For this project, I’m going to show you how to make a cool 3D handgun, out of styrofoam.
That you can use for props, cosplay, or even backyard metal casting.
To get started, we’ll first need to whip out the Hot-Wire “Styro-Slicer” we made
in a previous video. And watch this.
Simply unbuckle the latch on the side, and you can have the whole thing set up and ready
to slice foam, in under 10 seconds.
And like most of my other styrofoam creations, this pistol all starts, with dollar-store foam-board.
I like these sheets of foam because they’re all about the same thickness, and once the
paper layers are peeled off the front, and the back, they’re really easy to work with.
If you want to make the same gun I used in my “styrofoam to aluminum” video, then
you’ll just need to print off 2 copies of this template I made in Photoshop
I based this template, around a design I found on YouTube, for an “M9 rubber band handgun”,
by RBguns. And I’ve put links in the description to where you can find them for free.
Go ahead and cut out all the shapes, and lay them on the table. And you should end up with
11 tracing templates, which are basically all just mirror images of each other.
These pistol parts are designed to stack together, to form a really cool looking 3D prop.
But we need to carve the custom parts out of the foam first, so let’s get to work making that happen next.
Smear the surface of the paper templates with a glue-stick, and focus on getting good coverage
around the edges, so you can transfer the paper to the foam, and stick them firmly in place.
Alright, the time has come to power up the Styro-Slicer, and the first thing I like to
do, is chop the board into smaller pieces, to make the templates a bit more manageable to work with.
From here, it’s pretty easy to glide around the edges, of the individual shapes, and trace
them out with an impressively, professional finish.
It always amazes me how the wire slices through the foam so easily, but not through the paper
templates themselves. But that’s exactly, why this works.
Now, when you’re preparing to cut around the trigger guard, it’s not as difficult as it might seem.
The “Styro-Slicer” actually has a cool little feature, that’ll make it quick and easy for you.
Just poke a descent sized hole, in an area you don’t need, then turn off the power
and give the wire, a couple seconds to cool down.
You can simply unhook the spring from the eye-bolt at the top, thread the wire through
the hole in the trigger guard, and re-hook the spring back onto the eye-bolt.
As easy as that, you’ve got the ability to make detailed inside cuts, in some of the hardest to reach places.
Alright, we’ve got all the components manufactured, and we’re just about ready to assemble the
foam weapon. All that’s left to do is remove the paper, and glue it together.
Slowly and carefully peel the templates off the foam, the same way you did with the board
in the beginning. And if you’re careful enough, you’ll be able to reuse them again.
Now to assemble this foam firearm, simply lay the pieces out, so you can better visualize
how they’re going to stack together. And just for planning purposes, each half of your
handgun, needs to look like this.
If you’re ready to commit to this design, then go ahead and apply a generous amount
of glue to the backs of the foam components, and carefully set the pieces in place.
The slide assembly, and the pistol grip go on last, and should line up with some of the obvious features on the base.
And the last little piece is just for decoration. So push it into the little gap, in the middle.
This completes one half of the gun. And we’ll need to assemble the other side the same way,
but make sure this other side, is pointing the opposite direction. That’s important.
With the two sides complete, you should have twin “half-pistols”, that are mirror-images
of each other. So if you do, then let’s make the two, become one.
Smear a generous amount of glue on each of the bottoms, then slowly and carefully line
up the two halves, and gently press them together.
Double-check the edges match up on every side, and give it a few minutes for the glue to
start setting. And with that, your styrofoam sidearm, is pretty much done.
Now to polish it up a bit, try using a 220 grit sanding sponge, to smooth out any imperfections.
The foam is pretty soft, so by lightly sanding it, you can get your gun to clean up really nice.
With the handgun sanded, the very last step, is to add the small circle to the tip, completing the barrel.
And that’s it. You’ve just made yourself a really cool looking, 3D foam pistol, that
you can use for props, or cosplay.
Of course if you want to take it to the next level, you could always transform it into
solid aluminum as well.
If you adjust the cutting arm of your “Styro-Slicer” to roughly match the base of the gun, you
can easily make a custom foam riser that will glue to the handle.
This is the setup I used, for burying my pistol, nose down into a bucket of sand.
And to turn it into solid metal, all you have to do is dump in a crucible full, of hot liquid aluminum.
The scorching, molten metal, vaporizes the foam instantly, and somehow rushes in to fill
all the spaces, as it does.
Of course your styrofoam creation gets completely destroyed in the process, but you’ll get
a solid metal casting, in return.
By the way, if you want to make anything else out of foam, your imagination is the only limitation.
I designed and built a whole squadron of 3D, foam fighter jets, that are actually puzzles
you can take apart, and put back together.
So if you want to try making them next, look for these foam fighters, in another project video.
Well now you know how to use dollar store foam-board, and your homemade “Styro-Slicer”,
to make a realistic, and three dimensional, “Saturday Night Special”.
Well that’s it for now. If you liked this project, perhaps you’ll like some of my others.
Check them out at www.thekingofrandom.com