Blade Runner Blaster - where to start?

[eethan]

I'll definitely do some looking into the history of what's happened, as while I've been on therpf for a while my primary experience is with Han's Hero DL-44 and its main thread. Don't want to make any dubious decisions either.

I just hope it is not another G** R** situation, as I vaguely remember the name Steve Dymszo as being affiliated with Master Replicas.

Yes that is the same person. He is still selling stuff on eBay so people that buy from him should be aware he stole a TON of money from fellow collectors.
He is not selling barrels at the moment it seems though, so that I know off, that only leaves Tedz from Greece and I'm not sure he can still be trusted to still send items seing the history of the past years.
Maybe I should turn a few barrels for people and put them on my website Who knows

 

[mhariush]

No, in this case, tedz from Greece is not really delivering if you check the project run here, and I believe the only other seller is SD studio which is banned here I think and has a very sordid history. (Steve dizmo thread here for info)
Not a lot of good reputable sources for barrels and cylinders for the blaster at the moment I'm afraid.

I ordered from Tedz and it took forever, but I did get it eventually. I think he had underestimated the amount of work it was. But it took a long long time. I ordered it may 2021 and received it early this year.

 

[Vanitas]

Probably a dumb question, but is it easy/worthwhile to add parts from a real Charter Arms Bulldog to a Tomenosuke? Things like the cylinder and trigger, I mean. I'm only asking as I've found a lot of parts from a .44 special online for sale, and as long as the conversion process for swapping them in isn't too prohibitively difficult then I might want to try tackling that too.

 

[el toro]

I have a steel barrel and cylinder from tedz and they’re really nice. I believe DaveG passed down his dimensions (which were based on his version previously available on propsummit) to Ted. That said, from the metal items I’ve received from Eethan, im pretty certain that if he produced steel barrels, his product would be high quality and accurate. His build threads show how damn meticulous he is. It’s crazy.

 

[faust1103]

Is it possible to order Paragon models from Europe? AFAIK they only ship within the US.
Has any1 here had success with a remailer?
Thanks.

 

[Starganderfish]

Is it possible to order Paragon models from Europe? AFAIK they only ship within the US.
Has any1 here had success with a remailer?
Thanks.

I’ve used a freight forwarding service for all sorts of stuff from the US. I’ll be using one for the Paragon Cryo-Can when it releases.
Biggest concern I’d have though is sending a replica firearm via freight forwarding. Depending where you live and what your local laws and import regulations are, a freight forwarding service probably isn’t going to follow any customs or import requirements. And the forwarder themselves may reject the package as an imitation firearm.
There’s no issue with sending general products using a shipper, just do some research on sending a replica gun.

 

[eethan]

Probably a dumb question, but is it easy/worthwhile to add parts from a real Charter Arms Bulldog to a Tomenosuke? Things like the cylinder and trigger, I mean. I'm only asking as I've found a lot of parts from a .44 special online for sale, and as long as the conversion process for swapping them in isn't too prohibitively difficult then I might want to try tackling that too.

I haven't tried it myself, but from memory only, and i can be wrong about it, but before you buy a real cylinder, I'm not sure they fit the Tomens.

 

[Trooper_trent]

Probably a dumb question, but is it easy/worthwhile to add parts from a real Charter Arms Bulldog to a Tomenosuke? Things like the cylinder and trigger, I mean. I'm only asking as I've found a lot of parts from a .44 special online for sale, and as long as the conversion process for swapping them in isn't too prohibitively difficult then I might want to try tackling that too.

Absolutely. I replaced my cylinder with a real Bulldog .44.
It's not a direct swap. I over to scottjua's house and he drilled the hinge hole on the swing arm out a bit to make it fit and then drilled and tapped holes for the cover plate. We had to cut the extractor pin down like they did on the real prop so it would close.

I also replaced the barrel with a steel one, stripped and re-blued all the metal parts, and replaced the weaver and binding post with real parts.

 

[APOLLO IND]

Absolutely. I replaced my cylinder with a real Bulldog .44.
It's not a direct swap. I had to drill the hinge hole on the swing arm out a bit to make it fit and then drilled and tapped holes for the cover plate.
View attachment 1776074View attachment 1776075

I also replaced the barrel with a steel one, stripped and re-blued all the metal parts, and replaced the weaver and binding post with real parts.
View attachment 1776076

This looks fantastic Trent!! Great question Vanitas Ive been thinking about doing the same to my Tomen blaster. I’m definitely gonna go for it, since I’ll be disassembling it to weather it anyways. I’d be happy to let you know how mine goes as well But Trent seems to have done a great job showing that already !

