Arrow Season One Bow “Vigilante for Justice”

Fly4v

Sr Member


This will be by no means the Definitive Arrow thread but my conglomeration of close enough after pestering Pender91 and the other Emerald Archers.

The green hoodie is a Hanes Forest Green Comfort Blend Ecosmart from Walmart and gray sweatpants Champion from Target. It was inspired from the S4 E1 "Green Arrow" opening.
The correct hood is double seamed 'this is not' and the pull cord should be a darker green or black more like a shoe string.

The gloves are the correct 511 tactical gloves Id'ed in the definitive thread. They are easily found on Amazon and I wear them almost daily for work.

Not pictured, but I have the incorrect Nike jungle boots that have a similar tread to the proper free runners 2. They are a great boot but super expensive considering they are not all leather.

The base for the bow is the long identified 2013 Ragin Matrix Jr 48” Right Hand 24#. It is still available for sale and can be bought for just less than $100 if you shop around.


I plan to use the bow so function needs to be maintained. I may make fake limbs like Tvayumat so that it can also be displayed strung. I will be using Tvayumat’s rune pattern from the Definitive Arrow build for the markings on the grip.


For the still unidentified hardware, I thought I’d be cleaver and find the proper screen used nuts and washers in Vancouver. That is where filming is so perhaps I could find the elusive and up to this point custom “limited run” metric acorn nuts. Home hardware, Rona, and so many others …… nope.
I settled on:
(2x) Hillman 5/16 Brass Washers, 491432, 20158, lot # 2981092
(2x) Everbilt Stainless Cap Nut M8-1.25, 649939
(1x) Crownbolt Brass Cap Nut 5/16-18, 19098
(2x) Hillman Hex Cap Screws M8-1.25 x 50, 880683, lot# HO2313926


The Everbuilt is taller than the Crownbolt but is the wrong material. But the above info should help fill the gap until the correct parts are identified but considering all the work over the years, that may remain a mystery.


The straight chock is the 6” SeaDog Stainless Steel that requires repainting.


My 6” brass strap hinges are Whitecap Polished Brass 6” Strap Hinge S-605BC for $16 but not the correct shape when compared to the SeaDog 6” hinges at about $34. The correct hinges are on backorder. 4 to 6 weeks.


The artificial sinew is a no name brand from India that I ordered from Amazon.


Spent the money for the Brooks Leather Bar Tape, Honey, BT 02 A07203, 600001.


For the paint and stain,
Rust-oleum Universal Flat Black
Krylon Metallic Brass DIY series
Model Color Acrylic 70.879 Green Brown
Fine Touch Acrylic 483214 Burnt Umber
Rub N Buff Antique Gold
Minwax Early American 230
 
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As you can see the stainless steel is more acorn shaped and taller. While it may not be perfectly accurate it is better than the 5/16. I can use the original inserts in the grip and cut off the bolt heads on the 8M-1.25x50 stainless steel hex screws. This allows me to keep the set of black plastic knobs for convenience.

Rub N Buff doesn't stick to metal very well so I have painted the nut with the Krylon Brass and will then hit it with the Rub N Buff and then seal it with Future Floor Polish.
Here is the paint compared to real brass in natural light and then with a flash.



Temperatures are well below freezing. So I placed the spray paint in a pan of warm water, heated the nut with a blow-dryer, quickly painted it outside and then placed it in the bathroom under a heat lamp.
I'll do one completely to see how durable the paint and finish is.
 


Removed the Regim branding from the lower limb with 220 sandpaper.

As I suspected the Whitecap 6 inch straps will not work if you want to build the hero bow.
The hole placement is off and puts the top of the brass hinge even with the top of the grip so cant wrap the sinew around the top of the hinge.
It makes a good stunt bow... wonder if that is why the sinew was missing sometimes on screen... differing types of strap hinges used?

It is difficult to see but I have the "foam block" behind the straight chock. I suspected that it is gray 3m auto body tape.

