Ahhhhh, there’s nothing like an 80’s song reference to make me happy.  And in this case, it’s completely appropriate!  Because today we’re talking about that hot new neon costuming trend – Nerfpunk.

What’s Nerfpunk, you ask?  It’s the natural off-shoot of Steampunk.  Many steamy costumes included modded weaponry.  What’s modded weaponry, you ask?  (Gosh, you’re full of questions…)  A modded weapon is when a person takes a plastic toy gun – like the ever-popular Nerf Maverick – and then paints that toy to match his or her Steampunk costume (yes, my next post will be Modding 101…).

With the use of metallic paints and other add-ons like gears, pipes and stuff-that-lights-up, creative folks turn toys into realistic looking ray guns:

Above:  photo credit

However, if you can paint your gun to match your outfit, why not match your outfit to the gun in its original, unpainted glory?  So instead of this:

Above:  yours truly, in her first ever Steampunk costume

You have THIS:

Above:  photo credit

Costumers use the shapes of Steampunk – Victorian era styles “punked up” to look more Sci-Fi – combined with fabrics that match the plastic guns.  So instead of the traditional color palette of brown, cream, grey, black, antiqued silver and bronze, you have bright yellow, orange, green, and blue.  In short, you have a Steampunk costume that matches this:

Above:  photo credit

But why stop there?  There are other toy weapons DYING to have costumes made to match.  Like this bubble gun:

2 LED BUBBLE GUN BLOWER FESTIVAL CONCERTS - FREE S&H

Above:  photo credit

And for the Angry Bird aficionado:

5 Birds Figures + 1 Slingshot Collection outdoor party game Toy set for children

Above:  photo credit

Are you inspired to make a Nerfpunk costume?  If so, please post your inspiration photos on the Forums!