Copper Rocket Discussion

Wes · Jan 6, 2009

While I do agree it absolutely looks copper, I just find it hard to believe they would have used it. Why would they have chose a metal that is hard to machine correctly? Even more so on a piece with so many details.

If the rocket itself was stainless or aluminum we would certainly see a fair amount of corrosion by now.

Seems strange guys

slave1pilot · Jan 6, 2009

I thought it was a found item
A plumb bob?

Wes · Jan 6, 2009

Thats what I have always heard myself but never seen anything to back it up.

Jangos kid · Jan 6, 2009

Moved this over from the other thread:

I had a metal sculpture class in college & did alot messing around with bronze which the universal is 90% copper, 10% tin. Now when we did our sculpts, we could any number of different patenas on a piece of finnished bronze that would give different characteristics. You could use one that made it look almost gold, another that made it look very dark..almost black, annother that made it very red, almost like copper, and they even had one that would turn it completely green like the statue of liberty. I dunno where I'm going with this.....LOL Oh: it does look like some of the rocket cones are more brass/gold colored, while some pics look copper colored. I wonder if they used bronze & maybe patenaed them??? Might explain why some rockets look differnt than other in differnt pics. I dunno if machinists can work with bronze though???? Heck, I have no idea if LFL would have bothered monkeying around with a patena in 1978 either??? LOL I'm just thinkin out loud here.

Art Andrews · Jan 6, 2009

Gauntlet Rocket Cone - What is it made of?

Since I don't want to completely derail the other thread that is going on, lets discuss this in detail here. No one seems to know exactly what it is made of. The standard assumption is simply brass. However, there has been a more recent supposition that it is copper. Still others think it might simply be plated or even painted.

I have uploaded some pics of both the C4/AoSW rocket cone and the MoM rocket cone for you to review.

Lets discuss this here instead of derailing the interest thread.

After taking to Count Dookie, my current feeling is that the cone isn't solid but plated, probably with copper, and then coated with a heavy clear coat. I am by no means set on this, but given the pics, it makes the most sense to me at the moment.

Rich D · Jan 6, 2009

Yeah that's my feeling after looking at the pics. There is a silver area inside one of the holes that looks like a plating 'void' where a gas bubble or surface contamination would prevent the copper plating from taking.

There are areas that definitely look like copper with flaking clear coat, so I'm guessing it's either copper-plated aluminum or copper-plated nickel, not solid copper like I originally thought.

Art Andrews · Jan 7, 2009

slave1pilot said:
I thought it was a found item
A plumb bob?

I think that is the myth that has always been perpetuated, but the info that was obtained from Mark Harris would hint at these being custom machined.

Art Andrews · Jan 7, 2009

Delta75 said:
While I do agree it absolutely looks copper, I just find it hard to believe they would have used it. Why would they have chose a metal that is hard to machine correctly? Even more so on a piece with so many details.

Since it LOOKS copper (not saying it is), would you think it is more likely that it is plated with copper than solid copper? Even then, I have great difficulty in seeing them justifying plating it if this was a completey custom piece. Seems like overkill, but then again, all the detail on Boba seems like overkill so maybe it isn't such a ridiculous notion.

Dark Side · Jan 7, 2009

According to you, which material is this??

Everybody knows it's a Bronze medal and is also more "red" than the rocket piece.
You can find a lot of things in bronze that look more red than yellow. It depends on the % of copper in the alloy.
So my point is:
We can't say for sure if the tip is Copper or Bronze watching only the color!

KaanE · Jan 7, 2009

I think that it's bronze. But it's just my opinion.

Wes · Jan 7, 2009

ART ANDREWS said:
Since it LOOKS copper (not saying it is), would you think it is more likely that it is plated with copper than solid copper? Even then, I have great difficulty in seeing them justifying plating it if this was a completey custom piece. Seems like overkill, but then again, all the detail on Boba seems like overkill so maybe it isn't such a ridiculous notion.

I just don't see the point. Why would they go through all the trouble when they could simply use steel and paint it? One thing I have learned, the easiest solution is usually the right one when it comes to SW props.

That "dent" Spidey pointed out in the other thread makes me wonder if that wasn't a machining goof.

Gilmortar · Jan 7, 2009

Could it be anodized aluminum? I've anodized my own paintball parts in my kitchen sink and dishwasher.

I have also seen some gnarly ano jobs that go from shimmering gold to straight copper colors.

Wes · Jan 7, 2009

Count Dookie said:
I'm guessing it's either copper-plated aluminum or copper-plated nickel, not solid copper like I originally thought.

I could be mistaken, but I think copper on aluminum is bad news. Very corrosive.

Gilmortar · Jan 7, 2009

Heres a pic of an aluminum knob ano'd copper...

I figure you could easily clear coat over that....and its cheap, effective, and can be done anywhere...

Art Andrews · Jan 7, 2009

Delta75 said:
One thing I have learned, the easiest solution is usually the right one when it comes to SW props.

I have to agree with you there. In most cases we overthink these things and whatever is the most simple answer is the correct answer.

Wes · Jan 7, 2009

After talking to a friend today I learned a few things. The copper plating is a good contender, I just don't see why.

BOBA PHAT · Jan 8, 2009

Fast and cheap is usually a good rule of thumb. I had been thinking the whole assembly was one piece. Except for the inner ring of holes on the rocket cone. They are inside the circumference of the tip, so to be tapped out the tip would have to come off. So that's one exception to the rule so far.

Whether the cone was plated or a different material, I'll leave that up to people who know more about the process. I have to say that upon looking again at the source material, the cone does look like copper on the PP3, ROTJ, and in several ESB pictures. But in many ESB shots it looks like brass, no question. This leads me back to the strong lighting that was on the ESB set. It can really skew colors. So can copper look like brass under bright lighting? I have an old copper plate that I've taken outside, and even in direct sunlight I get an orange highlight. Not yellow. I'll have to do some photo tests at some point with copper and brass to see what happens.

-Ryan

BOBA PHAT · Jan 9, 2009

Talked to my buddy at work yesterday, and he had some good thoughts. His opinion was that if the cone was a different material it could have been aluminum bronze. It's more corrosion resistant and easier to mill. Or it could have been anodized aluminum. We were both of the opinion that the cone was more orange than the dental expander or the Webley grip, but was not pure copper which can look almost pink.

-Ryan

Gilmortar · Jan 9, 2009

I am taking my flamethrower unit to the anodizer this week to get black and copper ano'd on. I'm pretty sure we will get the same look as the rocket. Then after I will clear coat the entire unit.

Wes · Jan 9, 2009

Good info guys. Everything seems to go against a pure copper tip.

Does nobody else have an opinion on the matter?

Copper Rocket Discussion

Active Hunter

Well-Known Hunter

Active Hunter

Well-Known Hunter

Community Founder

Active Hunter

Community Founder

Community Founder

Active Hunter

Well-Known Hunter

Active Hunter

Well-Known Hunter

Active Hunter

Well-Known Hunter

Community Founder

Active Hunter

Well-Known Hunter

Well-Known Hunter

Well-Known Hunter

Active Hunter

Similar threads

Similar threads