# Wilco's Blade Runner Blaster



## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

More gun fun from the Sarge, another nice 1:1 replica of Rick Deckard's gun from Blade Runner. Besides being pretty accurate, it's also a lot more affordable than most of the earlier BR gun kits!

The main one-piece body looks a little rough out of the box, but the flash is very thin and removes easily. It was ready for primer in no time. The trigger requires careful sanding, but then again they usually do!


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## terryr (Feb 11, 2001)

Did you know an actual hero PKD was recently photographed at a convention?

Hurry hurry hurry.....too late, the pics are gone.

http://www.therpf.com/index.php?showtopic=115940


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Another gun for your collection! How many does this make?


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

terryr said:


> Did you know an actual hero PKD was recently photographed at a convention?
> 
> Hurry hurry hurry.....too late, the pics are gone.
> 
> http://www.therpf.com/index.php?showtopic=115940


No but I sure would like to! I can't believe it actually resurfaced after all this time! Anybody have a link or copy?


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

terryr said:


> Did you know an actual hero PKD was recently photographed at a convention?
> 
> Hurry hurry hurry.....too late, the pics are gone.
> 
> http://www.therpf.com/index.php?showtopic=115940



A anonymous fellow sci-fi gun fan was kind enough to to send me the shots of the recently resurfaced hero gun, those are amazing! 

Gotta give Sarge credit, his gun compares nicely to the hero prop. and better than many of the more expensive versions!

What's the deal with the secrecy about the pictures, those ought to be shared!


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## Carson Dyle (May 7, 2003)

PhilipMarlowe said:


> What's the deal with the secrecy about the pictures, those ought to be shared!


Collectors can be notoriously guarded with this kind of stuff. In some cases they have valid reasons, but often they're just being greedy. 

I attended the World Con and saw the "Blade Runner" stuff, but for whatever reason the blaster was not on display when I was there. I saw the pix when they were still on the props site, and they are indeed amazing (interesting to see those green LEDs in addition to the red ones). Glad you were able to track them down for reference.

A lot of replica prop makers out there have some revising to do...


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

Carson Dyle said:


> Collectors can be notoriously guarded with this kind of stuff. In some cases they have valid reasons, but often they're just being greedy.
> 
> I attended the World Con and saw the "Blade Runner" stuff, but for whatever reason the blaster was not on display when I was there. I saw the pix when they were still on the props site, and they are indeed amazing (interesting to see those green LEDs in addition to the red ones). Glad you were able to track them down for reference.
> 
> A lot of replica prop makers out there have some revising to do...


Well, to me those shots are up there with the first good photo's of the _Proteus _ or the TOS _Enterprise_ models, like most BR fans I've spent hours over the years pausing tapes and disc trying to make out the details of that frakkin' gun.

The green LED's and the "on-off" switch are especially interesting, those are major details NOBODY seems to have noted or remembered over the decades, and none of even the most expensive "researched" versions of the prop came close to getting right!


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Man, I'm prolly gonna regret asking this, but does Sgt. Wilco have a website...? I say "regret" 'cause I'm more and more wanting to get some of these kewel Replica pieces that you and a couple other fella's have shown off here. The "Blade Runner Special" - as I seem to recall seeing someone call it once - is one of those prop pieces I've always wanted to get, along w/almost every Trek hand weapon shown on-screen (especially from the movies!), the TOS BSG Colonial Blaster (which I've got!), TNS Colonial Blaster (Pilot and Season One) and one or two others. 


As a semi-related question: anybody else here collect "Air Softs"? I've got a few pistols I picked up for cheap when I was stationed in Korea. These are the spring-loaded variety and several of them would need only minor touching up paint to look like the Real Deal from as little as about five feet away.


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

I don't think Sarge has a website!!

I do think we should berate him about that because he has such a wide range of cool models that you don't see on sites like Cult and such. For example, I am aware that Sarge also makes in resin a nice Darth Vader Light Saber, a Next Generation Phaser and a Mummy Book of the Dead Key.

I'm pretty sure that he has other neat stuff that would appeal to folks here as well. But I do think he's pretty busy with his "real job" for the next few weeks. Perhaps we can get on his case when that eases up.

Huzz


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

Griffworks said:


> As a semi-related question: anybody else here collect "Air Softs"? I've got a few pistols I picked up for cheap when I was stationed in Korea. These are the spring-loaded variety and several of them would need only minor touching up paint to look like the Real Deal from as little as about five feet away.


I had the airsoft Robocop gun for a long time, it was handy for keeping my old girlfiends cats off my stereo gear. It looked pretty realistic, and had a working slide/pump mechanism!

I like Sarge's big prop kits, they are a lot of fun to finish! I'm going to have to start my BR gun all over again after seeing the pics of the hero prop that resurfaced at Worldcon! Sarge's actually won't need much to match the hero, a couple of screws, a doodad or two, and a a little drilling will make it amazingly close.


