Gundam Wing Pistol

[apolifka]

I don't think Anime gets much respect around this forum :unsure but I don't think I'm going to get much meaningful input from the Cosplay community so I'm reaching out the RPF for some real advice.

I'm in the process of building my Trowa Barton Costume (civilian) from the Anime series Gundam Wing and since the cosplay is fairly minimalist, I figured I could invest some effort into scratchbuilding an accurate Gundam Wing Pistol. I'm not sure if this concept has ever been approached before as most cosplayers I've seen just carry a toy gun painted black with little regard to the weapon's form in the Anime. So, my question for the community is: are all the Gundam boys pistols identical throughout the series? I have screen caps of Heero and Duo's sidearms from the second episode, Gundam Deathscythe, and they appear to be very similar in construction but I don't have any screen shots of Trowa drawing his weapon (except in OZ military regalia). So long as I'm building this I want it to be right so what does the community think? Is this enough evidence to assume all the pistols are alike?

Black is Heero's, Silver is Duo's

Regards,
Austin

 

[Panzer]

Planning on shooting some figureheads? This is certainly a unique project. I haven't seen Wing in years, but this should be cool to see done. I think you are indeed looking at the same guns but with different finishes.

 

[BRRogers]

I'm in the same boat: Haven't seen GW in years! I loved watching the show though... Then my sister would watch Sailer-Moon.... lol.
And you are right, anime doesn't get a lot of attention here and that is probably because 75% of the board is an older generation... Only within the past year or so, have I seen the 18+ or 20 somethings start poking in with anime related builds, and that is probably because there is kind of a distinct maturity gap which keeps the younger costume & prop makers within the "cosplay" community.
<On an aside: I'm planning a Ronin Warriors group in the future, pretty excited about that! I hope the RPF get's a kick out of the build since I believe the process is more relevant to these guys than goofing off with friends after it's done. (Speaking subjectively)... So I hope that your build is well received here


Regarding the gun, It appears they are similar, however the features of Heero's gun look somehow stockier.

I'd have to say that for this one you should create your own idealized version> In keeping as much with your reference as possible. I have never seen a GW cosplayer with an accurate side-arm... so no matter what you do it would likely be a step above the herd, as it where. Since they are so similar, use your reference to get it as close as you can, while satisfying your expectations of what you think it should look like!

-Just my two cents

 

[Mike J.]

They do look similar. Trigger area looks like it was inspired by a Nambu or a Luger.

As far as anime goes, you might be pleasantly surprised. I'm a fan of this & that and I know others are as well. It's a little quiet in comparison to Trek / Star Wars but it's here. Sometimes you just have to ask.


-Mike J.

 

[apolifka]

I've been running through the series and I have confirmed that there are certainly multiple types of handguns designated to different classes of characters (OZ and alliance soldiers, Old Alliance Rebels, and Officers like Noin and Zechs who seem to carry elegant revolvers). This is at least confirmation of specialized weapons, unlike the way many of the footsoldiers are drawn almost identically.

In "To the Battleground Antarctica" Trowa actually draws his weapon at Noin, but the scene is in a dark alley and the weapon is all but unintelligible. I'm eventually going to go through my Wing DVDs to see if I have that episode and if the quality is any better, but I won't hold my breath. :unsure The search continues! If no better images pan out I'll base my pistol on Duo and Heero's and be content with what I can get.

Also, if anyone has good construction ideas to make a VERY durable pistol I would appreciate it. Now that I'm thinking of the logistics of this, none of the Gundam pilots really have a good place to store a pistol (except perhaps Wufei or Quatre in some of their costumes) and I would like to be able to store this in the back waistband of my pants when I'm not posing for photos. As such, the gun needs to be able to withstand some pressure since the pants I have for this costume are tight like Trowa's pants are drawn.

Regards,
Austin

 

[apolifka]

I dug up a few good shots of a pistol Heero is carrying later in the series but this has only led me to more confusion :confused. It's certainly more squared off that the one duo carries, which makes me question if it's even his original sidearm since this scene is following Trowa saving Heero from his near-suicide. Heero also leaves the gun with the girl who he confronts about exacting vengence upon him :confused , so who knows if he had been carrying it for very long at all or if it really belonged to him.

I also remembered I have an old Gundam Wing art book laying around somewhere. Doubt there'll be anything usable in it but I might get lucky if I can find the damn thing.

Regards,
Austin

 

[apolifka]

So I let this project sit around for awhile while I completed quite a few other costumes but I've come back around to it. I'm about halfway done with my build so I'll keep this thread updated as I go along.

 

[Noeland]

That second pistol looks like a Grendel p30.

 

[apolifka]

Wow! Great find, that looks right on. I've come across a few more images since I posted this thread and I'll be following the design of the silver pistol but if I wasn't that gun looks perfect!

 

[miknugget]

The old Nintendo zapper could be a good base candidate for the silver gun.

 

[apolifka]

Here's my work so far. It's a Frankenstein's Monster of a few Airsoft guns from the graveyard and a bit of sintra to extend the barrel. The curved white plastic is also a separate bit to give the illusion of the barrel on top. I'm currently filling the gaps and blending it all together. I think it's going pretty well. The trigger area will be left pretty much as is since it's very close, though not totally accurate. The fin along the bottom will also be added most likely out of sintra.

 

[Eternal Bastet]

Looking good! I love Gundam Wing
Cant wait to see the complete Gun

 

[Macrossmaster]

Check torrent sites for a Gundam Wing artbook. They almost always have lineart of miscellaneous items like guns.

Macross Memory Perfect was so thorough that it had drawings of EVERYTHING - from the cola machines to Lynn Minmei's TV set!

 

[apolifka]

It has been a long time since I've visited this project. It's sat on the back burner while I've become a 501st member and finished whole other costumes. I've finally come back around to it and have made some good progress. Just need some final filler before I add the fin along the bottom and prime the pistol.