Some help with a Minigun :D

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So I was playing Team fortress 2 a couple of days ago, and I had this idea to build a minigun prop (an actual spinning one, firing bbs would be a really great bonus).

So I was wondering, has anyone ever tried building something like that before?
If you have, some advice or help would be much appreciated.
Even if you havent, I'd appreciate any help at all since I am a total noob at prop making :D .

Thanks in advance :D

Re: Some help with a Minigun :D

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[quote=""Watafu""]So I was playing Team fortress 2 a couple of days ago, and I had this idea to build a minigun prop (an actual spinning one, firing bbs would be a really great bonus).

So I was wondering, has anyone ever tried building something like that before?
If you have, some advice or help would be much appreciated.
Even if you havent, I'd appreciate any help at all since I am a total noob at prop making :D .

Thanks in advance :D [/quote]
You're gonna need a pneumatic drive and an air tank to strap on your back like a diver uses. Still interested?

Re: Some help with a Minigun :D

4
For material, go for plastic. When it comes to the engineering, it's near impossible. You'll need to get ahold of a small, but strong spinning motor, electric would be best. And you'll also need batteries, alot of them.

To be honest, I'd ditch the whole spinning thing, as it would be extremely hard to do. Possible, but extremely hard. With the massive barrel, it would be put alot of weight on the motor, as the barrel is not only heavy, but long. Or should I say barrels. Whatever. This would put alot of strain on the motor, and so it would take up ALOT of power. Also, when it comes to the motor, scratch the "strong" part. You'll need an extremely strong motor, as I assume you'd want it to use less than a minute to get around once.

Another thing you could do, is to make the barrels out of balsa wood. Balsa wood has extremely low density, and so it's very light. Hardly feels like you're holding anything at all. However, it also dents extremely easy, you can even dent it by pressing with your thumb. Could be coated with a thick layer of strong paint though, it would protect it from any lighter hits. You'll get balsa woos in hobby stores, where you find model kits, and model trains, and so on.

Then it's the electric motor. You'll have a real hard time finding something suitable, as it needs to be somewhat small and very strong. Honestly, I doubt you'll find one. When it comes to shooting stuff out of it, it would be impossible unless you were an engineering genius. Also, you'll need some electric skills.

Why make it spin anyway? You gonna take it down from the wall once in a while, spin it, then hang it up again? Doesn't make sense to me. Make one that doesn't spin, it's gonna cost you almost nothing, and I assume it's gonna hang on your wall anyway. A spinning one though, would cost you loads, as I assume you'd have to get something from a washing machine or something similar. It would also be very hard to make it function flawlessly, let alone make it function at all.

You could make one without a motor, that spins when, well, you spin it. Would be lame though, lol.

I hope any of this helps.

Re: Some help with a Minigun :D

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[quote=""Watafu""]I was thinking more along the lines of a model, not necessarily made of metal. Perhaps PVC and wood? Is that advisable? It doesnt have to spin though if its too flimsy.[/quote]
You mentioned actually shooting BB's so I thought you meant more of a real deal.
You want just show? One that looks like the real deal mini-gun with spinning barrel?
How real and whats your budget?

Re: Some help with a Minigun :D

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Thanks for the advice it helped a lot.
Sorry for the late reply (it was night over here)
My budget is 350 bucks here which is equal to about a 100 USD.
They don't sell airsoft products here sadly D:

Well, I was going for authenticity thats why I mentioned spinning. I have to admit, I seriously doubted being able to actually make it fire BBs, so forget that. It'd have to look somewhat like this though:

http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs31/f/2008/ ... almida.jpg

I was going for a more sturdy model though, and i dont think balsa wood would cut it : (
Any advice on other suitable materials? they have to be a bit tougher so it isnt easy to dent or wreck the model. Since we're losing the motor, I think weight shouldnt be much of a problem. :D

Again, thanks for all the advice theyre appreciated :D
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Re: Some help with a Minigun :D

10
Making just a simple model, would be easy as hell. Get an xacto knife, some balsa wood and some plastic. Start cutting and gluing. The idea with the balsa wood, is to use it on parts of higher volume, and plastic for the smaller more endangered parts.

