TatteredWings.net

Milly's Stungun

The stungun has evoked a lot of questions regarding its construction. In answer to the most common question, it weighs about four to five pounds (this is an estimate, I don't have a scale.) It actually doesn't weigh all that much more than my purse. However, it is noticeably weighed towars the front, and tends to be awkward in crowded areas. It is approximately four feet long and a foot wide.

When I was designing how it would be constructed, the most important element was the weight. Not only did Milly wield it as if it weighed nothing, but I knew *I* would have to carry it all day.

Since it was such an involved project, I need to be completely comfortable with the method of construction as well. After completion, I received repeated comments that I should have machined the entire gun, or vacu-formed it. I will like to see the stunguns that those people produce (not to mention see them carry it).

To "design" the stungun, I blew up the illustration in the artbook (with a photocopier) until I had a 1" = 4" scale (I love artbooks!) I then graphed the gun out and designated "sections," usually where the gun width or length changes, or where seams existed on the stock. Each section would have a key, or a male/female side where it would fit into the next section. This allowed me to work on a smaller area, be a little more forgiving with the measurements, and cause less of a headache.

Materials (cost roughly $100)
7 sheets of foam core board (as used for presentations)
30-40 sheets of "foamies" or craft foam, the really thick variety
2 4' long, 1/3" thick wooden dowels
2 tubes of expoxy gel glue
4 6', 2" wide pvc/copper pipe insulation (closed cell foam)
2 12"x1" styrofoam disks
2 Cans of "Greatstuff" - builders triple expanding insulation foam
Pint of "Modgepodge," a thick white glue substance with a sealer that dries firm with a slightly tacky substance.
About 100 sticks of hot glue
Spray paint primer
Several different metallic finishes, including an iradescent black
Paint effects called "Instant Iron and Instant Rust"
Brush on outdoor sealant
Sponge brushes
Large wooden barbeque skewers

If you look at the design, there is a thinner rod that connects the top elements together, then attaches at the end of the barrel. I decided that this rod (wooden dowel) along with another that ran through the center, would form the main support of my stungun. The dowel's thickeness was equal to two layers of foam core and one foamie layer. So, I decided that the layer for the dowel would also form my "keys." For example, on the back end of the stock there are two rests, with a vent between the butt end capping the stock. The two rests and butt needed to be three inches thick, and the vent about an inch and a half. The vent piece finished would should measure about 8" x 4" x 1 1/2". I made a template for the size, with the circular cutouts as appropriate.I cut two layers of foam core and one foamie of the template size *plus* an inch where it would connect to the other pieces (the three straight sides). Then I guled and sandwiched the three layers together. This would form my structure. I then placed another layer of foam core on each side that was cut out identical to the template (The vent piece should be about 3/4" thick). The template shape was then covered by several layers of craft foam. (The circular details in the middle were different depths, so the first layer had the cutouts for only the middle circle vents, etc.) I now had a fairly uniform looking vent piece, that was shaped approximately correctly, with one inch of "naked" foam core board sticking out on three sides about an inch. The butt end and the two rests will have a corresponding space for this key to fit into. The space would actually be about 1 1/3" deep, enough room for the dowel and the vent keys.

Since my cutting, gluing, and measuring skills are not the best, there are gaps, bumps, and rough places on the vent, and foam does not look or feel like metal. So, I covered the craft foam with *numerous* coats of Modgepodge, allowing it to collect in the gaps. Since Modgepodge is a slighlty tacky, it also formed a good primer coat and made the foam rigid. I did the remaing steps after the gun was assembled, but this is just for illustration. I used the "Instant Iron" paint effect to texture the foam. Then, the various colors of metallic paint were drybrushed on until the vent had a brushed steel appearance. The butt end and the bottom handle were painted with a high acrylic content flat paint so they would look like rubber. Then, the entire piece got several layers of outdoor flat sealant. This method worked much better than I expected. The only section of paint that that needed retouching was a section I had somehow missed with the sealant

The Stungun barrel is created out of PVC pipe insulation, foam tubes that are mean to go around piping. I felt that these were firm enough to hold their shape and light enough to carry all day. Because of the dowels running though the center and over the top, the two round disks would be held apart at the right distance. The tubes would simply need to stretch between them. This is the only part of the prop that is relatively unstable/merely decorative. It is also the section that people insisted on grabbing the gun by.

To make the barrels more rigid, and therefore a little straighter (they had a tendancy to flop), I attempted to fill the inside of the tubes with building expanding foam insulation (sold in spray cans). Unfortunately, I met with only partial success. While it expanded to fill the space nicely, any section (i.e. the center) that did not have access to unrestricted oxygen would revert to a tacky glue rather than a rigid foam. I tried to combat this by piercing the barrel in numerous places and spraying in small amounts and letting each section dry. All this really accomplished was making the foam collect in numerous sections rather than two. While it wasn't 100% successful, it did make the barrels rigid and straight (except for the top one....I couldn't straighten it to save my life.

I then cut circular depressions on inside of both disks, along with two layers of foam core for strength. Each barrel was then firmly glued in place. For added strength, I passed large barbeque skewers through the outside and into the barrel.

That's it. The stungun took me about two weeks to complete and held up at Anime Expo fairly well. I felt that it struck a good balance between being light enough to carry and "reading" as fairly realistic in pictures. No one would believe me when I told them it was made out of foam. So, I guess, all told, it was a successfully experiment.





