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The #1 "Shorty" ST:VI-inspired Assassin Phaser Carbine that Triple-Fiction Productions built for me as both an "experiment" and a favor after AWA 2013 in preparation for future conventions like AWA 2014 has been modified quite a bit since I last took photos of it.
First of all, I determined that the silver PVC piping that formed the "barrel" of the "pistol" assembly was still a bit structurally weaker than I'd like and needed reinforcement. After the Muzzle Brake popped off by accident, I glued the pipe back into the Muzzle Brake using everything from Aleene's Fabric Fusion (quickly becoming my go-to glue for various fix-up projects) to a variant of Shoe Goo, the most powerful (and ickiest/gooiest) glue in my arsenal. It's now completely secure and it isn't going anywhere.
I then reinforced all points of contact along the rear of the PVC piping (where the screw is on the bottom of the "barrel" portion) and the "Prefire Chamber" of the pistol assembly by applying coats of both Krazy Glue and Aleene's Fabric Fusion both into any existing cracks and to form an outer "seal" or chemical "sheath" that helped to bond the PVC piping to both the "Prefire Chamber" and the "Muzzle Brake."
After all of this glue was brushed on - one of the advantages of a slow-drying fabric glue is that you can literally apply it with a paint brush in thin, even coats - I accidentally created a sort of "gunmetal grey" shade by inadvertently dipping a paintbrush already coated in black paint into a puddle of metallic silver. I discovered that this shade of paint looked pretty awesome, so I used it as the new color for the "barrel" and also used it to "highlight" certain tabs and sections of the prop's controls, making them stand out from the base silver that formed the rest of the control surfaces.
I then turned my attention to the rest of the prop. I added metallic gold deep into the "holes" in the black "grips" of the prop's Pistol section. The gold "dots" made it look like you could see portions of the metallic copper frame underneath the black sections. I repainted all of the silver parts to make sure that the paint would look good and to help protect against paint loss, and then I completely replaced the flat, matte black along the handle with a glossy enamel-based black paint marker.
I noticed that Casey was using a different shade of charcoal grey this time, and this shade was much shinier and had a "shimmer" to it that the grey on the original Assassin Phaser in my collection didn't have. This meant that flat black didn't work so well as a counter-color to it because its visual texture didn't match - but the glossy black worked just fine. In fact, the glossy black actually stood out even better against the charcoal grey under flash photography or bright lighting.
(After these photos were taken, I went back and repainted the rear crescent-shaped shoulder stock using the glossy black enamel-based color as well. Although I had not determined that I needed to change the aesthetics of the stock, and would have preferred to keep the stock in its original colors, I quickly noticed that the matte black was also prone to chipping when the prop was laid vertically so that it was resting against the handle. The enamel paint is a bit more resistant, so I am hoping that providing an enamel "over-coat" will help protect the matte black underneath it.)
I actually wound up discovering that the properties of Aleene Fabric Fusion allowed for some interesting and unusual uses. Because it takes a while to dry, it can be brushed on in thin coats - I can even wash the excess off of my paintbrush after I'm done. The glue dries completely clear, is flexible but strong, and can resist water and heat after 48 hours as it was designed to survive standard washing and drying (and has been proven to do so). Therefore, I decided to use these properties - especially the ability to resist water and heat - and am now using Aleene as both an adhesive and a sealant/paint protector.
The painted portions of this prop, as well as every decal except the power meter in the rear, have been covered in at least one or two coats of Fabric Fusion. The dried glue provides a protective chemical seal for all of the decals and paint underneath. This will help protect the prop's appearance and longevity, provide structural reinforcement from the outside, and also defend the prop from repeated contact, dirty hands, liquid spills, and all sorts of other messes that it may encounter in the atmosphere of a busy convention.
Finally, you may notice that there has been one other very serious change to the #1 "Shorty" - mine now sports a pointy, conical, ringed "tip cap" on the beam emitter of the Muzzle Brake. You see, the original ST:VI Assassin Phaser has very little documentation or photographic evidence available. All we've got is a side view. We know how the Muzzle Brake was shaped and where the beam was supposed to come out, but we don't know what the "hole" in the Muzzle Brake was supposed to look like, and I presume Casey didn't want to make a wild guess.
Therefore, my prop didn't have a "hole" in the front of its beam emitter. While on the whole, this isn't such a bad thing, because my Muzzle Brake is charcoal grey and not flat black, the lack of a hole is very visible and it detracted from the realism of the prop. Furthermore, although the original appearance of the Muzzle Brake (flat and stubby) was more show-accurate, it didn't match up well with its bigger and smaller "brother" Phasers in the "Copperhead Weapons System" as the Assault Phaser Variant and Assassin Phaser (Full Scale) Prototype all had pointy, conical emitter tips.
So I went to a Michael's location, bought a small bag of 4 metallic silver bead cones, and picked the most appropriate-looking one to glue onto the Muzzle Brake, using at least 2 different kinds of adhesive to hold it on. The new emitter tip isn't massively obvious at first glance, but it definitely changes the outline and "feel" of the prop, making it look a little more convincing and much more aggressive.
