Prop Ammo for the Bapty?

[Liberance]

I never really paid much attention to Indy's guns but as I near completion with my prop collection I'm considering getting a couple of pistol replicas to go with it. Never the real guns, as I don't want those in my house. For the Bapty, I'm considering a modified Tanaka aged and with replacement grips, but I read you can't take the bullets out of the chamber like in that special edition they released years ago, and I was hoping to have a few lying around next to the gun for display purposes.

What could be a good source for fake, prop bullets that are the correct ammunition for this gun? Please keep in mind that I know nothing about guns.

I suppose I could always just have real bullets instead, but I'm guessing those will be expensive and I'm not even sure if I could source them that easily where I live.

[makeitjones]

If it's okay for them to send them over to Ireland then either of these are a reliable source for inert ammunition:

https://dwsuk.org/epages/057184c7-2fa2- ... egories/12

https://www.dandbmilitaria.com/inert-am ... tol-rounds

[Liberance]

If it's okay for them to send them over to Ireland then either of these are a reliable source for inert ammunition:

https://dwsuk.org/epages/057184c7-2fa2- ... egories/12

https://www.dandbmilitaria.com/inert-am ... tol-rounds

Thanks!

I suppose this is what I'm looking for, right? Not quite sure what the difference is between the three types of inert .455 Eley rounds they have available.

Are these the same bullets the Crusade/Crystal Skull Webley would use, by the way?

[makeitjones]

This has a good visual guide to the bullets - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.455_Webley

This explans .455 / .476 interchangeability - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.455_Webley - looks like all .455 Webley revolvers would handle either round.

Unstruck primers will make them look unused (better for display?)

The £4 Canadian ones have steel heads - according to the Wikipedia entry they're post 1939 so okay for CS.

These ones are lead with unstruck primers and a bit cheaper - https://www.dandbmilitaria.com/455-colt ... rimer-s2-a - the case looks longer which from the Wiki picture would make them for the MkI Webley which is closest to the early WG models.

Or just whichever ones you like the look of best!

[Liberance]

Thanks again!

Well, gonna get in touch with those guys first and see if it's even possible to ship these things out of the UK—because from what I've been reading it might not be possible. I should've bought this stuff while I was living in the US a while back, much easier over there where one can buy gun stuff as if it were candy.

[Wotalark]

With the same caveat as MakeitJones, I've been very pleased with inerts from these folk before:

https://www.relics.org.uk/455-sandw-mk2 ... ullets-x-6

[Liberance]

Thanks. I got in touch with them, and looks like shipping this stuff is quite problematic over here.

I'm looking for an alternative through a different address, or perhaps getting a replica through one of them. We'll see. A bit annoying cause the real rounds they have look quite good and I don't think a shiny brand-new bullet would be the same.

[makeitjones]

Looks like ROI might consider inert ammunition and empty shell cases to be the same as live rounds which needs a firearms licence. Probably best not to chance it in that case.

Relics also does cast resin 'half rounds' for .455 (more like 3/4) - look okay on a flat surface so they might be an easier choice - https://www.relics.org.uk/455-resin-half-bullets

I've got various casting projects planned for autumn (my garden is crying out for a cast concrete golden idol) - can add a mould for half a dozen .455 to my to-do list and knock out a full set in resin (or concrete) you can then paint - shouldn't be an import issue with those.

[Liberance]

I think I'll try to exhaust my options first, I'm not a big fan of resin props when the object is meant to be metal. I'm talking to a local collector who may know where to find these. Another option is to ship them to Northern Ireland, but I'm not sure about that—even though it's still UK, there's the Irish Sea Border, which could prevent stuff like this from entering that region where it'd be free to transit into the EU.

Worse comes to worst, one can always take them out by ferry in a future trip, or just find them in another country. I had a similar headache with Mutt's switchblade not long ago and I eventually managed to get it, and that was an actual dangerous object, unlike these rounds. Can't be so difficult.

EDIT: Well I just got word that a Larrañaga cigar box (the box where Marion keeps the money from Raiders) I had just purchased got seized and destroyed by customs. A fr*ggin empty wooden box somehow was deemed restricted by the Irish. I have another one of these in Spain and it got sent there no problem. Goes to show how random some these rules are.

[bearbeast]

DarkMatterProps also has some dummy ammo that looks quite nice:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1472431592 ... p-replicas

[Liberance]

Yeah, I was aware of DarkMatterProps. It's not the correct ammo, though. And it looks brand new. Thanks for the heads up though, it's not a bad shop.

I have a plan A, B, C and D for this. At the moment it's too much of a headache for such a low priority thing. But since they're dirt cheap, I'll keep looking. Of course it goes without saying: if there's anyone here from the EU who knows where to source these within the Union, please let me know. There has to be some place, it's 27 countries for crying out loud.

[bearbeast]

Yeah, I was aware of DarkMatterProps. It's not the correct ammo, though. And it looks brand new. Thanks for the heads up though, it's not a bad shop.

I have a plan A, B, C and D for this. At the moment it's too much of a headache for such a low priority thing. But since they're dirt cheap, I'll keep looking. Of course it goes without saying: if there's anyone here from the EU who knows where to source these within the Union, please let me know. There has to be some place, it's 27 countries for crying out loud.

