New Worldcon Kit Preview

[Anson James]

I received my kit from Sid today and it's beautiful.

It was given to me because I offered him some help a short while ago.
As it turned out he didn't need my help but he STILL sent me a free kit!

Not only is he a great artist and model maker - he's a gentleman too

[clutch]

here's a pic of Sid's all polished up.



Just seems to me like the wire brush would be too harsh on the metal, but I guess not. I'll find out soon enough though.

[clutch]

I'm also wondering why he decided to cast the three screws at the top instead of actually including screws?

[Anson James]

[eltee]

Now you've got me drooling and imagining. We have the "clean" versions and the worn looking "Worldcon" version of the blaster. Now I see the potential to build a "presentation" version of the blaster!!

With real guns, you get "clean" ones out of the box, leave them untended for a while and they look like the "Worldcon" but you can generally buy one that is nickle plated, polished stainless, etc. Might be cool for someone to do a high polish version and not paint any of it, especially since Siderio offers the ammo mag in metal.

On the top screws, it would be possible with a milling machine or good drill press to drill out the molded in screws and replace them with real ones.

On the metal Siderio uses, I suspect you might have to spray it with a protective coat after polishing to keep it from tarnishing.

Beautiful work.

[amish]

That is as Eltee said, got me drooling! I cannot wait to see the finished and quite shiny piece

Tom
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www.propsummit.com
www.bladerunnerprops.com

[Batty]

Well it's been awful quiet around here lately. Everybody hard at work on their Sidkits I suppose.

Well come on, lets see 'em...
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Good evening JF!

[clutch]

Just got two of those brass wire bits for the dremel. Just a friendly reminder to those thinking about doing this: wear eye protection! I polished up a batarang with one just to try it out and every now and then, I'd feel something hit me in the face. When I finished, there were tiny little needles all over. They were the wires that had come out of the brush. Some were stuck in my shirt. lol! It's also a bitch to step on these barefoot!

I want to get started soon, but I'm gonna take my time. I'm also thinking about filling some of the screw holes in the handle to make it more accurate and possibly drilling/tapping the top ones, but I've never worked with melting metal or the tapping part. Any suggestions?

I also want to polish it up and assemble it to see what it looks like first. If it looks good, I may just have to get another. I also want to experiment with handle inserts to make them look more like tortise shell grips:

[The Loyalizer]

On the last blaster I did, I made some tortoise shell patterns, then printed them out on a transparency, then traced the shape of the grips and cut out the transparency. I just laid the transparency on the back of the grips when I screwed them onto the frame and it sort of nailed the look.

If nothing else, if you decide it doesn't look good, you just unscrew the grip and remove the transparency. This way you don't damage the grips. I know there was a post in the PKD show off thread where someone had cast their own grips and had poured color into the resin while it was setting and they had gotten a decent tortoise shell look to it.

EDIT: It was in the Pimped My Gat thread, but unfortunately the pics are no longer showing.
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"We began to recognize in them a strange obsession..."

http://fcomin.cgsociety.org/gallery/

[clutch]

I have it in pieces now, so it begins...

[luvsdaheat]

[clutch]

Awesome post. Thanks. I should just send you my pieces. I am tool-poor at the moment so any mods of this nature scare the heck out of me. What metal do you use? Where can I find set screws? I only see places that sell lots of like 500. Hehe!

[Mr Hyde]

Hey clutch - LOVE that shine - it rivals mine!

I also have access to a Dremel tool just like yours and a wire brush wheel. Could you please tell me what speed you set it on, and if you applied slight pressure while running the wheel on the surfaces or just let it "float" and barely touch?

And what about steel wool - would that achieve the same polished finish, or would it actually leave deeper scratches?

My biggest gripes with the wet sanding technique I'm using is that it takes forever, leaves my skin and fingernails a mess, and is not feasible for corners and small recesses, like the knurled underside of the lever, the safety and cylinder release levers, triggers, and the front facade of the Steyr receiver.

Thanks!

[clutch]

I'm sorry, but that is an image from the online instructions.

I can only hope to achieve this finish.

I would set the brush a low speed. I don't know that wet sanding is necessary, but I'll find out soon enough.

You should go to the drugstore and buy a box of latex gloves. They will save your hands.

[luvsdaheat]

[Mr Hyde]

Actually, I've been using double-layer latex gloves (see my first post & photo on the "Painting Tips" thread in the main forum), but the sharp part edges and sandpaper always get the better of them and I my fingers get messed up again, lol.

I'll give the wire wheel a try tomorrow on a hidden surface first to see how much metal it removes and also use steel wool and post comparison pics.

The fourth downside with wet sanding (after the mess, inability of getting into nooks and cranies, and massive time consumption) is maintaining a consistent grain - I'm guessing using a wire wheel won't solve that problem, so I'll see about winding some steel wool around a small ball-end mill tip and try that way - especially in the concentric circles of the front receiver facade.

I think I'll also see what results I can get with a buffer wheel!

[Noeland]

[SaberFreak]

[clutch]

Has anybody tried plumb brown? The results here look pretty good although I don't know how pewter would react.

http://www.hobbygunsmith.com/Archives/Aug03/HowTo.htm

After re-reading it, it looks as though he might be blueing the example instead of browning. Hmmmmm....

[spinner44.com]

I've used Plum Brown before. It's more for an antique look. You probably want bluing instead.