Firefly "Vera" Build - New Pics!

Re: Firefly "Vera" Build - WIP

Spent 12 hours yesterday grinding steel! Totally underestimated how long that part would take. But all good as I still enjoyed every bit of it. I haven't worked a lot with metal, so it's all good learning curve stuff for me.

All kit parts have first coat of primer-filler. (When I say "coat" it's like 3 or 4 actual coats at a time). Of course they will all get a sand and second coat of primer-filler.

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So this is what I'm starting with, Denix AK47 receiver. Vera uses a Saiga Shotgun receiver, but the Saiga is based off the AK, so very similar, although some mods will be made for accuracy.

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Lot's to grind off the AK as the bottom surface needs to be flat...

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That took longer than you'd think! :lol


My spare receiver is missing the charge handle for the slide...

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As I've now opted not to use the existing AK trigger (I'll spring-load the trigger that comes with the kit), I'll use the AK trigger to replace the charge handle...

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That'll work!


The grip goes pretty much where the original grip use to attach...

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I'm super stoked how tight the grip is once attached, which is really important when using a plastic grip for a metal receiver! ha ha.

The kit is designed to work with an airsoft Saiga and comes with a cavity for the grip to plug into. I'll glue this in to use for extra reinforcing...

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Ironically, when I added a screw either side of the receiver (to make it more accurate to the Saiga), they both skimmed the top of the cavity, pinning it down. That grip ain't gonna budge!

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Vera has a short upper "fake" barrel. Found a nice steel tube for this...

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This front section had to be ground back to allow the fore grip to slide over...

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Also, rather than have the existing Denix barrel and the tube barrel extension just meet together, I opted to grind away some of the Denix barrel so the tube could slide over. This "sleeve" will give the barrel extension more strength...

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After 11 hours of cutting, grinding and filing these bits are ready for a lick of paint...

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I need a lie-down... :sleep
 
Re: Firefly "Vera" Build - WIP

Thanks mate! How's Texas treating you? We were in Dallas/Fortworth last year.. we want to move there! Not kidding. We loved it!


Its actually not too bad right now, hahah. End of the week DFW will start hitting the high 90s, though. The heat is on its way.

I have to say, credit where credit is due. Doing a build like this and stopping to take pictures on basically every step has to be tedious. So my hats off to you on that.
 
Re: Firefly "Vera" Build - WIP

Its actually not too bad right now, hahah. End of the week DFW will start hitting the high 90s, though. The heat is on its way.

I have to say, credit where credit is due. Doing a build like this and stopping to take pictures on basically every step has to be tedious. So my hats off to you on that.

We’re still thawing out from a Canadian winter. Bring on the heat!

Ha ha yeah my first few builds I’d forget to take pics as I went. But I like seeing detailed build threads and I’ve learnt a lot because of them. So I try remember to take them for each step.
 
Re: Firefly "Vera" Build - WIP

Love your build threads! And Vera being my very favorite prop gun, well, I love this thread even more. I've been looking for a decent kit for a while so I can Vera out one of my showtime screen used stunt guns. I have a folded version all glued together, and I have a version missing a whole bunch of stuff.

Hey, what area of Canada are you living in? Did I ask that before?
 
Re: Firefly "Vera" Build - WIP

Love your build threads! And Vera being my very favorite prop gun, well, I love this thread even more. I've been looking for a decent kit for a while so I can Vera out one of my showtime screen used stunt guns. I have a folded version all glued together, and I have a version missing a whole bunch of stuff.

Hey, what area of Canada are you living in? Did I ask that before?


Thanks mate, appreciate your kind words. Yeah Vera is a pretty special prop. So unique! I'm seriously enjoying this build.

