I still haven't been able to get it out of my system, so I find myself building more prop replicas from Warhammer 40,000. While I've made a chainsword and the various versions of boltguns, I wanted something a bit more challenging. For my next build, I decided to make a plasma pistol.
In the game mythology, plasma pistols fire energy 'bolts' of bright glowing plasma. Each one is like a miniature little sun launched out of the barrel. Among the forces of the Imperium, these weapons are highly coveted and usually end up in the hands of very high ranking officers and heroes of the Imperial Guard.
That sounds cool and all, but I was really just excited to make a pistol filled with blinky lights that chase around inside of it when I pull the trigger and say "pew pew pew."
To see how I went about making it, read on...
Space Marines are huge. In the game mythology their armor is power assisted, which allows them to move their several tons of mass with all the grace and fluidity of a dancer.
While building the Space Marine costumes, I didn't have access to any of the technology of the 41st millennium. As a result, I had to settle for making them not weigh tons. I also had to have people follow them around to make sure they wouldn't trip or fall over or bump their heads while walking through doorways.
Since I didn't like the idea of having the finest warriors of the Imperium of Man being shepherded around by a handful of people in jeans and t-shirts, I needed another option. The other option: have each of them accompanied by a small retinue of Imperial Guardsmen from the Cadian Regiments.
Here's a shot of the finished Guardsmen with one of my Space Marines:
For more pictuers and details of the build process, read on...
