One of the requirements for Mandalorian Mercs is to have a weapon with your costume. I didn’t have one, so I went down to the local thrift store to see what they had. I found this rough cut nerf gun for five bucks (see image below; taken apart to see inner workings).
I looked up other rough cuts that people had made and found this one on an image search (see below). It seemed Star Wars enough so I started making mind look similar to this one.
I took mine apart and filled it with a green LED light wire with a battery pack. After removing most of the inner workings I was able to get the lights inside the gun. I also used a paper towel roll to be modified later into a scope or something.
I then made a mockup of me in my armour with this gun to see how it would look with belt pouches and a holster (ignore cod piece way out of proportion).
Months later I was looking at Han Solo’s DL-44 and decided to make a similar blaster for my weapon. I went to a few stores in town before find the base toy gun I wanted to use at K-Mart (I’ve been back and can’t find it anywhere to make a second one).
First thing I did when I got home was take it apart and get read of the annoying sound it made by removing the speaker.
I then used a piece of electrical 1/2″ conduit from Lowe’s. I flattened one side and drilled holes through it and the plastic gun base. I also cut a small hole in the conduit (barrel) and shoved all the blue LED lights into the barrel. It will be a stun gun (blue) as “He’s no good to me dead.” -Boba Fett (Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back).
Bolts where put through the holes and bolted down tight; which also solidified the gun itself. On the end of the barrel I attached a 1/2″ coupling with a 1/2″ to 3/4″ copper fitting for the flanged/flared barrel tip. The light still works at this point with blue light coming out of the barrel.
Originally I wanted to put a mini mag light on the top to look more like Han’s DL-44, but I couldn’t find it. I used a mini LED flashlight instead. I also put on a random metal plate to give it a different feel, than a toy gun from K-Mart. Then came the metallic/chrome paint to make the blaster look like metal.
I then painted it black to look like a blaster, using electrical tape on the handle to show wear and daily use.
If anyone knows where to find the original toy gun online, let me know. I want to make a second blaster to have two holster on each leg.