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Kalehiwa — TF2 Pyro Flamethrower - WIP
Published: 2009-06-15 03:24:08 +0000 UTC; Views: 9657; Favourites: 35; Downloads: 0
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Description
Forgive the lack of a decent backdrop.I was the BLU Pyro at this passing AN (Anime North 09) and I thought I'd finally get my ass in gear and post some pictures of my flamethrower.
The strap is to adhere to convention policy. I understand it's not there in game but I wanted to be able to have this for photo shoots and without a strap it would have been banned.
This thing is roughly as tall as me so it would be to scale. (I'm 5'7" or so)
Materials:
Propane tank (emptied and de-pressurized)
Various widths of PVC pipe
Sheet aluminum
Strap clamps to hold everything in place
Propane torch tip
...I think that's everything.
It's not as finished as I'd like it to be, and some details aren't perfect but I guess that's understandable for a prop made in a week. I'll try to finish it up by Halloween. (If I don't get distracted by any other projects)
Detail shots:
Front : [link]
Left side : [link]
"Head-on" : [link]
Handle : [link]
Propane tank : [link]
Related content
Comments: 74
so dus it werk or not? cuz im thing of making one that achilly werks and i waz hoping you could give me some ponters! or give me a idea of the wait of yours! XD
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This prop does not work, no. I'm sure one could be made that does work, but you'd have to use higher quality materials and careful planning to do so. Working with explosives is pretty dangerous, so you'd want someone with experience with that to help you with your project. Sorry I couldn't help.
With an empty (de-pressurized) propane tank it weighs about 20lbs.
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well thanks for the 411 it helped. i know some stuf with fire but there is no explosives to a flamthrower gust compretion of gas and air. i did some reserh and it looks like it will way around 100-160 pounds whay to havey for me so i am not going to make it, but it also likes like it would cost like $300.00+ to make i dont have that tip of mony to gust play around with. cinda sad 
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Well, there is always the risk of explosion with compressed gas, that's all. If you happen to have a malfunction of the pilot light and the flame hits the gas tank you'd be in major trouble.
Yeah, unfortunately a full propane tank and proper parts for building a flamethrower are quite heavy and expensive. It's a shame you won't be able to make one, but it would be a fun project.
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I had an old, empty propane tank sitting around that I de-pressurized. It was from an old propane barbecue.
De-pressurization is a fairly dangerous procedure, though, and shouldn't be attempted if you don't have the right tools or know-how since there is a risk of explosion. There may be a propane tank recycling program in your area that you can approach about a de-pressurized tank. De-pressurization is one of the steps in the process of scrapping them and you may be able to convince them to give you one.
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Sankyou for the info~
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What did you sue to make the gas pump handle?
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My friend, ~an-enemy-spy , made it for me out of MDF.
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Medium-density fibreboard.
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No problem. If you have any questions about the construction of the gas pump handle, my friend is more than happy to help. Just send him a note.
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do you by any chance have blueprints for this?
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Unfortunately, I never made blueprints for this and I do not remember where I had the measurements written down. Sorry.
I do remember how I got my measurements though: I posed Pyro and the flamethrower side by side in Gmod and used approximations to get the lengths of everything. (So if something was as long as Pyro's elbow to fingertips, I would measure that on myself so it would turn out in scale with my height.)
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ooooohhhhh... thanks! and one more thing... how did you make the handle?
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The gas pump handle was made by a friend ( ~an-enemy-spy ) out of MDF.
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ok then, thanks! okay I'm really sorry if I'm bothering you but this is really my last question: where'd you get (or how'd you make) the cone for the flamethrower?
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You're not bothering me at all (:
I made the cone out of sheet metal. I rolled it up and marked where the cut-outs were going to be, then I unrolled it to cut them out. I used rivets to hold it closed along the side, and to keep the base (a separate circle with notches bent up to attach to the cone) attached.
