You have never seen the Blade Runner blaster before - PHOTOS RESTORED
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neosporing
Sr Member
so rich how much are you going to charge for the new pkd pistol run? More than the standard 900 bucks for the metal blaster or the standard 900 bucks for the metal blaster? When will it be finished? two years or by october?
Please clarify this for me. You last email update about the resumed pistol run left out this information.
Please clarify this for me. You last email update about the resumed pistol run left out this information.
Just as an aside, has anyone attempted to contact the owner (as anyone that has been reading the thread should know who it is by now..) as an impartial spectator to attempt to find out from the source what all has transpired? The owner is a well known BR fan that I would think would be open to questions about all of this as I'm told he's a very personable and likable fellow...
Just a thought....
Just a thought....
Just as another aside, with the Worldcon being in Japan next year, and the Japanese people being as large if not larger fans of BR, plus with the release of the large DVD collection slated for next year as well, who else here is hoping they might be able to scare up one of the original road spinners that's over there???
Let's hope..
Hehehe ok no more tangents
Let's hope..
Hehehe ok no more tangents
I forwarded photos, before the hoopla, to an associate who is an expert at Steyrs. Looking at the markings he said in his professional opinion it was a real Steyr, not a casting. The photos then went to the Steyr factory, where they, too, stated it was a real gun, not a copy and "The factory historians were fascinated with the pictures." I now have a contact at the Steyr factory if any relevant questions develop.
I remain confused a little, still. I love the BR gun, own a couple of Rich's inc. the (now old version) all metal blaster. I recall reading that the propmaster said something to the effect that only ONE hero was built, and a dozen or so stunt castings. Somewhere in this incredible thread someone said there are three Hero versions but that conflicts with what the propmaster from the movie was reported to have said. So, one hero (which would make the Worldcon seen one THE Hero?) or three heroes? :confused
I remain confused a little, still. I love the BR gun, own a couple of Rich's inc. the (now old version) all metal blaster. I recall reading that the propmaster said something to the effect that only ONE hero was built, and a dozen or so stunt castings. Somewhere in this incredible thread someone said there are three Hero versions but that conflicts with what the propmaster from the movie was reported to have said. So, one hero (which would make the Worldcon seen one THE Hero?) or three heroes? :confused
Walter
Master Member
<div class='quotetop'>(racprops @ Sep 14 2006, 07:25 AM) [snapback]1319994[/snapback]</div>
We may have but I have not gone to a con in Arizona in over 10 years because I don't like to pay for boredom.
-Bryan
Anyway, as for the hero... I remember someone saying that the prop master indicated only one hero blaster, so a very fair and relevant question, is the Wondercon the one and only hero or are there actually three as was recently stated? The screencaps seem to promote the idea that there was more than one ie wires in vs wires out.
We may have but I have not gone to a con in Arizona in over 10 years because I don't like to pay for boredom.
-Bryan
Anyway, as for the hero... I remember someone saying that the prop master indicated only one hero blaster, so a very fair and relevant question, is the Wondercon the one and only hero or are there actually three as was recently stated? The screencaps seem to promote the idea that there was more than one ie wires in vs wires out.
Unfortunately for the interested parties, the photos were already posted here for some time, so they can be as mad as they like...the damage has been done. Pulling them made sense as a show of respect for the owner of the prop...the reasons are none of our business. There was intimation that there could be repercussions for one particular person, not the forum...so then it is none of our business IMHO. If the threat was to the forum then yes it would be our business. The bottom line is that he showed it at a con....which makes entirely no sense to me if they are that protective of the details.
Sidewinder
Sr Member
As it was a revolver and the add-on parts were screwed on (?) over the swing out area, surely they would have more than one shooter so they wouldn't have to keep pausing filming to reload?
Kinda like they did in I Robot - that was a revolver and they had loads of shooting heros 'cos it had to be unbolted etc to reload it.
SAS
Kinda like they did in I Robot - that was a revolver and they had loads of shooting heros 'cos it had to be unbolted etc to reload it.
SAS
<div class='quotetop'>(Sidewinder @ Sep 14 2006, 01:04 PM) [snapback]1320107[/snapback]</div>
The irobot pistol was a revolver? Sure looks like an auto. Sure you aren't thinking of the pistols from the first season of BSG, which were revolvers with gear bolted over it?
The irobot pistol was a revolver? Sure looks like an auto. Sure you aren't thinking of the pistols from the first season of BSG, which were revolvers with gear bolted over it?
