Tomenosuke Bladerunner blaster conversion, upgrades and weathering |
|
I have one extra scope knob if I ruin one, but I only have one binding post. I believe it's plated brass, as it's not magnetic, so I'll have to figure out a way to darken it that will hold. I would rather not paint it, I prefer a chemical blackening/darkening method for this. Noting that the vintage Weaver scope knob will not directly drop in to the side plate, I rummaged around my desk and found some brass 6-32 x .25 inch standoffs. The original part sits in a 0.241" diameter hole, with a half cut across the end as a keyway fit. I turned down one of the standoffs to 0.241, and drilled out the 6-32 threads. The Weaver scope knob threads are 8-40, so I have plenty of room to hollow the standoff out and re tap this part to accept the scope knob. The last bit of machining on the scope knob adapter is to mill a slot on the side so the lip of the magazine housing can slot in like the original part did. Now that's done, all I need to do for this part is dip it in some brass black to darken it so it blends in better. I should also turn the scope knob about a quarter turn clockwise. While I have the grip apart, I decided to add the scratches and peeled finish that's evident on the movie prop. the original with intact finish doesn't quite match the screen used prop. A bit of scraping and filing and polishing to both the grip frame ends and the grip bottom plate to more match the weathering on the real prop. Done enough for now. At this point, another steel Charter Arms Bulldog 44special part came in. An all steel cylinder along with the arm and ejector, which was a bonus I didn't order, but it came with it anyway. The plastic original Tomenosuke cylinder on the left, the steel Charter Arms cylinder on the right. Difference in feel, weight and visuals is pretty drastic. At first I thought I'd use the ejector, arm and cylinder and get rid of all that plastic. I figured I could drill and tap the arm for the sideplate. However, getting into this part of the Tomenosuke, I realized the arm is very difficult to get out and a good bit different fit than the Charter Arms, and also the hand might not interface correctly with the Charter Arms ejector, so I decided just to modify the Charter Arms cylinder to mate with the rest of the Tomenosuke. The first step in making the steel cylinder fit the Tomenosuke, was to drill out the indexing flat that keeps the steel ejector from rotating. Once that's done, I flip the cylinder around and drill out the back face of the cylinder to accept the Tomenosuke ejector. I'll also have to bore out the ejector face a bit, as the Tomenosuke ejector is thicker than the original. I will also turn down those indexing nubs while I am doing that. One of the more tricky parts to get right: milling some recesses for the indexing lobes on the Tomenosuke ejector. I more or less eyeballed these, and they fit fine, though they're a touch wide. Once the prop rounds are in the chambers, there won't be any wiggle. Success! Sort of. I had to do a lot of work on the cylinder release latch, as it started sticking and I couldn't open the cylinder. A lot of filing, checking, oiling, and testing later, it's working fine. I had to file the leading edge of the latch so it wouldn't catch on the frame, and I removed a couple turns from the latch pin spring that sits in the ejector, but all is fine now. I also machined an aluminum bushing to go along the inside of the Tomenosuke arm/ejector pin section to eliminate some wiggle. The steel cylinder is a vast improvement I think.
|
|
This site is part of the nonentity network. Not associated with LUCASFILM LTD.™ or any LFL Ltd.™ Film or Franchise.
|