	Milly's Stungun The stungun has evoked a lot of questions regarding its construction. In answer to the most common question, it weighs about four to five pounds (this is an estimate, I don't have a scale.) It actually doesn't weigh all that much more than my purse. However, it is noticeably weighed towars the front, and tends to be awkward in crowded areas. It is approximately four feet long and a foot wide. When I was designing how it would be constructed, the most important element was the weight. Not only did Milly wield it as if it weighed nothing, but I knew I would have to carry it all day. Since it was such an involved project, I need to be completely comfortable with the method of construction as well. After completion, I received repeated comments that I should have machined the entire gun, or vacu-formed it. I will like to see the stunguns that those people produce (not to mention see them carry it). To "design" the stungun, I blew up the illustration in the artbook (with a photocopier) until I had a 1" = 4" scale (I love artbooks!) I then graphed the gun out and designated "sections," usually where the gun width or length changes, or where seams existed on the stock. Each section would have a key, or a male/female side where it would fit into the next section. This allowed me to work on a smaller area, be a little more forgiving with the measurements, and cause less of a headache. Materials (cost roughly $100) 7 sheets of foam core board (as used for presentations) 30-40 sheets of "foamies" or craft foam, the really thick variety 2 4' long, 1/3" thick wooden dowels 2 tubes of expoxy gel glue 4 6', 2" wide pvc/copper pipe insulation (closed cell foam) 2 12"x1" styrofoam disks 2 Cans of "Greatstuff" - builders triple expanding insulation foam Pint of "Modgepodge," a thick white glue substance with a sealer that dries firm with a slightly tacky substance. About 100 sticks of hot glue Spray paint primer Several different metallic finishes, including an iradescent black Paint effects called "Instant Iron and Instant Rust" Brush on outdoor sealant Sponge brushes Large wooden barbeque skewers If you look at the design, there is a thinner rod that connects the top elements together, then attaches at the end of the barrel. I decided that this rod (wooden dowel) along with another that ran through the center, would form the main support of my stungun. The dowel's thickeness was equal to two layers of foam core and one foamie layer. So, I decided that the layer for the dowel would also form my "keys." For example, on the back end of the stock there are two rests, with a vent between the butt end capping the stock. The two rests and butt needed to be three inches thick, and the vent about an inch and a half. The vent piece finished would should measure about 8" x 4" x 1 1/2". I made a template for the size, with the circular cutouts as appropriate.I cut two layers of foam core and one foamie of the template size plus an inch where it would connect to the other pieces (the three straight sides). Then I guled and sandwiched the three layers together. This would form my structure. I then placed another layer of foam core on each side that was cut out identical to the template (The vent piece should be about 3/4" thick). The template shape was then covered by several layers of craft foam. (The circular details in the middle were different depths, so the first layer had the cutouts for only the middle circle vents, etc.) I now had a fairly uniform looking vent piece, that was shaped approximately correctly, with one inch of "naked" foam core board sticking out on three sides about an inch. The butt end and the two rests will have a corresponding space for this key to fit into. The space would actually be about 1 1/3" deep, enough room for the dowel and the vent keys. Since my cutting, gluing, and measuring skills are not the best, there are gaps, bumps, and rough places on the vent, and foam does not look or feel like metal. So, I covered the craft foam with numerous coats of Modgepodge, allowing it to collect in the gaps. Since Modgepodge is a slighlty tacky, it also formed a good primer coat and made the foam rigid. I did the remaing steps after the gun was assembled, but this is just for illustration. I used the "Instant Iron" paint effect to texture the foam. Then, the various colors of metallic paint were drybrushed on until the vent had a brushed steel appearance. The butt end and the bottom handle were painted with a high acrylic content flat paint so they would look like rubber. Then, the entire piece got several layers of outdoor flat sealant. This method worked much better than I expected. The only section of paint that that needed retouching was a section I had somehow missed with the sealant The Stungun barrel is created out of PVC pipe insulation, foam tubes that are mean to go around piping. I felt that these were firm enough to hold their shape and light enough to carry all day. Because of the dowels running though the center and over the top, the two round disks would be held apart at the right distance. The tubes would simply need to stretch between them. This is the only part of the prop that is relatively unstable/merely decorative. It is also the section that people insisted on grabbing the gun by. To make the barrels more rigid, and therefore a little straighter (they had a tendancy to flop), I attempted to fill the inside of the tubes with building expanding foam insulation (sold in spray cans). Unfortunately, I met with only partial success. While it expanded to fill the space nicely, any section (i.e. the center) that did not have access to unrestricted oxygen would revert to a tacky glue rather than a rigid foam. I tried to combat this by piercing the barrel in numerous places and spraying in small amounts and letting each section dry. All this really accomplished was making the foam collect in numerous sections rather than two. While it wasn't 100% successful, it did make the barrels rigid and straight (except for the top one....I couldn't straighten it to save my life. I then cut circular depressions on inside of both disks, along with two layers of foam core for strength. Each barrel was then firmly glued in place. For added strength, I passed large barbeque skewers through the outside and into the barrel. That's it. The stungun took me about two weeks to complete and held up at Anime Expo fairly well. I felt that it struck a good balance between being light enough to carry and "reading" as fairly realistic in pictures. No one would believe me when I told them it was made out of foam. So, I guess, all told, it was a successfully experiment.