Buck Rogers blaster - genuine or replica?

[AvZ]

Help! I need help determining if this Buck Rogers type blaster is a replica or a production made piece. I have been at it for days now and I'm drawing a blank at the moment. This piece was sold to me as an authentic piece. In the years there have been some amazing replicas.

The genuine pieces are all over the place in construction (plastic shells, fiberglass etc). I know it is not one of the strobe S1 hero versions or the coneshaped S2 hero version. It shares similarities with one of the to me known replicas. What I know till date:

1) The emitter: not the strobe S1 version and not the coneshape S2 hero version. It is similar though to the straight emitter used in Galactica 1980 "Space Croppers".
2) The grip: the grip is tapered, going from slim at the top to broader at the bottom. None of the genuine pieces I've seen have that.
3) The space where the trigger is located is wider then on genuine pieces I know (so the space between the grip and let's call it the ammo/handguard-part.
4) The replica: there are casting/sculpting flaws that correspond. Thus they share some lineage, what kind I don't know. The replica looks to have a molded trigger (which suggest it might be taken from a genuine piece). I contacted the owner of the replica. Maybe he will reponds. There are more similarities than I marked. What is different on the replica (apart from the obvious molded trigger): the round part at the back which that has groves and a small dome.
5) The parting line at the back: there is a parting line at the back - above the grip but below the
6) It has a battery compartement: that would not be correct for S1 I gather, but the S2 hero that I know of had one.

I don't know the material yet (for got to ask, stupid me...) as I don't yet have it in hand. And I'd might ask the seller to open it up for me.

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[julz]

Its a fan made replica. I bought pretty much the exact same one years ago...it was made out of resin. I ended up cutting and modifying mine to get it more accurate.

 

[AvZ]

Its a fan made replica. I bought pretty much the exact same one years ago...it was made out of resin. I ended up cutting and modifying mine to get it more accurate.

So that one is yours on yourprops. Thanks for the information. It is indeed made out of resin.
Was yours static or made to light up?
Do you perhaps have a better picture of yours (before the alterations)? What did you alter to yours and was that prior to your yourprops photo?
I made a commitment with the auctionhouse were I purchased the piece to contact them on Monday with my findings.

 

[julz]

Indeed it is mine on your props. Im user name "Jules Baby". Mine was static. The original emitter was clear resin, way too short and not really that well cast , so I replaced it with an acyric piece that was lathed down to the shape you see it. I also replaced the front sight to make it longer to match the new emitter. The grip was totally replaced which i sculpted out of wood and positioned much more forward than it was. The barrel seemed too short and not proportioned how I thought the real one was so that too was replace using wood.The main body was the only thing I didnt really modify. I just cleaned up some of the lines to make them sharper. Then it was lots of coats of primer filler, sanding and some good automotive black paint. Ive had it for over 15 years. I had before and after pictures on the phone I had back then but not anymore unfortunately. Seeing yours is a blast from the past. Its without a doubt the same one I have. Dont let anyone tell you that its a proper screen used prop..its just not. For a start the screen used ones were made from fibreglass. Not resin..

 

[AvZ]

Indeed it is mine on your props. Im user name "Jules Baby". Mine was static. The original emitter was clear resin, way too short and not really that well cast , so I replaced it with an acyric piece that was lathed down to the shape you see it. I also replaced the front sight to make it longer to match the new emitter. The grip was totally replaced which i sculpted out of wood and positioned much more forward than it was. The barrel seemed too short and not proportioned how I thought the real one was so that too was replace using wood.The main body was the only thing I didnt really modify. I just cleaned up some of the lines to make them sharper. Then it was lots of coats of primer filler, sanding and some good automotive black paint. Ive had it for over 15 years. I had before and after pictures on the phone I had back then but not anymore unfortunately. Seeing yours is a blast from the past. Its without a doubt the same one I have. Dont let anyone tell you that its a proper screen used prop..its just not. For a start the screen used ones were made from fibreglass. Not resin..

Thanks for the information. Much appreciated.

 

[julz]

Thanks for the information. Much appreciated.

Glad I could help