First Attempt at Weathering - P38

[Totez]

This is my first attempt at weathering a gun. Unfortunately this isn't an airsoft P38 but the same principles apply and I'll be started doing airsoft guns soon but I wanted to give it a go at this blankfire P38 I purchased from my neighbor for $30 so that if I messed up it wouldn't hurt me so bad.

I think I did pretty good, so here it is!

Firstly the original gun comes in a thick half-decent painted on finish and looks like a lot of airsoft guns as well as it has black plastic grips.

The first thing I did was take some steel wool and buff the finish to dull it down a bit. After that I did some detail work and stronger abrasions with super-fine grit sand paper.

After I got the metal looking how I wanted it I took the plastic grips and sanded them down and painted them to look more like brownish-red bakelite looking stuff as I have seen on a few examples.

Below are some pictures for you to enjoy!








I think it turned out pretty well but what say the peanut gallery?

[remrat]

Wow that's been through hell looks really cool I could stand here all day and pick out the flaws because they are pictures but dude any one can do that from 10 feet away that would look awesome Great job!

[greg1980]

The receiver looks ok, maybe bit too far on a pistol for my liking. But remember:

1) The marushin P38 is mostly ABS plastic so this technique will not work on the airsoft version.
2) Most airsoft guns are painted black pot metal and will not rub down as gracefully as that real steel did.

With that in mind you might need to try out some dry brushing techniques for plastic guns, and for pot metal guns, go easier on the steel wool. I would use steel wool instead of sand paper.

The grips look great. I take it they were originally black?

[Totez]

Yes they were originally black and I used a reddish brown with a bit of black mixture of Folk Art paint to get a good bakelite look and put two coats on, the first lighter and then the second a darker version of the mixture and dabbing at it with a paper towel to blend and show off the different colors of the fake bakelite. After is was satisfied with the look of it I gave it some spray on non-gloss sealer which gave it just the right look.

As for the extreme wear, I wanted it to look like it had been to hell and back, my back story for why I have it as a GI is that I hacked it out of the hands of a frozen corpse during the bulge so I wanted it to be worn and really look like the poor soul that had it before me had seen a lot of hardships.

[2nd Bat]

I am big fan of "aged" weapons as I know that field weapons look the part once exposed to the rigors of combat, the elements and regular cleaning with available solvents. Metal fatigues differently according to the rub surfaces and the hardnes of the metal which varies throughout the weapon.

Your handgun looks great albeit a bit overdone for my taste. On ABS surfaces similar effects can be done with paints. I prefer a good dull coat clear coat once the desired effects are achieved as it protects the work and furthers the illusion.

Thanks for sharing!