I have been collecting prop replicas for a number of years now. I really like science fiction weapons and I have a decent collection of Star Trek hardware. My other pride and joy is some great replicas of the famous U.N.C.L.E gun from the 1960 TV show. I also have a replica pen communicator from the same show. I also have a number of Airsoft “Bond” guns, notably the Walther PPK and P99 with silencer hardware.
I decided a few months ago to try my hand at the art of prop building. I want to be clear that this was for fun. I don’t consider myself a professional prop builder and I certainly don’t have a shop with ALL the right tools. Project One was the blaster from the original Blade Runner move. I was inspired by an Adam Savage video I stumbled across where he talked about a company that makes a 1:1 scale replica blaster squirtgun. I found the place and ordered one.
I removed the squirtgun barrel, added some weight via BBs and painted it up as best I could given the information available. Here is the result.
There are a couple of pieces that were added after the pix but you get the idea.
The frustrating thing about this weapon is I never really found a good explanation for how the fictional weapon was supposed to work. Why the two triggers? In the movie it appears to be projectile weapon firing what almost looks like a cannon round. It does some serious damage.
Project Two is Han Solo’s DL-44 blaster Mark I. Star Wars geeks are aware that the design of the blaster was changed a bit between “A New Hope” and “The Empire Strikes Back”. I was going the New Hope version. I have some of the parts for the later “Mark II” version as well. We’ll save that one for a later post.
Here is a pic of the Mark I parts inventory. The base model is a Mauser C96 pistol. I used a non-firing replica from Denix. The “blaster parts” were ordered from an Etsy vendor called Infinity3dPrints and are 3D printed plastic. They are sturdy and of good quality.
The first step is sawing down the barrel to fit the DL-44 barrel parts. This was probably the trickiest bit since once done it is done. A good hacksaw made quick work of this.
A quick test fit of the barrel parts to verify I measured correctly.
I decided to start with the scope mount since I wanted to use sheet metal screws to attach the lower part of the mount to the pistol body. I went ahead and removed the grips in preparation for later painting. I pre-drilled the screw holes, attached the mount and filled the holes.
The rest of the parts went together using super glue. The only remaining parts are the front and rear scope lens mounts. They are finished in a different color. They will go on later as will the scratch built “lens”. The lens are several layers of plastic laminating sheet cut to fit. I added a retaining screw to the bottom front of the barrel. Now we are ready to paint, weather and overcoat.
I used Rustoleum semi-gloss for the base color. The weathering was done by dry brushing silver. I used Rustoleum satin finish clear coat to protect the finish and provide a consistent gun metal look.
The front and rear lens mounts are gold weathered with black. I got the “brass” type look I wanted. The lenses are glued to the mounts then then to the scope. The grips are reattached as the last step.
Final results
The disk looking widget on the left side of the pistol may not match the same parts on the movie version. I had the parts lying around and it adds some unique flavor to the build. Look up “polishing sh*t”. Speaking of polishing poop, there were a couple of parts on top of the barrel that showed up in some photos of the Mark I but not others. I couldn’t figure out what the hell they did so I left them off for a cleaner looking barrel.
Some detail photos of the finished barrel and scope.
It was a fun project and turned out pretty well given the time and money spent. I also think it pointed out why they changed the design of the blaster for later films. The replica as built is pretty heavy. It would be worse if I was using a real metal scope. The Mark II has a much smaller scope which looks a bit more technically advanced than the basic scope on the Mark I. I am waiting on my Denix Mauser C96 base model for my Mark II replica. The assembly and finishing should be very similar to what I did for the Mark I.
(No. I don’t know if the “Mark I” and “Mark II” designation are canon. Seemed like a good way to tell one from the other.)
May the Force be with you.
Always.