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Limited Run 'Major's Thermoptic Pistol' (2017) Ghost in the Shell
- Thread starter RebelCityProps
- Start date
I would be interested in one if there is another run of these. They look amazing!
blindcrazyhorse
New Member
I’m very interested in this as well! What an awesome thread!!
My apologies for not posting sooner, there are a number of factors as to why, which you will see below, besides my own personal business. In the past month it has not only been mine, my brother and my fiancés birthdays, but also the anniversary of my fathers passing and in better news, me and my fiance have bought a house. So as you can Imagine it has been crazy here on my end so I just want to say thank you for your patience. This is the first weekend in 4 that I've actually had time to sit down and write this so here goes...
Now, after the weather had ruined the parts that had been chromed (as seen in the previous update) I had to sand down and basically restart the bullet chamber caps. With this done I turned my attention to to the grip detail parts and immediately hit the realization that with parts this small and fiddly, its going to be extremely difficult to sand each of these down, re-prime them etc. I attempted to persevere but within 1 hour i had already lost 2 of the smallest parts while sanding as the pinged out of my fingers and into the ether of my workshop.
I was basically left with the option of either carrying on in this vain or recasting each of these small pieces all over again, not something I wanted to do but in the face of what was in front of me I basically had no choice... until I stumbled onto a happy accident.
I had bought some magnets to act as catches for the clips (which you will see in the next set of updates) and they just so happened to fit into the larger circle in the pattern row PERFECTLY. So after discovering this and seeing how much better they looked, not to mention more realistic to the original prop, I decided that this was the far better way to go.
So with that I immediately ordered enough magnets to fit the grip slots and went to work. The larger magnets that I'd bought previously were easy to reorder, the biggest problem came with the smaller ones. The smallest holes are 2.5mm in diameter, and the magnets I needed only come in 2mm or 3mm configurations. Now added to that they had to be 1mm thick to match the larger magnets and this made them even harder to locate. After looking everywhere i possibly could, I found 1 company in the states that sold these magnets (in bulk) in the exact 2.5 x 1mm configuration I needed. So knowing i would basically have to wait for international shipping I got to work on at least gluing in the lager magnets to the grips.
Finally, after what felt like forever, the small magnets arrived, honestly i know the measurements, but still couldn't believe how small these things are. So, I set to work getting these affixed to the grips.
It was here I came across my first mistake, by gluing in the larger magnets first I had something there that had a stronger pull than the small magnets. So every time I simply tried to glue on in place it would ping out of its slot. Not a good start, Note to future self not to do that again.
As they kept pinging out of my fingers I decided to place them on the smooth end of my needle pliers to give me a bit of control. Since the small magnet was attracted to these rather than the other magnets it at least gave me enough time to place each one without the risk of it coming loose in my fingers.
But because of the pull of the lager magnet, if I did not keep the pressure on until the glue set, it would just come loose when the pliers were removed. Also, because I was worried that these small magnets would be pulled out of place after the fact by using just normal super glue, I decided to use a 2 part epoxy instead to ensure they stayed in place. Which means I had to hold each and every one in place until the epoxy set... 4 magnets per side, 8 per gun, 11 guns... you get the idea...
So after all of that slow slow work, the finally started to come together and I am so so happy I decided to go down this route for these detail parts, even if the small magnets took a while to arrive and were difficult to locate in the first place.. They look far more realistic, they have that shimmer to them that only real metal can give you and they will be far more durable.
I'd like to think that in the film these contact points are in fact magnetic so that when the gun is in the hands of the wearer, the magnets make contact with implants in the glove so that when they enter 'Thermoptic Mode' that signal gets carried through to the gun and that's why it disappears along with the Major. Film logic i know but each of these things on the gun seems to be there for a reason so I at least like to try and come up with a understanding as to why they are there.
Next up: the Clips, more updates soon.
