Thanks everyone!
For folks not familiar with them, Tomenosuke Shoten is a shop in Japan that specializes in science fiction prop replicas, designer vinyl toys and more.
http://www.tomenosuke.com/
The shop has a blog where you can follow the progress of new stuff such as the Tomenosuke PRO Blaster, which is now being engineered by Nobu. Marushin will manufacture a "blank firing gun" version of this I understand.
http://tenshu53.exblog.jp/10335137/
I am indeed very thrilled and grateful to have this wonderful Blaster - a piece of artwork. It really is like a sculpture or painting... fragile! It looks very convincingly real, but it is made of soft metal, resin and a few machined parts. it is a built-up of the original Tomenosuke kit, but with many many modifications. Material added and removed, parts reshaped, and so on.
Nobu had the opportunity to personally examine the Hero Prop when it was auctioned at Profiles in 2009. So this replica is one of the finest ever I should think.
It's a cliche to say that "the photos do not do it justice"! But in this case, it would be fair to say that my photos really don't represent it accurately. The "blued steel" parts look brighter in the photos than they do in person. Probably this is true of the hero prop as well! So paint your blasters darker everybody.
Nobu weighted the replica, so it is very heavy and feels much like the real thing!
However I have to keep in mind that this item is FRAGILE... it looks so realistic and heavy, you want to bash it around like it was a piece of steel. But it could break, or the paint could crack, or the blueing could wear off. The soft-metal parts can be easily dented. Handle with care.
I've been asked about the BLUE LED on the bottom of the gun. I believe it is like a "safety". Nobu designed the lights to work like this: you flip the ON/OFF switch, and the red LEDs and blue LED go on (they don't SNAP on suddenly either... they GLOW on, fading UP dramatically! A very nice touch).
So first you have the reds lit up and the blue underneath. Then you pull the FRONT trigger, and the blue goes off and the green "laser sight" LEDs go on! You are ready to fire.
A switch has been installed internally so if I want I can turn off the Blue LED altogether. Also potentiometers control the brightness of everything (I had requested that the lights be kept DIM like they appear in the film rather than dazzling bright as in some replicas).
So bottom line, I can see the lights on or off, in any configuration I like. Nobu has buried the wires internally, since I couldn't sanction having the white wires hanging off the side, no matter HOW screen-accurate they are! :lol
There is also an optional "minus head" screw, to swap for the Weaver knob if I like. Overall I was going for a "screen accurate" appearance (not the beat to hell Worldcon condition), but even though it doesn't appear in the film, I still prefer the Weaver.
Mark, thanks for the acknowledgements. While I never felt that Tomenosuke "owed" me anything ("let a thousand flowers bloom"), I am certainly very grateful to Shinji Nakako and his Tomenosuke Team for their fine work and dedication in bringing this replica into existence.
The upcoming Tomenosuke PRO will be an opportunity for more people to own one of their fine replicas. I hope Tomenosuke will release more information soon.
- karl
thumbsup
