H0llyw00d
Sr Member
Nope. Last one I shot it was a safety, hard stop. Some of the live-fire guys can chime in if I'm wrong (which happens daily). :/
DL44 Blaster help/advice needed.
- Thread starter NickD73
- Start date
Nope. Last one I shot it was a safety, hard stop. Some of the live-fire guys can chime in if I'm wrong (which happens daily). :/
H0llyw00d
Sr Member
Some things I like actual/vintage/authentic when I can get it and it's not an utterly ridonkulous price. I've got some original dosimeters for my code cylinders, for instance. I love them muchly and they smell like the '60s. But I don't have to do anything to them. They're intact as they are. If I could get original Michell stepper pulleys, I might. But Kenny's are micrometer-accurate reproductions, so I don't need the caché of the original.
Then there's things that would get permanently impacted. I could never bring myself to drill into a vintage Graflex flash handle to rivet on grip strips. Especially when I get get a near-perfect replica for under US$200. I might engage the services of a couple of the talented people on here to convert an original Mauser C96 Wartime Commercial receiver to the "Naked Runner" bull barrel version, as long as it retained its functionality. But I don't need to. I'm happy dumping the time and elbow grease into my Denix, since I have a Mauser C96 "Bolo" to use as reference.
Circling back around to the OP. You could wait and hope the original "double ring" ROTJ DL-44 comes up for auction again, and pay five figures to get it... Or you could get this replica made with many original and remanufactured components for a fraction of the cost and actually have something now that is already "good enough" and -- should one want to or hire someone to -- with a little careful work and studying of references, could be made dead-on to said original.
In this vein, I have, thanks to a member on here, an original "teleGraflex" handle (the early version with the engraved rings and "telegraph key" style trigger switch). To convert it into the barrel of my "Supertooper" Uzi-based blaster rifle, I'd have to pinch the rabbit ears together with pliers and paint it matte black along with the rest of the blaster body. I don't want to do that. I'm getting one of the accurate replica Graflexes out there and using this one as a guide to detail the replica where needed. I do have actual Paterson photographic gear for my Fett stuff, including the stirrer handle that's used here. They're still made, to this day, so that's not remotely an issue. I have the Sec-O-Mat pen holder that houses it. I have precision machined replicas of the Michell parts used on that subassembly and for the muzzle. I have Levi's exacting diagram of the plant-on piece on the right side of the blaster, to laser cut out of aluminum. And I'm upgrading some of the details on that piece from stickers to moving parts, as well as an actual Uzi folding stock in place of the cast-resin copy on the original prop. The Uzi itself is an airsoft replica. Top to bottom, a mix of original, vintage, replica, "close enough", and "better than". Just like this DL-44.
Easy there, IP... we're all just toy makers in essence and at heart. Don't let the monsters win.
Yep. The safety makes the hammer fall short of making contact with the firing pin. Some models of C96 the safety will immobilize the hammer, some will let it fall short. At least that’s the way my two different pistols function.
It's a military self-loading pistol from a rifle-making company. A lot of its features are very rifle-y. The bolt locks back after the last round is fired, or when the bolt is drawn back on an empty gun, and chambers the first round when reloaded and the stripper clip removed, leaving the hammer ****** and ready to fire with minimal delay. I have gotten the feeling over the years that when the designers and refiners came up with this thing, it was not really considered that someone might want to not shoot immediately after loading. *lol* One of the first things I got good at was holding the hammer with my thumb while squeezing the trigger enough to release the sear, then easing the hammer up. Engaging the safety pushes the hammer a little back away from the firing pin. You don't even need to manually disengage the safety. Holding the gun with the barrel elevated and cocking the hammer will release the pressure on the safety and it'll just fall back.
Which monsters, now...?Easy there, IP... we're all just toy makers in essence and at heart. Don't let the monsters win.
Vagabond Elf
Well-Known Member
Well, I've learnt something today!
(Not to dismiss the other helpful post, I just had to pick one to quote lest this post be very long.) I know which end the bullet comes out of - I am Albertan, after all - but I've only handled a small number of weapons for real, and certainly not something as interesting as this. (I've got a few airsoft pistols and there's a couple where the airsoft safety is the decocking lever on the real one, so that's part of why I assumed it was the same on the C95 I think.)I've always assumed that the whole "loading leaves it ******" was more of a "we don't know what else to do if we want to use stripper clips" side effect than an "of course one wants to shoot it right away!" design goal. But I'd never really thought about how similar that is to any rifle that uses stripper clips. Interesting thought to wake up to!
IMHO - good deal. Few things to correct but no one has really done a properly accurate ROTJ scope in my view. Having had to find one for my MGC E-11, I ended up making it completely from scratch.
In the U.K., these things are hard to find. Particularly due to our laws. You’d maybe pay £400-500 for a good condition MGC from a dealer over here. Add on the fact that it’s been built with parts (probably from the US with taxes and all), you have yourself a well priced piece. Perhaps a tad over but £600 isn’t bad for this one.
It’ll hold its value for sure, although at the moment it’s incredibly difficult to sell things!
In the U.K., these things are hard to find. Particularly due to our laws. You’d maybe pay £400-500 for a good condition MGC from a dealer over here. Add on the fact that it’s been built with parts (probably from the US with taxes and all), you have yourself a well priced piece. Perhaps a tad over but £600 isn’t bad for this one.
