More finalized concept sketch, the one I wanted to work from.

This is an initial blocking out with a sheet of white floral foam that I formed into a rifle stock. Mami's gun is more of a 17th century musket, but I wanted to do my own thing with the basic design of the gun kept in mind.

slightly more refined foam

Covered in wonderflex and apoxie sculpt was used to fill the seams.

>>5303460
We have threads just for progress.

Making your own to show off is frowned upon here.

detailed view of the apoxie sculpted seams.

>>5303502
Duly noted.

Sanded and bondo-ed.

Early priming, ended up doing 3 coats. There little pits in some places but I'm still learning these materials so just good to know for the future.

>>5303502
Actually, I'm quite liking this. It's very helpful. Please carry on, OP.

>>5303511
>Dualy noted
>Continues to not post in the progress thread.
Haha this will end well.

Either way it looks nice, keep it up, hopefully we'll see ya at ALA~

After priming I covered the under-barrel part of the stock with painter's tape so that I can mold the designed pieces on top and (hopefully) easily removed them so I can paint the pieces and stock separately,

Just a test for one of the designs. This was done pretty early on but for the sake of continuity in relation to the process I'll post it here. The real ones I wanted to mold to the gun so that they would adhere better.

Here I measured out and drew the designs to mold on top of. I am still praying that the pieces will come off of the gun in one pieces (or at least break into pieces i can glue back together).

Here is a quick pic that will show how I formed the bevel (with my fingers). I rolled out the length and tapered the ends. Then went down the design pinching with my fingers then spent about 30 minutes per curve doing my best to line them up and make them fluid. They are still a bit rough but hopefully sanding and priming will help to even them out a little bit.

>>5303543
From an anon that's also working on Mami's gun: what're you using/doing for the trigger/thing-that-covers-the-trigger-finger bit?

I like most of the design bit - pretty creative stuff you've got going on, even if an ardent Mami fan like myself might frown a little at the liberties you took with the detailing.

Best of luck with it all, though!

So here I am now, waiting for the designs to set a bit before flipping it over and doing the other side.

In the end I hope to keep the barrel removable so that I may cast the stock and designs and make copies for sale/replacements or w/e.

Once the designs are set I will attempt to pry them off as carefully as possible, sand and prime them before they are ready to be painted and re-attached. I hope to at the very least finish these under-barrel designs before the days end but I may run out of apoxie sculpt :X

If a handful or more people want me to continue to update I'll attempt to do so.

>>5303559
Update as you will, Derpington.

Cosplay-related threads are still cosplay-related; maybe it's not be the absolute best place for updates - but if you're doing a bunch of pictures all at once, might be worth its own thread, imo.
(beats having a front page of dramu threads, at least.)

>>5303555
I've got some very very basic drawings laying around and have settled on a design in my mind, you'll see it soon enough. I haven't decided whether to let the sculpt set a little bit before working on it to allow it to keep it's own weight supported or not. If I have too much trouble I will mock up the negative of the trigger guard with foam and bondo and jut have it rest on there until it dries; Perhaps apply some dish detergent to the jig so it won't adhere.

I'm really new to the whole sculpture thing (first attempt) although I work in film effects so I have experience modeling in 3d which I think helps.

>>5303502
lolwat? I'd rather see progress threads than PT drama and other non-cosplay topics.

Blocked out the trigger guard.

Little more refined. I have it at about 15 minutes past this point and will let it sit for a bit to it gets a little tougher to work with. When it's too soft it seems more difficult to get sharper edges and shit. I've also found water helps (duh lol) to smooth it out so I've been keeping a sponge nearby to wet my fingers with.

Also, in case there are people out there like me that face space issues (1br apartment in LA for instance lol) I took my dining table, flipped it upside down on my counter and cordoned off the legs with a drop sheet on 3 sides. I found this didn't help really for power sanding as it left my entire living room with a fine layer of dust, however for hand sanding and things of that sort (or even painting) this should do you well on a budget. You can also practically destroy the underside of the table with tools and shit and no-one will ever be the wiser. Just don't compromise the structural integrity of it haha,

More final now. It's getting a little too tough to make any major changes so this is what it will look like although I can make relatively big changes with sanding and whatnot.

