Club Obi Wan

I've been wanting a good stand-in revolver for a long time. I have a real model 10, but it's just way too small. I took some advice from Adam Savage and had to first decide how I wanted the prop to "feel". I didn't just want a 3-D printed Bapty. I wanted some action. I wanted to be able to pull a trigger and cock a hammer. I scoured the web for any of the offerings from Tamiya of their Bapty revolvers with no luck. Unhappy with the lack of current offerings, I've decided to build an as close to screen accurate as I can Bapty utilizing the common HFC HG 131.
The first couple of things that catch my eye on the HG 131 is the caliber of the frame and cylinder, the barrel and the grips. In order to satiate my need for a more screen accurate stand in, I've ordered a 3-D Printed Bapty and plan to meld the two together. Essentially keeping the action usable, but replacing the barrel and cylinder to get the size and screen accuracy I'm wanting.
In order for this to happen it is going to require a lot of customization. I will have to cut up the HG 131. I will have to add modeling clay to fill in gaps. This will be a big project for me but Im very excited and have been getting a lot of inspiration from Adam Savage's Tested. I'll update this post as I move along in the process. Looking forward to sharing this with y'all!

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First stage was disassembly.

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Here you can see the size disparity between the two frames. Getting the frame size closer to accurate will be the toughest part I think.

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Very interesting DIY project you started. I am really curious to see your progress.

Cheers,
Bear

Cut both guns up. Figured out where I had to trim extra materials off. Using a lot of glazing spot putty in order to fill in gaps as well as smooth out the 3D printed material. Lots of sanding will be happening soon..

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Much happier with the overall size of the new cylinder.

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Brave man! Looking forward to the results!!

Lots of sanding and refilling at this stage which takes a lot longer due to the epoxy needing to dry. Took a lot of small adjusting, breaking, regluing but I'm very happy with it so far. Still a long way to go.

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Oh wow..... That is starting to take a good shape, impressive!

bearbeast wrote:Oh wow..... That is starting to take a good shape, impressive!

Thank you! There is still a long way to go and a lot that could go wrong, but I'm going to follow it through as best I can.

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That's impressive work. What's your plan for the grips?

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

Indiana Jeff wrote:That's impressive work. What's your plan for the grips?

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

Thank you! As of now I'm planning to use grips that were part of the 3D printed version. I have some S&W badges I'm going to put on them as well.

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I missed seeing the printed grips in your first post.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

The badges will make a big difference, very cool!

I’m also a huge fan of Adam Savage and very much appreciate you sharing his ethos of wanting an experience with the S&W. A static molded version doesn’t provide that experience for you so you are working to create that.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

Indiana Jeff wrote:I’m also a huge fan of Adam Savage and very much appreciate you sharing his ethos of wanting an experience with the S&W. A static molded version doesn’t provide that experience for you so you are working to create that.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

He's also a huge Indiana Jones fan which helps as I'm sure you already know. I owe a lot of my appreciation for props and tinkering in general to him. He puts out a lot of content and you can just feel his excitement and joy in everything he does. Seems to be a really great and passionate guy.

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Indeed. I watch everything he puts out. I so love that despite him having worked in the industry and knowing how the sausage is made, he’s every bit as enthusiastic as any fan.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

Indiana Jeff wrote: ↑Wed May 31, 2023 3:43 pm Indeed. I watch everything he puts out. I so love that despite him having worked in the industry and knowing how the sausage is made, he’s every bit as enthusiastic as any fan.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

His enthusiasm is contagious and inspiring. I always feel motivated to pursue my projects after watching his videos. Or motivated to just trying to be a better version of myself, if he speaks of his philosophy and morals. He seems such a nice, understanding and compasionate man.

Cheers,
Bear

You're going through all this work to give you a more realistic feeling... shouldn't you go all the way and get some wooden grips?

Indy Magnoli wrote:You're going through all this work to give you a more realistic feeling... shouldn't you go all the way and get some wooden grips?

Maybe. I am trying to keep the price tag on this build on the lower end. So far I'm at about $150 for parts. I'm not going to stress too hard about real wood grips. I'm going more for looks/function rather than the material. It's all plastic for the most part and I'm okay with that. I'm on GunBroker looking for M1917's at the moment so that is where the real money is going.

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Little update on the current status. Doing a LOT of sanding and reapplying of the epoxy. My perfectionism is coming out a little bit in that regard. I was able to move the ratchet over to the 3D printed cylinder so now it will click in which helps the structure and feels cooler. The cylinder and barrel area is all functionally where I want it so now I'm focusing on the grip area. Once that's all done it will move to cosmetics. I'm needing a lot of filler as the revolvers differ a lot in where the grips line up etc. I'll also be adding a real 1917 lanyard ring down the line.

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To me it seemed an impossible task in the beginning, but I have to say: you are really doing an amazing job: filling in gaps, adding material and then reshaping it...it's a hard job. Well done.

Really looking forward to the outcome!

Regards,
Bear

bearbeast wrote:To me it seemed an impossible task in the beginning, but I have to say: you are really doing an amazing job: filling in gaps, adding material and then reshaping it...it's a hard job. Well done.

Really looking forward to the outcome!

Regards,
Bear

Thank you for the compliment. Will it be worth my time? It's debatable. I had a week off so I figured why not. I've been having a blast with it, finding random problems and even more random solutions. It will come out cheaper than a Tamiya (though I still want to find one) and will hopefully live up to my expectations when it's done. I'll keep y'all posted!

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I think it's worth your time because you enjoy working on it, at least! For me the journey of building something is even more enjoyable than when I have the finished object in hand. The creative process is the nicest part.

Bear

I picked up a summer job so progress got delayed a bit. I weathered the hammer and trigger. I also decided to cut the grip off and replace it with the 3d printed version. Filling in with the putty wasn't productive as the grips weren't fitting properly. I just hope all of the different bonded areas hold up. Should be doing finishing touches and paint soon.

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That is looking really good!

Cheers,
Bear

Looking good - if the frame base on the original pistol equates to the S&W K frame I've got a variety of original wooden medallion grips in that size that might help take it next level?

Doing final fitment check. Last round of filler (thank God) before priming. Installed the medallions on the grips. Really happy with how those came out. I also added the lanyard ring. The only major issue I ran into so far was attaching the grip area. I ended up screwing it on by opening up the gun and putting a screw in that extends to the grip area. This was hard to be precise with and ended up with a slight angle on the grip. Only noticeable if looking at it from the front end. Hoping to be finished by next weekend.

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Oh, man, can't wait to see this one finished.

Got my first coat of satin black on today! Really starting to come together now. Can't wait to finish painting and start weathering!

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Holy smokes! Well done.


Regards,

Indiana Jeff

Aged the grips with some semi gloss black model paint I had. Ordered some pewter Rub n Buff for weathering.

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That came out great, wow! Truly impressive work!

Looking forward to the weathering, though it looks good like this.

Cheers,
Bear

Finished painting and building, now just waiting on the Rub N Buff to properly weather. Really happy with how it turned out. The hammer and trigger is functional and the cylinder spins freely. I accomplished getting the "feel" I wanted. This will hold me over until I can get my handson an authentic S&W.

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Congrats, man, job well done. Love the whip and bag as well.

Bear

bearbeast wrote:Congrats, man, job well done. Love the whip and bag as well.

Bear

Thank you!

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Got my Rub N Buff in and installed some better looking screws. I think I'm finally finished! This has been a great project and I am really happy with how it turned out. It turned out to be a great and pretty SA holster filler.

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The screws are a definite upgrade, make it look authentic. Good job on the weathering. I do think it looked amazing before weathering, too, though!

Bear