UPDATE! progress on the Bladerunner Blaster

Now things are reaching the last stages of modification, I've given everything undercoat and topcoat (gun metal and metallic black gloss) ready for the weathering and ageing paint effects (need to research that a bit)
All except for the handgrips which I've given a quick couple of coats of dark brown enamel but they need something else I feel.something a touch more special but well..all in time.

I've gone one step further in authenticity and painstakingly (and rather shakily) etched some markings into the top barrell section....

they aren't anywhere near as clean and 'stamped' looking as I'd hoped for but from a short distance they look convincing enough, which is really the best I can hope for with the finished product anyway!

Now the time has come for adjustments so that everything fits together seamlessly, I want to install electronics/battery and on/off switch then put the two halves together and plasto over any seams or gaps. Finally giving everything a last coat of paint to mask the plasto fills.

The trigger guard needs to be fitted a bit better to allow full closure of the halves as you can see below...

It probably means a bit of plastic shaving rather than the metal as it's easy to just scalpel little bits off and adjust to fit snugly.

Overall, despite some minor niggles caused by my impatient handling of still sticky paint and some other inconsiquental aesthetic issues, I'm quite pleased with how its all coming along.

whaddya think so far?...still lots of work to do!!!

In other tenuously related news I found this in a local poundstore the other day....Robocop anyone?

....More to follow....

I ARE NERD

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P.

Hidden Treasures of the past - Superman Storyboards!!!!!

Whilst clearing out some 11 year old storage boxes, amongst the many treasures discovered was these incredible movie relics.
Given to me as a 6 year old nerd in training samples of storyboard from the first Superman movie from '78 and a call sheet for the day's shooting.

Golden memorabilia! I will be looking into getting high quality reproductions for sale at some point in the near future, if you want some just drop me a line...

More Bladerunnery goodness due imminently....

I ARE NERD

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One small step for man, a giant leap for nerdkind..Bladerunner Blaster chronicles

There's still something niggling me about this toy template I'm working with..sure it's 65% similar to Deckards gun but that remaining percentage..it bothers me..so today in as I rummaged in my box of bits for inspiration I pulled out an old Maplins AA battery box...I gazed it it, then at the scalpel...then back at it..and back at the scalpel..lines were forming in my mind and then it struck me - bravado, "go on cut it" said my mind. "I don't mind if you do" said the battery box very understandingly and yielded to the sacrificial blade....

and so it is done.
Now the left side looks much more different to the right, the bulge of the Steyr magazine is there..with some careful application of filler it will be perfect!

There have been some aesthetic losses tho, namely the twin red led's that were going to appear on that side, but I figure it's a trade off for now. bulge for blink, it's all androids and replicants really.

the added bonus is, of course, that the new fitting covers my plasto sculpting sins

as Errol Brown once said "Everyone's a winner baby"

thats the truth

I ARE NERD

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P.

Progress at last..albeit shaky...Bladerunner Blaster - quest for glory

When things were finally dry enough for me to tamper I leapt upon the chance to continue my labours in pursuit of my PKD Blaster, it's time for THE UNDERCOAT OF DOOM!

I've decided to give all the 'metal' parts a chrome undercoat, that way if it gets dropped, knocked or chipped it'll only add to the realism with some shiny metal showing through..at least that's the theory

First off was to mask the handgrips..they'll be another colour - undecided as yet.

and so to the spraylab....

mmmmm  shiny...

However the lovely, flawless chrome finish highlighted my inability to properly prepare the raw surface, there's some nasty looking plastosculpt crimes here...hmmm

UGH! not good...well that's to be taken care of hopefully a bit later. In the meantime the 'revolver' parts I've plasto'd over also ended up looking the worse for wear, but ever the optimist I seized upon the chance to MODIFY and IMPROVE...creating a template for some overlays to mimic detail on the original prop.

It came out pretty well, overlaying two layers of cut-out plastic from a shaving foam cap and superglueing the buggers on...

roughly similar to this detail...I said roughly!!

there's also one for the other side but more on that later...so that's pretty much the progress for today up to date, just a last picture to show a roughly half assembled, incorrectly painted work in progress, makes me happy

oh and I've also been working on these for when the gun is finished and ready for display...eventually

until next time

I ARE NERD

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P.

Toy soldiers? Action Man? nah! this is serious business...

I'm still waiting resources for the Blaster project so in the meantime I want to share another strand of my incredibly nerd like talents..

One sixth soldiers. 12 inch Action Man type toy soldiers. But oh no! they are not for children, they are more like beautiful, functional, miniature sculptures..That's my excuse anyway and I'm sticking to it.

I share this passion with some other male adults who also surprisingly have wives and social lives, difficult to belive but true.

a couple of years ago we embarked on a project to try to create some realistic, cinematic photographs using just the Dragon Models World War II Toy Soldiers (or minature artworks) and any available garden space..then imported the lot into Photoshop and so began the magic...

Enjoy....

I've also spent far too much time making custom action figures either as commisions of just for my own amusement. I was inspired by the Vietnam War era movies Platoon and Full Metal Jacket, not to mention Hamburger Hill to create the fellows that are pictured below...

I ARE NERD!

Respect.

P

Tiny weeny update on blaster build

while I'm impatiently waiting for the plasto to dry for sanding down...I've tried a test fitting of the now 'trimmed to fit' barrel ends...again sorry for the poor pics! but whaddya want? I'm not David Bailey

and below..the real deal as comparison..I'm pretty chuffed with it considering the limited resources I have (not to mention limited talent)

Stay tuned for further developments.....

I ARE NERD
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P.

The cheapest way to make your own Bladerunner blaster

While I'm waiting for stuff to set and dry on the blaster conversion here's a little bit of info on another supergeek past-time I sometimes indulge in.

All you need is a decent printer, some good quality card and LOTS and LOTS of patience...
For those not familiar with Papercraft it's a fantastically cheap way to make some great models, sculptures, replicas...you can make motorbikes, fighter jets, spaceships, even a full Iron Man costume (if you've got the time) I've made some modest creations, two versions of the famous Viper fighter from Battlestar Galactica, have a look....

a classic Viper MK1 from the original 70's series

Viper MK2 from the reimagined series

Now to the item you all want...the papercraft Rick Deckard PKD blaster, yours for absolutely free (link below picture)

Part 1 - zipfile

Part 2 - zipfile

But don't thank me, it was originally created by this insane genius - UHU02 Papercraft Master check his site out it's really a tribute to patience.

Or if you've really got some time on your hands, layed up in hospital, girlfriend dumped you etc..try building one of these bad boys

Aliens papercraft - NOT for the faint hearted (or those with a social life)

For those that are still interested WAKE UP AT THE BACK! there's a great forum that hosts the latest models in this creative genre here - Zealot Papercraft Hobby Forum

now get busy or get off my blog...

I ARE NERD
Respect
P.