 

[thosemortalmen]

Better late than ever, this is my dream prop in weapon based collection but still looking for the one that fits me whether on budget, satisfaction and also able to be shipped to my country safely.

First question: is Anders in the same scale with Tome/Paragon? And how strong is the resin for those who own the kit? is it the kind where you drop it from the table and then break apart?

Next question, please correct me if I'm wrong: The Paragon FX barrel can't be blued or polished like the Tome one?

 

[eethan]

Better late than ever, this is my dream prop in weapon based collection but still looking for the one that fits me whether on budget, satisfaction and also able to be shipped to my country safely.

First question: is Anders in the same scale with Tome/Paragon? And how strong is the resin for those who own the kit? is it the kind where you drop it from the table and then break apart?

Next question, please correct me if I'm wrong: The Paragon FX barrel can't be blued or polished like the Tome one?

hey, what country are you from?

the Anders blaster is also made in pewter by Tip top workshop, that might be an option for you as well.

Regarding the Paragon barrel and Tomen barrel, they are both resin/composite, but the Tomen was some kind of cold cast resin that could indeed be polished and possibly blued as well. I think I have read somewhere that the resin for the Paragon frame and barrel was possibly different indeed. In any case, barrels can be swapped for metal ones if that is a concern

 

[wayouteast]

Better late than ever, this is my dream prop in weapon based collection but still looking for the one that fits me whether on budget, satisfaction and also able to be shipped to my country safely.

First question: is Anders in the same scale with Tome/Paragon? And how strong is the resin for those who own the kit? is it the kind where you drop it from the table and then break apart?

Next question, please correct me if I'm wrong: The Paragon FX barrel can't be blued or polished like the Tome one?

I've made the TipTop/Anders resin blaster and the resin is some of the most robust I've experienced. Of course, it's resin so care needs to be taken with some of the more delicate parts, but mine stood up to drilling, tapping and being otherwise worked with very well, and the finished build has withstood a lot of handling, working of the bolt and cylinder etc. since. I probably wouldn't want to hurl it at a wall or drop it from a height onto a hard surface, but it'll cope with everyday handling fine. I'd recommend it if you're looking for a blaster that will be primarily a display prop capable of some handling.

If you have a slightly larger budget and are prepared to wait for your turn on the waiting list to come around, their cast-metal version is even more robust and will withstand the same sort of handling and use as any of the other metal replicas. I'm lucky enough to own one of the metal versions, and I absolutely love it.

The blasters in these photos, from top to bottom, are 1) the Fullcock original water pistol in its original packaging, 2) the same but modified and painted with electronics added, 3) a solid resin casting painted like the standard police issue blaster, 4) the TipTop/Anders resin kit, and 5) the TipTop/Anders cast-metal version.



As for scale, I don't own a Tomenesuke or Paragon, I'm afraid, so can't give you a definitive answer, but I'd assume that the overall scales are very similar, perhaps not perfectly identical but certainly within a couple of millimeters.

 

[Moviefreak]

Better late than NEVER…

Fixed that for ya!

 

[thosemortalmen]

hey, what country are you from?

the Anders blaster is also made in pewter by Tip top workshop, that might be an option for you as well.

Regarding the Paragon barrel and Tomen barrel, they are both resin/composite, but the Tomen was some kind of cold cast resin that could indeed be polished and possibly blued as well. I think I have read somewhere that the resin for the Paragon frame and barrel was possibly different indeed. In any case, barrels can be swapped for metal ones if that is a concern

I'm from Indonesia. I don't know if it is possible for a gun that is more harmless than Nerf Gun can get in tbh. lol.

Yeah, I've read and stalked here and facebook groups for years and everyone seems on board on Anders though I don't have experience on building a kit before, so it kinda scares me if it would be to hard for newbies.

I prefer not to do heavy modifications but if it's just polishing and bluing i might want to try it, but not cutting barrels and all like some of the guys did. So, the verdict looks like the tome 2019 retailers edition are a step better than Paragon release, in terms of the build material.

 

[eethan]

I'm from Indonesia. I don't know if it is possible for a gun that is more harmless than Nerf Gun can get in.

Yeah, i've read here and facebook groups and everyone seems on board on Anders though I don't have experience on building a kit before, so it kinda scares me if it would be to hard for newbies.

I prefer not to do heavy modifications but if it's just polishing and bluing i might want to try it, but not cutting barrels and all like some of the guys did. So, the verdict looks like the tome 2019 retailers edition are a step better than Paragon release.

