Yes, the image is deliberately rotated here, because currently, the painted gun is hanging on a noose in my garage.  The paint is still a little too tacky to have it sitting out, so I’m having it hanging via the tape-covered stock from my garage roof.  I didn’t make as much progress on it as I had hoped for today, but I have made some good strides regardless, and I am optimistic that I need only one or two days left to get the gold accents and shell caps in.

Admittedly, there are a few small details that may get omitted due time and inability to locate, but for the most part, I’m very optimistic on how this is turning out.  I am almost there, and I’m looking forward to wearing the costume at Dragon-Con.

Tonight was an evening of vast frustration and agitation, but this is where my gun stands after another night of solid work time.  The stock went on exactly how I had planned it to, and I was ecstatic that it went so smoothly.

Unfortunately, the front clip not so much.  Although the picture doesn’t show all the details, there were numerous cracks to my Shell Shock, and because I’m human and don’t have four arms like Goro, I made some aiming mistakes with the drill and bore more holes than necessary, leading to some structural weaknesses.  The steps necessary to begin rectifying the problems pushes me back a little bit in where I wanted to be after the night, but from a visual standpoint as a whole, I’m pleased with the general progress.

If all goes according to plan, I’ll have this bitch painted by weekend’s end, and be right on the path down the home stretch.  It does feel good to be creating shit with my own hands.