I'm using a "modified" Hasbro Westar for my sidearm.
My thinking is this: If Boba took his father's helmet and jet pack after his death, what would have prevented him from taking one of the Westars too? Being alone now, he would need some way to protect himself, and considering that Jango taught him how to fight, I'm sure he could handle a Westar. Besides, kids love guns.
Having said that, I went with the idea that my Boba sidearm was one of Jango's Westars. The gun started out chrome, out of the box, which wasn't even accurate to begin with. The Visual Dictionary shows that the barrel is some type of chrome-type metal, and that the grip is a slightly darker metal.
Therefore, I went with the idea that the metal of the barrel would probably be of higher quality metal than that of the grip, since the barrel is the really important part of the gun.
IF the barrel's metal is of higher quality than the grip's metal, it should age more slowly, and with less degradation than the grip would.
I repainted the barrel with Testor's Model Master "Steel", which is more subdued than chrome, and gives it an aged look. I repainted the grip with Rust-O-Leum "Anodized Bronze", which looks like the original color, only many shades darker, which is a believable hue if the metal degraded alot over the 30+ years since Boba would have picked the gun up. I'm also assuming that Boba would have actually USED the Westar, and not put it up somewhere.
If he used it a good deal for 30+ years, it would have received its share of battle scars, scrapes, rust, carbon scoring and buildup, and weathering.
To complete the gun (and make it look more real), I opened it up and replaced the cheesy orange plastic "light tube" that lights up when you pull the trigger with a 1/2" diameter brass tube.
After closing the gun back up, it looks just like how I imagine one of Jango's Westars would look years later if used by Boba on a regular basis.
Admittedly, the gun *could* be made out of some type of indestructible/impervious metal that would not lose it's finish or suffer adversely from regular use for a long time, but we'll probably never know one way or another.
I'll post pics when I get it dullcoated.
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:::UPDATE:::
Here are those pics that I promised...
This is a pic of the completed Westar, after repainting & dullcoating it. I replaced the orange plastic light tube with a 1/2" brass tube.
I weathered the barrel (after sanding the "chrome paint" off) by applying Testor's "Steel", "Jet Exhaust", "Gun Metal", and Liquitex "Mars Black" acrylic paints. The base ("Steel") was airbrushed on, then the "Jet Exhaust" and "Gun Metal" colors were sponged on. The "Mars Black" was then airbrushed as a final color before dullcoating. It took more time and effort, but the layering produced an effect that is very realistic. Sorry my pictures don't do it justice.
This is a pic of the holster that I made for the Westar out of vinyl. I sewed it using a sewing machine, and hand-stitched the strap onto the holster. The strap is "quilted", as well.
I would say that the total cost of the holster to make, vinyl and snap and thread, was about $.50 - $.75. It's hard to figure it out, since I bought everything in large amounts, but I would say that that amount is pretty close. It's not perfect, and my sewing leaves a lot to be desired, but for less than $1.00, you can't go wrong!
Besides, I STILL have to weather (beat up) the holster some anyway.
This is a pic of the Westar in the holster on the same belt with the utility pouches on it (just out of frame).
All in all, not a bad accessory for about $10 and a few hours of work!
I may eventually replace the holster with a leather one, but for now, the vinyl seems to be strong enough, and it's the same material that I made my utility pouches out of, so it matches.
I'm hoping that maybe it's just a vintage version of that speargun.