Alright, just a quick advise, cutting the barrel is relatively easy, if you don't feel you can do that, I would absolutely not recommend that you buy a kit then. There is quite a bit of work to do with a kit, especially a metal one.
Cheers

 

[thosemortalmen]

I've made the TipTop/Anders resin blaster and the resin is some of the most robust I've experienced. Of course, it's resin so care needs to be taken with some of the more delicate parts, but mine stood up to drilling, tapping and being otherwise worked with very well, and the finished build has withstood a lot of handling, working of the bolt and cylinder etc. since. I probably wouldn't want to hurl it at a wall or drop it from a height onto a hard surface, but it'll cope with everyday handling fine. I'd recommend it if you're looking for a blaster that will be primarily a display prop capable of some handling.

If you have a slightly larger budget and are prepared to wait for your turn on the waiting list to come around, their cast-metal version is even more robust and will withstand the same sort of handling and use as any of the other metal replicas. I'm lucky enough to own one of the metal versions, and I absolutely love it.

The blasters in these photos, from top to bottom, are 1) the Fullcock original water pistol in its original packaging, 2) the same but modified and painted with electronics added, 3) a solid resin casting painted like the standard police issue blaster, 4) the TipTop/Anders resin kit, and 5) the TipTop/Anders cast-metal version.

View attachment 1778105 View attachment 1778106

As for scale, I don't own a Tomenesuke or Paragon, I'm afraid, so can't give you a definitive answer, but I'd assume that the overall scales are very similar, perhaps not perfectly identical but certainly within a couple of millimeters.

If we used the resin kit, will it be friendly enough for trigger playing? or at cons? Or you rather suggest me wait for DavidChaos one? I know there will be a limit on how strong the resin will be, but at the very least it can be played and strong enough without breaking easily.

 

[wayouteast]

If we used the resin kit, will it be friendly enough for trigger playing? or at cons? Or you rather suggest me wait for DavidChaos one? I know there will be a limit on how strong the resin will be, but at the very least it can be played and strong enough without breaking easily.

Depends what you mean by 'trigger playing'. Neither the Anders resin kit nor the metal one has a fully working trigger/hammer/cylinder mechanism - i.e. the cylinder does not rotate and the blaster doesn't cock when the trigger is operated. The two triggers do have individual springs so that they can be pulled and spring back to their original position when released. The cylinder can be released using the cylinder switch and rotates freely once released. But the triggers, cylinder and hammer aren't connected in any way.

I certainly wouldn't worry about normal use at a con. If put together according to the instructions the resin kit is easily strong enough for normal handling - it's assembled using the same screws, bolts and other hardware as the metal one. The painted finish is obviously as resilient as you make it - mine shows no signs of wear or scratches after a few years of semi-regular use. If it helps, you can see a full build log of how I did my resin version in this thread which should give you an idea of the high quality of the kit and some tips on finishing it.

If you have a concern about its robustness during use, it's definitely worth paying a little bit extra for the metal parts upgrade that's available for the resin kit. This replaces some of the more critical or delicate resin components - triggers, hammer, cylinder arm and pin(s), cylinder bushing (which is lathed from aluminium), switches, sight, weaver knob and binding post - with cast-metal ones for added strength.

The all-metal kit is obviously even more resilient, and obviously being all-metal feels more 'real' in the hand, with considerable weight and heft. But there is a bit of a wait for it, as you'll see from the project run thread. For comparison, my build of the metal blaster is documented here.

Hope this helps with the decision making!

 

[Halliwax]

Absolutely. I replaced my cylinder with a real Bulldog .44.
It's not a direct swap. I had to drill the hinge hole on the swing arm out a bit to make it fit and then drilled and tapped holes for the cover plate.
View attachment 1776074View attachment 1776075

I also replaced the barrel with a steel one, stripped and re-blued all the metal parts, and replaced the weaver and binding post with real parts.
View attachment 1776076

You’re an animal!

 

[Gregatron]

Been working on my resin print of Anders’ version of the blaster, and I’m kinda toying with also getting a higher-quality/metal replica.

A few questions, though: Does the Paragon version come with the screw that the Weaver Knob can be swapped out for, or is that only in the Tomenosuke releases?

Also, what are the current chances of finding the the appropriate upgrade parts (steel barrel, etc.)?

 

[eethan]

Been working on my resin print of Anders’ version of the blaster, and I’m kinda toying with also getting a higher-quality/metal replica.

A few questions, though: Does the Paragon version come with the screw that the Weaver Knob can be swapped out for, or is that only in the Tomenosuke releases?

Also, what are the current chances of finding the the appropriate upgrade parts (steel barrel, etc.)?

A run has just opened for the steel barrels and cylinders in the US. So, if this run goes well, chances are better than before now