>>5303795
Are you still using that same apoxie sculpt for the trigger guard?

And..how difficult is it to work with? I'm pretty new to making props - I had my first attempts at using plaster and resin this past week - so any sort of advice on this end would be pretty appreciated. I was looking into trying to figure out what to make the sights/trigger guard out of, but if the apoxie isn't difficult, I might give it a shot.

...That, and how much of apoxie did it/will it take, if you were to guess, to do the trigger guard/sights?

>>5303903
I wasted quite a bit today but a 1 pound jar would suffice for this whole gun IMO. It's super easy to work with, it's the same basic thing as that 'mighty mend-it' stuff Billy Mays used to sell. It starts out as kind of a playdoh consistency and takes about 3 hours to become rigid enough to stop working with it. It is some TOUGH shit too. Like rock. Don't get me wrong that trigger guard will be fragile, but as long as it's not dropped from chest height and lands directly on it I wouldn't worry, Just get some of the stuff, read the directions, and play around with it a bit. If you've ever sculpted clay its the same thing.

>>5303903
I've also had my jars for 6 months so it keeps for a while if you don't use it all.

In case you were interested in the progress of the costume my lady obliged me in putting on most of the pieces for a quick pic. We are off to the pet store to get some do collars for the corset.

That's an awful lot of effort on a gun for an ugly satin cosplay.

>>5304042
Well that was unnecessary and I kind of chuckled at the 'eh, it's /cgl/' that she responded with. Anyway, I'm also simultaneously making a portal gun and want as much practice as I can get before making that so I can get the mistakes out of the way.

I also just really like guns

Zombies always related.

Your prop work is solid op bit your girl needs to work on her sewing and wig skills.

The prop looks awesome so far, but seriously she needs to work on that wig and posing better. The lack of neck disturbs me.

>>5304019

Could she be sucking in any harder?

>>5304019
She looks super cute. I am not a fan of the bias tape yellow she used, but props on that cincher. She might want to loosen the elastic in her arm bands or look into keeping them up with double sided tape. Also, make her steam (not iron) the skirt before she wears it. It's a little wrinkly. Again, not the materials I would use, but it's sound and it's obvious she's Mami. And I like her boots.
Excited to see the gun when it's finished!

>>5304074
The wig wasn't even on (she didn't want to do a picture, I just bugged her until she complied lol). All of her hair was hanging out the back you just can't see it lol.

>>5304105
That was my bad. I had never tightened a corset before and apparently over-tightened it. I'll leave that up to her from here on out lol

>>5304121
Thanks for the feedback, I'll pass it on.

Also if you want to check out her other work here is her deviant art:

http://dustbunny690.deviantart.com/

>>5304124
Yeowch. Overtightened it, and she didn't complain while you took the picture? XD
Preeeetty spiffy outfit, though!

>>5304138
Hah, oh no, she definitely let me know :)

>>5304152
Tell her to wear it two hours every day before the con to break it in. It'll be a lot easier to wear, more comfortable. She may even get used to being set to what is considered 'too tight' at this point.

I think the outfit is cute. Sad she didn't include the hat for this photo, because it's my favourite part.

I have to say and I'm not trying to be rude but I do agree with the majority. The prop looks awesome, however the cosplay is lacking and for some reason her face just does not fit the whole picture. I understand that you don't have to look exactly like the Cosplay but I mean, she's not even reasonably cute. Not for Mami anyway. She's also too heavy set for Mami, sure she may have a large chest but the rest of her frame is a little more dainty than your missus

What will really be the deal breaker for me on this will be the paint job. Sure, you can craft well but can you paint that good too? You could ruin it with a single stroke. Once again, shame it's going to be wasted on her cosplay but I am still interested to see YOUR outcome

>>5304175
That's just so rude. Her make up isn't on, she's not wearing the stockings, and apparently she was pushed into posting progress by her BF. Seriously? There are WAY worse Mami's and she's going to look fine. Esp. after seeing her other costumes, she looks sound.
sage because bitches be bitches.

