TRIGUN Vash's Long Colt .45 *FINISHED*

superfreak1000

Active Member
Alright I've got another project in the works Vash the stampede's Long Colt .45! I've been wanting to make this one for a long time and just got the red duster replica he wears so now i kinda HAVE to! First I found a paper build up of it, not easy to track down and no one has made a pepakura model that i could find but i did run across a pretty sic one here Vash’s Gun | PaperCraft Museum printed this bad boy out and grabbed the scissors and glue! Aaaand a few hours later had this
13794-trigun-paper.jpg

it also has this cool feature
13795-trigun-paper-open.jpg

now that the paper model was done it was time to start building. I used the paper one as a reference and reprinted it and cut it out (minus tabs) to cut from foam and MDF. I started with the handle, not too hard just a little shaping to make it look nice!
13796-foam-handle-cut-shaped-trigun-long-colt.jpg

Happy with that I moved on to the body of the gun. Here is where i ran into a dilemma. I wanted to have, at the very least a single action trigger for the final prop, so I did some research and had a hard time finding recent write-ups on other builders' trigger mechanisms. It's still in the works and what i have come up with so far (due to the limited space inside the body of the gun) is a moving trigger hooked to a push bar that will push the hammer back just so far and then it will release the hammer(spring loaded of course), as the trigger is released (also spring loaded of course) the push bar will reset under the hammer. Still trying to work out the details. I'll have more on that later as the build progresses. So with this in mind i set on cutting the body and hollowing it out. Taking my template from the paper model I cut the body from 1/4" MDF, making two pieces and then cutting a center spreader out of styrene to make the width right.
13797-long-colt-body-cut-marked-routing.jpg

Here I have the pieces marked for routing, which will be my next step.
13798-long-colt-body-routed-trigger-mechanism.jpg

Got to use my Dremel routing attachment for the first time!! WOO that was fun and a little unnerving hoping I didn't screw it up and have to start again. But, much to my relief it worked out great! Now to get the trigger figured out....any suggestions would be great!! I have cut the top and bottom barrel's from foam but haven't made much progress on them yet so i will update this thread once I get further along.

Thanks for reading! Check back often for updates, I need to have this finished by next month for the first annual Ama-Con in Amarillo, TX. I will also be posting the other parts of the costume that i will be making. Including the boots, gloves, holsters( I'll be making two(2) of the LC.45's) knee caps, elbow cap, and other small accessories for his out fit.
Chris @ Superfreak1000Props

Ok here is a pic of me with the finished gun in my Vash outfit!
7600891906_79fe3ae30e.jpg

keep scrolling down for the build details!
 
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Re: TRIGUN Vash's Long Colt .45 WIP

Nice! I like the idea of using a papercraft print out as the base. I've been getting into replica pistol's myself. Looking forward to this one.
 
Re: TRIGUN Vash's Long Colt .45 WIP

I tried to start the gun but it was hard!!! It was creating like the first few stuffs with like the top(the part where you glue two of the sides with the words on it. The middle part is the part I don't get).

But nice build. Looking forward to seeing this finished!!
 
Re: TRIGUN Vash's Long Colt .45 WIP

I saw the Vash sunglasses and gun replicas as a set in a store near me recently. sadly I passed on them as i was more interested in getting my MR lightsaber fix at that time.

Great build.
 
Re: TRIGUN Vash's Long Colt .45 WIP

Good luck ! I had a lot of fun building mine from scratch, and I learned a lot !

Yeah I saw your build weaselhammer, I dug it. I'd like to make a better trigger mechanism for this one for a more realistic feel. We'll see what i come up with, if you have any suggestions on that part I'd love to hear them. It's kinda hard finding good working trigger assemblies on here.
 
Re: TRIGUN Vash's Long Colt .45 WIP

The model kit from Poseidon built the gun around the frame from an S&W Revolver cap gun, so the trigger ****** the hammer and spun the cylinder. Making the frame around an exsisting mechanisim might be something to consider.
 
