First off, I'm new to these forums.
The Blade Runner blaster has been at the forefront of my imagination since I watched the movie in the theaters when I was in high school. I wish I had a story of obsessive research and experimentation to make my own personal prop, but I've been distracted by career, family and other hobbies over the years. My best friend and I did spend hundreds of hours studying his VHS copy trying to make out the details, however. I used to purchase every magazine and article about this film I could find including the Cinefex issue I bought new hot off the shelf (now missing somewhere).
The Blade Runner blaster prop remained something of a holy grail for me. I only learned about the Tomeonosuke pistols a couple of weeks ago. Had I known sooner I would have jumped on the first run - even at the full MSRP. At least I was able to get my hands on one of the kits which is presently in transit from Japan as we speak, thanks to the good Mr. Mune.
I want to build the blaster to look brand new. I want it to look the way it did in my imagination when I saw the film when I was 15 years old. I personally own a good number of firearms and I do want to mimic the nice deep rich bluing of a new revolver. Since I own "real guns" I want this to look and feel like a "new gun."
I know this would likely require a good deal of prep work with which I have no experience. What I do have is an analytical and meticulous nature as well as the patience to do things properly... if I only know where to begin to learn.
Do the materials of the Tomenosuke kit lend themselves to the same sort of bluing you would do for a firearm? I'm sure the Steyer-Mannlicher portion is amenable to bluing, right? If the prep work for deep, proper bluing, requires more skill and knowledge that is reasonable for me to attain I might even consider sending the parts out to a reputable pistolsmith for bluing. But I want to do it myself if I can.
I already ordered a steel barrel from Dave. I'm looking forward to that touch.
Is that module beneath the barrel made of aluminum? If that's the case I'd think of treating those parts with Duracoating, perhaps in "HK Black" which is a bit glossier than "Matte Black". I have a rifle (DSA SA58) Duracoated in "HK Black" which looks stunning.
My DSA58 (FAL)
The trigger guard might not look proper with a normal gun bluing (what is it made of, BTW?). I find that real gun bluing looks more lush on rounded surfaces. Revolver trigger guards have that beautiful semi-ellipsoid cross section. I'm not sure how this would look on the blaster trigger guard which is more of a utilitarian form. This part might look better as a matte black or grey Duracoating. Opinions?
I know the light yellow grips are more consistent with the actual wor-con prop, but that's not how they looked to me on film. I recognize that prop details often take into account their translation onto film. On screen the grips looked more dark amber. I believe they made the prop gun with yellow grips anticipating they would translate as amber in a film as dark as Blade Runner. Where could I find darker amber grips that I see in some other translations of the BR blaster?
Similarly, the deblued receiver was a surprise to me. It certainly didn't look that way on film in 1981. I suppose the debluing was a way to better capture reflection with such a dark movie. On film it looked like a blued gun.
In short I'm trying to build my Tomenosuke blaster to look like how (I believe) a Blade Runner's blaster would look in real life and how it was supposed to look on film.
Any links, advice or resources for doing this? So far most of the build threads I've seen were about weathered, matte or wor-con guns. They are certainly beautiful guns, but I'm looking for that version that existed for me on screen. The 15 year old kid in me won't stop nagging me until he's satisfied.
Thanks in advance!
Randy
The Blade Runner blaster has been at the forefront of my imagination since I watched the movie in the theaters when I was in high school. I wish I had a story of obsessive research and experimentation to make my own personal prop, but I've been distracted by career, family and other hobbies over the years. My best friend and I did spend hundreds of hours studying his VHS copy trying to make out the details, however. I used to purchase every magazine and article about this film I could find including the Cinefex issue I bought new hot off the shelf (now missing somewhere).
The Blade Runner blaster prop remained something of a holy grail for me. I only learned about the Tomeonosuke pistols a couple of weeks ago. Had I known sooner I would have jumped on the first run - even at the full MSRP. At least I was able to get my hands on one of the kits which is presently in transit from Japan as we speak, thanks to the good Mr. Mune.
I want to build the blaster to look brand new. I want it to look the way it did in my imagination when I saw the film when I was 15 years old. I personally own a good number of firearms and I do want to mimic the nice deep rich bluing of a new revolver. Since I own "real guns" I want this to look and feel like a "new gun."
I know this would likely require a good deal of prep work with which I have no experience. What I do have is an analytical and meticulous nature as well as the patience to do things properly... if I only know where to begin to learn.
Do the materials of the Tomenosuke kit lend themselves to the same sort of bluing you would do for a firearm? I'm sure the Steyer-Mannlicher portion is amenable to bluing, right? If the prep work for deep, proper bluing, requires more skill and knowledge that is reasonable for me to attain I might even consider sending the parts out to a reputable pistolsmith for bluing. But I want to do it myself if I can.
I already ordered a steel barrel from Dave. I'm looking forward to that touch.
Is that module beneath the barrel made of aluminum? If that's the case I'd think of treating those parts with Duracoating, perhaps in "HK Black" which is a bit glossier than "Matte Black". I have a rifle (DSA SA58) Duracoated in "HK Black" which looks stunning.
My DSA58 (FAL)
The trigger guard might not look proper with a normal gun bluing (what is it made of, BTW?). I find that real gun bluing looks more lush on rounded surfaces. Revolver trigger guards have that beautiful semi-ellipsoid cross section. I'm not sure how this would look on the blaster trigger guard which is more of a utilitarian form. This part might look better as a matte black or grey Duracoating. Opinions?
I know the light yellow grips are more consistent with the actual wor-con prop, but that's not how they looked to me on film. I recognize that prop details often take into account their translation onto film. On screen the grips looked more dark amber. I believe they made the prop gun with yellow grips anticipating they would translate as amber in a film as dark as Blade Runner. Where could I find darker amber grips that I see in some other translations of the BR blaster?
Similarly, the deblued receiver was a surprise to me. It certainly didn't look that way on film in 1981. I suppose the debluing was a way to better capture reflection with such a dark movie. On film it looked like a blued gun.
In short I'm trying to build my Tomenosuke blaster to look like how (I believe) a Blade Runner's blaster would look in real life and how it was supposed to look on film.
Any links, advice or resources for doing this? So far most of the build threads I've seen were about weathered, matte or wor-con guns. They are certainly beautiful guns, but I'm looking for that version that existed for me on screen. The 15 year old kid in me won't stop nagging me until he's satisfied.
Thanks in advance!
Randy
