Foam dart or water gun

matte black spray paint*

matte acrylic sealer*

Rub N' Buff Metallic paints, your choice of colors

small scewdriver

Xacto or box cutter 

paper towels

moist rag

detail paint brush

sandpaper

Goo Gone

Newspaper to cover work surfaces

Small dish for removed screws

camera (optional)

 

*I used Krylon brand.  This was a terrible idea.  Plastic fusion paint crackled, as did everything else I put on top of it.  I think it's kind of cool now and helps with the aged look (I'll just say the head from my quantum leap had a funny effect on my weaponry if anyone asks), but you might want to know ahead of time that Krylon isn't a great choice for a smooth finish.

 

 

 

 

 

Start with your gun.  Peel the stickers off and use a bit of GooGone to get all the residue off.  Once the surfaces are clean and free of stickers/dust, take the gun apart.  Remove all eight exterior screws and pry the sides apart.  This should be pretty easy and quick.   I keep my screws (they're tiny!) in a small tupperware with a lid so I'm in no danger of losing them if my project takes longer than I anticipate--and doesn't it always?

 

 

 The mechanisms inside aren't too complicated, but if you're like me, you might still screw it up when you put it back together.  Here's where the optional camera comes in handy.  Before dismantling the guts, take a closup, detailed photo of the innards in case you finish all your hard paint work and realize you can't get your gun back together.  Once you know just how it goes together, you can take it apart.  Separate the trigger, the barrel, and the air pressure barrel mechanism.  The trigger and barrel will be painted so keep them with the gun body throughout the process.   **A note about painting the barrel: if you want your gun to remain a legal shooter in public, you may want to leave the barrel bright orange.  Generally, unless a gun (even a period reproduction) is being used for something legitimately  theatrical, it must have neon orange or yellow parts somewhere on the gun to distinguish it from a real firearm.  It may sound silly for a nerf gun that bears no stylistic resemblance to a traditional weapon, but them's the rules.**

 

 

Now that you have your parts separated, you can begin prepping the gun.  I started by sanding the 'made in China' letters off.  To keep the style consistent, I sanded the rest of the plastic that could conceivably be a continuation of the same part of the gun.  I used a spare rag to wipe the dust off so it could receive a basecoat.

 

 

Before you can begin an antiquing process, you need a black basecoat.  This can be brush painted on, but I had a bit of spray paint in my crafty closet.  I sprayed the whole gun, including barrel and trigger.  Take care not to get too much paint inside the individual shooter barrels so that you have plenty of sliding room for your darts when all finished.  Another place to watch out for is the top of the gun where the cock slides.  No matter how thin your paint here, it will eventually rub off with play so be prepared and try not to worry to much about it.  I coated the gun about three times to make sure  I had lots of paint build up on the body to accomplish a few effects without exposing the garish green layer below.           

 

 

Once the gun was all primed with black paint, I could begin with the Rub n' Buff.  It is possible to use acrylic or spray paints here, but they will behave a bit differently.  Acrylic craft paints may not have quite the sheen of a real or aged metal and requries several applications via brush.  Spray paint similarly lacks an appropriate metal finish (even the metallics) and will require lots of complicated masking, drying, and cleaning up of taped edges.  Rub n' Buff is an AMACO product that comes in 1/2 oz tubes for about $4.  A bargain considering one tube will cover 20 sq. ft!  Bearing this in mind, be very judicious when applying the metallic Rub n' Buff product.  A little goes a very long way.   

 

 

I used a combination of pewter, spanish copper, autumn gold, and Grecian gold.  Using my finger and a detail paint brush, I started with the copper (which looks brown) and the autumn gold (which looks copper).  Rub n' Buff will cover the black solidly if you like, but I recommend creating small streaks for an aged effect.  To get the black rings on the but of the gun, I simply used autumn gold on the raised portion, taking care not to rub it into the cracks.  It's not necessary to be particularly careful on the first round of color unless you know you don't want a solid colored topcoat, in which case you may want to use the detail brush to get into corners and around edges.        

 

 

For the next 'layer,' I used Grecian gold.  Being very careful, I used the detail brush to cut in on top of the existing autumn gold recesses.  This worked great, but meant that my Grecian gold had to be solid toned to cover the autumn gold overlap.  The good news about brushing, dabbing or finger painting the Rub n' Buff is that it dries VERY quickly.  It's actually a wax based product so it will behave unlike any paints you may consider.  The nature of the product also requires a clear sealant lest it rub off over time. 

 

 

With the multiple colors painted on and cut in with a satisfactory contrast, it is time to work on the final rough details before it's sealed.    

 

 

Using a box cutter and a tiny square of sand paper, I cut scratches in strategic parts of the gun.  I also included a body count scratched into the metal, revealing the black layer underneath.  Reinforcing the crevasses with a crisply folded sanpaper is also a great idea as the box cutter slices may appear rather thin and inconspicuous.  The sandpapaer can also be used very lightly in the direction opposide the brushstroke to take a tiny bit of the paint off.  This effect is more of an abrasion than a clear scratch. 

 

 

My scratches and dings don't come out great in these photos, but I'll get some new pics soon. 

 

 

With the body fully painted and the desired details etched into the gun, you can go ahead and seal it with your matte finish acrylic sealer.  I used Krylon, and as per my starred not in the 'things you'll need' section, it made all my hard work crackle up.  It didn't bubble enough to actually remove any gilded paint, nor did it crackle all parts universally.  This is a strange effect to see on 'metal,' so I invented a story about time travel to explain it away.  If you don't want the crinkle-wrinkle effect on your gun, consider a different brand of sealant.  You might also decide to find a brush-on sealant.     

 

 

 All sealed?  Then review your mechanism photographs, put the springs back together, line everything up, and then screw it back together.  I recommend checking the action of the gun before getting all eight screws in there only to find out something's not quite right.  If it checks out then continue screwing the two sides back togeether and Voila!  You've modded your very own Buzz Bee dart gun.  Now is the time you can add cogs or other paraphenalia to the outside of your gun by gluing it on or possibly drilling it in.  Be careful during this step because too much stuff hanging off of a functional toy may simply impede your ability to kick sky pirate butt.  I added a small red light cover from my random stash of crafty bits.  It fit perfectly on the back fo the gun and I used Elmer's glue to hold it in place; it's strong enough to hold it on, but easy enough to pry off should I have to unscrew my gun again.  That's it!  You can now pat yourself on the back and go wreak havoc on sky pirates (or housemates!)  Don't forget your goggles!