Project
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M41A Pulse Rifle - Aliens
Year
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2023
Category
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Industrial Designer
Prop Maker
Photographer
Synopsis
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A recreation of the iconic Pulse Rifle from 1986's Aliens. Using the limited edition Nerf Pulse Rifle to incorporate sounds and lighting functions.
Film history
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Capturing details
This project was a lot of fun taking inspiration from the armor worn by the colonial marines in the film and trying to match weathering patterns to make something that wasn't only a recreation but also something unique that felt like my own pulse rifle, allowing me to connect with an iconic piece of film history.
Process
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Test in weathering
Once I got my hands on the Nerf gun I went right to disassembly and trying to work out how I could effectively paint this without destroying the mechanisms inside. Using an airbrush and a mixture of sprays I was able to cleanly paint the surfaces of the gun, taking care with thin coatings. Then came weathering, this was an interesting process using a number of different washes and methods to scratch the surface of the rifle to make it feel worn.