Re: TRIGUN Vash's Long Colt .45 WIP

Alright! it's been a rough week or so and i finally got back at it! I left off with the body and foam stock(handle). I took a break from the shop and put my sewing cap on! I received my Vash red duster posted in the JY by Darth Mule. It needed some adjustment for a more accurate appearance. I took the straps off of the left arm so I could do the glove on that side and moved them to the right sleeve.
14113-outfit-nearly-completed.jpg

I also ordered some leather opera gloves and got some black leather from Tandy and made straps and buckles. Looks NIIIICE!
14112-glove-buckles.jpg

Aaaaand back to the shop haha! I started with the stock, i needed to cover it with urethane so it was a little more sturdy and easier to work with.
14114-stock-coated-urethane.jpg

While that set up, I decided to work on the barrel. I thought that making it all one piece would be a lot easier than trying to make each piece separately and gluing together. So I took two pieces of 1/2" MDF and glued them together and then cut to the size i needed. then proceeded to mark off all the routing that would need to be done to get the angles and grooves.
14115-marked-routing-barrel.jpg

Got the table router out (and cleaned the spiders off of it {shudder}) and went to work! It took some trial and error to make the bits do exactly what i needed since some of the edges are tricky to get to.
14116-routed-shaped-barrel.jpg

DONE! well....at least for today. I did mark off where the barrel rifling needs to go. Still working on the working trigger and hammer parts. may be scavenging them from a cap gun.

Thanks for reading!! More to come!
 
Re: TRIGUN Vash's Long Colt .45 WIP

HEY!
I worked on the top sight and latch assembly as well as the bottom joint attachment. I also cast a metal rod I had laying around that is the right size for the chamber spindle. These were all attached to the barrel, there is still some clean up to do but getting closer.
14424-top-sight-latch-joint.jpg

And because the Con I am attending is close at hand and I need to finish this piece for my cosplay, I decided to solid cast the body housing for the trigger and hammer for the time being and revisit it later for a fully working assembly later on. so I re-cut this piece and marked it for beveling and routing. I glued two pieces of 1/4" mdf together after I routed out the outside parts for the joint. Next I cut half circles out of 1/2" mdf and sanded them down for the rounded back chamber on the body. I also cut a piece of styrene into a strip and bent it for the latching mechanism.(not shown here) I may try making it out of metal so it is more sturdy but it'll work for now.
14425-redo-solid-body-housing.jpg

I plan to remake the stalk(handle) out of mdf to make it more sturdy. That and the foam handle I made got into the hands of my destructive 6yr old and is no more sadly.
ONWARD!
Thanks for reading!
 
Re: TRIGUN Vash's Long Colt .45 WIP

OK so my deadline is getting way too close for comfort so I'm trying to get finished, we'll see if I can finish in time for the con.
I had to redo the stock because my 6yo destroyed the foam version so I decided to make it sturdier with mdf. I cut out the inside piece from 1/2" mdf and the outside pieces from 1/4" mdf and filled in the contoured space with bondo. It took a couple of passes to fill in everything and sanding along the way to keep it smooth I now have a much sturdier and heavier stock to help counter balance the weight of the barrel.
14701-mdf-stock-bondo-shaping.jpg

I also took a sec while the bondo was setting and cut the knee caps and elbow cap for the cosplay out of a failed vacuformed dome I had saved for a "just in case" moment like this! Traced and cut circles out of the already contoured clear plastic and covered them with a few coats of auto primer. will put a silver coat on after i do some wet sanding. and then frame them with leather and attach straps to them to be worn with the outfit.
14702-elbow-knee-caps.jpg

Now i just need to clean up the body so I can attach the stock to it and then work on the joint between the body and barrel. The chamber in my next issue to tackle and then the bullets. Getting closer!!
Thanks for reading!
 
