When we were getting ready for Nova Albion I thought "It would be cool to build a raygun sometime.". Then I thought; "I should build one for this con.". Great idea with only a month before the con and my costume not even done yet.
So I started thinking about it, designing it in my head. Thinking about it all the time, sketching it. The design changed quite a bit before I was ready to commit and start cutting. There were a couple elements that I knew had to be there. First, I had a piece of handrail that I thought would make a cool hand grip. Secondly, I saw some brass threaded rod that I wanted on there somehow. And finally, I knew I wanted two glowing jars stuck to it somewhere. I had planned to document this entire process with lots of photos but as the date of the con got closer and closer I stopped taking as many photos but I'll post what I have.
I started by going and collecting my parts. That involved a few trips to Home Depot for bits and bobs, mostly from the plumbing department as it turns out. I stopped by The Source for LEDs, Active Electronics for a switch. My favorite stop was at Milarm here in Edmonton. Milarm is a gun shop with a great surplus section. By great I mean a hodge podge of strange items, completely disorganized and piled in heaps on tables. The best part was a huge selection of gun parts. If it was ever on a gun they probably have it. They also have a Canadian war museum that is supposed to be pretty good, I am meaning on going back and checking it out.
Anyhow, with my parts all collected I began to build. I started by carefully planning and sketching the body parts out on 1/2 inch MDF and cutting them out with my table saw and jigsaw.
Next I laminated the parts together with white glue and let them sit overnight.
Here is the body all laminated together.
I used the pistol grip and stock for an AK-47 rifle. I had to modify them a little bit to make them fit.
In order to attach the pistol grip I cut and glued a small wooden tab to the top of the grip using JB Weld (I love that stuff.). There was a hole drilled all the way through the grip so I cut a piece of brass threaded rod and bolted it to the grip to give it a bit more strength plus I like how the brass nut looks at the bottom.
The existing tab on the stock was a bit to wide to fit into the body so I had to trim it down a bit.
I cut a few angles into the back of the body where the stock would attach so it wouldn't be so square and rounded off the top with a router. I also masked off the areas where the other parts would attach to allow the JB Weld to adhere right to the wood instead of to paint. Here is the body with a coat of grey primer.
OK, that's good for tonight. Next I will do paint and assembly.
