Back with another update.   First up is a set of Vents on the side of the 2nd chamber of the main barrel.  I started out by cutting the framework for each vent and hollowed out the PVC tube within the edges of the vent.   There will be one large vent on each side.

I then built the vents within this outer frame out of MDF and filled in any gaps with Apoxie.  The whole thing got a coat of primer and painted black.  The vents are slightly angled to give it a more interesting look.  Here is a view of them painted.

The next piece I started  on was the nose of the gun.  This is a very detailed part of the rifle and I was really looking forward to getting started on it.  I order an acrylic tube off the internet for the main part of the nose.  The main materials for this section are the acrylic tube, sheet plastic, heavy gauge wire, braided metal plumbing hose and the LED array I am going to rig up so the whole thing is illuminated.  Still waiting on the LEDs to arrive.


First thing was to get all of the individual pieces cut out of the sheet plastic based off of the blueprint and the concept sketches I have.  Here is what I ended up with.

Next up was gluing all these pieces together into the final shape.   After this was done, the whole thing got a coat of dark metallic paint.  Here is the framework without the acrylic tube on inner pieces in place.

I'm just about ready to put it all together and as soon as the LEDs arrive I will start on that.  LEDs will also illuminate the interior of the chambers through the portholes.  I also finished up the painting of the main barrel.  Black and Yellow.  It is similar to the image above.  I haven't photographed it yet so pictures will be included in my next update.  I will be started on the main frame for the entire gun soon so there should be some big updates in the future so check back soon.

So construction is underway and it is time for the first update!!!  I started by drawing out a set of blueprints for the main barrel chambers.  Make no mistake, this gun is going to be BIG.  It is roughly 8-10 inches longer then the AER9 laser rifle and much bigger around.  The blueprints were sized around a 3 inch PVC pipe from the hardware store.  Rather then one continuous barrel, I chose to cut it into segments to make each piece easier to work with and also allow me to insert the dividers more easily.  The image below shows this step.  The white disks are the dividers before they have been hollowed out.

 The next step was adding the portholes.  These were created out of PVC connectors with disks attached to the end to create the rim.  A second piece with detail bolts and clear plexi will cover the ends of the portholes.  Holes were then drilled into the main barrel to allow the inner chamber to be visible since it will be illuminated.  Below you can see the various stages.


The chambers will be painted yellow with black and metal accents.  I have decided it will be best to paint as I go.  There are far too many hard to reach crevices that will be to difficult to get too once it is all assembled.  Here you can see what an assembled porthole will look like.


Here is a quick setup of the current chambers versus the blueprints.  The front 2 chambers already have a coat of paint so you can see an early sign of the colors.



There are a few more photos over on my Flickr site so feel free to check them out as well..  The next major elements I will work on will be the front nose piece and a set of vents on the second chamber so check back soon for the next update!