My DL-44 Builds. Two(!!) MGC's and a Field Marshall Now! GK, Hoth, ANH Hero, OH MY!!!

Thanks for the kind words! And yes the taper is much less pronounced. I'm glad it worked out as MGC's being in such low supply makes it a nightmare to find them.
 
Got in touch with Aaron and heat sink is on its way!

In the meantime, I had ordered two pairs of cast resin MGC grips from Corellian Exports when I was still pondering the MGC grip replacement options and general issues with a lack of options.

I ordered one tan set and one grey set. The grey ones will be saved for a potential Hoth MGC build if I ever find another MGC lol.

I did actually end up getting a Todd’s Costumes set of wooden grips designed for a denix which I’ll fix up for the Greedo Killer MGC but I’m also going to paint the tan resin ones brown and see how those look as well.

Here they are trimmed up and sanded which was pretty easy with an exacto.

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I ordered a couple of Tamiya brown matte spray paints for those. And a black matte can as well for the grey grips. That should come in handy for the potential painted lower for my upcoming Field Marshall ANH hero build I’ll be tackling after this GK.
 
neat! I'm excited, I havent attempted to finish my CE grips yet. Tamiya sprays are really high quality - loving the progress!
 
Both scopes are in hand the K1.5 is infinitely better.
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Though I think the K2.5 is useable if a bit large in both barrel sides.

The windage knobs aren’t correct either but that’s fine.

Overall a great real option for cheaper or similar price than a replica if that’s your thing.
 

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nice, glad you are happy that you took a K1.5 in the end :)
I spent a lot of time in photoshop comparing all the scopes before I bought mine a few years back, but it paid of, the k1.5 is a nice placeholder :)
 
Grill arrived!

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Unfortunately, I had no idea it didn't come with a set screw. So, anyone have an extra one for the Solo's Hold grill? If not, wanna point me in the right direction?

Also, what do you guys generally paint it with? I was considering the matte black Tamiya spray I have coming? I also have a more glossy enamel paint pen? Or Super Blue touch-up pen, or even bluing it though that seems like the least ideal option as the wear to it looks more like it's chipped paint.

I also got another scope in I'm goingg to do a comparison with that might be a better and cheaper option depending. I'll post the comparison with the oother two Weaver's posted above and see what you guys think.
 
Huh... mine came with a screw. It was a cap head socket screw, but strangely it was metric. I just replaced it with a 2-56 cap head that was 1/8" long. Also, the screw doesn't really do anything. I mean, I guess you could theoretically drill and tap a hole in the side of your Mauser, but one tiny screw isn't going to hold the heat sink on. I epoxied my heat sink on with JB Kwik epoxy. And then I epoxied the screw in the hole - it's merely cosmetic.

As for paint, I used Tamiya semi-gloss black in a rattle can for all of my fittings. Chipped off really nice when I scraped at it with an X-Acto blade.
 
Thanks! I guess maybe cuz my order fell through the cracks, he just wanted to get it out ASAP and maybe missed it. I thought it was meant to be a mechanical solution to keep it in place but if not then I'll get the size yoou said and thanks for the paint tip. On to another rattle can purchase. These builds add up in bits and pices lol.
 
Alright, here's a bit more of a deep dive in a potential alternative that is cheaper for a real scope solution on a GK build.

I started off getting a Weaver K2.5 and then was informed that a Weaver K1.5 is better suited and that is definitely true.

The K1.5 works out great but they are somewhat limited (probably because of us, lol).

So, as we do, I was scouring eBay for scopes. It's kind of a relaxing to midlessly scroll looking for features that may work in a 90% okay kind of look when searching for scopes.

Here's one I came across for really cheap and it's compared to the K2.5 and K1.5:
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It's a Bushnell Banner 4x32. It does have the bell at the end of the barrel, much like the Compac Super 4x31 which as we know, is a suitable stand-in for the Compac Super 2.5.

When I saw it listed, I was hesitant to get at as I wasn't sure about the extra bell at the end and how easy it would be to remove, but the price was cheap comparatively and I like taking risks.

As I've only started recently trying to put together a GK DL-44 I started to notice the biggest comparative features to look for in a suitable vintage scope included the definitive line in the bell, the length of the 1" barrel before the knurled ringg was also long and not short, the saddle was hard to find a similar one to the Compac, the windage knobs on the Compac are distinct, and the length of the barrel part between the knurling ring and the saddle was meant to fit the scope rings and rail tightly with little to no space. All of those together are virtually impossible to find so some concessions are made.

In the case of the Weaver K1.5, the saddle has the cleft in the middle, the middle barrel between the knurled ring and saddle is a bit too long, and the windage knobs are diverse and never quite right. All-in-all an entirely good substitute if you'd prefer vintage over reproduction.

With that in mind, the Bushnell Banner 4x32 ends up being another alternative and much cheaper than the Weaver K1.5 though it's availability may be an issue still as well.

In the case of the one I got, it's not perfect but it is nicely worn and beat up.

The issues and positives with it as compared to the K1.5:

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The distance between the knurled ring and saddle is slightly smaller. Miniscule alomst but every centimeter counts.

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I prefer the windage knobs on it as well. They are domed but straight ridges which I like.

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The distance between the base of the bell and the knurled ring is admittedly shorter than desired so the Weaver K1.5 wins there.

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After removing the other bell, there is no front optics. Not really important in it's function as a display prop, at least for me, though I miss the slight small front ring feature but maybe I can find a piece to fit in.

