The thing is, when I see incredible cosplayers, and look at fantastic outfits, all while the sound of HGTV drones on in the background...I get an excessive amount of inspiration. I'm a designer at heart, and while I'm not near the stage of design skill that my head would like me to be, I definitely get itchy fingers when my muse kicks in.
Unfortunately, I'm about six hours away from my stalking grounds on vacation in Houston, Texas with my mother. So while I lurk about the apartment she rented for the summer, watching tv...eating super-market sushi and hotfries...andmarshmellows'causethey'regood....while chugging mountain dew like the bum I am, I'm stuck with very little to do.
Which makes my itchy finger syndrome even worse.
Without my sewing machine, access to a pattern or my "you did it wrong fix it" grandparent, making anything cloth-related is out the window. That means that several of my would-be projects are doomed.
However, there are a very select few things that I can get a hold of the materials to make.
I have polymer clay, so I can make my little figurines...but that just makes me want to work on cosplays.
I could get ahold of the stuff to make Gokudera's dynamite...but I'm not really inspired to...and it would be easier to store an elephant than twenty-four sticks of "dynamite" in my house. Strangely enough, I have room for large objects, but not small boxed ones. xD; Talk about fail.
So that leaves...Colonello's rifle.
...and I like that idea.
So here we go! BreakingDown the Assault Rifle.
First thing we notice....is that the assault rifle is large. Very large. If you're familiar with weaponry at all--and let's face it, I came from a family of southern hunters and the only subject I flew through in highschool was the "gun safety" course in my Agriculture class--you know the difference between a rifle and any other gun. Rifles are sleek, with longer barrels, and fire bullets. Bullets, as in the cone-like ones you most likely think of when you think of bullets.
Make a note!
Shotguns are not rifles.
Shotguns are not Jack's friend.
Jack does not like shotguns.
Or shotgun shells.
Here's a great example. The gun on top is most likely a shot gun, and the red cylinders attached to it are shot gun shells. The one below is a rifle, and those are rifle rounds. A fair sized caliber too, from the size of the buggers. Remember! The bigger the gun, the bigger the caliber of bullet, the bigger hole it usually makes.
Seems a bit irrelevent, doesn't it? Sort of. Its less irrelevant if you plan on making round for the rifle...and I kinda like the idea of being able to pull out a pile of fake rounds and pretend to load them. Of course, you gotta be careful to make sure they look kinda fake. The more realistic you weapon or tool is, the more likely you'll have an issue with authorities.
Try explaining a 3' sniper rifle in the back seat and 200 rounds to the traffic cop if they look and feel real.
The very long barrel means its made for distance, which isn't unusual for assault rifles. The longer the barrel, the further the bullet can go is the basic idea. It also makes the gun infinitely heavier--believe me. I've had to carry around my grandfathers "long john" as he calls it. It can shoot twice the distance of my baby rifle...and weigh three times as much.
What I find interesting is the stand about midway down the barrel. That means its meant to be propped up on things, which is actually more of a sniper weapon style. A rifle you take into battle, for instance, would have a shorter barrel--most likely be an automatic weapon--and would not have a stand. There would be no need.
Of course...my attempts to figure out what the hell it is are shortlived...as I am not military personel and am not about to try and figure out the exact make and model of the bloody gun.
However, knowing the use of a weapon helps design it, and my design teacher always encourages me to find every little nit and pick to toy with before I start work. But all that aside, knowing its a long-range weapon used from a distance is enough.
This is one of my favorite images.
Being able to get a good look at the gun really helps, and it gives me a good idea of where I can start with this guy.
From lookin' at it, I know I'm going to need two long tubes. I can either use wooden dowels--which because of the width could get a little heavy--or even very narrow pipe. It would have to be spray painted, and if its wood, sanded to a smooth feel.
Personally, if i can find pipe, pipe's what I'll go with, simply because of the weight.
I could easily use some sort of clay to form the circular "notches" on the weapon, which in actual use would be to hold on the various pieces of the gun, as well as hold the top and bottom parts together. Plastic or thin sheets of wood could be used for the twin square pieces at the bottom, and the same material could be used for the main part of the gun. If I could find a suitable toy gun, however, it might be easier to chop parts of it to shreds and use the base of the toy with the long tubes for my barrel.
.
The stand, as I just discovered, I can purchase from a toy store. Go figure, ay?
Now, after a bit more research, I'm actually 90% certain that can find the perfect base for my rifle. The fact that children get to play with these sort of toys these days makes me jealous...and kind of disturbed.
Of the three, the green camo and the black are the most ideal. The one in the middle was kinda just because...yeah just 'cause.
I think a nice trip to Toys R Us'll seal the deal, and make my plan for the gun pretty much underway! The fact that the toys are fairly inexpensive is also a plus. ;3
So all in all, I've got my plan. I need the following;
Narrow PVC Pipe
Thin wood or plastic(preferably the sort I can cut without powertools)
A Toy Rifle to dismantle
Clay or something like it for detail work
Black or dark green spray paint
LOTS of glue. ;D Hot glue or cement glue most likely. ;3
Nylon(for the straps)
and Plastic buckles(for the straps)
A trip to Toys R Us, a home improvement store, and maybe a Hancock'sll do the trick! ;D
And now I have a project to get me through the long hours of nothing before school starts!
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