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ummm... can you post a picture of the pyro and the flamethrower side by side like you said?
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oh good 
well I guess that's all I have to ask for now. thank you very much for all the info
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Aw, thank you very much! (:
I'll send you a note with the image.
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sure thing 
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About 15 to 20 pounds at the time. I've been working on reducing the weight since then.
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oh my god.... look at that dirty floor lol but nice I WANT IT!!!
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Haha, yeah, my work space tends to stay messy. Thanks for the comment! (:
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Nicely done! I think it's fantastic that you posted the detail shots too.
I'm cosplaying RED pyro for AN 2011. I hadn't heard about needing a strap for the flamethrower prop, though. Do you know where it is in the policy that it says we need one? If not, I may just need to email them to find out the details.
Are you planning on going to AN next year as well?
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Thank you very much!
Before I started my costume I had e-mailed the weapons master and asked if the prop in general was okay to bring, and discussed the possible use of a depressurized propane tank. I was told "I have no problem with this prop, but it MUST have a sling or strap like a guitar or rifle."
All in all, that was probably for the best. It was pretty heavy and my arms would have been terribly sore if I hadn't used a strap. Depending on your materials you can attach both sides of the strap to the propane tank and you'll be able to remove it for photos.
Yep! I plan to fix up my pyro costume, make a propane tank out of lightweight material and tweak the problems I had with it. I'll probably add a cooling system too. I may bring my engie costume too. I hope to see you there!
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Thanks for the info! I'll need to add a strap, then. I emailed the weapons master but haven't gotten a response back just yet. I think I'll just attach it so it can come off.
It'll be cool to see you there! We should plan a photoshoot or something. I'm going with my brother and his friends and they are dressing up as the soldier, medic, and sniper. We don't have an engineer 
Should be a fun weekend
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You're welcome! The strap is actually really nice to have when it comes to lugging a flamethrower around the whole day. It helps prevent people from constantly bumping into it too.
We should! There have been 'official' TF2 photoshoots the past two years. I may be able to convince my friends to dress up as sniper, scout's mom and scout again, but we'll have to see. I'm usually BLU. Better dead than RED and so on ;D
Yep! Just make sure you have plenty to drink. The Pyro's costume gets really hot. I use a camelbak that I hide under the hood/sleeve I wear under my mask so I can drink, even without taking my mask off. If you put the water in the fride/in ice ahead of time it can work to keep your back and body cool.
It should be! I'm excited to see your costumes! Are any of you planning to stay "in character"?
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I'm hoping the strap will be convenient, I'm just a little worried that it'll cause the flamethrower to bump against my air tank all the time and end up damaging it. But it will make carrying it around easier.
I'll need to stay updated on the photoshoots this year. The official one usually draws a big crowd, so I'm definitely going to it. Me, my bro's friends and my brother will probably get a few more group shots at different times on the weekend too. You and your friends are welcome to join us!
We should battle or something 
I'll need to work something out with water. I like your idea for the camelback, but I don't have one. I'll need to see if I can pick one up somewhere or borrow from a friend.
I'm excited to see your costume too! It should be a fun weekend.
As for staying "in character", I don't really know just yet. I think I'll end up being selectively in character, since I like to look through the artist's alley and dealer's room and such and I don't want to cause a commotion.
What about you? Do you like staying in character?
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Yeah, it isn't the most comfortable with the air tank. It may bump into it a bit but if you travel in a group you could probably convince someone to help prevent it from bumping hard enough or frequently enough to cause damage.
They haven't been posting the photoshoots on the AN website recently. I usually go to cosplay.com but sometimes it's hard to tell when it's supposed to be because people are arguing over what time is most convenient for them. We'd love to join you for a smaller photoshoot! Some of the official photoshoots are a bit hectic because they have so many people.
I'd love to! A battle would be fun! Expect to hear more of the slogans at the battle.
