Blast(er) From The Past

[8th_Passenger]

I recently rewatched Adam Savage's video about his Blade Runner blaster collection. He talks about his own early attempt at a replica gun. This made me think back to 1986 when also I decided to have a go at building the iconic weapon.

I thought I'd share my early attempts here. I was only 22 at the time.

I've managed to dig out some old negatives of my build, I was at art college at the time and developed them myself, so apologies for the quality. I've scanned and inverted my negatives.

I also still have the plans I drew up at the time using all the reference I could find (which wasn't much and all in shadow!) I'm sure I'm not the only person on this site to have spent hours attempting to pause the VHS and get a sharp image! I must have spent hours on end squinting at dark photographs trying to see the detail that wasn't there.

I started off with a .44 Magnum model kit I had. Back then I had no idea about the Bulldog. The Magnum was just a kit I had built which seemed about the right size. So I drew my plans around the Magnum.

In retrospect, my model making skills in those days were fairly limited. I managed to sink some working LED's into the front and use some real wood for the grips. The rest is mostly filler with styrene and K&S tube.

I took the colour photograph of the finished build a couple of years later around 1988.

Making The Receiver.



The grip.



Fleshing out the bulk.



Isometric & Elevation Detail.



Plans.



Finished.



Compared to today's screen accurate replicas my efforts leave a lot to be desired, but I was happy with it at the time. Did anyone else out the make an early attempt at the blaster?

Colin

[Mr_Creepy]

Looks great! Personally, I think in some cases the "inaccurate" builds look just as good as the actual gun.
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- Brian (formerly ToothTech)

[Bassnoir]

..it's good to be reminded of a "labor of love"...so easy to wrapped up in what everybody else is doing and forget ones own ability to realize such an iconic prop...but it damn sure helps to have talent and NOT two left thumbs....Thanks for sharing...very very cool.
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...the future is not all it's cracked up to be...

[Staar]

I agree with the above comments - this is terrific and it brings back fond memories.

I also made one years and years ago but sadly I don't have any pics of it any more. I married a .303 Lee Enfield bolt receiver onto a S&W .44 Model 29 which made a very interesting gun but it was very fragile because the .44 was a (strengthened) model kit and the Receiver was real so it was especially top-heavy and prone to breaking..

Many thanks for sharing

Warm regards
MARK
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[SKIN JOB 66]

Great story and build, Colin !

Love it !!!



Fred
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THE FUTURE IS A THING OF THE PAST

[joberg]

Yes Colin, good build and great efforts on that one. I can only say what the others have said already: the look is not without its charms and can really fit in a BR world for sure

[8th_Passenger]

Thanks for the replies.

I've almost thrown it out a few times over the years but I think I'll hang onto it for a while longer.

Colin

[SKIN JOB 66]

I can definitely understand that, Colin... I still have myself a scratch-made Imperial Walker made at the age of 17 in my garage ! (and I never had the heart to throw it away)

Maybe we should turn this topic into one that would show our "early" works, it could be fun !

What do you think ?



Fred
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THE FUTURE IS A THING OF THE PAST

[joberg]

I'm all for that, but as for me I have a tendency to discard my work (to the horror of the G.F. ). When I think of it, my record is stagering: paintings, props, models, even pictures of the said pieces put at the curb or destroyed by fire (aahh, the clean and restoring fires)

[andy]

I think this is totally awesome. I love the way that it looks and love the build pics. Very very cool. I am still gathering parts and pieces to make my own "non-cannon" blaster inspired by BR. I can see the love in it.

Andy

[8th_Passenger]

[joberg]

Nope Colin, nothing survived I'm afraid

[Noeland]

I love it.

Thank you for sharing the photos!
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I don't have enough blasters!

[amish]

Awesome stuff!! Thank you for sharing
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www.propsummit.com
www.bladerunnerprops.com

[phase pistol]

Neat stuff! I agree, sometimes the early replicas, based on insufficient info, are really exciting and conceptual. Another example would be the Brad Nelson Phaser pistol, which is larger and more beefy than the actual phaser props from Star Trek. Idealized but impressive.