Darth Bill, Serafino and Lord Abbadon-your photos are the best possible argument here- I'm with you. Phil I had some of these photos too and I had to confess here that the photo of Deckard in its kitchen was the only giving me headaches about this, but again this may be because light coming from the left is reflecting in the butt plate, making it the same tone as the rest of the butt plate.
So when light strikes directly in this surface it makes it look as if it was the rest of the piece.
I'll stick with gloss black with silver ring until I see a better evidence.
Phil, thanks so much for sharing these photos with us!
Thinking of all your Blade runner material makes me just jealous.
I thought it would be good that every one in the forum had access to the email I originally sent to Phil and Richard to discuss details about the blaster and that originated, in some form, this post. Please, if you can take the time to check with your DVD the details I comment, I'd love to hear what do you think about it guys.
Looking for a confirmation of my arguments at the details of the blaster , IÂ’ve been looking again my DVD of Blade Runner for the 50th time and through frame by frame watching IÂ’m getting more and more confident about my ideas on the details on the gun.
The main conclusion I have arrived to thought my photo references, film seeing and your photos is that the casting of the hero gun used for making the stunt copies was done before they started shooting the scenes, before they finished detailing the hero prop. In all the scenes in the movie were I identify the hero gun (mainly because it has the LEDs turned on) I can see the fifth hole for the LED, its washer and the modification of the butt plate (you have a detailed analysis later on scene by scene), plus a different colour scheme than the one used on dummies.
Please have in mind that the version that I’m trying to nail is the Hero gun. The only access I have to a stunt copy reference is the photos on your site ,a photo B/W photo in the Blade Runner Portfolio by Blue Dolphin Enterprises that shows Ford in the Sebastian’s apartment holding a stunt copy were is clear the butt plate is flat (as you know they switched between the hero and stunt depending on the scene, so I guess this photo was taken preparing the moment were Priss kicks Deckard- Poor guy!) and the “Hand through wall” sequence of the film. I’m sure you had one stunt in your hands (LUCKY YOU!) so my guess is that you know the details of the stunt version VERY well.
The stunt gun differs (at least in the photos from the cast that you have in your website) in some details from the hero: the “laser pointer” hasn’t got the LED in front of it, the rear part of it ends flat and not in a semi sphere as in the hero, the holes for the LED switch and a bit further up than the one in the hero (see reference below), the butt plate differs- its hasn’t got the indent for the finger, the profile should follow the pistol grip back curve and have the flatt black plate framed by a silvey ring on the low pat of it.
Now I’ve had made a commentary of my observations scene by scene, and put aside them the time that was on my DVD reader from Blade Runner- The director’s cut- to make them more esily identificable (this may vary, as someone told me that NTSC editions are a bit longer than PAL ones). I have skipped the “Deckard chases and shoots Zhora” because there’s never a mid shot or close up of the gun, we just see the fifth LED on so it’s clear it’s there. TV: Sony 28”-LS35, dvd: Pionner 444, Gold plated Euroconector with oxigen free cables. TV settings using THX Optimiser.
1. Deckard chases Batty. Extreme close-up of the front of the blaster 91:55. You can clearly see the profile of the washer on the ammo casingÂ’ lower piece. Because its viewed from the left side you see only a flat rectagle, but with the piece in hand and comparing it to the shot the place of this relief matches exactly the bird mark, were it should be. Plus the holes for the light stich should be 2mm down (on the copy I have) and the hole that is on the left seems to be covered with a transparent drop of Silicone? Resin? This drop appears too on the close up of the gun falling to the floor (maybe to protect the switch from water?).
2. Batty gives the blaster back. 92:24. Mid shot but front lighted. Butt plate: the indent for the small finger is there, the back of the piece follows the curve of the grip frame. Paint scheme: the cilynder retainer of the Bulldog is aluminium as the rest of the BulldogÂ’s frame (I know you have this corrected in Series 3), plus the grip frame is clearly gloss black or a gloss dark metallic grey.
3. Deckard gets the weapon back (other side of the wall). Close up of gun 92:29. Butt plate: the bed for the small finger is definitely there and the shape of the back follows the curve. The flat ring for the fifth LED is not very well seen here. Paint scheme: the colour of the grip is very clearly a gloss dark (black or grey).
4. Deckard shoots back. 92:32. Profiled back against the light from the shoot you can see the profile of the washer! Again I put my piece in front of the TV and it matches places with the bird mark!
5. Blaster falls to the floor. 94:52. One of my favourites for reference. After the fist bounce of the gun therÂ’s a still (you have to go frame by frame till you get it) that shows the gun as seeing from below. ThereÂ’s a black dot on the ammo casing (the rest is grey because of scene light)just where the bird mark should be, my guess here? The hole for the fifth LED. Butt plate: thereÂ’s definitely a silvery ring around the flat black surface (yes flat black) in the the low flat side. Plus the gripÂ’s frame has a gloss black look to me.
The gun rests in the floor. The light condition goes here from medium to poor. As the light goes off you can clearly see that the “Laser pointer” has the head of a green LED, no transparent –I have some 3mm ones I bought in the eighties and they have that pale green hue-, plus I’ve just seen that in the back of the pointer it seems to be another green LED that has been cutted in half and its rounded head is glued to the back of the “laser pointer” (someone metioned this theory in a forum a time ago and I never believed it till now). There doesn’t seem to be any green light in the scene, so the colours can’t be because of set lighting, so green should be its colour.
On the colour scheme in this shot its very clear that Steyr receiver and gun are clearer than the ammo clip box and the side drum cover. Form this shot and some of the others I firmly believe they had different coulurs, one should be a satin medium-dark steel and the other a gloss black.
6. Deckard returns home. 105:55. Just when he lowers the gun to move the blanket you can see: The bed for the small finger in butt plate and the profile of the flat ring on the ammo clip. TherÂ’s very clear here too that the cocking arm and the received have a lighter colour and a less reflective surface than the ammo box and the side covers for the drum, plus again the grip frame is gloss dark colour, not alu.
Looking for other references IÂ’ve found the Spanish one-sheet poster I have were it show Deckard holding its gun (yes it is a photo montage on 2 different ones, the one of the gun is taken from a b&w still of Deckard in the Bradbury building) that shows too the fifth LED hole on the clip.
Besides the details I have come too to a colour scheme for the gun: Medium-dark metal (steel) not too polished for all Steyr parts except ammo casing and clip and for gun tube, Gloss black for ammo box, clip, drum covers, laser pointer and grip frame (custom made, maybe the Bulldog frame that is inside is parkerised as the rest of Bulldog parts), aluminium for all Bulldog parts, polished metal (darker than plain alu) for trigger guard, triggers and butt plate and flat black for butt plateÂ’s flat part looking down.
Sergio