Re: TRIGUN Vash's Long Colt .45 WIP

I absolutely LOVE Trigun. Great work, and awesome constume, too!

thanks man! I've got till the 21st to have all this finished for the convention I'm going to and the contest I (possibly optimistically premature) entered myself into haha! So in classic me style of waiting til the last minute to do stuff I'm kicking it into high gear!!
back up plan? there is no back up plan!
 
Re: TRIGUN Vash's Long Colt .45 WIP

Another late night in the shop. I decided I wanted the engraving on the side of the barrel and tried it myself(first time I've ever done this). It's not amazing but it'll work!
14841-engraving.jpg

Still working on the cylinder, but close enough for a test shot. I need to drill out the chambers for the bullets I've cast.
14840-cylinder.jpg

I drilled the joint and stuck one of the bullets that I cast through it. I will be using this same piece to make the joint bolt. I also re-cut the latch from a piece of aluminum tin and it works so much better. Much more sturdy and thinner. Here it is shown with a failed test piece for the chamber just for kicks. I also extended the body with a little apoxie sculpt so everything lines up right.
14839-recut-latch-test.jpg

This is all the pieces (minus bullets) of the gun. Just some clean up, some detailing, drilling out the chamber, and rifling, and glue and paint!!
14837-all-parts.jpg

And here is everything set together (nothing glued yet) just for a test fit and shot! It's looking good I can't wait to have this finished!!
14838-test-assembly.jpg

Thanks for reading!!!
 
Re: TRIGUN Vash's Long Colt .45 WIP

Nice work! What tool did you use to do the engraving? A file? I've actually had some success using a soldering iron when I engraved my replica Sting from LOTR.
 
Re: TRIGUN Vash's Long Colt .45 WIP

Nice work! What tool did you use to do the engraving? A file? I've actually had some success using a soldering iron when I engraved my replica Sting from LOTR.

Thanks!!
I have a set of engraving bits for my dremel tool (a really cheap set but effective) It was harder than I thought it would be but I took it slow and made it work. I'm hoping it'll show up better after I paint it.
 
Re: TRIGUN Vash's Long Colt .45 WIP

oh god!! major catastrophic eff up on my part has forced me to have to redo the bottom part of the barrel. which actually made it easier to put the rifling in. Since I used two pieces of 1/2" mdf glued together in two pieces, I just used a rounded router bit and routed it out of both sides and it worked GREAT!! way better than drilling it out. The drill press I have access to was too short and doing it by hand ended up drilling out the side of the other end. Letting the glue dry and then I still need to do the venting n the barrel.
AH crunch time!
 
Re: TRIGUN Vash's Long Colt .45 WIP

well that sucked! having to remake the lower part of the barrel but it actually worked out really well. got all the routing and shaping done and because it comes in two halves the rifling was super easy to do before gluing them together with a half round routing bit! check it!
7547869238_0ba498a3a3_c.jpg

NEAT!
ok so then i attached it to the old barrel piece and then glued the stock to the body. this is a shot of it all glued and the two pieces held together at the joint with a piece of plastic for now.
14917-new-lower-barrel-stock-attached.jpg

Tomorrow I will finish the joint workings and try to make the latch a little cleaner. and then throw the chamber on the lathe and make it pretty and then some quick sanding and then primer.
thanks for reading!!
 
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Re: TRIGUN Vash's Long Colt .45 WIP

I am going to fake the bullets in the chamber because I can't seem to get the holes straight.
7552694998_d7e98b1be2_z.jpg

added some apoxie sculpt to smooth out the joins and the gaps at the seams I also got the trigger guard done.
7552694046_4e65faa84b_z.jpg

filled in apoxie around the center of the barrel to carve out the venting later.
7552693172_4b39fb0c84_z.jpg

went ahead and primer on the back chamber pieces. gonna need a few coats.
7552692390_e9aae5b1e8_z.jpg
 
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