Seeing others post their Nerf mods has drawn me out of my two years of lurking here to finally post something, and as luck would have it, it's a Nerf mod. I converted a Nerf CS-6 Longshot into an Incinerator type weapon. This is for a non-USCM project I am working on, but it is very much USCM inspired.
I painted the pilot light and incinerator nozzle and barrel area red so it will hopefully be easier seen as a prop type weapon, and plus, I figure a real incinerator might be painted with some red paint, either as a warning for hot areas or done in the field by the troops.
Here are some pictures:
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I also uploaded a short video to YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx-tNefZWgIAs you can see (and hear) in the video, this has both light and sound effects. The pilot light has two LEDs in it wired to one of those circuit boards that simulate a flickering candle while the sound is a white noise circuit board, with the speaker mounted right behind the incinerator nozzle. The audio is pretty low, but if the weapon is pointed your way, you can hear a subtle hiss, designed to emulate the hiss of the pilot light. Now I know the pilot light piping is way to large, however, in my mind this weapon's pilot light can also act as a secondary weapon for overhead use to cover a larger area should this be inserted into a room or bunker.
The sliding top cover (where you unjam the regular Nerf gun) still works and holds the circuit boards and the 8 AA batteries they run off of. The gas bottle is removable via regular garden hose connectors, and I made a second bottle so the unit can be reloaded, however, the paint didn't stick so well to the second one so it has some battle damage. Even the incinerator has some battle damage where the Nerf logos were removed. Even with all the mods, you can still take apart the gun using the regular screws that hold together an unmodified Nerf gun. I also installed a switch near where a safety would be and inked in a plus and minus sign with a silver pen, but the switch is just for show. I also used the silver pen to write "CRISPY CRITTER" on one side and "Burned Fur" on the other, along with some minor detailing with the same pen and very light weathering which can't really be seen in the photos.
Total cost of this project was under $40. The CS-6 was broken and was given to me by a friend, the speaker I had lying around, the LEDs and candle circuit board were donated by another friend, and I had the garden hose connectors lying around too. The silver pen and switch were also already on hand, as was the gorilla glue and silicone sealer I used to join the piping to itself and the gun. All I bought for this project was the white noise circuit board, the PVC piping and end caps to make the bottles, and the 1/2" brass piping and elbows, the sprinkler nozzle (pilot light), plus paint and clearcoat.
Hope I didn't break any rules on my first post...
Jeff