Fallout 4 - Lever-Action Rifle Prop Build
I built a couple of Fallout 4 props to go with my Sole Survivor's Combat Armor and my dog Caboose's Dogmeat costume earlier this year: an Extended Ripper and a Lever-Action Rifle(from the Far Harbor DLC), both made almost entirely out of EVA foam.
If you're curious how to build one for yourself, or you just want an interesting read, here's how I built my Lever-Action Rifle prop from Fallout 4.
I started by gathering some high quality reference material and drafting a quick layout of how I wanted to assemble it. I wanted this prop to break down at the receiver and suppressor for transport. From there, I printed it onto several sheets of paper and taped them together, hit the back with some Super 77 spray adhesive, and glued it down to some cardboard, cutting it out with a sharp hobby knife after it had dried.
(If you'd like my printout files, you can download them for free here)
One big note is that the in-game model of the Lever-Action Rifle is mirrored from a real firearm(you can see it in the original printout vs. the one I flipped and transferred to cardboard). This was probably done to show off the cool animations someone worked hard on, but in real life, you wouldn't want to eject hot brass into your face, so the loading port and ejection port should be on the right side of the rifle. It's something that really bugged me about the firearm in the game(I otherwise love the grounded nature of it against the bulky/clunky aesthetic Fallout 4 has compared to New Vegas, for instance), so I corrected that with my prop. Aside from that, no notes!
I started by tracing out three layers of 10mm foam(HD-Foam on the outside layers and a roll of scrap 10mm foam I'm trying to use up(forgive me, Steve) on the inside layer) to bulk out the shape of the stock, receiver, and forearm. I also laid out a fiberglass rod and the PVC pipes used to create the internal structure, barrel, magazine tube, suppressor, and scope.
To create the lever, trigger, and trigger guard plate, I took a large PVC pipe, cut it lengthwise carefully, and then used a heatgun(keep it constantly moving so you don't start to burn the pipe(PVC releases some nasty chemicals when it burns)) and some heatproof gloves to gently flatten the pipe into a sheet. Once the sheet was flattened, I transferred those pieces to the PVC and cut them out with a scroll saw, and sanded them with a rotary tool and sandpaper up to 600 grit.
Speaking of the rotary tool, I Dremeled out the channels in the forearm to accommodate the mag tube and barrel, the coupling to press the mag tube and barrel into the receiver, as well as carefully Dremeling out the loading and ejection ports on the receiver.
I originally thought I could just get away with a loose bracket with a hole drilled in to accommodate a Chicago screw for the trigger guard plate, but decided having the two ends of the hinge joined by a collar that would loop around the mag tube and sandwich between the barrel and mag tube within the receiver would be far more stable, and I can't have a lever-action prop not have a lever to move, even if it doesn't pull the breech bolt back, so I needed it to hold up to motion.
I also created some brackets for the scope that would slot into two channels drilled into the top of the barrel tube within the receiver from PVC heat-formed around the scope itself.
The coupling assembly within the receiver, the fiberglass support for the stock(drilled a hole into the end of the coupling at that angle to fit the rod) and the aforementioned trigger guard plate collar were all glued together with some PVC cement, and then strengthened with super glue with baking soda sprinkled over the top. Once that cured fully, I brushed the residual baking soda off and gave it a rough sanding.
Additionally, I started sorting out a shoulder strap mount for practical use on my costume. There's not even a mounting point for it in the game, but I wanted to be able to sling the weapon while not posing with it at conventions, so I cut out a channel in the stock and the forearm to fit some spare olive drab canvas and hardware from my pile of Army surplus scraps. Eventually, the embedded canvas strips would be glued in and the ends of the shoulder strap would be sewn around the clasps.
I also used contact cement to sandwich all of the layers together once I was sure all of the parts fit nicely and the front separated from and reattached to the rear.
At this point, the pieces are all rough, but the difficult part of trying to get the internals seated properly is complete.
