Ana Amari Rifle (Original Skin)
The Design
The original model/setup was taken from MyMiniFactory by designer Jill Cope - This is not a design we will resell to respect the Designer's wishes (purely for our own setup). However, we did make some modifications to the dart area to make it a separate part and lit up via 3D Design 123CAD, 3d Printing, and a lot of patience. While our cosplayer's costume is the Captain Amari (Young Ana) that uses a different style, due to time restrictions and availability, we agreed that this version would be suitable for the time, and the color scheme best match the style she wanted.
The Build
The total build (print time) is estimated over 120 hours, some parts had to be remade for quality purposes which extended the build time. Each piece was sanded in escalting grits of sandpaper, and Filler Primer was used to help eliminate the pesky layer lines involved in FDM 3d Printing. The separated parts were strengthened with round wooden dowels throughout and epoxy welded together. Auto Body filler (Bondo) was used to seal the gaps and eliminate seams while glazing spot putty was used in smaller areas of concern.
The Finish
Due to the fully assembled/separated design of the 3d FILES painting this rifle was no easy chore. Parts that would have been easier to paint separately and put together for a better contrast had to be painstakingly masked off with painters tape and ORACAL vinyl. A combination of high quality model paints including Model Master (by Testors®) was used for many of the parts, and a metallic sealant used. Nearly all of the rifle was done this way with a series of layering airbrush techniques to get the best finish to match the original design by Blizzard Entertainment®.
Final Presentation
A faux leather material was used (vinyl fabric) to create the strap piece, and a custom design display mount was designed for the front and back of the rifle, so even after Convention fun, the rifle can be displayed for admiration by the owner (Our wonderful Ana Cosplayer SnowwolfDD).
- Glazing Spot Putty (small repairs/filling)
- Auto Body Filler ("Bondo") (Large filling/strengthening)
- Airbrush - Anthem - Dual-Action Siphon Fed.
- LED Set - Used in the Dart rifle portion, along with CR2032 batteries.
- Many of the other items used were found at local hardware stores such as Home Depot® and Lowe's®. Any questions about materials used, please feel free to contact us, we're happy to explain!