They usually sell them at hiking/mountain/cycling stores, so you may want to check there. They're not the cheapest, I think they sell for around $40 but as a sort of cooling system and a way to keep hydrated, I'd say they're worth the price. I froze mine and I felt like I was in air conditioning for the next few hours. I believe it was well over 30C that day too.
Well, pyro is a bit mad so it's hard to stay in character. That, and most people can't make out what you're saying anyways. I do like staying in character, and one day I aim to be the most insane soldier someone may have the (mis)fortune of coming across.
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My group probably wouldn't mind looking out to make sure the flamethrower wouldn't cause damage to the air tank, I just think it would be easier if we add did have to worry about it. I'll need to play around with the strap and see if there's an easy way to avoid damage.
It's a shame that they're not posting the photoshoots lately. Do they have them in the AN program sometimes? It would be helpful if they did. I'll need to keep a watch to see if people actually post the times this year. But even if the big photoshoot doesn't work out, I think it's awesome that you're up to doing a smaller one with us! It's going to be so much fun.
Soldier would be awesome to stay in character as. I look forward to the day you do it XP
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Well, I hope you manage to figure something out that's comfortable and protects your props and costume. It's hard to work it around the air tank straps and the grenades on the front. Best of luck!
Yeah, it is. They do sometimes but they didn't last year as far as I remember. The TF2/Valve photoshoot last year was huge, so as long as you know roughly what time it is you should be able to find it fairly easily. Yeah, I'm looking forward to the smaller photoshoot too! It'll be tons of fun!
Aw, thanks. I look forward to doing it too. I doubt I'll be convincing but there's nothing like an excuse to yell at people and hit yourself in the head with a shovel, right?
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Prospective Pyro cosplayer for Fanime here, just wondering what size propane tank you used because it looks too small to be a 50 pounder...
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It's around a 3 gallon tank (11.9L). I didn't want to use one that would look too large relative to myself, or too heavy to be carried around all day. Make sure Fanime will allow the propane tank though. I'm not sure about the rules for American conventions, but I hear some are rather picky about prop materials.
I can't wait to see how your costume turns out!
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Ah thanks!
I decided to make it out of two blocks of Styrofoam just yesterday, same with the tank on the back. Light weight and all that since it's going to be late May. And I'm going to take a leaf out of your book with the strap.
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That's a good idea. I plan to remake the tank later so the whole thing doesn't weigh so much. It's either that or get some pipes
About the back tanks, even though mine were light they tended to weigh the whole harness down at the back causing it to ride up at the front. You may want to hide a few counterweights in the front of the strap to even it out a bit if this happens to you.
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Oh that's a great idea! Thanks!
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Nice work! And that's a real propane tank? Nice! I was thinking of building a flamethrower myself, though I think I'll probably use a plastic pretzel barrel instead.
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Thank you!
I was going to make a propane tank but I only had a week to find supplies and make it. I had an old, empty propane tank kicking around so I decided to go for it!
Ooh, a pretzel barrel, I hadn't thought of that! I'd love to see how it turns out for you!
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Well, the flamethrower's just a brainstorming idea I had. I was more up for being an Engineer. I've already got the goggles and boots, and I even found a real metal wrench that looks just like the one in the game! Got it at a garage sale for six bucks. It has to be at least 50 or 60 years old, but its in great shape. Quite heavy too.
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Awesome! Six bucks is quite a bargain for a tool in good condition.
Are you planning on dressing up for Halloween or is this a future project?
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A future project. I've already got an original costume worked out I've dubbed the "Toxic Thug". Basically I've got a gas mask, a big green trenchcoat and black rubber gloves, as well as a huge-ass wrench (not the engie one- this one's a two-foot-long monkey wrench that belonged to my dead grandpa).
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I didn't actually make the handle, my friend ~an-enemy-spy did, but it is made out of a light-weight wood.
I can't tell you the exact details but I'm sure he would be more than happy to help.
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aah, ok, i'll go and ask him, thx m8
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