Sidewinder
Sr Member
Yes, the I Robot pistol was a Taurus revolver.
From Propstore:
This is one of ten hero close up Will Smith pistols made for and used in the film. Each hero pistol casing comes in two parts and was fitted around a Taurus revolver. As the Taurus is only a five shot pistol, ten guns needed to be made for Will Smith
From Propstore:
This is one of ten hero close up Will Smith pistols made for and used in the film. Each hero pistol casing comes in two parts and was fitted around a Taurus revolver. As the Taurus is only a five shot pistol, ten guns needed to be made for Will Smith
Bug Stomper
Well-Known Member
I have a real steel Bulldog and it's fairly easy to modify it (especially for a gunsmith) in a way that the cylinder can swing out without disassembling the front section. Depending how you do it the extractor might not work but even then it should be possible to change the bullets within 60 seconds.
Cheers,
Stefan
PS: Is it just me or are the grip areas with the "fish scales" (sorry, I don't know the correct English term) perfectly flat?
Cheers,
Stefan
PS: Is it just me or are the grip areas with the "fish scales" (sorry, I don't know the correct English term) perfectly flat?
<div class='quotetop'>(Sidewinder @ Sep 14 2006, 01:28 PM) [snapback]1320121[/snapback]</div>
Cool. Ya learn something new every day. Thanks for sharing.
Cool. Ya learn something new every day. Thanks for sharing.
Bear in mind that the Steyr expert and the people at the Steyr factory were basing their analysis solely on photographs, but the photos included pics of the markings taken at oblique angles with good lighting. Still, someone could argue they were only photos and not the real item.
While looking for info on BR guns a while back (long prior to the Worldcon posting) I read this from Phil. It was on a thread about the gun, posted in 2003. As you can see, the merits and details of this prop icon were debated way back when, and as new details emerged the C&S guns were updated...hence my having a couple of them.
"Apr 12 2003, 06:12 AM Post #1
Posts: 3,901
Joined: 28-October 99
I just responded to a fan who emailed us various theories about the Blade Runner blaster. In addressing his questions, I thought the material would be of interest to fans in this forum:
Many of your observations about the Blade Runner blaster are correct. To clarify, here are a few additional comments:
1. Buttplate finger indentation--
This is right. Having handled reproduction grips that are identical in dimension to the original gun, it is very clear that the extended flat buttplate makes the grip way too small for the average hand. Apparently, the "finger/pinky notch" was added to the buttplate to accommodate Harrison Ford's hand.
2. Fifth LED in magazine bottom--
There is in fact a fifth LED in the magazine bottom. This was an item that appears to have been added later, since none of the stunt castings show this detail. Also, the LED appears to have broken during filming.
3. Stunts molded before some modifications to hero--
You are absolutely correct. The stunt guns indeed appear to have been molded before the hero received additional modifications. Principally, the finger notch (see item no. 1), was a change that only appeared on the hero gun. The fifth LED (see item no. 2) is another example.
4. Black bottom on butt plate--
The buttplate is silver. That is absolutely certain. The black illusion is extremely convincing, but false. This has been absolutely confirmed by comparing various sequential press photos that confirm that the black bottom is an illusion caused by shadows.
5. Laser pointer LED--
I'm less familiar with the pointer, but it's been heavily debated. It appears that a piece of clear acrylic was probably inserted in the tip of the device, so the reflection seen while the gun is on the floor during the film is the clear acrylic reflecting the gun color below it (see the last paragraph in this section for an explanation of this phenomenon). Due to the lighting, it gives the tip a greenish glow.
The pointer is not hollow--as the piece has been confirmed to be a slightly modified jeweler's screwdriver--and therefore is unable to house leads to light an LED in the tip. Besides, where on the gun would the power supply be located? One must remember that this prop was made in 1980-81, when a lot of the sophisticated electronics in existence today had not even been invented.
The green reflection is a common distortion seen throughout Blade Runner. For example, many, many people believed that the stunt guns used in the film had been painted a dull green to distinguish them from the hero gun. A discussion with the property master proved that this theory was wrong. All of the stunt guns were cast in black resin or black hard foam. In conclusion, this proves that due to the lighting of the film, black objects often appeared to be greenish in color.
6. Gun colors--
The pistol frame was a brushed stainless steel, which was an option offered on Charter Arms bulldogs of the period. The Steyr parts were high-polished blue (standard finish on all Steyr rifles at the time). The magazine was polished nylon plastic, the material out of which Model SL magazines and trigger housings were made of.
