Order of the Golden Sprout The New Robert Rankin Fan Club

I wished you an early happy birthday at the comic-con, so ner!

And a very very belated Happy Birthday from me Robert!!
So sorry I didn't realise.

On behalf of everyone at OGS, I made Robert a Birthday present.

(better late than never as they say!)

Here he is wielding it down at The Asylum over the weekend:

Nice & right outside the Gents too

Oops, didn't spot that at the time.

Maybe some comment about "Steampunk bog-trolls" would be in order then?

P.S. It actually works! The wall outside felt the might of tiny-paintball justice...

How did you go about making that then?

Mainly, I cheated

Grab hold of a basic Chinese import "paintball gun", take it to bits (don't break it!) and spray it a more civilized colour, then decorate to taste. Use as much real brass as possible, within reason and the fast approaching time limit of The Asylum (cutting pieces of sheet brass to size, straightening them out then filing the sharp corners and burrs out takes *forever*!), dabble a little with parts reclaimed from a dead PC PSU, find that CO2 cartridges from air pistols/soda streams make ideal ready made pressure containers. Fake rivets are made from self adhesive "blings" from a craft shop sprayed brass en masse.

Finally hand over in a big box to Commodore Rankin who will hopefully grin like a schoolboy in a sweet shop

Pictures here of various points in the process

Hello there Nick, I was about to stick up a thread to thank you for my big weapon (ooh matron etc), a very kind present for which much thanks, and hey, wasn't that just the BEST weekend?
Great to see you and great to be there and hope to see you soon.

Awsome is the word of that Nick.

Glad everyone enjoyed the Asylum

Amazing transformation from a child looking gun to something of awesomeness.