Mals pistol upgrade

[Zombie Killer]

Thanks, got to work on this today. Pretty happy with how it's coming so far.

First thing i did was get rid of the temp screws and put some flat heads on it. Then i ground down the frame and filed the receiver hole until it all fit.

Then i cut the center 2 plates in half where the trigger/hammer parts will go with an angle grinder and used it to grind most of the metal.

Using files and test fitting a bunch i ended up with this.

Here is the action at rest.

Pull trigger back, hammer goes back.

When you pull the trigger far enough it releases the hammer an it flys forward. When i get springs in it that is.

Release the trigger to reset it. Rinse and repeat.

I assembled it to check for problems. Its a bit tight and needs more filing to make it work smoother. Something is rubbing. Nothing major just some clearancing. Once i do that i need to figure out what kind of springs i am going to use. Need one in the back to keep pressure on the hammer and one on the trigger to spring it forward. Looks like this is going to work just fine. I hope to get it done in a few days and get a video of it going pow pow.
I am done for today.

 

[cephalopodprods]

That's awesome, it's a great idea to retrofit "real" pieces into a cast plastic prop and you're doing it pretty well!

 

[Chrisisall]

THIS is how I define shiny.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Really makes a difference with the real screws. Have thought about investing in such for my Philippes cast.

You are really going all out... and it's a pleasure to watch your progress.

 

[greylocke]

What are you going to use for the hammer mainspring?

 

[gyoung2993]

That is incredible engineering and retrofitting for this prop ................Speechless......

 

[Zombie Killer]

Thanks again gyoung.

greylock i am using the ones below. I wanted to make it all clean looking and use coil springs but that is just too much of a pain to get the right spring. Coils sized and spacing, wire diameter and hardness, too much playing to get the right one. These little springs are nice and easy. Squish them and they have alot of travel, dont bend or bind and have a nice consistant feel throughout their travel. I ended screwing up the first trigger trying to fit the spring on the side but this time i put the spring in the slot in the center of the trigger. I used a dremel with a cutting disc to deepen it enough for the spring. This works better. I wish the spring had a bit more tension though. I was having a problem getting the trigger to reset properly. It needed more spring. I tried adjusting the lever on the hammer but i just ended up screwing up the hammer too. Glad i bought a few. It works better now with the spring in the center. It still fails to reset once in a while but i am not really worried about it. I think it will loosen up after awhile. I still have to drill this new hammers pivot pin too but need to wait to get it to a drill press. The steel is too hard to do with a hand drill. Also need ot grind the hammer top part round and drill a hole in it too. That'll be fun. Then i will cut the holes in the silver trigger guard for the trigger and hammer to poke through. Got some other projects i need to do first......

Here is a video i posted on photobucket. For some reason whenever i upload to them i get frame drop like crazy. You can hear the hammer fall everytime i pull the trigger but you don't see it. I don't get it. Out of all the trigger pulls i do maybe 3 don't reset but it looks like the hammer doesn't do much. I was going a bit crazy but i was trying to see if it would fail. Once this is glued in place it's done. I'll have to break the gun apart to fix it.





Here is the hammer spring. I had to grind some space on the side and also on the cover for the spring to fit.

Here is the trigger spring. Like i said earlier i had to dremel the groove deeper for the spring to set in it far enough for the pin to clear.

I also had to grind a groove for the hammer lever. If you don't the trigger has to push the hammer back a tad for it to reset. Like this the lever is free to swing and lets it reset.

Here it is somewhat assembled

This is where the trigger spring gets held in place, the other side presses against the trigger just behind the pin.

 

[greylocke]

Hmmm You might want to look into a trigger spring from a Ruger Blackhawk. Link below.

Wolff Trigger Spring Ruger Bisley Blackhawk Single Six Super Blackhawk Vaquero 30oz

This spring or one similar should give you the tension and strength you need.

 

[JOATRASH FX]

One thing just came to mind. Have you thought about how the vibrations from the hammer and trigger clicking together might damage the polystone? I would think that since it's so brittle, the shock could put stress on it and cause cracks.

 

[Zombie Killer]

Thanks greylock. I think i have some AK, AR and H&K springs i can try but it seems to be OK now that it is assembled a bit more. It may fail to reset every once in awhile but its fine. My life is not depending on it.

Joe, this stuff is not that fragile. It should be fine. All the shock goes into the aluminum housing. The hammer never actually hits any polystone.

Went to my parents yesterday and drilled out the hammer pin and ground down the hammer. This steel is hard as heck. I tried my best to get a drill bit to penetrate the hammer so i could drill the hole but all i could do is get little divots.They look the part. It took me 1hr of tearing up bits to get them this far. I have to tend to the grips next. Once i get them done i need to look at paint.