First of all, I determined that the silver PVC piping that formed the "barrel" of the "pistol" assembly was still a bit structurally weaker than I'd like and needed reinforcement. After the Muzzle Brake popped off by accident, I glued the pipe back into the Muzzle Brake using everything from Aleene's Fabric Fusion (quickly becoming my go-to glue for various fix-up projects) to a variant of Shoe Goo, the most powerful (and ickiest/gooiest) glue in my arsenal. It's now completely secure and it isn't going anywhere.
I then reinforced all points of contact along the rear of the PVC piping (where the screw is on the bottom of the "barrel" portion) and the "Prefire Chamber" of the pistol assembly by applying coats of both Krazy Glue and Aleene's Fabric Fusion both into any existing cracks and to form an outer "seal" or chemical "sheath" that helped to bond the PVC piping to both the "Prefire Chamber" and the "Muzzle Brake."
After all of this glue was brushed on - one of the advantages of a slow-drying fabric glue is that you can literally apply it with a paint brush in thin, even coats - I accidentally created a sort of "gunmetal grey" shade by inadvertently dipping a paintbrush already coated in black paint into a puddle of metallic silver. I discovered that this shade of paint looked pretty awesome, so I used it as the new color for the "barrel" and also used it to "highlight" certain tabs and sections of the prop's controls, making them stand out from the base silver that formed the rest of the control surfaces.
I then turned my attention to the rest of the prop. I added metallic gold deep into the "holes" in the black "grips" of the prop's Pistol section. The gold "dots" made it look like you could see portions of the metallic copper frame underneath the black sections. I repainted all of the silver parts to make sure that the paint would look good and to help protect against paint loss, and then I completely replaced the flat, matte black along the handle with a glossy enamel-based black paint marker.
I noticed that Casey was using a different shade of charcoal grey this time, and this shade was much shinier and had a "shimmer" to it that the grey on the original Assassin Phaser in my collection didn't have. This meant that flat black didn't work so well as a counter-color to it because its visual texture didn't match - but the glossy black worked just fine. In fact, the glossy black actually stood out even better against the charcoal grey under flash photography or bright lighting.
(After these photos were taken, I went back and repainted the rear crescent-shaped shoulder stock using the glossy black enamel-based color as well. Although I had not determined that I needed to change the aesthetics of the stock, and would have preferred to keep the stock in its original colors, I quickly noticed that the matte black was also prone to chipping when the prop was laid vertically so that it was resting against the handle. The enamel paint is a bit more resistant, so I am hoping that providing an enamel "over-coat" will help protect the matte black underneath it.)
I actually wound up discovering that the properties of Aleene Fabric Fusion allowed for some interesting and unusual uses. Because it takes a while to dry, it can be brushed on in thin coats - I can even wash the excess off of my paintbrush after I'm done. The glue dries completely clear, is flexible but strong, and can resist water and heat after 48 hours as it was designed to survive standard washing and drying (and has been proven to do so). Therefore, I decided to use these properties - especially the ability to resist water and heat - and am now using Aleene as both an adhesive and a sealant/paint protector.
The painted portions of this prop, as well as every decal except the power meter in the rear, have been covered in at least one or two coats of Fabric Fusion. The dried glue provides a protective chemical seal for all of the decals and paint underneath. This will help protect the prop's appearance and longevity, provide structural reinforcement from the outside, and also defend the prop from repeated contact, dirty hands, liquid spills, and all sorts of other messes that it may encounter in the atmosphere of a busy convention.
Finally, you may notice that there has been one other very serious change to the #1 "Shorty" - mine now sports a pointy, conical, ringed "tip cap" on the beam emitter of the Muzzle Brake. You see, the original ST:VI Assassin Phaser has very little documentation or photographic evidence available. All we've got is a side view. We know how the Muzzle Brake was shaped and where the beam was supposed to come out, but we don't know what the "hole" in the Muzzle Brake was supposed to look like, and I presume Casey didn't want to make a wild guess.
Therefore, my prop didn't have a "hole" in the front of its beam emitter. While on the whole, this isn't such a bad thing, because my Muzzle Brake is charcoal grey and not flat black, the lack of a hole is very visible and it detracted from the realism of the prop. Furthermore, although the original appearance of the Muzzle Brake (flat and stubby) was more show-accurate, it didn't match up well with its bigger and smaller "brother" Phasers in the "Copperhead Weapons System" as the Assault Phaser Variant and Assassin Phaser (Full Scale) Prototype all had pointy, conical emitter tips.
So I went to a Michael's location, bought a small bag of 4 metallic silver bead cones, and picked the most appropriate-looking one to glue onto the Muzzle Brake, using at least 2 different kinds of adhesive to hold it on. The new emitter tip isn't massively obvious at first glance, but it definitely changes the outline and "feel" of the prop, making it look a little more convincing and much more aggressive.
This photograph shows the right side of the prop, mounted onto the display stand TFP normally uses with its full-scale ST:VI Assassin Phaser Rifle & Pistol "gift sets."
Image size
4000x2664px 1.73 MB
Make
Canon
Model
Canon PowerShot ELPH 100 HS
Shutter Speed
1/60 second
Aperture
F/2.8
Focal Length
5 mm
ISO Speed
250
Date Taken
Dec 8, 2013, 1:21:57 AM
Sensor Size
6mm
© 2013 - 2024 galaxy1701d
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