It’ll hold its value for sure, although at the moment it’s incredibly difficult to sell things!
Should you be upset? No. You got more than what you payed for IMHO. Is this truly fully accurate.. well no but good luck there as well.
These blasters details are still be worked out as thd9791 mentioned so nothing is truly film accurate especially since most are outsourcing and relying on others to create said parts. And those that do create in volume usually are relying on other people to tell them what said details are. They don’t know themselves. Much room for error in that assembly line. It’s also very subjective when it comes accuracy within this blasters community. Inquisitor Peregrinus (I know or at least hope he was kidding) overlooked the GK which was made on an MGC.
Also some will overlook inaccurate details so long as the parts themselves are made from metal. The original prop wasn’t all made from metal anyhow so there’s that to consider. Your mount on your prop is metal? Well that is inaccurate if you want a truly film accurate reproduction. The weavers on your prop are also not truly film accurate either but they are close. Much closer than what I’ve seen elsewhere claiming accuracy.
The scope front bell part looks to have captured the correct details. But again it shouldn’t be metal. And unless FM changed his in the past few years it’s not his design. The MGC is 100% the correct base for the bunker and as H0llyw00d said they go for that price here (and more) alone in the states. They are also getting more rare as each year passes, so that price will only go up.
We are so quick to jump down someones else’s throat but the better question is who sold this and why did you blindly believe what he said in the listing? Because it simply cost so much?? These props cost a lot and they do take a lot of time to build especially if you are after accuracy. I can’t put a value on someone else’s time. I have no idea how fast or how slow someone works or what they did or didn’t do in creating these parts to begin with. If this prop cost you around $800us and the MGC costs around $600 here. That’s only $200 for the rest of the parts, painting and assembly as well as milling in the correct details. And if infact he created them himself.. how long did he spend designing them? Sounds to me like you got yourself as steal of a deal here for $200.
Do a little more research in the prop itself and try not to shame someone else in the process.
Don’t mean to sound harsh. Sorry if I come across that way.
These blasters details are still be worked out as thd9791 mentioned so nothing is truly film accurate especially since most are outsourcing and relying on others to create said parts. And those that do create in volume usually are relying on other people to tell them what said details are. They don’t know themselves. Much room for error in that assembly line. It’s also very subjective when it comes accuracy within this blasters community. Inquisitor Peregrinus (I know or at least hope he was kidding) overlooked the GK which was made on an MGC.
Also some will overlook inaccurate details so long as the parts themselves are made from metal. The original prop wasn’t all made from metal anyhow so there’s that to consider. Your mount on your prop is metal? Well that is inaccurate if you want a truly film accurate reproduction. The weavers on your prop are also not truly film accurate either but they are close. Much closer than what I’ve seen elsewhere claiming accuracy.
The scope front bell part looks to have captured the correct details. But again it shouldn’t be metal. And unless FM changed his in the past few years it’s not his design. The MGC is 100% the correct base for the bunker and as H0llyw00d said they go for that price here (and more) alone in the states. They are also getting more rare as each year passes, so that price will only go up.
We are so quick to jump down someones else’s throat but the better question is who sold this and why did you blindly believe what he said in the listing? Because it simply cost so much?? These props cost a lot and they do take a lot of time to build especially if you are after accuracy. I can’t put a value on someone else’s time. I have no idea how fast or how slow someone works or what they did or didn’t do in creating these parts to begin with. If this prop cost you around $800us and the MGC costs around $600 here. That’s only $200 for the rest of the parts, painting and assembly as well as milling in the correct details. And if infact he created them himself.. how long did he spend designing them? Sounds to me like you got yourself as steal of a deal here for $200.
Do a little more research in the prop itself and try not to shame someone else in the process.
Don’t mean to sound harsh. Sorry if I come across that way.
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No, yeah, I said when it was pointed out that I'd forgotten the GK because I personally hate it.
I think it's ugly compared to the ESB and ROTJ versions, and hideous compared to the ANH Hero it looks nothing like. The only one worse, IMO, is the wackadoodle bunker one.
NickD73
New Member
Well thanks for the info I do appreciate the help but not sure why it turned into rant at me for simply asking for help, I know I have a lot to learn about these but as there's so little info out there its not exactly easy to do so I can only do my best & I'm not sure why you said this "try not to shame someone else in the process." at no point have I tried to do anything of the sort. !!
Nor I. It's a good piece, and not usurous in what you paid. There are things that can be improved, over time, should you want to, but it's a fine replica for a display piece or costume accessory. Casual fans won't spot anything amiss. Dedicated aficionados will have to look two and a half times to pick anything out. Only serious wonks who do this for a living -- as some in this thread and on this board -- will be able to see all the tells at a glance. No badmouthing anywhere in there, beyond a bit of a raised eyebrow at the vendor's listing.
NickD73 truly didn’t mean to offended. Your lead post talking about returning, using the sellers description and mention for the price you payed you expected more all put the guy who built it (who I’m willing to bet is a member here as it’s built very detailed & accurate) in the position to defend himself. It just came across to me and maybe I’m a little sensitive but it came across a little disrespectful is all. Again one mans perspective and I didn’t mean to offend. The prop you bought is very nice and you got a great deal. Who ever did build it and if they come across this posting I take my hat off to you. Great work indeed!
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NickDanger
Active Member
Im NickDanger...I think you mean NickD73
NickDanger yes. My bad.
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