The Rub n Buff over brass painted stainless steel didn't work. It buffed the paint off. I don't know if it was the extreme low temperatures when painted or just failure in the theory.
I had cleaned the cap nuts with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol before painting so oil on the surface shouldn't have been the problem. I'll rough the nuts up some more and try again but this means I wont paint the straight chock until I can get paint to stick.

Edit: Before I started sanding, carefully pealed off the felt pads to reuse later. I stored them on the non-sticky side of some packing tape.
 
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Nothing exciting. Pretty much Tvayumat’s rune pattern from the Definitive Arrow build with some minor changes that would be hidden under the sinew.
 
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Stained the grip with Minwax Early American 230. While the stain was still damp went over it with some 91% Isopropyl Alcohol in spots, after dried roughed it up with varying grades of sandpaper.

Used a hobby knife to unevenly trim the felt pads.

The straight chock was roughed with 220 sandpaper, sprayed with the Krylon Metallic Brass DIY series, weathered with Model Color Acrylic 70.879 Green Brown and Fine Touch Acrylic 483214 Burnt Umber, chipped with a knife, sealed with Future Floor Polish and then slightly roughed in spots with the 220.



Fitted and cut the Brooks Leather Bar Tape, Honey and weathered it with Black and Brown Kiwi boot polish. Let it sit for a hour and then buffed the polishes with a rag going down and away, never across, the tape.



Stuck the finished straight chock on the grip with the gray 3m body tape, wrapped the leather tape, and then wrapped the two courses of artificial sinew. The sinew was rubbed with acetone before wrapping and the free running end was affixed with superglue.



Have to wait on the SeaDog 6” Brass hinges since the Whitecaps look so off.
 
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Thanks for the compliments.

Nicely done! This reminds me that I really should finish my Season 1 bow. :facepalm
That is what I call patience waiting until you have 100% accurate parts or did you just fall too much in love with your Kestrel?

Eventually, I'm going to be either bleaching or buying lighter more accurate golden yellow sinew.
Plus received a shipping notice should have the SeaDog hinges on Wednesday!!!!
Glad I have the weekend to work on the limbs.

And, I have to admit that I had not see Season One until TNT had the marathon a few weeks ago and I only picked that up at episode 18.
 
That is what I call patience waiting until you have 100% accurate parts or did you just fall too much in love with your Kestrel?

I've had all the parts almost as long as I've had the Kestrel. I'm just too lazy I guess. :lol

I'll just pretend that I'm waiting to finish my bow until we see it being built in the flashbacks.
 
Re-watched S5 E8 "Invasion" last night and OCD took over when I figured that the workout outfit, while similar... was different from S4 E1 "Green Arrow".

S4 E1 Shoes



S4 E1 Hoodie


S4 E1


S5 E8 Hoodie


S5 E8



In "Green Arrow", Ollie is wearing a Forest Green hoodie with a double seam hood, Gray cotton shirt...type with those really small white streaks, gray pants and gray runners with four stripes and white soles.

In "Invasion", He is wearing an Olive hoodie but cant see the hood detail, cant tell if he is wearing a shirt, Dark Gray or Black pants, and all black runners that I would guess are the unmodified Nike FreeRun 2.0 in Black that are still available from Nike ID on-line.
 
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The sun finally came out again. Here is the limb tips with the Krylon Brass and acrylic weathering.



I bought Hobby Lobby's Artificial Sinew "Natural" 228312 and replaced the cord on the chock, then did a quick black acrylic wash. Most of the detail is lost in the bright sun.



Still waiting on the SeaDog strap hinges so I used the original knob-ed handles and not the painted nuts and bolt posts.
 


I bought a single arrow from Walmart for $4.27 so I can figure out where to mount the arrow rest and clear the chock.
The fins were green and white so they received a quick acrylic wash.
It has a training tip and not a broad head and was painted with Testors 1601 Gloss Custom Green. It is a clear paint just not listed as such in the description.


I received the SeaDog Hinges and wow are they heavy one weighs as much as both Whitecaps.
The SeaDogs are longer, wider, thicker and have a different hole placement....and they are supposed to both be six inches.