Now, after the weather had ruined the parts that had been chromed (as seen in the previous update) I had to sand down and basically restart the bullet chamber caps. With this done I turned my attention to to the grip detail parts and immediately hit the realization that with parts this small and fiddly, its going to be extremely difficult to sand each of these down, re-prime them etc. I attempted to persevere but within 1 hour i had already lost 2 of the smallest parts while sanding as the pinged out of my fingers and into the ether of my workshop.
I was basically left with the option of either carrying on in this vain or recasting each of these small pieces all over again, not something I wanted to do but in the face of what was in front of me I basically had no choice... until I stumbled onto a happy accident.
I had bought some magnets to act as catches for the clips (which you will see in the next set of updates) and they just so happened to fit into the larger circle in the pattern row PERFECTLY. So after discovering this and seeing how much better they looked, not to mention more realistic to the original prop, I decided that this was the far better way to go.
So with that I immediately ordered enough magnets to fit the grip slots and went to work. The larger magnets that I'd bought previously were easy to reorder, the biggest problem came with the smaller ones. The smallest holes are 2.5mm in diameter, and the magnets I needed only come in 2mm or 3mm configurations. Now added to that they had to be 1mm thick to match the larger magnets and this made them even harder to locate. After looking everywhere i possibly could, I found 1 company in the states that sold these magnets (in bulk) in the exact 2.5 x 1mm configuration I needed. So knowing i would basically have to wait for international shipping I got to work on at least gluing in the lager magnets to the grips.
Finally, after what felt like forever, the small magnets arrived, honestly i know the measurements, but still couldn't believe how small these things are. So, I set to work getting these affixed to the grips.
It was here I came across my first mistake, by gluing in the larger magnets first I had something there that had a stronger pull than the small magnets. So every time I simply tried to glue on in place it would ping out of its slot. Not a good start, Note to future self not to do that again.
As they kept pinging out of my fingers I decided to place them on the smooth end of my needle pliers to give me a bit of control. Since the small magnet was attracted to these rather than the other magnets it at least gave me enough time to place each one without the risk of it coming loose in my fingers.
But because of the pull of the lager magnet, if I did not keep the pressure on until the glue set, it would just come loose when the pliers were removed. Also, because I was worried that these small magnets would be pulled out of place after the fact by using just normal super glue, I decided to use a 2 part epoxy instead to ensure they stayed in place. Which means I had to hold each and every one in place until the epoxy set... 4 magnets per side, 8 per gun, 11 guns... you get the idea...
So after all of that slow slow work, the finally started to come together and I am so so happy I decided to go down this route for these detail parts, even if the small magnets took a while to arrive and were difficult to locate in the first place.. They look far more realistic, they have that shimmer to them that only real metal can give you and they will be far more durable.
I'd like to think that in the film these contact points are in fact magnetic so that when the gun is in the hands of the wearer, the magnets make contact with implants in the glove so that when they enter 'Thermoptic Mode' that signal gets carried through to the gun and that's why it disappears along with the Major. Film logic i know but each of these things on the gun seems to be there for a reason so I at least like to try and come up with a understanding as to why they are there.
Next up: the Clips, more updates soon.
Last edited by a moderator:
That was a informative and satisfying read, thank you. And next time you might want to glue the big one last. 
It has been a little while. How about an update?
foxbatkllr
Sr Member
Yes, it'd be a good time for an update!
All right... I guess the wait continues. I hope all is well. :facepalm
opcorn
Jay, at this point I can only assume you have completely checked out. I have sent several PM's in the last six weeks. All have gone unanswered. I have requested updates to the sales thread, very nicely, a few times in the last six weeks. And again... All unanswered. My understanding and patience has been abused and has now come to an end. No more excuses. Please just ship me what you have completed at this point. I paid for a completed prop but I do not have the faith or trust required for me to blindly go along with this run any longer. Send me what you have and I will complete it myself. Sorry for the public request but you are not getting your PM's or are ignoring them and I need to wrap this horrible experience up.
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