So you take a picture of her she doesn't want, in a slapdash effort that you admit to, and then post her on /cgl/, which is akin to throwing her into a den of lions?

You're a real winner of a boyfriend.

>>5304175
Fair enough, opinions are welcome in all forms. The paint job will be interesting, but I know the routine of coat, sand, coat sand, coat wet-sand so it shouldn't come out too bad. The primer has a nice finish to it so I don't see why the paint shouldn't either.

>>5304175
I disagree. The wig isn't even put on properly, as the OP mentioned, which is not going to be as flattering as if it were put on properly and STYLED properly. The arm sleeves being too tight is easily fixable, even though the corset's overtightened it shows that she doesn't have a huge build under it, and the photo itself was taken at a really bad angle (OP I'm wiling to bet you're taller than her, am I right?) Her costume's showing some serious promise even if it's wrinkly, and DAT GUN is looking great (although I agree with the paint job comment).

I think with the right makeup and a bit better styling on the wig, as well as (if possible) redoing the neckline and collar so that the neckline's a bit further down and the collar goes up less high on her neck (or maybe just fixing the wrinkling fit problem near her armpits), she'll look a TON better, especially when you add in the hat, the thigh-highs, and a pair of tights.

Some moedesu contacts, some eyeliner (thin black and tightlining on the top, brown on the bottom), some fake eyelashes and some white eyeshadow/eyeliner to try and make her eyes look bigger, some blush, and some sparkly nude lipstick, and she'll look fantastic. It'd also help to try and give the wig's bangs a bit more "volume" and to trim them to frame her face better, and to work on her posing.

But seriously, I think this girl's doing really well so far. It's an awkward hallway shot with the outfit uncompleted.

>>5304195
Haha, I'm a long time lurker of /b/ so I've come to disregard all of the insults. I knew there would be plenty of haters out there, we just laugh at what is said :)

Plus, It's not like I can let her outdo my gun, so I have to take a shitty picture so I look good by comparison ;P

>>5304195
He also overtightened her corset and wouldn't loosen it when she complained, and I'd hate to see what he acts like irl if he made a thread entirely to show off a half-made prop.

So today I learned that bondo does not adhere well to wonder-flex after the apoxie sculpt tore off large patches of it. No need to worry though, I'll just re-bondo the patches tomorrow and prime it once more. Do be careful if you are bondoing wonderflex though, it doesn't just flake off easily but it's adhesion is rather weak.

The pieces came off alright with the exception of one that snapped in half (mostly my fault though, not that it was weak). But they kept their form and sit perfectly on top of the curved surface. The next set I plan on doing over a layer of taped in place wax paper.. ther eis no chance of that sticking.

Anyway, it's been a long day of apparently horribly abusing my gf and my pimpslapping hand needs some rest. We are going to get paint tomorrow so I'll update with that shit.

So I bondoed the other side; My ultimate mistake was attempting to trace and exacto knife around the edges of the curves and it cut through all of the primer and bondo. Tomorrow I will sand it and re-prime that area, For the other side I wrapped plastic wrap around the gun. There is no way the apoxie sculpt will stick now. I also included the two jars of apoxie sculpt. Those are the one pound containers for whoever requested them.

So plastic wrap was most certainly the way to go. Couldn't have been easier to remove.

Well, I paid dearly for my mistake but it's been patched, sanded and primed. Here it is before I re-primed it. Looks kinda neat :D

Finished priming the gun and the trigger guard as well as a single curl thing.... those things are tedious to sand : /...

Your girlfriend will be a despairful mami with that lousy bust size

>>5307681
Neither of us understand that. Despairful?

Anyway, here is the design for the mechanism plate.

What kind of clay is this?

