ANH Hero DL-44 Discussion - Three ANH Greeblies Found

[Vanitas]

In other news, just picked up another new goodie!

The windage knob base is a little different to the screen-used scope and it's also still the wrong model, but the price was cheap enough that I felt it was still worth getting. Definitely glad to have finally replaced the first 4x31 scope I sold a while back!

 

[chubsANDdoggers]

Some mods still need to be worked out and still missing one print to finish it off but it’s very close. HUGE thank you to deadbolt. I know this is not how you envisioned it when you originally designed it up but your c96 model is absolutely gorgeous!

I’m not done yet but still a big thank you to everyone who’s contributed openly and honestly to this very thread over the years. Specifically and obviously Pat (kpax) and Caron for getting this ball rolling.

It’s not perfect by no means but it’s definitely getting there!

There is more progress pics here if interested..

 

[Psab keel]

Out of curiosity, has anyone here switched the grips from the Redwolf Airsoft Han Solo blaster with the standard Denix Plastic Grips? Would they even fit the airsoft?

Thanks for any feedback. I picked up the airsoft late last year but I've been considering changing out the grips.

 

[chubsANDdoggers]

Out of curiosity, has anyone here switched the grips from the Redwolf Airsoft Han Solo blaster with the standard Denix Plastic Grips? Would they even fit the airsoft?

Thanks for any feedback. I picked up the airsoft late last year but I've been considering changing out the grips.

No unfortunately the denix grips won’t fit that airsoft. Different frame size.

 

[Psab keel]

Thank you for the insight!

 

[kpax]

Fantastic work. Congrats!

 

[chubsANDdoggers]

Fantastic work. Congrats!

Thank you for always sharing and being so open to new enthusiasts!

 

[el toro]

Out of curiosity, has anyone here switched the grips from the Redwolf Airsoft Han Solo blaster with the standard Denix Plastic Grips? Would they even fit the airsoft?

Thanks for any feedback. I picked up the airsoft late last year but I've been considering changing out the grips.

I believe the airsoft needs slightly smaller grips, but the interior structure doesn’t work either. The only other option would be to find wood grips and sand them down to fit. If I can find my airsoft and other grips, I’ll check them out and let you know for sure.

 

[Psab keel]

That's super helpful el toro . Thank you so much! I think that one change on my airsoft might really elevate the look of it.

 

[thd9791]

Unrelated to the airsoft, I have re sculpted grips a lot. Removing material and adding it, one trick I used was to wrap the frame in Saran Wrap or something. I filled the grip with apoxie sculpt and pressed it into place. After removing you’re usually left with an exact impression of the shape you need, and it doesn’t shrink very much when drying.

Wood grips are better if you need to re-shape the round portion, you can remove material and re stain. It is also possible to fill red-9 grips with putty and carve the lines and re paint. That’s very tricky… I put lines in with toothpicks and left it alone. After it dries I use a hacksaw or something to clean the grooves and then sand the surface and it’s usually uniform!

 

[Psab keel]

These are all very helpful tips. Thank you all for sharing.

 

[el toro]

These are all very helpful tips. Thank you all for sharing.

Just a general photo of (l to r): airsoft grips, wooden ones from numrich (with less lines than solo’s should have), and wooden ones that came with the denix.

Numrich ones need some sanding on the back to fit the airsoft. Even then, the grips are a bit too long for the grip frame and aren’t a perfect fit, as seen in the following two photos. Note: don’t mind the white filler, which I was using to fiddle with the grips. It’s unnecessary but I didn’t clean it off.

The denix wooden grips would take much more work to fit the airsoft grip frame. Below are (top to bottom) denix and airsoft grips. The denix grips don’t have a protruding part, which fits into the airsoft grip frame. See the golden outline in the airsoft grips where the protruding part should be. The numrich has that protruding part, but needs sanding.
The denix grips are too long- even longer than the numrich.

If you need other angles, just let me know.

 

[Psab keel]

Thank you el toro ! This is immensely informative.

 

[chubsANDdoggers]

Is that a Merr-Sonn blaster in Andor?! Just when I thought this show couldn’t get any better they bring back the c96!

 

[Inquisitor Peregrinus]

I am weeping tears of joy. This has always been my favorite version, and is the one I'm building for my officer sidearm.

 

[chubsANDdoggers]

I am weeping tears of joy. This has always been my favorite version, and is the one I'm building for my officer sidearm.

I was able to talk with someone involved in the production. It’s been officially confirmed as a Merr-Sonn and titled as the MK2 version.

I was also told to keep an eye out for the “Merr-Sonn MK1” version which will appear in an upcoming episode of Andor.

MK1 = curly wire
MK2 = straight wire

 

[Vanitas]

Honestly I would be beyond happy if copies of the Hero's castings were to one day find their way into public circulation; like how the Blade Runner community has later generation recasts of molds that were used for the stunt pistols on the original film.

I'm sure that the complete lack of any such physical tie to the original prop is a key part of this, but to me the idea of being able to acquire something so directly tied to the original prop would almost be a dream come true, and would no doubt help a lot with figuring out some key details of the prop.

Sorry for the tangent

 

[Vanitas]

Btw, is anyone here intimately familiar with the different hammer variations of the Mauser C96? I recently purchased a vintage hammer online that supposedly should match the style of the Hero's (with the intention of cramming it into one of Chris' steel C96s), but in person the cut of the hammer is noticeably different.

Both the top "hump" of the hammer and the circular grooves are noticeably larger than on Chris' reproduction, and while the seller has agreed to try and help me find the accurate hammer via a return/swap I'd just like to hear everyone else's 2 cents.

(Left real, right repro)

 

[AnubisGuard]

I'm not a Mauser expert by any means, but when I was modeling a C96 hammer a couple of years ago for a personal project I wanted to copy the most aesthetically pleasing (to my eye) examples, and found no shortage of major and minor variations in the reference pics online.

Coming from a saber background, I suspect the C96s were much like the Graflex toolings: variable from factory to factory, year to year, and mood of whoever worked the die that day. There didn't seem to be the degree of consistency across parts back then that you would see nowadays.

 

[Vanitas]

I'm not a Mauser expert by any means, but when I was modeling a C96 hammer a couple of years ago for a personal project I wanted to copy the most aesthetically pleasing (to my eye) examples, and found no shortage of major and minor variations in the reference pics online.

Coming from a saber background, I suspect the C96s were much like the Graflex toolings: variable from factory to factory, year to year, and mood of whoever worked the die that day. There didn't seem to be the degree of consistency across parts back then that you would see nowadays.

That was partly what I first suspected as well, although I mostly wanted to be sure I simply had not received an alternate variation part by mistake. I know that the hammer shape (among countless other C96 parts) experienced many minor/major changes between different iteration (pre-war, wartime commercial, etc.), but am just less personally familiar with all of those differences.