Here is another video of the action.

https://imgur.com/sByAMmo

 

[gyoung2993]

Im lovin it so far ,thanks for the update.......

 

[Zombie Killer]

Thanks again! I am getting to the end of the building part of this and will be moving to finishing it up . Grips are pretty much fitted. Just need to clean them up. I drilled and tapped the frame for the screws for them too. Now i need to hand sand down the grips and stain them, then give them a few clear coats. I can also glue the barrel on now. With those done it's paint time and final assembly/gluing of the trigger group and grips into the receiver. Paint is the only thing i am a bit worried about. Not sure what to use. Maybe some modelmaster brass nonbuffing paint. I'll probably need to mix it with some other metalizer to tone it down. The real prop is more of a bronze then brass.

 

[gyoung2993]

OOOOOOOOOOO.........Nice.........

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

Once you are finished, you should return it and get your $80 back.

 

[Muttleysdad]

This is great, absolutely fantastic job, I have to keep stopping myself from ripping mine apart, I think that will be a job for the winter nights. We cannot get gun parts in the uk like you can in the states, however I've been measuring up an old Umerex Walther PPKS BB gun that I have and i think i can make the parts fit. Nice thing with the Umerex is the hammer is the right shape and has a hole through it:coolShiney, Keep up the good work, I'm really looking forward to seeing it finished.

 

[Zombie Killer]

A little more done today. Grips are stained and i cleaned up the weathering on the receiver and barrel. Then noticed i forgot the front sight has set screws too so i drilled and tapped them. Glad i noticed it and i had enough to add them to the screw kits.

I'm going to have to sand the resin silver trigger frame a little where the grip is slightly small. I am about ready to glue the trigger housing to that silver frame then i can sand it.

Here is the list of screws i used

6-32 x 7/16 socket cap allen head (x2 grip screws)
2-56 x 1/4 button head allen head (x4 under barrel screws)
4-40 x 1/4 button head allen head (x2 top of receiver)
4-40 x 1/4 set screw (x2 sides of receiver)(x1 top of receiver)
6-32 x 1/4 set screw (x4 sides of receiver)(x2 front sight)

 

[Zombie Killer]

I am pretty much done with this. It has been drying over the weekend. The JB weld takes awhile to dry to the point it won't bend so i didn't want to handle it for a few days. Same goes for the paint.
If there is another update it will be after weathering but since i am not experienced with weathering it may be some time before i get the walnuts to do it.


The last thing i I needed to do was extend the little tips that broke off over the coarse of recontruction. I used some painters tape and JB weld to extend them. Then with some files smoothed down. Apparently i forgot to take pics after....

The one thing i thought would be hardest would be matching the paint. It wasn't. I found some Floquil Bright gold that was a really close match but it needed some orange so i also bought some Testors brass paint.

I mixed up a batch of 4 parts gold 1 part brass. It is very close.

I also painted the grip with Model Master Magnesium buffing paint. After drying i buffed it to a high shine and gave it another coat and repeated. Then shot it with some rustoleum clear.

Here is the gun. I painted the barrel and gun seperatly.

A little test fit.

Here it is with barrel mounted.

And here it is finished. The stand needs to go. It's too small and because the edges are sharp it is digging into the clearcoat on the grip. I have some painters tape on it now until i make one. It did screw the paint up a tad. I was going to put real metal thumbwheels on it but the ones that were on it weren't bad. I just gave them the MM magnesium treatment and i think they look great. Trigger works awesome. It never fails and it feels great. I kinda wish some of my other guns had triggers like it. All in all i am happy with the results. It's not a project i wanted to tackle but glad i did now. Even for $80 it makes a great kit if you can get it apart without messing it up too bad.

 

[gyoung2993]

OK there ZK ,thats turning out fantastic, I guess since you are getting so good at that project , I will , let you talk me , into letting you , do mine for me .........lol......JK.....its exceptional........nice job......

 

[Zombie Killer]

haha, Thanks, if i didn't have 10 other projects going i would.
I also forogt to mention , everyones free screws will go out today. I was slammed at work all last week and never got to the PO. I will get them out today. Sorry for the delay.

 

[JOATRASH FX]

Glen, there is a very good (and fairly easy) method for weathering a Mal pistol that I usually recommend to folks. If that gold coat is laquer-based spray paint it should work. Get some water-based acrylic paint and either spray or paint it on in a thin layer. Note: you don't want any ready-made rattle can paint... used either artists acrylics or something like Tamiya or Citadel Color in little jars. Then get some Ajax window cleaner (I sometimes use a weak isopropanol/water mixture) and get a rag damp with it. Then rub the rag over the gun where you want the weathering to appear. The alcohol in the window cleaner will dissolve the water-based acrylic paint but should not be strong enough to damage the gold spray paint.