, it turned out a lot better than i expected.

Sadly i had to replace the internals after a modding problem. So its got an unpainted trigger and barrel.

[sx0wdzzded]

it looks like a boomshot from Gears of War

[crickle321]

It's never fun to find left over parts when you're finished...

[Pie Ninja]

Yeah... that's never good.

[Aklash, The hunchback]

i wish i could make a mold of all the parts for this and cast it in metal. then it would be uber durable. it would also weigh a ton but look realistic

[lucek]

why don't you. there are guides on every step on this site.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Moldmaking-With-Clear-Silicone-Rubber/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Lost_Wax_Casting/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Ultimate-Guide-to-Making-a-Cheap-but-Effective-Alu/
some silicon candles cans and fuel

[Aztof]

the brand name of the "Ultra Flat" paint is "Krylon", though, personaly, I would reccome the Krylon Fusion, its a special plastic-bonding paint that worked really well for me.

[Calltaker]

Some retro looking gauges and gears and such and it'd be perfect Steampunk too... I may have to go shopping this week. Nice job!! ~C

[Robotic_mage]

Great Job, LOVE IT, Not to be a joy-kill, in some states it is illegal to change the orange tip marking it a TOY, and not a real Firearm.

[Robotic_mage]

You would need to check your local law library. But in the State of Nebraska it is illegal to Paint the Orange tip. Even if the entire Gun is DayGlow Orange. Kind of funny. If I was a Crook, I would think about Painting the Tip of a Real Gun Orange.

[Brother_D]

But the whole thing is bright yellow. Well not now, but... If you paint over the orange tip and only that, does it really matter?

[ReVibe]

Nice paintjob. You should post pictures on nerfhaven.