Introduction: Ray-Gun Prop

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About: Ever since I was a kid I was obsessed with making interesting crafts, usually small stuffed animal and dolls and crappy beaded jewelry. Now, I'm still an obsessive crafter who makes up her own patterns, only t…

This is a simple prop for kids, sci fi conventions, scaring neighbors, concerts, whatever.
My raygun is based on the one from Mychem's "NaNaNa" video, but can be based on any other
weapon as long you can draw the design, and even though it is only cardboard the finished product is surprisingly sturdy. 

note: I have no knowledge of guns, so sorry if I call things by wrong names!

Special goes thanks to cathystutorials, since I based this design on her Desert Eagle tutorial video.


You will need:

A Pattern drawn on cardstock.

Cardboard

Thin strips of paper or newspaper

A PenKnife and replacement blades

Acrylic paint in; black and white + red and yellow or any color you want the finished gun to be

Step 1: Draw Out Your Pattern

Draw and number your patterns 1. full gun with trigger, 2. full gun with loop( no trigger), 3. top and handle with decorative groove  without loop or trigger.

Trace each pattern onto cardboard twice, then cut out each piece with the penknife.

You should now have:
2 trigger pieces
2 loop no trigger
2 top of gun and handle

Attachments

Step 2: Glue Pieces Together

Take your two trigger pieces (#1's) and glue them together the modpodge/glue.  Weigh down with a book or other heavy object and let dry. Next take your loop pieces (#2's) and glue them over the #1's      2-----------------   Weight down and dry.
             1==========
             2-----------------

Glue the #3 pieces over the #2s
              3-----------------
              2-----------------
              1==========    Weight down and dry.
              2-----------------
              3-----------------

Step 3: Shaping the Gun

Use your penknife to shape the barrel and handle of the gun and smooth out any uneven bits.

Next, cut out strips of paper and coat them with glue, then wrap them over the handle and barrel and the top of the gun to hide the texture of the cardboard. You can skip this if  you want, but it does look better.

Step 4: Paint a Base Color

Get out your black and white paints.  Experiment until you come up with a nice gunmetal gray (or just use gray paint if you have it, I didn't). Paint on several coats. Let Dry.

Step 5: Painting the Designs

Paint on several coats of whatever color you want as your main color, leaving the trigger and loop in the gunmetal base. The stripes were painted with a smaller brush, or use colored electrical tape if you don't feel like painting them.
Since this was for a Killjoy costume(based on the band MyChemicalRomance), I used the same colors as the lead singer's raygun in the video, red with yellow stripes.  Anything goes, the crazier the better.

You're Done! Now go conquer the Universe!

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