Scratchbuilding a Warhammer 40,000 Plasma Pistol Prop

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...