Calling all Blade Runner Blaster Fans... (lots of pics)

[NickAverill]

Hi 00fil00 (catchy name!!)
Thank you for your reply chap. Yeah, the metallic acrylic is very convincing but the finish is somewhat more mat than I wanted to achieve. I had considered a silk laquer but didn't want it to be too gloosy afterwards.I am not sure that the paint was buffable which is why I was asking I guess. But I will do what you said and try it on a part that is hidden and see what happens.
Does anyone know a good way to reproduce rust? I had read somewhere that a shaved end of a burnt sienna/terracotta pencil crayon is a good method but I am not sure how to apply those shavings?

 

[00fil00]

Just another thought - you could try a thin shiny gloss coat, and then gradually dull it with a scotchbrite pad or something like that?

I said the burnt sienna crayon shaving to add nevada desert red dust, but it does kinda look rusty like when the dust lands in the screw heads. It tends to fall off if you turn the gun upside down straight away, but if you leave it overnight it kind of "settles" and sticks through some sort of surface tension.
If you want better rust, there are paints you can buy that have iron fillings in it, then you wipe over it with a chemical which instantly produces real rust. You can't get better than that as it IS actual rust, but it would be hard to control if you just wanted a touch of rust. Check this video out of the chemical working (about the 7:00 minute mark)

 

[NickAverill]

That is awesome. That is exactly what I am looking for - thanks for that chap. How the hell does the back of a spoon work?? Bit I will defo try it and once I have the finished piece (whenevr I can actually find the time to get back to it) I will post the pic here for comments... Thanks again for all your help chap

Nick.

 

[scalawag]

I recently bought one of these too.
The grips on mine seem clearer, so perhaps the maker has changed how he is doing them. They are a bit out from the original grips though I think.
I didn't redo the paint on mine, but I have done some dry brushing with flat aluminium to add some wear and tear. T achieve a more metal look to the Steyer receiver and some other parts by rubbing in some graphite powder. I have also added some pigments to add a little bit of dust and rust. As ever I don't think the weathering or paint are done justice in photos.

I have also added some self adhesive lead weights in the magazine space to bring the weight up a little.
I also added some .44 special inert rounds, which have also had the cases filled with lead shot to again add a bit more weight.
The weight of mine is now around 650g, nowhere near a full metal version I know, but heavier than this blaster was when it arrived from the maker. It feels heavier in the hand now which is what I wanted to achieve.

Thanks for reading and any feedback would be great.

Thanks

Paul

 

[00fil00]

Woa that's really flippin nice dude! Does the coat maintain its shine? I might copy what you did on the grip butt plate as my finish has dulled and flattened there and the lever. Defo get the weaver kit though! It's a big improvement for pennies.

EE-8 Field Phone Binding Post and Weaver Scope Knob set for Deckard's Blaster

 

[00fil00]

Also Paul, by the way, the maker has changed his design - it's much crisper detail now on things like text characters and smoothness. Must have a new 3d printer. I notice you also now get wiring included for the green lights to turn on. Can I ask, does the new version have both triggers able to be pulled? My furthest trigger is frozen.

 

[scalawag]

Hi,
Glad you like it.

Yes the graphite powder finish seems quite durable. It even picks up finger marks like polished or blued metal does. They wipe off just the same too lol.
If it does wear down or go dull you can refresh it with a little bit of graphite powder on your finger tip. I really like it as a finish.
Yes mine does have the green lights that work too, and both the triggers move and have return springs.

Thanks for the heads up on the binding post/weaver knob set. I will have to get a set of those.

Paul

 

[scalawag]

Here it is all lit up.

The green LEDs are on a separate switch which is inside the magazine (small black switch above the batteries in my image), so they can be turned on and off independently of the red LEDs which use the small white switch on the side of the magazine as you would expect.

With just the red LEDs lit.

