How to make the Red Hood's prop guns

I know I was making an original superhero build, but I'm side-tripping into creating a Red Hood costume. Jason Todd's Red Hood, because obviously that's way cooler than the old-school ridiculous villain. Once upon a time I knew nothing about Batman's series of Robins or how one went all anti-hero, but alas. Anyway, read or watch Batman: Under the Red Hood, it's a great Batman story arc and you don't have to be a Batman expert to enjoy it. Jason Todd as the Red Hood is pretty awesome, and the costume is at once simple but also iconic, so I decided I'd try putting it together. Although in Under the Red Hood he only wields one gun, his later series of Red Hood and the Outlaws has him dual-wielding the weapons Batman shuns like the plague. So here's a basic tutorial on painting some plastic toys to fit the costume.

Materials

-Toy guns
-Primer spray paint
-Black satin spray paint
-Clear coat enamel spray paint
-Silver metallic lustre







Reference Images

1. Gather the materials
The materials list is pretty simple, the real trick is just to find a pair of toy guns that are affordable and is somewhat similar to the reference. Dollar stores will often have child-sized police revolvers, more fantastical-shaped water pistols, but that's about it. Larger thrift stores can have a pretty good selection of semi-realistic nerf and water pistols, but it can be difficult if you are looking for a matching pair. I ended finding these for $5 each at a Five Below store. They're not the exact shape of .45 pistols that Jason Todd wield, but their size and build are pretty consistent. They're actually water bead pistols, which is something I hadn't heard of before but seems to combine the precision of a pellet gun with the harmlessness of a water pistol. I already had the paint and metallic lustre on hand from other projects. The paints and primer can be found at any hardware store, the metallic wax can be found in larger craft stores.

2. Prep the guns
As with any plastic toy, a little preparation before painting is extremely useful. Sand down the molding errors (those little nubs of plastic) and sand down any manufacturer's lettering. You can go the extra mile and fill in the drill holes with glue or bondo, but as I wanted to be able to disassemble the gun in case the action broke down I left them as they were. I removed the stickers, wiped down the surfaces with soapy water, then allowed it to dry.

3. Prime
Depending on what paint you bought, this step may be unnecessary. A lot of stores sell a 2-in-1 paint/primer, and actually that's what I used on the second pistol as I ran out of my satin black paint on the first. So actually this first pistol was they only one to go through the priming process before painting. But whatever works! I suspended the toy gun with picture wire attached to a dowel, using a outdoor corner blocked off with heavy duty garbage bags and cardboard. It's a nice set-up, preventing spray-over on other surfaces and giving it a well-ventilated place to dry.

4. Paint
After allowing any primer to completely dry, begin the painting. Complete a couple light passes on each side, allow to dry, and then repeat until all the cracks and crevices have been covered. Allow to dry.

5. Finishing touches
Finally, top it off with a light layer of clear coat enamel spray paint. Allow it to dry for 24 hours, so that it's no longer sticky to the touch. Then with a small paintbrush begin adding the silver metallic wax to the muzzles of the guns. Normally I'd age it more by adding it to the edges that would experience heavy wear (like the muzzle, action, trigger, and edges that would scrape the holster) but when I experimented it didn't quite fit. I guess from the pages of the comic book the guns look fairly matte, so the wear doesn't work.

So there you have it, a pair of prop guns that can pass for the Red Hood's pair of .45 pistols. Good luck and keep crafting!