This kit is awesome and I'd definitely recommend it. It's specifically designed to work with a CYMA Airsoft Saiga shotgun. But it works well with my Denix AK. JOATRASH FX did an all metal build on a Denix AK. Pretty amazing replica. In fact many think his pics (found online) are the actual screen used Vera. Lol. For example on imfdb...
http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Firefly#.22Callahan_Fullbore_Autolock_.27Vera.27.22

However, this kit is even more accurate again and when built on the Saiga it's as close as you'll get to the real thing. JOATRASH FX prides himself on accuracy and he nails it time and again. This kit is no exception. Awesome that you have a screen used showtime gun! Would love to see what you could do with a kit like this.

We're out in New Brunswick at the moment, but the plan is to head to Texas sometime this year.
 
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Re: Firefly "Vera" Build - WIP

As mentioned Vera is built on a Saiga shotgun receiver and I'm using an AK receiver. They are very similar (the AK was the base design for the Saiga), but the AK is missing some details that I will add for accuracy. As it's just cosmetic additions, I'll be doing them in styrene.

First, draw up what I'm going for...

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Using cardboard to make templates...

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Cut the styrene parts...

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Actually, to tell the truth, it's not actual styrene as I don't have any here. What I do have is empty tubs of protein. So I cut up the lid for these parts. Not my first prop partially made out of a plastic tub and it won't be the last! :lol


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While not perfect, she's now a lot more accurate. And most of the remaining inaccuracies will be covered up by Vera's components. :thumbsup

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Re: Firefly "Vera" Build - WIP

Just discovered you can buy these side rail plates for pretty cheap. I'll definitely pick one of these up and replace my protein tub parts! Lol.

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But that can be done later on. Not sure how I'd go picking up one here in Canada. :rolleyes But as we're heading to the US in July for a holiday, I'll grab one then down there. Easy. Thanks America! :thumbsup
 
Re: Firefly "Vera" Build - WIP

Busy weekend! But got lots done.

Spent half a day last week wet-sanding all the parts then washing them, ready for paint...

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As I don't have a compressor, I can only use spray cans, which made this build tricky. But we made it work.

So a full day later we have coloured parts...

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The black parts were painted flat black, then clear coated in a satin clear...

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I ordered a side rail mount (for like $10) from China, so I opted to pull the styrene off the receiver to paint it.

The "brass" and "polished aluminium" parts turned out great. Both were a Dupli-color paint, then clear coated with a Testors lacquer...

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For the blue tinted parts, I sprayed them with a light metallic blue (a Dupli-color car paint), then lightly dusted them with silver until I got the right tint...

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I tried the same technique with the purple, using a Testors model paint...

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But for some reason, when I tried to "dust" them with silver, it just didn't look right. So instead I painted them silver, then dusted them with the purple...

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Really happy with this result. The purple tint is more subtle on Vera than the blue, so I have tried to replicate that. But you can see the difference when comparing it to the silver. Bit hard to show them properly in this light as the shadows make the tint look uneven, but it's actually pretty good.


Next up... the wood finish grips! :confused
 
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Re: Firefly "Vera" Build - WIP

To tackle the wood grips I first tried to paint a wood effect (after watching a bunch of youtube vids). This was a total fail, so much so I won't even bother posting a pic. Lol.

It occurred to me that a wood grain vinyl wrap could work, so I looked into getting some off ebay. In the meantime I found a nice piece of hardwood and considered making them from scratch out of wood. While this would be quite the challenge I think I would enjoy giving it a go.

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But then I was wandering through the building supply store (looking for screws for Vera) and came across a stack of wood grain effect vinyl. So I figured I'd give it a go and see how it turns out.

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With all the curves I took to it with the hairdryer and immediately could see that this was going to look pretty good.

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More time with hairdryer, getting everything to look right, including the fore grip grooves...

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I'm stoked with how these turned out! So much so I'm not going to bother trying to make them out of wood. At least for now. Ha ha.

Today I spent a good few hours hunting for bolts and screws for Vera. Stay tuned...
 
Re: Firefly "Vera" Build - WIP

To tackle the wood grips I first tried to paint a wood effect (after watching a bunch of youtube vids). This was a total fail, so much so I won't even bother posting a pic. Lol.

