I can only really humbly bow in thank you at such an endorsement. Seriously.
For my part I can add a couple things on how I approached it. I waited until the season was almost done before starting, to make sure I had enough reference. I probably cut out hundreds of images that I spent dozens of hours color-testing, sharpening, enhancing and manipulating in photo editors to iron out even the smallest detail. Even then, it wasn't really enough, but I got some tips from a couple of sources who... knew things (which I can't say more about). And every time something new would pop up, I'd redo the piece. (I lost count of how many times I redid the "slide"... and if you read the thread you can see how much I went back and forth on the recessed area for the cleaning rod bracket, until I could, with help, confirm it was accurate.)
I'm almost never the 1st person to have something finished, and since I don't have a CNC mill/lathe it's hard to beat the coolness factor of some drool-worthy metal builds of things we see, but I kinda get a kick out of trying to be the "best" (for whatever that's worth) in at least one area when I do a prop, so I try to focus on accuracy, because I'm fortunate enough to sometimes be able to spot details that others often don't (probably because I stare at the things until my eyes start watering, haha), and that I occasionally get generous help from folks in the industry.
Now I gotta go UV-bake some parts...! : )
