The Walking Dead - Merle dixon's Prosthetic Hand (Bayonet)

Zombiehunter

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Merle Dixon Prop ( real steel ) fully functional

Here is early images of our fully functional Lil merle from AMC’s The Walking dead. Everything is real steel , cut and wielded with a real world war 2 bayonet . Once we make the brackets and belts and do a little more cosmetic work we will be going into limited production. We plan on having some of these signed by Michael Rooker when he comes to Louisville Kentucky July 26-28. We are going to also be offering a Dixon Delux model with customized case .When we are ready we will do a post in the junkyard posts. Thanks guys and enjoy. Made in Elizabethtown Kentucky.

lil merle 2.jpglil merle 3.jpglil merle 4.jpglil merle 5.jpg
 
Ok guys got some more work done to it today. These are not the right belts or glove that we are going to use, i am just using them for place holders so you can see it start to take shape.And if you look close you can see a little paint on it , that was just some testing to see where we need to go with it.I have some close up pictures of the rounded tip of the prosthetic along with the two edges that go around it. My brother Chris worked on the dome and edges all night and i have to give it to him they came out better then i would have thought.And remember this is all steel , and so far it isn't heavy at all. But here it is and i will have more pictures up in a day or two. This one is about done .... then off to the next one.lil merle 6.jpglil merle 7.jpglil merle 8.jpglil merle 9.jpg
 
Re: Merle Dixon Prop ( real steel ) fully functional

Here is alittle more. the stiches in the glove wil be diffrent and the belt strap that cross's the two main ones is not screwed in, i just have it laying there.lil merle 13.JPGlil merle 14.JPGlil merle 15.JPGlil merle 16.JPGlil merle 17.JPGlil merle 18.JPG
 
Ok its been awhile but i have had alot of things come up this week. I have gotten the belts sized right and ready for aging and gotten them bolted in.
Once everything is sized right we will take it back apart , finish some sanding and grinding before it is painted.Remember this is fully functional , you can unscrew the front bolt to release the front of the bayonet and then after that we even mounted the screw that goes into the handle that you have to actually push in the release button on the bottom of the handle of the bayonet to fully release it. Once the bayonet is mounted it does not move at all. I will upload a video as soon as it is done showing what all it can take.It can punch through a wall inside of a house , and it took a full on punch to a concrete wall with no damage done to it. And that was with out the bayonet of course, i dont build them but being they are made in the world war 1 and made to last. I think they will last longer then what we have made.lil merle 19.JPGlil merle 20.JPG
 
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Looks great, and very accurate. My only suggestion would be to maybe cast this one once done to keep costs down. Probably get more sales off of a resin cast piece than a steel version, cold casting is always an option too. Just a though, although I love the real steel version!
 
Sorry guys about not posting for awhile. A so called "friend" of the family had come over and stole the prop and i just got it back lastnight. More images coming soon , and like i said , very sorry. Will be finished in a few days.
 
Ok guys a couple new photos. It is ready to be took apart and have all finishing touches done to it. My brother Chris is doing the finale sanding , painting and fiberglass touch up. I am finishing up grinding and smoothing the brackets and cutting the 2 finale leather straps that mount it to your arm. I will post a few more pictures of the leather straps coming together and the process.Also finishing up the leather glove that will come with it but not much goes into that.lil merle 21.jpglil merle 22.jpglil merle 23.jpglil merle 24.jpg
 
Thanks alot zodiac we have looked into to your suggestions and believe that is a good option. We will be building 2 versions of the lil merle. And once again thanks alot for the support man.
 
Sorry everyone , had to get more jobs then i need , stuff is getting crazy around here . got it ready for paint. Sanded it down the other night and got it in primer.IMG_20130908_192404.jpgIMG_20130908_192417.jpgIMG_20130908_192425.jpg
 