Paul

 

[NickAverill]

Ok guys
I have finally finished my PKD blaster. Now, bearing in mind (and don't judge) A) it was my first timw at doing this and b) this is a non-authorised resin kit and so not slavish to the original prop with regards to the embossed type on the barrel.
I had a few issues with getting the metallic acrylic aluminium spray to look metallic. Thanks 00fil00 for the tips and the tutorial link (I think it was you - had a lot of pm's) which said to rub teh barrel with the back of a spoon. I tried this and yes it worked but it left a few sheen lines. It occured to me that if a spoon would work then why not try kitchen foil (aluminium food wrap) and VOILA! Revalation!! It worked. So I literally got a sheet of foil, scrunched it up then flattened it to the shape of the barrel and rubbed at it until it got hot and it really did create a very high sheen to teh paintwork and with a subsequent layer of paint in a slightly darker hue and a final few rubbings I had created mottled "used" steel material.
After all of this, I use the Tamya weathering kit 'C' set (Tamiya Weathering Master & Stick) and concentrated on the screw heads and the edges of the gun, whilst being incredibly slavish to the various images I had downloaded from the new of the actual prop. And here are the results. Be glad of any and all feedback guys... And thanks for all your help.

Nick

 

[stussy]

nice one nick

 

[Sean]

Sweeeet! Can someone point me towards the tin foil paint trick. Never heard of it before now. thanks and great job!

 

[NickAverill]

Sweeeet! Can someone point me towards the tin foil paint trick. Never heard of it before now. thanks and great job!

Hey Sean, cheers for the comment. The tin foil trick is something that I came up with. Couldn't find anything on the net about it anywhere.
So basically get yourself a small sheet of tin foil, about 12 inches square. Then fold it and fold it again until you have about 3 or 4 inches then simply rub it over the area you want to "metalicise". I rubbed at the barrel until it got hot. Your fingers will go black too - think this is just teh paint though. But the more you rub, the shineir the paint work will be. I wish I video'd it for YT. I was really surprised just how metallic the acrylic paint looked when I had finished. The only tip I would say is that the flatter the surface of the foil the better as I noticed that a few folds of foil that were prominent actually scratched the paint a little. Great if you want a weathering affect but not so good if you don't.
Hope that helps...

 

[Sean]

Thank you Nick
I will have to give that a try. sounds very Interesting

 

[00fil00]

I think you guys missed the original purpose. Rubbing with the back of a spoon was shown in that video for bringing a shine to that model. That model was cold cast - which means there is real iron filings in the resin cast. You sand away the top layer of resin revealing the particles of iron to the air, and then pressing with the spoon will smoosh them flatter and wider, rub off the dull oxidation, and generally grind them to a shine. This was because you asked about rust and I said you could do this if you get a paint that has real shavings of metal in it - sanding away the top layer, revealing the metal and then spooning or rusting the newly revealed metal. This won't do anything to just paint, except put streaky lines and compression damage to your paint - unless you like that look as some sort of weathering?

 

[NickAverill]

I think you guys missed the original purpose. Rubbing with the back of a spoon was shown in that video for bringing a shine to that model. That model was cold cast - which means there is real iron filings in the resin cast. You sand away the top layer of resin revealing the particles of iron to the air, and then pressing with the spoon will smoosh them flatter and wider, rub off the dull oxidation, and generally grind them to a shine. This was because you asked about rust and I said you could do this if you get a paint that has real shavings of metal in it - sanding away the top layer, revealing the metal and then spooning or rusting the newly revealed metal. This won't do anything to just paint, except put streaky lines and compression damage to your paint - unless you like that look as some sort of weathering?

Yes that's very true. But I did try the back of the spoon method on the metallic paint out of interest and it actually worked. It really did bring up a sheen to the paint work. The only problem was the area it was covering. That is why I made the connection between the convex metallic spoon and the versatile surface area of the kitchen foil. But it really did work on the metallic acrylic paint. I did very much appreciate the instructional video though.

 

[00fil00]

Yes that's very true. But I did try the back of the spoon method on the metallic paint out of interest and it actually worked. It really did bring up a sheen to the paint work. The only problem was the area it was covering. That is why I made the connection between the convex metallic spoon and the versatile surface area of the kitchen foil. But it really did work on the metallic acrylic paint. I did very much appreciate the instructional video though.

I'm really pleased it worked for you! Hope you display it proudly to remind yourself of your hard work.

 

[DarkKnight]

wow, very cool