7. One more thing--
Only one hero gun was ever produced. This has been confirmed by the property master. Additionally, about 12 or 13 stunt copies were made for the movie, with another few copies given to "friends of the production".
Phil "
While looking for info on BR guns a while back (long prior to the Worldcon posting) I read this from Phil. It was on a thread about the gun, posted in 2003. As you can see, the merits and details of this prop icon were debated way back when, and as new details emerged the C&S guns were updated...hence my having a couple of them.
"Apr 12 2003, 06:12 AM Post #1
Posts: 3,901
Joined: 28-October 99
I just responded to a fan who emailed us various theories about the Blade Runner blaster. In addressing his questions, I thought the material would be of interest to fans in this forum:
Many of your observations about the Blade Runner blaster are correct. To clarify, here are a few additional comments:
1. Buttplate finger indentation--
This is right. Having handled reproduction grips that are identical in dimension to the original gun, it is very clear that the extended flat buttplate makes the grip way too small for the average hand. Apparently, the "finger/pinky notch" was added to the buttplate to accommodate Harrison Ford's hand.
2. Fifth LED in magazine bottom--
There is in fact a fifth LED in the magazine bottom. This was an item that appears to have been added later, since none of the stunt castings show this detail. Also, the LED appears to have broken during filming.
3. Stunts molded before some modifications to hero--
You are absolutely correct. The stunt guns indeed appear to have been molded before the hero received additional modifications. Principally, the finger notch (see item no. 1), was a change that only appeared on the hero gun. The fifth LED (see item no. 2) is another example.
4. Black bottom on butt plate--
The buttplate is silver. That is absolutely certain. The black illusion is extremely convincing, but false. This has been absolutely confirmed by comparing various sequential press photos that confirm that the black bottom is an illusion caused by shadows.
5. Laser pointer LED--
I'm less familiar with the pointer, but it's been heavily debated. It appears that a piece of clear acrylic was probably inserted in the tip of the device, so the reflection seen while the gun is on the floor during the film is the clear acrylic reflecting the gun color below it (see the last paragraph in this section for an explanation of this phenomenon). Due to the lighting, it gives the tip a greenish glow.
The pointer is not hollow--as the piece has been confirmed to be a slightly modified jeweler's screwdriver--and therefore is unable to house leads to light an LED in the tip. Besides, where on the gun would the power supply be located? One must remember that this prop was made in 1980-81, when a lot of the sophisticated electronics in existence today had not even been invented.
The green reflection is a common distortion seen throughout Blade Runner. For example, many, many people believed that the stunt guns used in the film had been painted a dull green to distinguish them from the hero gun. A discussion with the property master proved that this theory was wrong. All of the stunt guns were cast in black resin or black hard foam. In conclusion, this proves that due to the lighting of the film, black objects often appeared to be greenish in color.
6. Gun colors--
The pistol frame was a brushed stainless steel, which was an option offered on Charter Arms bulldogs of the period. The Steyr parts were high-polished blue (standard finish on all Steyr rifles at the time). The magazine was polished nylon plastic, the material out of which Model SL magazines and trigger housings were made of.
7. One more thing--
Only one hero gun was ever produced. This has been confirmed by the property master. Additionally, about 12 or 13 stunt copies were made for the movie, with another few copies given to "friends of the production".
Phil "
WinstonWolf359
Master Member
So, after looking at the Wondercon photos, it seems that numbers 1, 2, and 3 still remain true.
Numbers 4 and 5 no longer correct. In fact even in the last long, long blaster thread I think most everyone was convinced it WAS a green LED for sure but the rear one was still somewhat up in the air.
6...somewhat correct.
So there's still no telling if #7 is correct or not. My gut tells me it would be odd for a major film NOT to have at least one back up hero gun, because if it's importance. But who knows for sure?
Numbers 4 and 5 no longer correct. In fact even in the last long, long blaster thread I think most everyone was convinced it WAS a green LED for sure but the rear one was still somewhat up in the air.
6...somewhat correct.
So there's still no telling if #7 is correct or not. My gut tells me it would be odd for a major film NOT to have at least one back up hero gun, because if it's importance. But who knows for sure?
The Prop Stop
Sr Member
As a collector of original screenused pieces and knowing something about the production process although I know virtually nothing about the history of this piece....to even think that there was only one hero metal pistol made for the entire shooting length of the movie, is not only a silly assumption...it's downright foolish.
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