Going to have to figure out how to get the SeaDogs apart and bent into shape without a vice or anvil.
 




For the most part, finished the bow. I have brass nuts on the way and eventually will get a green string.

To separate the hinges, I folded them back on themselves to open the seam wide and duct taped them to a cardboard box for cutting.

Drilling, C clamped the parts to a fence post so that the protrusion would keep the hinges from spinning. The drill bit will grab when widening the one hole in front.

For shaping to fit, didn't have an anvil, so I wrapped the parts in cardboard and bashed them into shaped using a ball-peen hammer and a concrete curb as the form.
 
The brass nuts arrived and they are too squat for this build.

I used the bow for the first time and it shoots where it is pointed...except if a feather contacts the arrow rest. The vertical surface of the arrow rest can cut into the feather and cause the arrow's trajectory to drop.
While not screen accurate, I guess sticking the rubber tip of a pointer on the back would help roll the arrow off the rest instead of getting hung up.


The painted bow string didn't have any deterioration except where the arrows were repeatedly nooked.
Surprisingly, the Testors 1601 remained perfectly adhered to the tip after multiple uses despite passing through layered cardboard and packing foam.
I thought the paint would have been worn off after the first or second use.


Sadly, the arrow shafts cut a grove in the top of the hinge. It really enhances the used look of the bow but wonder how long the hinge will last.

As hard as the brass hinges were to drill and then bash into shape really have to wonder why the grove is so quick to form.
 
I can say first hand that the bow I handled had a groove on the rest for the arrows. It was much deeper than what I'm seeing on yours. Though I'm surprised that your arrow is actually doing that.
 
I can say first hand that the bow I handled had a groove on the rest for the arrows. It was much deeper than what I'm seeing on yours. Though I'm surprised that your arrow is actually doing that.

Thanks for the info. Nice to know that mine is not the only one but from a practical point after five years on a island using homemade arrow would expect some wear.

Did you get a chance to shoot the other bow? I'd like to fix the fletching hang up problem and preserve a screen accurate appearance. A craft foam ramp looked like crap and quickly found its way to the trash.
 
Thanks for the info. Nice to know that mine is not the only one but from a practical point after five years on a island using homemade arrow would expect some wear.

Did you get a chance to shoot the other bow? I'd like to fix the fletching hang up problem and preserve a screen accurate appearance. A craft foam ramp looked like crap and quickly found its way to the trash.

I remember something about people filing down the edges to smooth them or something... Ill have to look into it more but I'll let you know what I find...
 
Did you get a chance to shoot the other bow?

I was actually referring to a screen used bow that I handled in the prop lockup.

But, I've shot both my Ketrel and Ragim. The hinge on my Ragim has been lightly smoothed out with a file so I have no hang ups. Granted, I rarely use it as well.
 
So you guys just rounded off the back edge of the brass hinge that was used as a metal rest?

At this point, glad I was chewing up Walmart arrows and not Easton's but the local Walmart removed arrows from the shorting goods section!!???
 
The local Walmart decided to stop being part of the vigilante supply system. The sports section removed all the arrows so I had to travel to find one that still had them in stock.

The $4.27 arrows are Gold Tip Lightning with a dark gray plastic polymer shaft with a silver metal practice tip, lime and white fletching and a yellow nock. They are made in Mexico.

I thought they were the same as the carbon arrow bundles available from Cabela's.The Cabela's are from China, have Forest and White fletching but the website states that colors are not guaranteed. I saw a couple that a co-worker had and they looked nice but not being able get a specific color sucks.



I scrape the label off with a hobby knife, pull back the nock, sand the tip and then clean with 91% Isopropyl to get everything ready for painting.





The clear green for the tip is Testors 1601, the white fin is painted with Model Color Acrylic 70.879 Green Brown for the dark yellow, then all three fins get an acrylic black wash, the nock is just hand painted with black acrylic.



At some point I will cast a broad tip to replace the practice points.
 
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