Ok , got the painting done on the main piece . I am still grinding on the brackets that let the arm bend. If they are not perfect you can tell the bends and curves in them once attached to your arm. Other then that i have all the belts cut (for the bending brackets) and the smaller brackets that mount the main piece to the bending brackets. You can see the smaller ones in one of the pictures, the painting on them is not finished yet, i still have some sanding to do to get alot of the black off. So far this has been about $900 for me. Most of it was alot of R&D, buying the wrong metal the first time , having to buy alot of diffrent leathers to try out till i found the one that looked the best, i went through three different types of high end paint till i found the right color, not counting the man hours put into this thing if i was being paid lol.But i also have enough stuff left over to make about 3 more.So i think the $900 was well spent. Sanding this thing back down to bare metal three times by hand really hurt. I dont really have all the tools i need , everything for this piece is hand made and hand carved , hand bent and welded . The only thing i have is a grinder and a leather punch and some sharp scissors (and a welder).Oh and of course i bought the bayonet. But now that i have built one and all the R&D is done they will not cost but a fraction of what i put into this one.I spent a week and a half looking at every picture of Merle Dixon i could find and measuring the blade (that is 9 3/4 inches) to the main metal arm piece and doing the math with all those to make sure this piece is as close to the right size that it could be. Its should just about be perfect size to the one he wore.When you have this on the tip of the blade just barely goes past your knee just like Merle's did in the show. It is so cool to have this on , everything works they way it should, the bayonet unscrews and you have to push the button on the handle to fully release it. The bolt screws back in , and once again this is all steel through out the entire piece. The piece as you see is with out the final bending brackets and last two belts attached to it weighs 3.5 pounds.I am also working on a shiv attachment that you can take the bayonet off and put it on so you will have both versions in one. It will be welded into a bolt that will screw into the bayonet hole and all you will have to do is put duck tape on it and its done , quick and easy to shift between the twoIMG_20130916_141400.jpgIMG_20130916_141414.jpgIMG_20130916_141437.jpgIMG_20130916_141605.jpgIMG_20130916_141631.jpgIMG_20130916_141709.jpgIMG_20130916_141721.jpgIMG_20130916_141840.jpgIMG_20130916_141855.jpg
 
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Here is the first fitting of the Lil Merle after it is fully finished. I have everything done but the shiv attachment to interchange from the two forms.Sorry about the lighting in the picture these were taken with a phone , and i will upload some more clear pictures asap . I hope you guys enjoy it and be looking in the junkyard post soon if you are looking to get one. Build time is about one week now that i have done it once and have everything on hand to make them . I will have to order bayonets but they come very quickly.All is hand made with real steel and real leather.Feel free to send me message with any questions. CAM00026.jpgCAM00028.jpgCAM00030.jpg
 
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I am doing a little trimming to the belts and moving the smaller belt (the one towards the back ) into the right place. I am also changing out the bronze colored Buckles to a silver color, i will post images as soon as i am done with everything.
 
Like i said, i have trimmed all the belts to the right size because the two main ones were a little to long and the thinner one in the back i have adjusted it to the right position.I have also made the bronze buckles into a dull and dirty silver.CAM00038.jpgCAM00039.jpgCAM00040.jpg
 
These will cost about $300-375 depending on how much the bayonets cost, i have to auction for them. A lot of man hours goes into each one.I have 3 more ready to be put together and painted.Also working on a wooden frame glass case to display them in with glass etching and everything. Will post new pictures when the shiv attachment is done and more pictures when i have the case finished. Enjoy and i hope you guys like it, i have worked my butt off on this and i think it paid off. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think or any ideas on what could be done different.CAM00043.jpgCAM00044.jpg
 

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Every time i think that i am done i find some little detail that i can do to make it better. I have mounted the "leather glove" permanently inside the prosthetic. Even though it is not a glove , it is rolled leather that goes half way down the piece and stops the nuts on the inside from rubbing your arm. It also cuts down on cost and time of me having to worry about everyone's gloves size and using more leather. You can just use any cloth or leather glove you may have and you are good to go. There are a couple of wields on the inside ,while they are not sharp they do have edges to them and i suggest wearing one. I have never been cut it is only for comfort , i hardly ever wear a glove and i put it on every day.As you can see in one of the pictures one nut on each side is showing , that is the one it is mounted to , but i have the leather folded over so u cant feel it , i just have it lifted up so you can see it.CAM00045.jpgCAM00046.jpgCAM00047.jpg
 
Once again i have found something new to do to this thing. I had looked forever to find the right buckles for the two main belts and could not do it. Then today my five year old little girl was throwing out an old purse of her's and the buckles were just what i needed. I am not sure if i can replicate this on other one's i make cause i will have to find them for sell. But here is a updated version.IMG_20131112_170636.jpgIMG_20131112_170650.jpg
 
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