Halo 4 Plasma Pistol Foam Build

Here is the mostly finished Plasma Pistol

I figure I should show it off early to keep people interested. In this image it has been coated in Plasti-Dip to seal the prop for painting, molding, etc. The entire weapon was built using EVA foam floor mats from Harbor Freight, hot glue, wood glue, "foamies" from Hobby Lobby, a hobby knife, hot glue gun, ruler, soldering iron, and a Dremel with a sanding bit.

Also, you can follow all of my other builds and projects on my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/TuckerProps

Reference image found on Google to help with this build.

This is the main image that I used to decide where to locate all of the details on this prop. I also used measurements from the Halo wiki.

My hand drawn starting template.

Using measurements from the wiki, I sketched this onto the foam.

First layer cut out.

I mirrored this image, cut out another "slice" and made 2 other slices for each side to layer my pistol.

Size reference. Yes this is full sized.

Remember, this pistol was designed for alien hands, not humans. So it is pretty large.

First layers added onto the initial shape.

Sorry for sideways picture. No matter how many times I rotated it anywhere, it would upload sideways.

All 4 layers glued together.

All 4 layers, showing off the thickness of the pistol.

Don't worry, I carve into the foam from here on out. It's only going to get skinnier.

Starting to bevel some edges.

I use a Dremel with a sanding bit to get those nice beveled edges. I also occassionally use my hobby knife to "saw" off chunks and then just sand it smooth.

Some detail lines carved in.

I use my soldering iron to carefully burn lines into the foam. I sketch the lines on first, then carefully score each line with my hobby knife. This creates a small groove for my soldering iron to travel in.

Adding more details with foamies.

"Foamies" are generally purchased at craft stores, and come in a variety of thicknesses. I had some that was 1/4 inch thick, and some that was 1/8th of an inch thick. I use this for many of the smaller and finer details.

The other side.

More details added, really starting to come together.

Holding it with a gloved hand, and with my unfinished Spartan IV forearm.

I just wanted to see how the sizing would look with an armored arm and hand holding it.

More work done on the grip.

The grooves in the grip were very carefully cut out using only my hobby knife. No other tools were used.

Still a few more details to add on the grip.

The front "claws" have been added.

These photos were taken immediately before I sprayed on the Plasti-Dip.