You have reached my level of desperation... I am also in the EU, and I have been looking for a deactivated S&W for years now... I missed my window of opportunity when the UK was still in the EU ..

[Liberance]

Well the pistol is a whole other thing. I imagine that'd be extremely difficult to come by in Europe, and on top of it, you'd later have to modify it. Even if it's deactivated, I assume you'd also need a firearms license to purchase and own such a thing—and it would likely be prohibitively expensive when you combine all those steps plus the gun itself. Way too much hassle for a decorative item.

It's interesting to see that the UK seems to be such a hotspot for this stuff, though. I guess it's because this was a British Army handgun, so at one point they were everywhere? But I still think there's gotta be a way to source them within the EU, it's too vast of a region. Yet at the same time, like 90% of the collectibles I purchase somehow always come from outside the Union. It doesn't matter if it's a prop replica, an antique, or even some retro videogame. They're always either in the US or the UK. Beats me.

[bearbeast]

Yeah, you are right!

I am in the same boat. Most stuff I want is from outside the EU. there are some amazing prop makers here, too, don't get me wrong. But the majority are outside.

[makeitjones]

You have reached my level of desperation... I am also in the EU, and I have been looking for a deactivated S&W for years now... I missed my window of opportunity when the UK was still in the EU ..

Firearms deactivated in the UK since 2018 / 2019 have been done to the specification of EU regulation 337/2018. That's a pan-European spec so anything deactivated and certified by a registered proof houses in a member state has to be to an equivalent standard as to any other member state and should be transferable (if your country allows ownership of deacts). R337/2018 is still in force in the UK so you could still buy from here.

If you got a deactivated 5.5" barrel S&W m1917 you can get the barrel shortened to 4" but theoretically it would then need a new proof house deactivation certificate as barrel length is one of the description categories. Can usually find the Brazilian army m1917s at a lower price than the US issued ones, or a 4" barrel S&W .38 Model 10 is a good stand in.

France & Germany have fair sized deactivated collector markets but depends where in the EU you are.

[bearbeast]

You have reached my level of desperation... I am also in the EU, and I have been looking for a deactivated S&W for years now... I missed my window of opportunity when the UK was still in the EU ..

Firearms deactivated in the UK since 2018 / 2019 have been done to the specification of EU regulation 337/2018. That's a pan-European spec so anything deactivated and certified by a registered proof houses in a member state has to be to an equivalent standard as to any other member state and should be transferable (if your country allows ownership of deacts). R337/2018 is still in force in the UK so you could still buy from here.

If you got a deactivated 5.5" barrel S&W m1917 you can get the barrel shortened to 4" but theoretically it would then need a new proof house deactivation certificate as barrel length is one of the description categories. Can usually find the Brazilian army m1917s at a lower price than the US issued ones, or a 4" barrel S&W .38 Model 10 is a good stand in.

France & Germany have fair sized deactivated collector markets but depends where in the EU you are.

Thank you for this info, I was not aware of this.

I'll have to check the exact laws over in Romania. Maybe even deactivated stuff needs the same permit as the real thing.

[Liberance]

I'll have to check the exact laws over in Romania. Maybe even deactivated stuff needs the same permit as the real thing.

Out of curiosity, I just checked out the laws for Ireland and Spain (the two places that affect me) and you don't need a gun license. So chances are it's the same for you. You do need to deactivate the gun under the EU regulations that makeitjones described, have it sent to a testing facility where they'll issue a certificate, and register it with the local police similar to a functional gun, so it's tied to your name. At least in Spain, they also seem to engrave the gun with a logo to identify it as a deactivated weapon, which I haven't been able to find pictures of, but sounds like it might kinda ruin it a bit for display purposes.

[bearbeast]

I started looking as well for the laws around here, but they seem a bit stricter. Need to look into the details, but it says you need authorization.

[makeitjones]

The marking logo is a stamp in the metal from the proof house on each component part to show that part has been deactivated - so on revolver that's the frame, cylinder and barrel. Usually about 6 mm x 6 mm - similar size to the proof marks that would have been applied in the factory or for acceptance into military use. Not too obtrusive.

If you can find a live pistol you can ask a registered firearms trader company to buy it and submit to your countries registered proof house for deactivation - that way you never own it when it's live which takes out licensing complications and opens up more choices than trying to find one already deactivated.

Under that regulation each country should keep a national register of anything deactivated since the regulation came into force. When one gets sold or bought the buyer or seller sends an email to the central registry to say who owns it. Implementation of that will vary from country to country - could be register with police or a government department.

[Liberance]

If you can find a live pistol you can ask a registered firearms trader company to buy it and submit to your countries registered proof house for deactivation - that way you never own it when it's live which takes out licensing complications and opens up more choices than trying to find one already deactivated.

The added complication with the Bapty being the need to modify the cannon, as you said earlier, I guess. But it's good to know either way. When it comes to the gun, I'm still leaning for the Tanaka, however that's gonna need quite a bit of work to make it look real and used. I suppose that at least none of this should be as complicated as finding Crusade's Webley will be.