>>5308405
It's 'Apoxie Sculpt'

So did she cut bangs into the wig yet?

>>5307808
It means hopeless, learn to English

Gorgeous prop, terrible cosplayer. I know a few pretty Mami cosplayers in need of a gun. Think you'd be willing to sell this one for about $700?

>>5308751
I know what it means, asshat, I just don't understand its intent.

>>5308723
Not sure what she did but she was using my mohawk hairspray which is incredibly strong, and I saw her cutting, sewing, and gluing earlier so she's definitely working on it.

>>5308776
I'll consider it.

>>5307808
Painters tape? Gee, thats gonna look pretty swell with all that blue!

>>5308783
Should've guessed you wouldn't care about disappointing your girlfriend by leaving her without a gun.

>>5308781

Okay just make sure she doesn't do that stupid hair penis thing. Her wig looks fine from the other picture, just the bangs need to be trimmed.

Otherwise, despite all the hate, she isn't really all that bad of a Mami.

>>5308783
Fantastic, that's better than a no.

>>5308781
They intended that your girlfriend is basically going to be an awful, hopeless attempt at Mami. It's kind of obvious or are you just retarded? (coming from /b/, I assume the answer is yes). Also considering a number of other comments regarding how crap she's going to look, it should have been pretty easy to guess their intent

>>5308788
I'm sure if she dared to explain she'd find her corset getting laced too tight again

Gun's looking good, Mami's looking good (just need a tiny bit of a fix up on the arms and the wig) (and i completely agree that the skirt fabric is all wrong but different strokes for different folks)

fuq da haterz

>>5308776
It's not even finished yet; Shut the fuck up.

>>5308783
>>5308788
Impersonating samefag

>>5308819
You might think about investing in some stilts so that the next time I make a facetious comment it won't go so far over your head. Have a forever alone guy.

Only Mami I have see wearing a corset
I approve

>>5307681
>despairful
>actually a real word

>2012
>still learning English from 4chan
I...I don't even know anymore.

>>5304199
Is the coat/sand/coat/sand/coat/wetsand pattern something that should be followed more or less regardless or material, or is that specifically for foam/foam-based projects? Main reason I'm asking is because I'm making my gun out of wood; and since I'm learning as I go, proper "technique" when it comes to propmaking is still pretty unknown to me.

Thanks again for all your help so far! My tubs of apoxie should be coming in later this week. Hopefully.

All of the under-barrel filigree done.

>>5308979
I always sand everything. I saw someone in a IP thread that was like 'my rule is to say fuck sanding' and I was like ' Nope.' (Cool story right?). I've made my entire prop start to finish only using a sanding block (and eventually I bought a power sander) and the materials at hand. I used 80 grit to make the stock. I used 120 grit on the wonderflex and bondo, then a combo os 120/320 for each coat of primer. Then 400 on the final coat which leaves is very smooth. When it comes time to paint I will do the same then wet sand the final coat to get it as smooth as I can. Have a lol face :)

>>5308996
Oh, don't get me wrong - I sand everything too, though I work mostly with rougher sandpaper (read:60 grit) and go to maaaaybe 150 or so. I just got my first sheets of wet/dry sandpaper to use for cleaning up the head-jewel-thing, which I made of resin - but would you go the full way on wood as well?

I'm trying to figure out if it'd be a noticeable difference in smoothness, I suppose - I'm all for improvements, but I'm trying to avoid wasting any of the dwindling time I have left, haha.

>>5309010
Yes I would take the wood down to at least a 120 grit but I would probably take it a step further if there was coming in the 250-300 range. Up to you and your schedule though.

>>5309026
something, not coming

>>5309026
>if there was coming in the 250-300 range
?
Did you mean something like "If I've got time to do more sanding, take it to the 250-300grit range"?

Excuse lack of comprehension, I'm about to head to sleep. I'll check back to see your progress tomorrow, though!

>>5309036
Oh, haha. Well, that answers it. Good luck with everything you've still got left!