Aggrogate

Steampunk Warfare: Building a Well-Reasoned Argument (with video!)

Professor William von Greenwald here from the airship S.S. Aggrogate, because everybody is a professor with a "van" or a "von" in their name aboard an airship when it comes to steampunk stuff. The aesthetic may be overused, but I think there's still some life left in the Victorian high technology pastiche yet! I told you a few days ago that I was working on something special with the Nerf Barrel Break IX-2, and here it is!

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Well-Reasoned Argument, the first and last answer in steampunk Nerf munitions. It's a double-barreled, steam-powered, breech-loading shotgun with a copper barrel, brass fittings, and brushed gold-plated stock. Or rather, it's a spring-powered, breech-loading shotgun with a plastic barrel, plastic fittings, and plastic stock. So what? It's shiny!

There are plenty of steampunk Maverick mods out there, but this is the first steampunk Barrel Break mod. I added a modified scope from the Nerf Longshot, but otherwise it's just a stock gun.

I sanded down the various Nerf markings on the gun and painted everything a flat black with Rustoleum Universal spraypaint to prime the project, then I set to work with metallic paints and finishes. The stock was painted with antique gold Rub 'n Buff, while the barrels and fittings were painted with copper and brass Liquid Leaf paint. To spruce up the sides of the gun, I cannibalized some model airplane kits, painted some parts copper, and glued them on with Krazy Glue.

As a bonus, here's a video of the gun in action, plus an explanation of how to make your own steampunk nerf gun! Just prime the gun with a flat black spraypaint and use Rub & Buff (Liquid Leaf is shinier, but harder to work with). The entire project took about 6 hours, not counting waiting for paint to dry. I did the whole thing in a weekend with time to spare.