Buy the STL model of this blaster on Etsy here (link opens in new window).
This blaster was inspired by Dasha Promenti’s blaster pistol prop from Star Wars The Force Awakens. Although an image of it was published as part of movie pre-release promotion (promotional image below), as far as I can tell the blaster pistol does not appear in any obvious way in the film.
I also found a photo of the blaster in the Star Wars: the Force Awakens Visual dictionary (below).
In any case, I found this prop to be so interesting and unique-looking that I wanted to make it for myself.
I modelled the blaster in Rhino 3D using the promotional image as reference.
Once the modelling was finished, I split the parts up into separate STL files and 3D printed all the pieces on my FlashForge Creator Pro printers.
You never quite know whether the size of a 3D print is going to be right until you actually assemble it, and in this case it turned out to be spot on.
I decided to order the simulated metal parts like barrel, sights, and cleaning rod from Shapeways instead of using the ones I printed, because Shapeways' “Black Versatile Plastic” has a natural texture very similar to powder coated metal - the look I wanted.
The frame/grip that I printed however would suit the project fine; I glued all the grip parts together using superglue, and mixed up an ABS/acetone slush which I then used to fill the gaps.
I then sanded the grip as smooth as possible using 200 grit sand paper, and smeared clean acetone all over the surface with my finger to smooth out any remaining imperfections.
Finally, I roughed up the surface again with 800 grit sandpaper to get it ready for hand painting.
I painted the grip with various Wargamer paints by hand using brushes and foam pads; I sprayed the black parts with Krylon Flat Black primer to introduce some colour variation to the black “powder coated” surface, and dry brushed some light silver highlights to simulate metallic weathering. Given the quality of these raw parts, I did not have to do any post-processing to get them ready for painting and assembly.
I glued all the parts together using a combination of ABS cement and superglue and added some Allen screws, which completed the blaster.
For anyone interested in printing this blaster for yourself, you can get a copy of the STL file through my ETSY shop through the following link.
Thanks for looking!