ok when some one makes a model normally they start with a box.
but it looks like he made 50 boxes 20 clender 15 circles and more.
^^ that is not a model.
It's a nice model, Except for the back piece. The texture/reflection he used for the render makes it look not as good. Try just making it a plain white or something on a black background for the render.
It's a fair model, but your friend wont get very far if he just sticks a bunch of primitives together and alters the basic settings. There's a ridiculous amount of wasted polygons in there; with a high poly count none-the-less. The thing behind plane modeling is that you're using only what you need, and then some. There's really no limit. The kind of modeling your friend went with is pretty typical for a beginner, so I'm not being harsh, but he needs to practice more techniques and work on being more organized with his modeling.
The model looks pretty bad, but it does actually resemble the gun. Putting primitives together is a very novice form of modeling and is a huge waste of polygons and will not get you a good result (unless you're an expert who likes to toy with primitives >_>). if your friend is truly interested in modeling have him try this tutorial on plane modeling.
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I would also like to stress that you heed Caboose's post as well. The tutorial he kindly linked you to is one of the best modeling tutorials out and can be applied to almost anything. I recommend that your friend download it and not simply over-look it due to the large file size. It's well worth the time and space.