Build: Fallout New Vegas: Maria pistol

I've been a big fan of Fallout for a while now, and while I do want to make some of the iconic weapons from the newer games - the plasma rifle, for example - I'm going to start with an easier one - Benny's pistol 'Maria' from Fallout New Vegas.

As the reference picture (right) shows, it's a lovely gun - a highly ornate unique 9mm pistol, golden with engraving and pearl grips.

For a fun little project, I'm using a base gun and making the alterations. Unfortunately, living in the UK, it can be hard to get hold of fake copies of real firearms. The Fallout 9mm is based of the Browning Hi-Power pistol, so I jumped when I saw this for sale for a fiver (bottom right):

OK, so it's not the exact right gun - the Fallout one is a different version of this, but it's only that the grip is slightly more shaped, the groves on the slide are slightly further along, and the trigger is different. The main obvious problem is the grips, but they can be removed easilly enough.
When I bought this, an airsoft-prop-modifier by the name of Lycaneyes had already changed it for soemone's costume prop - mimicing the lovely brown and black colourscheme of Claire's Browning from a Resident Evil game. Unfortunately when I recieved it, the gun was so coated in paint by the ownder that it no longer works, and you can quite clearly see the brushstrokes etc. So stage one of this build is stripping down all the paint to try and get the surface smooth again and to hopefully get it working - it's a spring-powered toy pistol so if I can unclog is, the slide will pull back and the magazine will come out, etc.
Hopefully in a week or so I'll have some progress, as it's currently sat in a bucket of white spirit.

Post-illness catchup

It's been ages since my last post as I've been quite unwell for the past while. Luckilly I seem to be over most of it, so I'll start being more active again.

Anyway, MCM October Expo in London has just been and gone, and I had a great time. My costumes were my new and improved NCR ranger armour:











and my original design novice assassin, based on Assassin's Creed 2/Brotherhood:

I also threw together an MGS1 Meryl costume to enter a contest - I had no hopes of winning and wasn't surprised, but as every entrant got a nice artbook and tshirt, I thought it was worthwhile.
We had a lovely Assassin's Creed cosplay group on the Sunday, but on the Saturday it wa just my partner and myself as NCR ranger and Boone (in NCR gear).

I'm hoping to start my next costume projects soon. For this coming year I'd like to put together a better MGS cosplay (Either Eva or Meryl in the sneaking suit), Lilith from Borderlands, and maybe one adventurous armor project that I'll get to closer towards the time.
My immidiate little project is another Fallout-based one, so keep tuned for step-by-step attempt at making Maria, Benny's gun.

Cosplay holiday

Well, it's been a slow week for actually making stuff becuase I went on holiday up North. Why is this relevant? I spent a whole week with some of my cosplay friends, and we actually got a lot done.

We attempted a photoshoot twice in the lovely Bradgate national park up near Coventry - it's like a teeny-tiny Dartmoor. The first time it rained pretty heavilly, but we still managed to get some piccies. The second time was much more fun as it was sunny, though that meant there were more people we had to work around. Both days I wore my Lara Croft reboot outfit, and had the company of an OC Assassin's Creed assassin, Drake and Sully from Uncharted, and Joker and OC Harley from DC comics

We had the lovely Chloe Lynch as our photographer. It was great practice for me to properly be directed for photos, and Chloe was very easy-going with it, so it was a fun experience.

I've only seen the un-edited outtake photos so far, such as the one to the left, but I'm sure the proper photos will look fantastic, and will post up a choice selection here.
Until then, please do Check out Chloe's gallery, and if you're at any conventions, or in the Coventry area looking for a photographer, get in contact with her:

www.flickr.com/people/celynch_photography/






Asides from the photoshoot, I've got my October MCM expo cosplays planned:

-NCR Ranger (Fallout New Vegas). This'll be a remake of my old one, as I finally have a proper helmet and revolver, so it should be ten times better than the last one. I'm also making the costume (without the mask and helmet) for my partner who will be my NCR Boone
-Catwoman (DC Comics). Though I love my Arkham City Catwoman costume to bits, I've been pounced on for a Gotham City Sirens group, so I need to do the plain one. I'm going to probably be lazy and buy a catsuit as I found myself unwilling to actually climb buildings in my Arkham City one lest I snag it on something and rip the fabric - if I buy one I can risk getting some really adventurous photos.
-OC Assassin (Assassin's Creed). I was tempted to do an Ezio, but I don't think I'll have the time to do it tru justice, so it'll be an AC2-themed OC instead.

Final bit of news: Keep an eye here for when I open up an Etsy store, which I should be doing in the next couple of weeks. I've got so many little odds and ends that it'll be nice to get out on sale, so I'm getting pictures and whatnot ready.

Jewellery

Well, I've been going through a bit of a jewellery phase these last few weeks, and for my efforts have a few different pendants, the most recognisable of which are probably the Assassin's symbol from the Assassin's creed game series:





They're made out of a nice durable resin, and though I'm still playing around with the colours, it looks like I can get red, blue and green in transparent and silver opaque very easilly.





 Though I daresay the silver is what most people think is best for the Creed pendants, the other colours will certainly be useful for another thing I've been making with my partner (XeroTech Industry's) equipment:
Other values of Legend of Zelda rupee, including the necklace on the right, should be made soon.



While the two above started life as 3D models on my PC, I've also attempted to turn my hand to sculpting for my latest costume:

This is the jade phoenix pendant as worn by Lara in the upcoming Tomb Raider game. The rest of the costume is either on its way or in the making, but I couldn't resist making this. The clear resin gives a nice gemstome / gummysweet look, and it's nice and light.


All of the above can be duplicated at a moment's notice, though I'm waiting to get a small stock together before setting prices, so if you just can't wait, contact me and we'll sort something out.

Also, check out XTI's DA page: http://xerotech-industries.deviantart.com/ as he's the lovely guy who let me steal his molds, and has some pretty nice bits and pieces to look at too.

Welcome

Well, I thought it was about time to set up a blog. This will be slowly sorted out alongside my main website, and will cover all the stuff that my website isn't quite fit for, and will show items in progress - including non-cosplay things or things I'm not planning to sell.
Until all of this and my website are sorted, please check out http://cosplayisland.com/overview/Zelvyne and http://zelvyne.deviantart.com/.