Hey there, this is my first post here on the forum. I have been working on my pulse rifle build for quite a while now.
Gradually got all these parts over sometime, all fitted together nicely along with a custom wall display. Remade a few of the metal parts myself and made it so the stock can be adjusted via a spring loaded button.
I finally have it up to a point where i am happy and ready to start getting a bit of paint on it.
Only i have a few painting questions and couldn't find much using the search function on this topic, i hope someone will be able to offer some advice. Sorry if these questions seem really basic, only i dont want to mess it up now!
I have painted a few models in the past but nothing much and found that the paint was a bit brittle and flaked off a too easily.
Before painting do you just wash all the plastic parts in cold water and a bit of thinners for cleaning the metal and spray away?
Does it matter what colour primer i use?
I am going to paint the shrouds olive drab, just wondered if there is a prefered brand of paint for this?
There seem to be many different types of black out there and was wondering which to use, are all the black parts painted the same colour black?
Do you paint the grip handle and pump handle as well as they are already black?
Once i have the colour sprayed on is there anything i need to do to fix the colour afterwards?
There are only the 2 parts that need a chrome colour spray, the grenade entry/exit parts? How do you get these to look realistically chrome like as when i have tried in the past it hasnt looked so good, doesnt have that real shiny metal look?
Thanks, any help appreciated.

i used a different black for the spas shrouds that for the stock and barrel only because when i looked at the actual spas shrouds they are different. seem blued rather than parkerized like the rest of the gun stuff. i also helps break it up a bit i think. as you said already make sure all the stuff your going to paint is clean and degreased and just make your life a bit easier give it a bit of keying with some fine sandpaper. touch wood have had no issues with flaking with mine yet although did give a lot of coats of matt clear at the end.

Welcome!

Regarding the ejector and loading ports of the 870, they're not chrome shiny, the ejector is more brushed dull and the loader a bit shinier than that, as shown in this pic:

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Steve
Corporal in 69th Regt. 1st Batt. Homer’s Heroes.

"I'd like to die at the age of 80 in my own bed, with a belly full of wine and a girl's mouth around my c**k."

Hey thanks for the advice. Will maybe try a couple of different blacks then and see how they look. Have been looking at humbrol spray paints and they do something called acrylic varnish matt. Is this the kind of stuff you mention to spray on after applying the colour coats?
Yeah the ejector/loading ports are not as shiny as i had imagined. Thanks for the pictures.

sounds right. mine was just clearcoat matt was an aerosol paint from halfords i think. im not sure if other people have done it but just protects the paint a bit and yet doesnt make the gun look too shiny. heres mine:

i ended up colour matching the brown bess for mine with some advice i found from here and as per the movie in certain light looks OD in this pic as well the colour difference between spas and top barrel is huge but barely noticeable in the flesh.
think im going to rubber coat the pump and pistol grip too with something like http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PLASTIDIP-PLA ... 2c86aec1d2
just not sure on the longevity of it really
in terms of the loading door and bolt i sprayed the door and my bolt was metal so just highly polished it then drilled a dimple near the front and etched 'extractor' lines on although its barely noticeable after all the effort

yours will be a beaut when its finished though. accurate pistol grip. 'holy' spas cage, metal shrouds. vey nice. like the display for it as well

Very nice, hope mine turns out as well. Will post some more pictures when i get it all sorted.

So its taken a while but i have finally finished it.
Fairly pleased with the results. Ended up spraying the whole thing satin black in the end, tried loads of different colours but couldnt find quite the right one i think. Real pleased with the quality of the parts and the final fit.
All Matsucorp parts, resin apart from the barrel vent and stock. Remade the selector parts around the handle myself for a cleaner look. The stock is spring loaded so it locks in 3 positions, grenade launcher racks nicely. I fitted a switch so the counter comes on when the magazine is inserted.
May look at a few upgrades in the future, maybe a metal magazine, or try and get it counting down when the trigger is pressed.
Will just admire it for a while i think.

That is mighty fine looking!

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My entry-level prop and costume tutorials: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12751

Excellent job all around. Painting can be a real chore. Well done.

I really like the display you made for that, I might have to borrow the idea!

Very very nice!!

Great job. After looking at the first bare bones pic......I think im going to display one of mine in the same fashion. It looks so visceral.

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Wow, I got a brazilion for this?

that looks fantastic! Do you plan to weather it or leave it clean? I love the weatherd look but there's something very sexy about fresh pulse that looks like it came right off the assembly line! Nice work!

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I may be synthetic, but im not stupid.

Thanks. I found the painting hard work so will leave it as it is for now i think. I do like the more used look though, so maybe a project for the future.