Brisco County Jr Peacemaker Grips

[JOATRASH FX]

Thought it might be time to show these. First 'finished' print done with white resin , with a quick stain applied.

Been working with Doug now for a couple weeks straight, getting these done. We came up with a way to share accurate silhouettes of the grips on his gun that allowed us to make lots of incremental tweaks quickly. Raw grips are now on their way to him for final trimming (if needed) and mounting.

Fairly pleased with the results on these. I had a thread in the junkyard about maybe doing these for a Denix or airsoft or BB gun replica, but there didn't seem to be a lot of interest. (I have fairly easy access to any of those, but it would come at some expense (Umarex replicas are around $300 here), and I'm not really buying any props for myself at the moment.) If I were to mod them for an airsoft/bb gun, they would have to be hollowed out to accommodate the CO2 cartridge. Certainly doable, but it's a shame that a "one size fits all" solution isn't really possible.

 

[MrYingster]

That's looking beautiful! If thee isn't enough interest for a proper run, will there still be an opportunity to purchase a pair?

 

[JOATRASH FX]

That's looking beautiful! If thee isn't enough interest for a proper run, will there still be an opportunity to purchase a pair?

Hmm... possibly. The grips in the photos were made for a very specific (real) gun. They will probably not fit most (if any) replicas out there. (And a run is the only way I could justify the expense and time to buy a replica/airsoft/bb-gun and redo them for it.) We'll see.

 

[durgadas311]

Here is the final result, thanks to JOATRASH FX. This is a Taylors and Company (Uberti) "Gunfighter" Colt M1873 SAA 5-1/2" barrel with Army grips (larger than the Navy grips used on the TV show). I did the finishing wash (staining) myself, so I'm the one to blame for those imperfections. But I think it turned out quite good.

"It's just an ordinary Peacemaker with a fancy handle ... don't make it shoot any straighter" (R. Lee Ermey as Brisco County Sr.)

 

[JOATRASH FX]

Here is the final result, thanks to JOATRASH FX. This is a Taylors and Company (Uberti) "Gunfighter" Colt M1873 SAA 5-1/2" barrel with Army grips (larger than the Navy grips used on the TV show). I did the finishing wash (staining) myself, so I'm the one to blame for those imperfections. But I think it turned out quite good.

"It's just an ordinary Peacemaker with a fancy handle ... don't make it shoot any straighter" (R. Lee Ermey as Brisco County Sr.)

Wow, those turned out better than I'd hoped! (Especially considering the crazy way we did the fitting.) Nothing wrong with the staining... looks great.

 

[MrYingster]

Yes, it looks fantastic! I'm working on acquiring a Umarex. I found a used, blued peacemaker nearby. Just negotiating price. It looks like Umarex only sells the nickle finish now, so I feel pretty lucky to have found this one.

 

[JOATRASH FX]

Yes, it looks fantastic! I'm working on acquiring a Umarex. I found a used, blued peacemaker nearby. Just negotiating price. It looks like Umarex only sells the nickle finish now, so I feel pretty lucky to have found this one.

They have one called "antique" as well. Looks like a worn black version. I wonder if it could be blued afterward. (I have a few techniques for doing realistic blueing with paints... but they're not as good as the real thing.)

 

[JOATRASH FX]

Hmm. If this is the original....

And this is the current Umarex "antique"....

It stands to reason that would make a pretty accurate replica, no? (The dark blue looks gorgeous though.)

Here's a photo of the discontinued blued version:

I just wish Umarex didn't have that awful laser-etched white text on all their bb guns. It all but ruined the 44 Magnum.

 

[MrYingster]

Is there an easy way to cover-up or remove the text? I was hoping it was some sort of paint that I could remove with acetone... But it's actually etched? Eww.

 

[durgadas311]

Just for comparison, here is a frame grab from the episode "No Man's Land". I bumped the brightness a bit to bring out detail, but otherwise it is unaltered. You can see the "parkerized" frame and hammer, and "blued" barrel, cylinder, trigger guard and backstrap. Gun blue is actually more black than blue, but will pick up surrounding light sources, such as blue sky. You can even see that in the photos I posted of the finished grips, where the blue tint is just due to being near a window with blue skies beyond. When looking at it in indoor light, it appears black.

I don't know how much work it would be to try and refinish a replica, but I'm guessing it would be possible but require some skill. The metals are different, so not sure if traditional gun bluing would have good results. There should be something one could rub over the white lettering to "tone it down" a bit. Maybe even black "sharpie", possibly followed by a light rub of a cloth just barely damp with alcohol? Anything that would be left behind in the etching and subdue the white.

 

[durgadas311]

For the grips on the Umarex, I was thinking you could simply abandon the idea of actually shooting it and just install the grips as two-piece ones, using real hardware such as: Grip Screw & Escutcheon Set, Blued-Steel, Manufactured By Colt. I've even considered installing those screws on the one-piece grips (where they don't actually do anything), just for authenticity.