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## terryr (Feb 11, 2001)

The amazing thing about the real 'PKD' is that the owner let it get rusty! Here all the prop guys are going nuts over it, and he just leaves it in a box in the garage or whatever for 20 years.

The prop-ers sure get secretive over the details sometimes. Not like us. But the photos are out there now. If you're going to buy one wait awhile until they update.


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## Sgt Wilco (Jan 29, 2004)

Hi Guys---
Thanks for the kind words, but I have some bad news. Unfortunately, the Bladerunner blaster is no longer availabe. Usually I cut my own prototypes in-house; this is one of only two prototypes I've ever actually purchased. Unfortunately, this was a mistake as it turns out that several of the components were ripped-off from somebody else's work! I have destroyed my molds and, once the remaining castings are gone, I won't be making any more.
Of course, now that I have really good pics of the original... I don't rule out tooling up my own proto some day...

---Da Sarge


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## jheilman (Aug 30, 2001)

We'll be waiting


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

Here's one side of mine modified to match more closely to the "hero' pistol.


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

With pretty much all the changes I intend, the 'target selector' rod, cylinder release knob, and on/off switch will get added later. I still have to deal with that big odd looking selector knob on the right side of the hero pistol, it was mis-interpreted as the big slot head on this version.

But to those of you with the hero pics, this is pretty darn close!


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Scott,

All of the pistols you have done are just so fine looking. And, this one is really is coming along so good. Maybe you can bring some of then to Wonderfest next year. I would like to see them, in person.

Lloyd


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

Somehow, I have a feeling trying to take one of these cross country on a plane Memorial Day Weekend could be a very bad idea!


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Ship it to yourself at the Hotel. LOTS of people do that with models. Just make sure to ship it Priority, with a ton of insurance and clearly marked "SCALE MODEL WEAPON" on any packing forms.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

PhilipMarlowe said:


> Somehow, I have a feeling trying to take one of these cross country on a plane Memorial Day Weekend could be a very bad idea!


I didn't think of that! It is a shame how things are now. I miss the old days.


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Heck, in The Old Days he could've just had them in his Carry On or even put in to a holster on his person!


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

Actually Lloyd, I already got some _Star Wars_ weaponry ready since that's the theme this year. I'm still kicking myself for not thinking to build something cool from _Aliens_ last year, especially since I got a APC, a Sulaco, A Dropship, etc in the stash. It would have been cool to have gotten Pat McClurg to autograph something!

Back to the BR blaster, the sucky thing about the hero version resurfacing is I got to do the barrel, trigger assembly, and buttplate with gunmetal rather than my standard blue, which means a lot more wet-sanding since that stuff magnifies any flaw.


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

Griffworks said:


> Heck, in The Old Days he could've just had them in his Carry On or even put in to a holster on his person!



In the old days I wouldn't have been worried about some eager-beaver overweight minimum-wage screener shooting me before I had a chance to explain it was a solid resin model goin' to a contest in my carry-on.


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## jheilman (Aug 30, 2001)

Times we live in guys. Wishing it weren't so won't change it.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

^^ True, but it is good to remember. I know how it is in life. I told my co-worker 20 years ago, that the bad job we were at, one day we would think of it as the good old days. And I was right.

Scott, it always happens, you build it, then have to change it. At least it is paint, not taking it apart, and rebuilding it. 

Star Wars theme? I forgot about the 30th anniversary next year. Got to see what to build.


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## terryr (Feb 11, 2001)

Many years ago my old man won my first .22 rifle at a bingo tent at the fair, and carried it through the crowds back to the car. No one batted an eye.
None of that would happen now.


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## Sgt Wilco (Jan 29, 2004)

STAR WARS theme, eh? 
Did I mention that I do super-accurate resin kits of the 5 major variants of Han's/Luke's Mauser-based pistols? ANH Hero, Greedo Killer, ESB Hoth, ESB Bespin and ROTJ... All of 'em used the same base gun but with LOTS of different fiddly bits glued on...
ALIENS theme?
Did I mention I do the M-41A Pulse Rifle, as well as the Gerber combat knife, welder, belt tool and last (but not least) the Incinerator Rifle?
Not that I like to drum up business at all...
---Da Sarge


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

It's going to take a little getting used to, I was real used to a total blued finish. But I think I'm pretty close to the hero paint scheme. The grips are just slipped into place for the pictures, I gotta drill them tonight. All in all, I'm pretty happy with how this is progressing so far:


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

That looks real enough to fool someone, even close up!!

Great job but good luck getting it on an airplane!

Huzz


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

Thanks Dave!