It occurred to me that a wood grain vinyl wrap could work, so I looked into getting some off ebay. In the meantime I found a nice piece of hardwood and considered making them from scratch out of wood. While this would be quite the challenge I think I would enjoy giving it a go.

https://i.imgur.com/sTOMVoK.jpg


But then I was wandering through the building supply store (looking for screws for Vera) and came across a stack of wood grain effect vinyl. So I figured I'd give it a go and see how it turns out.

https://i.imgur.com/cLPo001.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/xi8b6pA.jpg

With all the curves I took to it with the hairdryer and immediately could see that this was going to look pretty good.

https://i.imgur.com/UYAdc4V.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Ag8BOgc.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/XSbMi40.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/AE2yKUV.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/d1nQtqU.jpg


More time with hairdryer, getting everything to look right, including the fore grip grooves...

https://i.imgur.com/96CnsjI.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/na1Av1N.jpg


I'm stoked with how these turned out! So much so I'm not going to bother trying to make them out of wood. At least for now. Ha ha.

Today I spent a good few hours hunting for bolts and screws for Vera. Stay tuned...
As I was reading your post, I was thinking to myself "he should just make them out of wood", then I scrolled down...

They look absolutely fabulous! I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. The vinyl wood grain they make now sure is a lot better than what they put on station wagons in the 70s.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
 
Re: Firefly "Vera" Build - WIP

As I was reading your post, I was thinking to myself "he should just make them out of wood", then I scrolled down...

They look absolutely fabulous! I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. The vinyl wood grain they make now sure is a lot better than what they put on station wagons in the 70s.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Ha ha, we had one of those! :lol
 
Re: Firefly "Vera" Build - WIP

Just popping in to say this is a fantastic buildup. Now I want red filler-primer haha. (The stuff I use is grey.)
 
Re: Firefly "Vera" Build - WIP

The woods pieces came out great! Very clever and convincing :thumbsup

Thanks, they turned out better than expected.

- - - Updated - - -

Just popping in to say this is a fantastic buildup. Now I want red filler-primer haha. (The stuff I use is grey.)

Thank you good sir! Ha ha, yeah the red primer has become a bit of a thing. I went back to grey for a can and thought - this is boring! :lol
 
Re: Firefly "Vera" Build - WIP

Tell me more about this vinyl, it looks amazing but I've got to know how it holds on. Adhesive, or what? And how sturdy is it for prop handling?

This Vera build's flat out amazing, and I'm SUPER impressed with all the detail work you put into it. Keep on keepin' on!
 
Re: Firefly "Vera" Build - WIP

Cut and glued in some pins...

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If you haven't noticed, Vera has a tonne of screws! I literally spent hours walking around home hardware stores and Canadian Tire hunting for what was needed. All-in-all I did pretty well, though some are not exactly accurate. For example, some of my button screws are hex instead of allen.

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Had this tray kicking around which was perfect for organising the different screws for different parts...

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Rather than drill a million holes in Vera by hand (I don't have a drill press), I figured I'd get better placement by cutting off the heads and gluing them exactly where they should be. I painted them first, which turned out to be a mistake. When I was cutting each screw, the metal heated up and the paint went soft. So when the screw head hit the floor it ruined the paint. To somewhat counter this, I put a tub of cold water under the vice for the heads to fall into. This stopped them from being ruined...

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None of the stores had extra large set screws, so I'd planned to use allen head bolts as they will look the part beyond close inspection...

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But then rummaging through the father-in-laws workshop I found a tub of brass compressor hose attachments and low-and-behold... extra large set screws! Well, actually hose plugs, but they are pretty much the same thing...

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The grip has a stainless slotted set screw in the bottom. I couldn't find a stainless slot screw, let alone a set screw! So I made a faux one out of a dome head...

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Next up, bullets...
 
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Re: Firefly "Vera" Build - WIP

Some creative solutions there. Things are moving right along.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
 
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