 

[JOATRASH FX]

For the grips on the Umarex, I was thinking you could simply abandon the idea of actually shooting it and just install…

That would make things a lot easier, but it’s still an interesting challenge to keep it functional!

Is there an easy way to cover-up or remove the text? I was hoping it was some sort of paint that I could remove with acetone... But it's actually etched? Eww.

I actually duspect it might be some sort of ’laser printing’ with pigment burned onto the metal, rather than engraved. Simular to powder coating. From what I remember, it resisted acetone on the Magnum and a Mateba sirsoft I have. It can be sanded or scraped off, but you’ll have scratches of course. Would be less noticeable on the ’antique’ version.

Just for comparison, here is a frame grab from the episode "No Man's L….

I suspect the antique version will take some kind of blueing,but not the nickel plated one.

On-set lighting does a lot of strange things to gun finishes. (Look at Mal’s pistol in Firefly… super shiny in the show, but more matte in real life.)

To my eyes the ’antique’ version looks like it was blued, then worn down.

There is also a risk the the blueing on the Umarex is more of a coating and not oxidation. I seen a lot of comments that the blued finish on their M29 (Magnum) scratches easily. Same thing with the Tanaka PFC that was blued, though that wasn’t fully metal.

 

[JOATRASH FX]

Found this thread that seems to confirm my suspicions regarding the blued Umarex.

umarex colt saa pellet gun "BLUED VERSION"

hi all. hey does anyone know why I can,t find any of these blued ones around anymore. were they all hoarded when they first came out and they are not making the

www.airgunforum.ca

Feels like the antiqued is the way to go. Some bluing solutions might even work on them.

I also remember the white lettering standing out like crazy on the blued Model 29 I had.

 

[JOATRASH FX]

Well, I just took possession of an Umarex in the "antique" finish and can confirm that it IS actually a blued finish. It's not as strong in color as the old bluing, and shifts more toward a purple-brown, but it's definitely a chemical stain and not 'paint'. The printed text is also not too bad.. it's more of a medium-grey so it doesn't stand out too much. Build-wise it's nicely engineered, nothing loose, good weight... feels real and not toy-like at all.

Unfortunately, the retailer I bought it from seems to have sent me a USED copy- no original box or manual and it had very clearly been handled. I am in the process of asking what the heck they are up to. (Looking at their website, they have all of a sudden sold out of many Umarex revolvers... maybe they did a stock take and didn't have any factory-new ones. Still, they should've have asked... and offered a major discount if I would accept keeping it. To be continued...)

Hard to photograph, but I tried.

 

[JOATRASH FX]

First test print (in PLA) of the Umarex version. A couple minor tweaks, then I can proceed with adding the carvings!

 

[JOATRASH FX]

So far, so good...

 

[MrYingster]

Fantastic news from new member Masterkeys. He acquired this Colt SAA at a gunshow in Florida. Reportedly, it was part of a collection from an estate auction. These grips are incredibly close to what I think I see in the TV show screen shots.

I was just reviewing this thread, and I can't believe how closely that matches what we see in Brisco. It HAS to be related to the set we see in the show. That sample doesn't have a visible screw as we see in Brisco though, so it's not the same one in the reference shots. Is it possible this was a purchasable grip back in the 90's, and wasn't specifically made for the show? It's possible that the prop did make its way to that estate sale somehow. I'm just flabbergasted though that it randomly showed up and is practically a perfect match!

 

[durgadas311]

I was just reviewing this thread, and I can't believe how closely that matches what we see in Brisco. It HAS to be related to the set we see in the show. That sample doesn't have a visible screw as we see in Brisco though, so it's not the same one in the reference shots. Is it possible this was a purchasable grip back in the 90's, and wasn't specifically made for the show? It's possible that the prop did make its way to that estate sale somehow. I'm just flabbergasted though that it randomly showed up and is practically a perfect match!

I've been working with the owner to try and solve this mystery. The only thing we know about the estate is that it was from (supposedly) a "Hollywood producer". The gun does not seem to trace back to the time that the show was being produced, but I'm currently testing the hypothesis that it might have been made around the time of the DVD release (when everyone was getting back together to make the DVD bonus features). But the detail and craftsmanship are such that this does not seem to be some casual knock-off. These are original carvings. I suspect someone had access to the original props, or at least a great deal more than we can get from the DVDs.

These are the "one piece" grips, which actually were the original style used by Colt in 1873 (actually, prior to that). The ones used on the show at least appear to be two-piece (with the screw holding them together), which apparently were not introduced until ~1883. Of course, we never hear exactly when Brisco Country Sr acquires the gun or when Lee Pow carves the grips. The two-piece style is critical to the story line in the episode where Brisco discovers the "orb bullet" inside, but it's not clear that the show runners were planning that far ahead (listening to the DVD extras, it seems they were making up the orb stuff as they went!).

 

[JOATRASH FX]

Calling these done! Clip-functionality has been retained, too!

 

[durgadas311]

Looks fantastic!