Steampunk and its growing following

[analise]

Just a comment:

Was in Hobby Lobby today and in the scrapbooking section, they had some neat Steampunk-inspired metal things. Gears, keys, cool little frames, all kinds of nifty stuff (and reasonable prices!). Also they have a small clock-making section which...while there are no gears, there were some cool clock hands.

Also:

I have a resin Star Wars blaster replica someone made for me several years ago when I thought I wanted to do Star Wars costuming. It's basically sat in a box ever since. I've been considering repainting it to make it look more Steampunk (I've got liquid metal paint stuff in gold, silver, and copper tones) but I don't think the whole thing should look metallic. Probably part should look like it's made out of wood but I'm totally drawing a blank on how to accomplish that. Thoughts? Better ideas? Anybody repaint a toy/replica gun before?

[Rani Zemirah]

Analise, if you go back through the pages of this thread you will see several painted guns, of different types... and some descriptions of the methods used to paint them. 

[analise]

Well okay.

I've now scrolled through the entire 119 pages of this thread (though I admit, I was mostly looking for pictures and did not click through every link or I'd have been here all week!). I saw several very cool guns and some discussion on painting and I did get a few ideas for what to do with my gun.

Didn't see anything referring to simulating wood on something that isn't wood, however, so if anyone has any thoughts on that (preferably some way it can be done without looking cheezy), let me know.

[Becky10]

What about using something like this to cover small areas?
I have no idea what a starwars blaster looks like so i dont know how well it would work...
http://www.rvinyl.com/Wood-Grain-Vinyl-Film-Mahogany.htm

[analise]

What about using something like this to cover small areas?
I have no idea what a starwars blaster looks like so i dont know how well it would work...
http://www.rvinyl.com/Wood-Grain-Vinyl-Film-Mahogany.htm

Maybe!

Here's what mine looks like:



It's really just the brown part on the handle I was thinking of making look like wood but I suspect the only way to even approach verisimilitude would be to paint it on because anything I apply (like those vinyl sheets) would look funny, due to the texture of the handle. At the moment, I'm considering just leaving it brown and then seeing how it looks when I finish repainting the thing everywhere else.

[Elennare]

It might be a bit tricky to get a wood grain look on the handle given it's texture.  But, here's how I would attempt it.

Paint the whole thing (that you want wood looking) in the darkest of the 3 shades of brown you want to use (or just use the brown that's already there).  Next, paint lines in the wood grain pattern you want using the medium brown.  Then, use your light brown and add some more wood grain lines.  Try to put them inbetween some of lines already there.  The tricky part with the lines is going to keep them looking good over the texture, but if you're careful it should work.  To finish it off, use a brown wash on the handle to smooth it out a bit and bring out the texture of the handle.  A wash can be either ink, watered-down paint, or an already prepared product.  If you're using ink or watered-down paint, add a tiny bit of dish soap so it flows better.

[analise]

Dish soap? Huh. That's something I would never have considered adding to paint.

[Taffy Saltwater]

It looks great the way it is.  Unless there's something that's egregiously Star Wars, I'd let it be. 

[analise]

It looks great the way it is.  Unless there's something that's egregiously Star Wars, I'd let it be. 

It's pretty much an exact replica of Han's blaster:



(and besides, I already started on repainting other parts so either way I have to figure out something to do with it. )

[Stalkwell]

A bit OT, but...

Are there any plans for a SP invasion at TRF this year?  Or have I just missed it all?

Stalk well...

[Becky10]

Maybe make that thingy on top look like a telescope? Gear covers on those round bits?

[analise]

Maybe make that thingy on top look like a telescope? Gear covers on those round bits?

You and I have similar thoughts on the matter.

[Taffy Saltwater]

A bit OT, but...

Are there any plans for a SP invasion at TRF this year?  Or have I just missed it all?

Stalk well...

I think there may be a mini invasion on AHE Sunday.  I'm planning on going SP and there were some others, but some have dropped out.  Hope to see you there!

[Anna Iram]

Here's a whole page of Steampunk weapons for you.

http://www.walyou.com/blog/2010/02/02/steampunk-weapons/


Maybe if you gilded the raised portions of the handle like pic 11 and 6 with the rest being brown it might read as wood or gold embosed leather.

[Elennare]

Dish soap? Huh. That's something I would never have considered adding to paint.

Only add it for the wash layer.  The idea with a wash is you want it really runny, so it gets in all the little nooks and crannies and brings out the details/textures that are there.  The soap breaks the surface tension so it doesn't glob in weird places.  If you're buying already prepared wash, you don't need to add any soap.

I wouldn't add it to paint you plan to, well, paint with, or you could have issues with it running places you don't want.