Welcome back to my first prop walk through! I am super excited and so happy that I get to talk about building an all-foam weapon. This year is the year I am working on my wig-styling and my prop making. I am by no means an expert, but I am blessed to have the guidance and love from my friends that are better at it than me, helping me out and making sure I succeed. I want the same of you, which is why I make these posts. I am specifically breaking up these weapon posts so that each gun has their own article. This keeps it organized and I can focus on one rather than all three.
Anyways, so, Zapper. Jinx's side arm. I decided I wanted to start with the smallest prop so that I had at least a smidgen of an idea of what I was doing. First, I got 5-6 reference photos, because the lovely thing about Riot, is that their Character Splash arts are different from their In-Game models. It's confusing and sucks that they change so much. But, that means you get to pick the best design you want to work with, and make it your own. I loved the cartoony look of Zapper, so that's what I went for.
I used 2 mm foam and 10mm foam. But before I did that, I drew out the shape I wanted the base and handle to be so I wouldn't be wasting foam. I cut out 5 pieces of the base(10mm), then contact cemented them together. I cut out three for the handle (also 10mm), and two in 6mm foam for the trigger. Make sure to dremel the edges so that all the pieces are even, and if they are curved, do that now as well, since after you glue, it'll be near impossible. I glued the handle and trigger on, only having to tear off and place correctly once, then let that cure for about an hour.
After I let the base cure, I started on the details. These were relatively quick and are basic shapes, so I wasn't in too bad of shape. Just remember to keep looking at your reference photos so you aren't messing up and having to rip things apart or start completely over. dremel if you need to glue pieces together or if there's rounded pieces before gluing on. This will save you some time and frustration rather than if you glue it on directly, then attempt to dremel.
You can use wires for the wires in her pistol, but I used 6mm foam that I rounded out with the dremel, then contact cemented. I think it looks pretty good, and I already had the foam there.
Once everything was attached, I took my wood burning tool (which also works on foam), on the "muzzle" and the strap that goes over what I would call the battery pack. Make sure to go slow, as it burns really wobbly if you aren't careful. Please also make your area well-ventilated so that you are not getting brain damage from the fumes. Once that was finished, I primed it, then painted it with acrylics.
After I painted it, I sealed it in with mod podge. This is smart, so that the paint won't rub off on clothes or other people. Once everything was dry, I took neodymium magnets and glued them on the side of the pistol and on my belt that I created in the previous tutorial. Make sure to use larger ones, as tiny ones will slip and not be able to support the weight of the pistol.
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