Forget the macaroni and elmer’s glue, parents and guardians, we’ve found something way more fun to make with the kids. UK based Andrew McGuigan has taken to crafting enormous Warhammer 40k props with his daughter Emily – here’s how they made their latest monster build, a full-sized Space Marine bolter.
McGuigan got his start making Warhammer 40k props building Imperial Guard Lasguns from second hand Nerf guns. “That’s also when I started involving / stealing from my daughter”, McGuigan jokes. “Emily gets to do arts and crafts helping me undercoat my guns, and I get to nick a few of her foam playtiles that she is growing out of”. The picture below shows Emily helping her dad basecoat a lasgun when she was a lot younger.
Incredibly, those connectable foam floor tiles are the main building material that McGuigan uses for his props. “I find a particular joy in sourcing my building bits from empty containers and old toys that would otherwise go to landfill”, McGuigan says, adding “Emily does tell me off now if she catches me staring too long at a toy of hers that has a useful shape…”
McGuigan has shared his past creations in a variety of different Warhammer Facebook and Reddit groups, with creations including a full-scale Astartes chainsword, and a massive Ork choppa. Given his penchant for recycling scrap into weapons, Orks feel like a very fitting Warhammer 40k faction for the crafty hobbyist.
Despite the high detail on his builds, McGuigan says “my foam weapons are more suitable as chunky wall art” than cosplay props. “They are huge and awkward but weigh very little”.
He decided to push that to the max with his latest project: a full size Astartes bolter, “something too large for a regular human soldier to operate without injury”. “There are many stunning human sized bolters out there as portable cosplay props, but that’s not really what I build”, he adds.
Researching the proportions for the gun, which is based on the Godwyn pattern bolter, McGuigan found “a lot of debate on exact measurements”. He “sided with the opinions that matched my giant size bias, going with an overall length of just over a metre and scaling everything else from there”. The result is massive.
The actual build process was straightforward: “Usually it’s just me, a cutting board, a ruler and a craft knife, I keep it simple”. He adds that he “went through a lot of superglue and would absolutely recommend opening a window”.
And “Unlike my Ork Choppas which revel in the mantra ‘more dakka, more spikey bits,’ the bolter had to be true to a particular shape, so there was a lot of measuring and using scrap foam for trial sections”.
The bolter is painted in Ultramarines livery, and is supposed to be “just ornate enough to look like a veteran’s weapon rather than a standard battered campaign gun or an overly elaborate holy relic”. Despite the sacred appearance, McGuigan says “I try to use the cheapest acrylic paints I can as small Citadel pots would financially ruin me on a large project!”
“I’ll generally spray on a gunmetal undercoat, go into all the crevices and line all edges with black”, he explains, “Then comes the highlighting with silver, the color work and finishing detail (honor and chapter badges, Ork glyphs) using metallic sharpie pens”.
McGuigan estimates it’s taken him a little over a month to finish the build. “The bolter is currently stood on end in the dining room, daring me to do more to it, but I’m sure it’s finished now”, he says, “You have to stop at some point”.
As for what McGuigan will make next with his diminutive helper, he says “I think a ridiculously huge double headed Ork Boss Choppa, with about five chain blades might sate my foam appetite for a bit”.
Have you started your younglings off in the hobby good and early? Or maybe you’ve made a massive craft marvel that you’re particularly proud of? Share your tales in the Wargamer Discord community!
Source: Wargamer
