Who is this "Sidkit" and why don't I own his Mal Reynolds pistol?

[JOATRASH FX]

Grips are wood... ammo clip is glued into place (I was in too much of a hurry to get it done to mod the clip). I did tap the back end of the barrel and put in a screw from the inside of he gun body just to be safe.

As for gold candy.... Alsacorp has an automotive clear coat called "clear4chrome" which they also sell gold pigment additive for, but I've never used it. (I think the stuff I currently have is from a European paintmaker called Standox.) But really- any shop that sells proper 2-part automotive paints should be able to help you out. At any rate, I'm gonna stress again that you get a "proper" paint with hardener if you want it to resist any scratches.

(Note: I also used this method to pimp out my Firebird as can be seen here at the bottom of the page: Firebird The gold components were either silver chome or polished aluminum before.)

The weathering is an airbrushed coat of Tamiya flat black mixed with "smoke", "orange clear" and "blue clear" which was then "worn off" with a rag moist with Ajax. After the weathering was done I resprayed the whole thing with a clearcoat (sans candy additive) since the Tamiya color doesn't hold up well to a lot of handling. Now I just gotta touch up the front site and rub down some of the gloss.

Awesome buildup joatrash! Did you glue your ammo clip in? Or mod it w/magnets?

 

[jason1976]

seriously, i dont need both of my kidneys...anyone? :cry

Oh, I heir you brother. I know this is chump change for some (or most) of the people here, but this put a hurtin' on me. I've been saving up for a new computer for years, and I never touch that money, but I just had to for this. I mean, it is one of my top 5 props of all time.

The others would be a life sized han in carbonite, D'Argos Qelta blade (a "working" replica is my dream), A QUALITY replica of Buffys scythe, and Mara Jades saber. (all of witch, are way out of my price range.) Oh, and there's like a thousand others, but those are my top 5 at the moment. (counting the Mal pistol)

 

[DavidS]

Grips are wood... ammo clip is glued into place (I was in too much of a hurry to get it done to mod the clip). I did tap the back end of the barrel and put in a screw from the inside of he gun body just to be safe.

As for gold candy.... Alsacorp has an automotive clear coat called "clear4chrome" which they also sell gold pigment additive for, but I've never used it. (I think the stuff I currently have is from a European paintmaker called Standox.) But really- any shop that sells proper 2-part automotive paints should be able to help you out. At any rate, I'm gonna stress again that you get a "proper" paint with hardener if you want it to resist any scratches.

(Note: I also used this method to pimp out my Firebird as can be seen here at the bottom of the page: Firebird The gold components were either silver chome or polished aluminum before.)

The weathering is an airbrushed coat of Tamiya flat black mixed with "smoke", "orange clear" and "blue clear" which was then "worn off" with a rag moist with Ajax. After the weathering was done I resprayed the whole thing with a clearcoat (sans candy additive) since the Tamiya color doesn't hold up well to a lot of handling. Now I just gotta touch up the front site and rub down some of the gloss.

Your wood grips look great, did you make them yourself?


Im not hating on your method, so dont get me wrong with what im about to say, so please dont take it this way, but to me useing any paint on this model is sorta defeating the purpose of having a metal model.... i still want to try to go with real metals and chemical aging on mine..... at least im HOPING to.... itll be more expensive for sure, but i hope the finished product is worth it...

bt the way, could you tell me a bit more about how you secured the barrel, you said you drilled and tapped it? got any pics of the inside of the frame where it came thru?

 

[JOATRASH FX]

Haha, no worries- we all have our preferences. If I had a place nearby that did brass plating I might've done that, but I kinda like the idea of doing it myself. If you're getting it plated make sure you do it at a good place. I've seen some things (like my Marto Highlander Katana) where the brass plating is weaker than using 2-part auto paint! Also... there's a possibility that this type of metal can't be plated so be sure to check up on that too. At any rate... you really can't tell my gun is painted when you hold it since the metal still shines and is cold to the touch.

Oh... and don't be too sure that plating will be that much more expensive. Quality auto paint ain't cheap! :confused


Sorry... don't have any pics of the barrel but it was pretty straightforward. I drilled a hole in the center, dremeled out a small part of the "barrel socket". Next I glued and screwed the barrel and body halves (but not the top part or clip) in place with the tiny allen screws to align it properly. Finally, I put some epoxy on the screw and carefully screwed it into the barrel, from the inside of the gun body. Does any of that make sense?