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The saddle just looks better. No cleft and some sloping and angles like the Compac. Not perfect in the least but nothing is unless it's the real one or a reproduction, but again, I prefer vintage.

Overall, I like it as an option and I think I may use it for the time being. It's worn and dinged up and has the character I want for my build.

Here it is mocked up on my build and some more detailed pics of the damage and wear:

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Thanks to 48th Ronin, I'm now waiting on a proper set screw and Tamiya paint. Once those are in hand, I'll make the commitment and epoxy the grill to the front, and then mark the spots for drilling for the mount. Almost there. I can taste it.

And agian, all the help has been phenomenal. Such a great community and I'm again standing on the shoulders of giants.
 

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Nice job! I'd say that scope is a great stand-in. The finish is definitely more accurate to the Compac than a K1.5, and that knurled ring weathers up very similarly because of it.
 
Nice job! I'd say that scope is a great stand-in. The finish is definitely more accurate to the Compac than a K1.5, and that knurled ring weathers up very similarly because of it.

I'm wondering if the similarity of finish may be more in line with the country of origin for manufacturing. I believe the Compac Super's were made in Japan if I'm not mistaken. Feel free to correct me if i'm wrong. These older Bushnell Banner scopes are similarly made in Japan in that time period that I think this scope is from, maybe 1980's. It's definitely a lighter aluminum and as seen with the wear, much easier to bang up and damage. Though never having held a proper Super Compac, I can't say how that feels in hand.

I also noticed some Tasco scopes have similar features of excessive wear and build construction and similar features as the Bushnell/Compac scopes. It wouldn't surprise me if manufacturing for those Japan Made scopes were near enough to each other and if parts were even interchanged with just different model features etc.

Just my admittedly naive two cents.
 
Nice scope research!!! Thank you for laying it out, I learned a lot going through it.

You're right.. about factories. The Boba Fett 4x20 scopes were made in the same factories as a lot of 4x15 scopes. They have the same glossy paint, some of the same labelling (white, "coated optics" or "image moving" or "Nitrogen filled") under many different brand names. They all came with a specific type of scope knob. You can see it on the Fett Blaster and on the tip of the Han Solo ROTJ blaster scope. It's the knurled thing.

It wouldn't surprise me is Bushnell and Compac were similarly connected :D
 
Nice scope research!!! Thank you for laying it out, I learned a lot going through it.

You're right.. about factories. The Boba Fett 4x20 scopes were made in the same factories as a lot of 4x15 scopes. They have the same glossy paint, some of the same labelling (white, "coated optics" or "image moving" or "Nitrogen filled") under many different brand names. They all came with a specific type of scope knob. You can see it on the Fett Blaster and on the tip of the Han Solo ROTJ blaster scope. It's the knurled thing.

It wouldn't surprise me is Bushnell and Compac were similarly connected :D
I didn't mention it in my write-up but I was trying to mix and match windage caps and that Bushnell one doesn't fit the Weavers thread but I'd lay dollars to donuts it'd work on the Compac or a Tasco. In fact, I have a Tasco with nice caps on its way to me and I'm hooping for the best, lol.

You know me though from our chats, I get crazy with this stuff then back off after the spending chasing dreams adds up, lol.
 
Alright, incoming update and an entire swerve even, lol.

I'm going to use this MGC on a Hoth build. I know, I know. But, last night, incredibly another MGC popped up on eBay. It seemed very late to be listing and while the price wasn't a steal, I grabbed it as I wanted moar DL-44's!!!

The 2nd one I just grabbed has the more proper, long thin barrel, and while it also has the engraved markings, it's better for a GK build with that barrel.

So, now the 1st one I just refinished is going to be painted for the Hoth build as I believe all of it was painted correct? With that in mind, which paint is good for it?

I'll post pics once I get the new one.

And I also decided to take the plunge and get the full Field Marshall ANH Hero kit. I really want a deac C96 for that build and while I can easily get a real C96, I don't want a pistol in the house and I also don't want to ruin one that works fine. Pics incoming as well.
 
hoho! I'm curious if your new one also has like no MGC or Japan stamping anywhere

I remember reading that RMI was the State-side distributor of imported MGCs
 
I'll definitely be posting detailed pics. It's a green box one again but this time has the serial number(?) stamping unlike my first one.
 
In the meantime, while I reevaluate my needs, I got the two Tamiya spray can brown colors ordered so I decided to tackle the Corellian Exports resin grips.

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The two colors were Nato Brown and Red Brown. I needed to see in person their color to make sure but I was leaning towards red brown. I compared them to the MGC 9 grips and red brown seemed the best:

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And the holes for the hardware were perfect for some whittled chopsticks and painters tape as a safety measure for them staying on.
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And of course, because I don't spray paint enough and always rush and forget, I oversprayed and it went horribly lol.

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So I washed them up and sanded them slightly rough (forgot that too, lol) and re-attempted paying attention to the need for multiple coats so they should end up better.

Here's the first coat applied:
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The cludged up first attempt I left as I was hoping it would add some wear look to it and they look good with that color. I think one or two more coats should look good. I may also do a light dusting of the Nato Brown in-between coats fo the red brown and see if that helps add some minor texture.
 

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Alright, 2nd coat was with the Nato Brown, a light dusting:

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A subtle difference but it works nicely for these. May doo one moore coat of each with very light spraying with both to layer it a bit more. Then gonna clear coat it for protection, matte of course. I'm going to see how they look next to real wood ones on the GK.
 
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