Several times over the years I've _almost_ sprung for the $400 for a Richard Coyle BR blaster, and only haven't because I knew the wife would kill me! This one is going to end up a lot more accurate than his previous versions, and I got a grand total of 50 bucks invested.

That's not to knock Coyle's guns, the working features are pretty cool and of course they're real metal. But this is gonna be good enough for me!


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Now that looks real. If I didn't know it is a model, it would scare me, if you pointed it at me.


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## terryr (Feb 11, 2001)

PhilipMarlowe said:


> It's going to take a little getting used to, I was real used to a total blued finish. But I think I'm pretty close to the hero paint scheme.


What? You call that close? The buttplate is 1/64" too short, the receiver is the wrong shade of steel, and one of the screws has the wrong head! 
Those PKD guys are obsessive, you know.

I have sometimes wanted one as well, but couldn't make myself spend several hundred bucks. Once this new info is absorbed I may try to find a cheapy too. The average person doesn't even know what Bladerunner is, let alone the details of the gun.


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

terryr said:


> What? You call that close? The buttplate is 1/64" too short, the receiver is the wrong shade of steel, and one of the screws has the wrong head!
> Those PKD guys are obsessive, you know.
> 
> I have sometimes wanted one as well, but couldn't make myself spend several hundred bucks. Once this new info is absorbed I may try to find a cheapy too. The average person doesn't even know what Bladerunner is, let alone the details of the gun.


Ya know, I knew someone was gonna give me grief for adding a philips head screw instead of a slotted screw on the one side. The truth is I was out of slotted screws, and was too lazy to run to Home Depot!

But I stand by my color choices. 'Course, I am a bit colorblind :freak:


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

I carved up four hubcats trying to fabricate the pattern on the selector knob with my Dremel tool before I decided the original big slotted screw was just fine and didn't need a more accurate cap. I made my off/on switch with a homemade decal and thin sheet styrene. I painted the ends of the "targeting rod" Testors "Beret Green", then dipped the ends in Future a few times till they looked like the unlit LEDS on the hero pistol. The red LEDS are MM's "Guard Red" with a drop of future over them.

One practical construction tip, if you are going to add the washers around the red LED's, paint the LEDS BEFORE you glue the washers down!


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Beautiful job, Scott! Each one of your guns look better than the last, and this is my favorite one that you have done.


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

Thanks LLoyd!

Next up is Sarge's Han Solo Hero blaster! I've always wanted one of those and can't wait for the kit to arrive.

Time to work on robots & spaceships again!


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## mb1k (May 6, 2002)

Lloyd Collins said:


> Beautiful job, Scott! Each one of your guns look better than the last, and this is my favorite one that you have done.


With all this new information, I'm glad I'm such a lazy person and have left my Doppelganger PKD in the box these last six-years. I'm not even looking forward to seeing how different it is to the hero prop...


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

_Blade Runner_ blaster fans can download an excellent zipped detailed photo file of the recently resurfaced "hero" pistol here:

http://204.2.104.176/karl/


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## terryr (Feb 11, 2001)

Thanks for the link. I have some photos, but may as well get them all. 25 Mb though!

With all the attention I have been tempted to get a copy, but my laptop thinks otherwise. Its' 1999 parts are finally going, and Win98se doesn't work with many new programs. With rebates I can get a good laptop for the same price as a top level PKD toy gun. Thousands of circuits for the same price as a block of resin and white metal.


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

You may be glad you waited, Sarge has the same picture file, _and_ access to the real Bulldog and Steyr gun parts used on the "hero". It wouldn't surprise me any if we see the most accurate and affordable resin version of the Blaster available in the not-too-distant future.


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## terryr (Feb 11, 2001)

To pass the word, that zip file has both Win and Mac format images, plus photos of other Bladerunner stuff. He should have split them into smaller zips. But hey, 140 photos of the blaster is all you should need.

They talk about tiny details on this thread.

http://www.therpf.com/index.php?showtopic=117775&st=60


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## terryr (Feb 11, 2001)

They're doing another run of the Hartford blaster, which fires blanks inside the cartridges.
740 dollars, from England.

http://www.modelguns.co.uk/m2019_blaster.htm


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## terryr (Feb 11, 2001)

Another detail is revealed. The strange dial shape on the right side is an actual part from a Weaver 29S adjustment knob. [This may have been added after the movie. ]

http://www.therpf.com/index.php?showtopic=121109


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Here are the pics I downloaded before the site went down...


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## ridleynoir (Jul 3, 2006)

someone had for a while posted a new link for these at propsummit.com


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## terryr (Feb 11, 2001)

Two up dates on the blaster.

First the guy who made the Sidkit died recently. Whether part copy or recast it was a good product. 

Second, the actual real hero gun is going up for auction. $100,000 and up.

http://propsummit.com/viewtopic.php?t=1482&sid=21b7eefa4d4492ffc0a515ee81a8b510


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