Your wood grips look great, did you make them yourself?

Im not hating on your method, so dont get me wrong with what im about to say, so please dont take it this way, but to me useing any paint on this model is sorta defeating the purpose of having a metal model.... i still want to try to go with real metals and chemical aging on mine..... at least im HOPING to.... itll be more expensive for sure, but i hope the finished product is worth it...

bt the way, could you tell me a bit more about how you secured the barrel, you said you drilled and tapped it? got any pics of the inside of the frame where it came thru?

 

[DavidS]

Yes perfect sense....
I didnt mean to make it sound like your taking the cheap route at all.... so far yours looks like the best sidkit that anyone has posted so far......
i gotta admit its those grips.... they have some nice grain..... did you make um yourself?

 

[JOATRASH FX]

Nah, those are Phil's grips. To be honest I feel kinda guilty for having put them on the Sidkit and not my resin cast since it already has the great thumbscrew upgrade (which incidentally looks much better and more accurate than Sid's thumbscews.)

Yes perfect sense....
I didnt mean to make it sound like your taking the cheap route at all.... so far yours looks like the best sidkit that anyone has posted so far......
i gotta admit its those grips.... they have some nice grain..... did you make um yourself?

 

[DavidS]

hmm
would it be too much to ask to do a side by side comparison of those screws? might have to upgrade.......

 

[JOATRASH FX]

I doubt he has any left... it's been a while. I reckon everyone who got grips also got thumbscrews. I don't have the time right this minute to break out the camera again but there are some good shots of them here:

http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=26854&highlight=thumbscrews

http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=23819&highlight=thumbscrews

The big difference is that the accurate ones are "sharper" in the details and are attached by a thin screw.

hmm
would it be too much to ask to do a side by side comparison of those screws? might have to upgrade.......

 

[DavidS]

Oh i see......look nice, i wonder if the sidkit screws are "repairable"

 

[Ramiel]

seriously, i dont need both of my kidneys...anyone? :cry

I would love to buy one, but... You know... First: I don't need one! Second: You know my financial status:lol

Oh, great build up joatrash!:thumbsup

 

[Kadajiroth]

Whoa, that's awesome, joatrash! Lovely build-up!

 

[superjedi]

*Sigh*. . . you guys are killin' me with these pics!!
I just finished my resin pistol, and I want one of these metal kits now!!
Dangit!! Dang dang dangit!! :cry

 

[Kadajiroth]

*Sigh*. . . you guys are killin' me with these pics!!
I just finished my resin pistol, and I want one of these metal kits now!!
Dangit!! Dang dang dangit!! :cry

'Least you have a resin kit. The biggest Firefly prop I have is a home-made Crybaby with flashy lights. :lol

 

[Nexus6]

The biggest Firefly prop I have is a home-made Crybaby with flashy lights. :lol

 

[Kadajiroth]

:lol

I'll try not to overtake this thread too much.

View showing the lights:

Battery system with switch:

It's nothing much. It started out as a fancy tin to put Firefly stuff in, then I added lights etc., so I didn't spend much time on it.

NOTE: Sorry for the grainy pics, took them too close.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

That's a cool little prop you got there... :thumbsup

 

[dr_slurpee]

Indeed, good job on the Crybaby!

 

[Mechamaniac]

Makes your mother sigh...

 

[DavidS]

well as i said, ive already ordered a kit, and i DID ask Sid for an extra magazine, and he IS going to throw one in!
what a heckava super nice guy!

 

[Gigatron]

Joe,

Absolutely stunning build up and paint job :thumbsup

If anyone is interested in using magnets to hold the clip in, there is a very simple solution - rare earth magnets. They come in small sizes and some of them are extremely powerful. Glue one on the bottom of the gun, inside the mag well and glue the other, opposite pole up, inside the magazine istelf.

If you get strong enough magnets, they don't even have to be touching in order to hold the mag in place. When gluing, just use 5 minute, 2 part epoxy and give it overnight to cure. If not, the magnets will probably pull right off.

I've used this place when building my hovering training remote https://www.kjmagnetics.com/categories.asp


-Fred