Pulce 40 Resin copy INTEREST LIST

dankenman

Hunter
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First pull from the mold

Hello. Before I get started. I want to give you some background. If you don't know me, my name is Dan, and I live in the Los Angeles area. I am in the restaurant/nightclub business. I have a Masters of Arts Degree in Ceramic Sculpture and Painting. Work has always been in the way of life. I started my ESB a few years ago, and was going strong for a good year. Lately with the economy and hard times, I have had no time for anything except work. I like to ride motorcycles when I can. A few months ago, I was on the freeway, far left lane, in a double yellow line protected car pool lane (bikes can use this lane). A guy to my right was struck by another car and forced him into my lane. We collided at 65mph, and I flew up into the air and went sliding down the busy freeway, luckily I was not hit by any other cars, but I was in bad shape. I always wear a helmet, armored leather jacket and gloves, so my upper body was ok but I broke my collar bone. My legs were shreaded. Anyway, I survived and have a new chance at life. It made me realize I could spend my life doing whatever it is I do, so why not do the things I love. The first month I couldn't really move, but I could move my good left arm (I'm left handed) so I did some painting. Now I am getting better, and am not going to let things I want just sit waiting.

I have had the Pulce for a while now, and almost sold it here when I needed some money, but luckily I was able to keep it. I have one of Mojo's copies as well. He did an amazing job with the machined parts and the body cast is awesome. But it's so nice I wanted to make myself a more durable version. I don't like handing Mojo's version to people because I am afraid they will break it, and I don't want to damage the real Pulce either. I want a version that I could hand to a child and not be so worried about it. I have not made any molds for a few years so I did a few small practice pieces to get re-familiar with the process. I then decided to make my first mold in one piece. The mold came out great, not an air bubble anywhere on the molding surface. I have a semi-rigid resin that is firm, but has a slight give to it. Here is a link to my thread where I started the process:
http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f32/whats-box-pulce-40-a-39927/

At this point in time I am still experimenting with some materials. I am going to try some cold cast aluminum that will be stiffer (not as durable, but not the really brittle stuff) It will look like aluminum, so it may save on painting. But I want to try just painting it as well to see which way will give it a more real metal look.

I would appreciate feedback if anyone has ideas. Again, my intention is to keep it more durable, and less expensive. I am shooting for a price around $100, but that is not set yet. Materials can vary in price. I have seen similar products range from $100-$200 a gallon, so the final material can affect price a bit. My goal is too keep the cost down. If it is over $200, then I may just recomend Mojo's version, as he did an incredible job. This will be for the more budget concerned Fett as there just isn't a good, inexpensive, accurate sidearm available.

OK, I have talked too much...I am going to try some painting today if I have time. Let the discussion begin
 
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That is an inspiring story. Thanks for sharing.

As a pulce owner myself, my opinion on the metal parts of the real deal is that they don't look all that metallic to me. The trigger has the look and feel of chrome-plated plastic. The main aluminum body tube has a medium shine with a very faint/dull reflection which seesm like it has been heavily anodized and looks almost more like lacquer-coated plastic. The tip does have more of a metallic look to it than that, but mine is so dull there is no reflection properties except where it has been scruffed in places. It almost looks powder coated. IMO I think the tip would do well as a cold cast piece while the rest of it would be fine just painted. It should be noted that we have no proof as yet that they didn't just paint the whole body of the speargun including the aluminum tube on the original prop (excluding the trigger, tip, and the ali nut on the back). The way it sits in the holster there is no way to tell. So in the end it might not even be necessary to retain the metal look on the main body of it.
 
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I pulled another one today. I decided that I want to save the 2nd pull as my master, so I will leave it "as is". This 3rd pull will be my first paint trial, so I should be able to get it started tomorrow. It came out great. I also used a little extra resin and poured it into the few air bubbles on the first test pull. It filled them in and now that it is dry, a little trim and shape and you can't even tell the air bubble was ever there. I have a few meetings tomorrow, but I hope to start a test paint and get some pics up soon.

Lufo1138: I agree the metal parts on my Pulce are all dull with exception to the trigger, which does look like chrome.
 
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Here is a quick test paint pic of the barrel on pull #3. I used a metallic matte nickel. It looks good for just throwing a quick coat on. It has a similar dull shine to the real Pulce. A light sanding and a few coats and I think it will look great. I do have a few other paints I will try. Also I will try painting the barrel slots on the sides and inside the barrel tip black.
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Yea that is another thing I was going to try. I have some aluminum, but the test I did looked a lot more shiny than the original part. You can get a good matte aluminum, but they were out today and I didn't feel like driving to the other Home Depot.
 
Im in; price depending That paint looks real close to a real one; I just reread the first post , good that you are doing well , imay i sugest looking in toi other materials the cost of what you are using seams to high, of cause i live in Aus so prices are difrent but the place i buy all my resins and sillicons gets a large portion of there stuff from smooth on and renames them;so id think ity be cheaper over there for 250 i can get 5 litters of easycast pollyurathian resin( similar to roto resins) this is the top of the line stuff its great for pouring in molds and is realy durable , This is just a thort please dont take it as an insult
 
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I have looked into pricing, and it varies all over. But then shipping comes into play, and availability, and reliability if you have not dealt with a particular business before, blah, blah... I have a few places in LA that have reasonable pricing, and the customer service is excellent, and to me that says a lot. Sometimes it may be worth a little extra to support a business you get along with. But thank you Jinto, I appreciate any and all feedback.

I masked off the barrel and threw on some red. The pic colors are off a bit from the flash, but you get the idea. I will sand and do another coat and we can check it out roughly painted with no weathering tomorrow.
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