Make it look Steampunk!
how to make plastic look like aged brassOur family loves the Pixar movie “Inside Out”. so we dressed up as the emotion characters for Halloween, but with a twist. We made them steampunk: our favorite cosplay theme. My daughter dressed as Joy, and wanted an accessory that really highlighted Joy’s personality. She chose a bubble gun in the shape of a horse to add the fun and whimsy she was looking for. Watch the video to see how she made it look steampunk.
How-to Video
We used spray paint, foam, and wire to make a plastic toy look like a metal steampunk accessory
Supplies used in the video
This is the stuff we used, but most of these we already had around our house. Try to use supplies you already have, even if they aren’t exactly the same as ours. Imperfection will make it look better. Each of the products on the list has a link to that product on Amazon. Some of them aren’t exactly the same brand as we used because they don’t sell them anymore, but they are what I would buy if I needed to replace what we have.
- Bubble Gun
- Blue painter’s tape
- Craft knife
- Cheap black spray paint (this link is the cheapest I could find at Amazon, but Lowe’s and Home Depot usually have a cheaper one in the store)
- Rust-Oleum Hammered Copper
- Rust-Oleum Multicolor Textured
- Rust-Oleum Bronze
- Heidi Swapp color shine paint in Mint
- Rub’n Buff antique gold (We use this for everything!)
- Foam paint brush
- Rust-Oleum flat black enamel
- Googly eyes
- Copper Wire
- Gorilla Super Glue
- Craft Foam
- Rust-Oleum leak seal (We use this as a base coat on all our foam costumes)
- Acrylic craft paint in black, orange, and red
The bubble gun started as a tacky pick and purple plastic toy. It just needed a little help to turn it into a cool steampunk cosplay accessory.
Several coats of paint later, the bubble gun looked completely different. I love how the texture and details all stand out now. It looks almost like a sculpture instead of molded plastic.
My daughter used the bubble gun as a fun accessory to her Halloween costume: Inside Out Joy, steampunk-style. You can see more about here whole costume here.
Share it on Pinterest!
See all the Inside Out Steampunk costumes
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