Paragon FX Elite Blaster Cylinder Replacement

[Taylor Jean]

I recently got a Bulldog cylinder with the hopes of replacing the plastic one in my Paragon FX elite blaster. As I disassembled everything, I realized that there was going to be some machining involved that I don’t have the resources for. I was thinking of having the ejector rod cut down and threaded to match the one in the plastic cylinder. That way I could use the threaded end cap that’s holding the current one in place. I’d then also need to machine the crane in a couple places to work with everything else.

Does this seem like a feasible way to replace the cylinder? I read somewhere that the tooling of the Paragon FX and Tomenosuke blasters are the same, so I'm eager to know how others have done this modification.

 

[Bacta]

It’s a bit tight but can be done, this mod is a tomen.

Didn't try to hold any tolerances, it's tight enough. Bored the center hole, put the slots in, and knocked those two pins down. Used tape to get it enough where the cylinder doesn’t have any play and can rotate.

 

[Trooper_trent]

Did you get a bulldog crane as well? or just the cylinder? I replaced my tomen with a real bulldog cylinder and crane assembly as one single piece. Just had to slightly offset the hole that it hinges on.

 

[Taylor Jean]

Did you get a bulldog crane as well? or just the cylinder? I replaced my tomen with a real bulldog cylinder and crane assembly as one single piece. Just had to slightly offset the hole that it hinges on.

Yes, I also have the crane. The hole you're referring to is right above the front trigger? Did you shortened the ejector rod in any particular way as well?

 

[Trooper_trent]

Yes, I also have the crane. The hole you're referring to is right above the front trigger? Did you shortened the ejector rod in any particular way as well?

View attachment 1810234

Yes, the ejector rod on the real prop was just cut down so it would fit. And yes, that hole in the crane needs to be widened (to the left a bit, if I remember correctly) in order for the cylinder to hinge properly and lock into the frame.

If you remove the plastic cylinder and crane, and place the real one in, you can look down that hole and see that they don't line up perfectly.
So I had scottjua put it in a clamp and use a drill press and metal file to wall out that hole to one side until there was enough clearance for the hinge pin to go through.

Once the crane and cylinder seat down, we just drilled and tapped new holes onto the crane to hold the cover plate.

 

[Taylor Jean]

Yes, the ejector rod on the real prop was just cut down so it would fit. And yes, that hole in the crane needs to be widened (to the left a bit, if I remember correctly) in order for the cylinder to hinge properly and lock into the frame.

If you remove the plastic cylinder and crane, and place the real one in, you can look down that hole and see that they don't line up perfectly.
So I had scottjua put it in a clamp and use a drill press and metal file to wall out that hole to one side until there was enough clearance for the hinge pin to go through.

Once the crane and cylinder seat down, we just drilled and tapped new holes onto the crane to hold the cover plate.

Okay, that's great to know! I was overthinking it. I haven't taken my blaster apart that far to try it, but I'll give it a look.

And as a side question for anyone who's done blaster mods; I'm also looking for a replacement steel barrel, though it seems like the few makers of them have fallen out. If you have any suggestions I'd also appreciate it!

 

[Trooper_trent]

Okay, that's great to know! I was overthinking it. I haven't taken my blaster apart that far to try it, but I'll give it a look.

And as a side question for anyone who's done blaster mods; I'm also looking for a replacement steel barrel, though it seems like the few makers of them have fallen out. If you have any suggestions I'd also appreciate it!

Yep, message me if you have questions or want pictures.
Regarding steel barrels, I think Tedz may still have some from his run that are in stock, and you can find them on ebay occasionally.

 

[IFA]

Interest - BLADERUNNER Tomenosuke Direct replacement Steel Cylinders and Barrels

BLADERUNNER STEEL BARRELS AND CYLINDERS Hello everyone! :) I wanted to gauge some interest on this topic as it seems like people are always wanting more of these. Tomenosuke keeps returning their “Limited edition” blasters (and we can’t seem to stop ourselves from buying more haha). I would...

www.therpf.com

 

[Hirohawa]

1 On the Bulldog Cylinder - Cut the rod where it steps down.

2- On the Paragon crane arm. Shorten the length of the tubular part that goes into the cylinder to match the length of the charter crane arms one.

3 - drill out the diameter of hole of the Paragon tubular part to match the diameter of the Charter Cylinder rod.

All of this should take about 15 minutes and requires nothing more than a hacksaw and a drill with a vice.

 

[marvinrsouw]

I find these posts to be very interesting! I just bought a Paragon FX Hero Elite (Tomenosuke) 2049 "Deckard's Blaster", just about three weeks ago. I think that modding this blaster with actual Charter Arms parts is such a neat idea! I like Paragon FX's new, albeit limited run release except for one thing: when you cycle the base revolver's action (squeezing the trigger), the cylinder does rotate, but does NOT carry up completely into battery. What this means is that, while the cylinder will rotate, it does not rotate completely into alignment with the barrel. With real revolvers, this is a sign of severe wear and tear on the action parts, notably the pawl or cylinder hand, and requires parts replacement and the services of a knowledgeable gunsmith. With a real gun, such a condition would result in the gun literally self-destructing as the bullet will strike the forcing cone of the barrel off-center ... by any stretch of the imagination, this is just not an ideal situation.
But, again, with a non-firing model or prop, this does not matter; it's just that if you are going to have a functional revolver, even if it is not a real one, it really ought to work properly! I shopped around the internet and did find from Red Wolf Airsoft in Los Angeles, a Tanaka S&W Model 36 3" barrel, heavy model revolver. This is an almost detail for detail cap gun copy of the Smith & Wesson Chief's Special, 5-shot revolver, and is exactly the same size as the Charter Arms Bulldog. It even has the smaller round-butt grip frame like the Bulldog. Its action functions and times up perfectly and I was thinking of swapping out the base revolver in the Paragon FX blaster for the Tanaka revolver, except that I cannot figure out how to attach the oversize trigger guard from the Blade Runner gun without messing up the mechanism of the swing out cylinder (it's a little different than the one that Charter Arms used). In the end, I popped for the newly released Hollywood Collectibles Blaster Air - the Blade Runner blaster in airsoft! It isn't cheap, about $600 more that Paragon FX's release, but it is also a Tomenosuke product with very much the same features as the non-shooting model(s), and a perfectly functioning action!
I know this is a long "dissertation", but a question I have for Taylor Jean is, once you have the cylinder assembly fitted out, will you also have a working action in the blaster? I guess that what I am wondering is, will the Charter cylinder actually work with the Tomenosuke's revolver action?

Sorry, everyone, for such a long-winded posting! In Retrospect, I am thinking of putting the Paragon FX blaster up for sale.