The scope was glued together, along with an elevation and windage turret in the center of it, made of more PVC. To smooth the transition between the parts of the scope around the ocular assembly, I used some Apoxie Sculpt and a wet finger, let it cure for a day, and smoothed it with 200 grit sandpaper. The adjustment ring around the ocular assembly was made with a strip of 2mm foam scored with a sharp hobby knife, glued in place, and hit lightly with a heat gun to open up that texture.
Speaking of, the forearm and part of the stock around the grip have a knurled wood texture. To simulate this, I mapped it out with a ruler, and then in a similar fashion to the aforementioned adjustment ring, I scored the foam lightly with a sharp hobby knife, trying my best to maintain even lines, and using a heat gun, all of that lovely texture opens up.
After those details were added, A rotary tool was used to bevel and smooth the foam into something resembling the wood furniture of the in-game model, and sanded it with some 200 grit sandpaper. After this, I added a 2mm panel to the top of the receiver using contact cement to further detail the surface.
The suppressor finally got some love at this point. I took some PVC foam, stacked and glued it, and sunk it into the end of the barrel, securing it with PVC cement, and drilled a hole in the end, rounding it off with a light bevel and some sanding. Additionally, since I would be bringing this to a convention, I created a plug out of more PVC that I'd paint bright orange, to signify it as a prop.
The suppressor was then wrapped with some olive drab canvas affixed with contact cement and superglue, and some cord over the top of it, gluing it in place with more superglue as I wrapped.
The wood furniture got a faux wood grain with some careful use of my Dremel's cutting wheel and a steady hand, as well as a hobby knife and heat gun again. A butt plate with some fake flat head screws(fashioned from PVC foam was affixed to the back of the stock.
A hammer was made using some more PVC sheet and round bits affixed with super glue, and another application of that 2mm foam technique used on the scope adjustment ring.
The scope was then affixed by super gluing the mounting brackets into the channels on the receiver, and additional details were sculpted on with Apoxie Sculpt.
The leather stock wrap was made with 2mm HD-Foam for a base, with strips of 2mm HD-Foam woven over six .40-70 rounds made from PVC pipe and PVC foam for the shells, and Apoxie Sculpt for the bullets themselves. I wanted them removable, so the rounds were not glued down.
Before affixing the wrap to the stock, I heated the foam with my heat gun and pressed some balled-up foil into it to create some leather texture(this difference in textures really helps to sell the receiver, stock, and wrap as three different materials, even though they're all made from foam). I also added some brass eyelets and more of that cord used on the suppressor after it was glued to the stock using contact cement to create some cross-lacing on the wrap.
At this point, she's actually looking pretty legit! Let's seal and paint!
To seal, I took a heat gun to the foam one final time, then masked off the wood furniture to apply a layer of black Plasti-Dip. From there, a layer of Krylon flat camouflage to the metal, and red oxide primer to the wood furniture, suppressor, tip plug, and the six rounds of .40-70(red is better as a base for brass and gold than black, in my opinion).
From there, a subtle layer of powdered graphite and dry brushing of Liquitex Heavy Body Iridescent Silver to catch the edges and emulate scratches. The suppressor got several layers of a khaki paint, and the wood got a few layers of burnt sienna, burnt umber, and the gentlest application of raw umber to bring out some lighter elements of the wood. The leather wrap got a layer of burnt umber, and s very gentle application of red oxide to highlight it similar to how I did the leather straps on my Combat Armor. These elements got a wash of watered down burnt umber and burnt sienna with a hint of mars black to get into all of those details, left to dry briefly, and then dabbed away with a dry paper towel.
For the ammo, I applied some gold leaf Rub 'n Buff to the casings and some silver Rub 'n Buff to the bullets themselves.
I did an additional weathering pass with some yellow ochre to the wood, and a combination of burnt sienna, raw sienna, and a whisper of yellow ochre to grime up the recessed areas of the metal that wouldn't clean easily.
From there, she's all done!
It'd been so long since I'd built a more realistic prop firearm, so this was an absolute delight to build, and if I ever make a Red Dead Redemption II costume, I can remove the suppressor and have a gun that fits right in with that game.
As always, if there's anything anyone wants clarified, never be afraid to reach out! My DMs are always open, and I'd love to help clear up any confusion if it means you can make your own!