Making it look authentic is an easy job, you'll need some gunmetal imitation paint. The only paint I can think of, is the one games workshop makes, and it's like, 5 bucks for a small bottle lol, and you're gonna need at least 10. There is always another option though, and spray would be best.

Because of the balsa wood's low density, paint may get sucked into the wood, and the result will just look like metallic wood. So for the balsa wood, give it a thick coat of clear varnish before painting it with the gunmetal colour. Then, weathering. There is a great guide here http://www.starwarsmodels.com/technique.html

You'll want to get to airbrushing, under the painting section, and basically everything under weathering and detailing. The guide is made for star wars model kits (lol) but it will work for anything, really.

Hope that helps.
"I had the blues, 'cause I had no shoes, until upon the street, I saw a man who had no feet"

The biggest problem about a zombie-apocalypse would be to hide my excitement about it

Re: Some help with a Minigun :D

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[quote=""Darlak""]Making just a simple model, would be easy as hell. Get an xacto knife, some balsa wood and some plastic. Start cutting and gluing. The idea with the balsa wood, is to use it on parts of higher volume, and plastic for the smaller more endangered parts.

Making it look authentic is an easy job, you'll need some gunmetal imitation paint. The only paint I can think of, is the one games workshop makes, and it's like, 5 bucks for a small bottle lol, and you're gonna need at least 10. There is always another option though, and spray would be best.

Because of the balsa wood's low density, paint may get sucked into the wood, and the result will just look like metallic wood. So for the balsa wood, give it a thick coat of clear varnish before painting it with the gunmetal colour. Then, weathering. There is a great guide here http://www.starwarsmodels.com/technique.html

You'll want to get to airbrushing, under the painting section, and basically everything under weathering and detailing. The guide is made for star wars model kits (lol) but it will work for anything, really.

Hope that helps.[/quote]
That's a cool site to bring to peoples attention.

Re: Some help with a Minigun :D

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Yeah, I've been using it alot myself as well, both for model kits and warhammer.

However, a blowgun might be hard to get ahold of, but dry-brushing is the next best thing, it's easy with some practice.
"I had the blues, 'cause I had no shoes, until upon the street, I saw a man who had no feet"

The biggest problem about a zombie-apocalypse would be to hide my excitement about it

Re: Some help with a Minigun :D

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But balsa wood might be a tad too breakable wouldnt it? :S
I want a model that can take a beating. Well not literally but I wouldnt want it to break after a few knocks.

Are there any other materials you would recommend?
And yeah I have some of the GW paint, I was thinking of using it for the painting so I got it early. :D
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Re: Some help with a Minigun :D

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Well, as long as you don't go running around int he woods hitting your friends with it, balsa wood will be just fine, as long as you use balsa for the bigger parts.

Balsa wood is cheap, and extremely easy to form. With a protective layer of varnish, it will serve as a shell, and you won't be able to dent it if you don't actually try to, or, hit something with it.

You should of course whatever materials you want to, but you asked for advice, and that's mine =P Balsa wood FTW!

You could of course go all plastic, but plastic is alot harder to form, let alone getting the surfaces smooth and flat after carving.
"I had the blues, 'cause I had no shoes, until upon the street, I saw a man who had no feet"

The biggest problem about a zombie-apocalypse would be to hide my excitement about it

Re: Some help with a Minigun :D

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Good point. Thanks for all the advice so far, theyve been really helpful for a noob like me :D
i think I'll prolly go with some plastic tubing for the barrels (cuz i have some spare lying around) and balsa wood for the body. The ammo tank at the bottom will be a bit of a problem but im sure theres nothing a painted plastic container wont cure. :D
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