Cap Barrels

Ever needed interesting barrels that aren’t all uniform? Here’s a simple and fairly cheap method of making them.

Materials Needed:

Plastic bottle caps (you need 2 per barrel)

Plastic sheets ( https://amzn.to/2WzAUj2 )

Superglue ( https://amzn.to/2V1Nerh )

Hot Glue Gun ( https://amzn.to/3DzhlaV )

Vinyl Dye ( https://amzn.to/2V1NM0j )

Or

Black Spray Primer ( https://amzn.to/2V1hsdY )

Grey Acrylic Paint ( https://amzn.to/3yvNa0Q )

Paintbrush ( https://amzn.to/3jykMqu )

Paper towel or napkin

Optional Materials:

Hole Punch ( https://amzn.to/3t3tXlY )

Leather Hole Punch ( https://amzn.to/3kEG850 )

Oblong Leather Hole Punch ( https://amzn.to/2WGbvEc )

Directions:

First, gather up a bunch of plastic bottle caps from your soda or beverage of choice.

Most of them are very similar in diameter, so you can mix and match to make a variety of heights. Glue them together, so that they have a top and bottom half.

In order to give the barrels some varied appearance, cut out a variety of shapes from the plastic sheets. I recommend using a utility knife and a straight edge, but decent scissors also work. Another option that I use is to utilize leather punches, which come in both round and oblong shapes, and allow you to cut out a variety of shapes. You will need to use a hammer or mallet and place the plastic sheet on a surface that you don’t mind gouging up, like a scrap piece of wood.

Once you have the plastic sheet cut into a variety of shapes, use superglue to adhere it to the top of the plastic bottle caps.

Now, time to glue them down to something so you can spray paint them without having them fly away. I recommend a piece of cardboard, a paint stick, or a piece of wood (I use a scrap chunk of lumber leftover from another project). Simply wait for the hot glue gun to warm up, put a small dab on the surface, and then stick the bottom of the barrel into the warm glue.

Once you have all the barrels in place, spray them with the dye/primer. Make sure you hit all sides evenly. I like using bright color plastic because it helps me see where I need to spray more primer.

Next, wait for the dye or primer to dry. It generally takes about 15 minutes. Once that’s done, take a large brush and your grey paint. The next step is dry brushing with the grey paint. Load the brush with paint and wipe most of it off on a paper towel. Quickly brush over the bottle caps in a horizontal stroke, allowing the paint to hit the raised surfaces and giving you a decent contrast between the high areas and the dark crevasses. Keep at it for as long as you desire.

Once the acrylic paint is dry, you can spray the barrels with a matte clear sealant.

Finally, remove the barrels from the surface they were glued to. Some might pop apart, but don’t worry, you can always superglue them back together.

The Final Result

Here we are, three quickly made barrels, with size comparison from a Legion Stormtrooper and a Stargrave crewmember!

Merotas Star System

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