My Dumb Projects
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Outlaw Star Caster Gun
I was commissioned to make a replica of the Caster gun from the series "Outlaw Star". As an additional challenge, he wanted it to be able to load the shells into the breach.
I started working from the inside-out by making a master for the shell from Bass wood. The shell is about 3" long.
I masked off the design and then sprayed several coats of primer to build up some thickness. When the tape was removed, I had inset markings!
I made a mold of the master and cast five copies in resin. There was some cleanup to do but they came out pretty clean.
I used a PVC pipe for the receiver and drilled a hole for the pivot arm section.
Luckily, a PVC connector was exactly the right size for the pivot...no trimming needed!
I cut off the end cap and plugged it with MDF.
I cut the grip halves from 3/4" MDF.
I planned to use a wood screw combined with epoxy to attach the grip to the receiver.
I carved the recessed areas to the grip.
The slide was made from a section of PVC. I lathed an interior to the cap from MDF.
I cut a slot in the pivot PVC to allow the slide to move through.
The closed slide.
The trigger assembly was made from an acrylic rod with a sliding aluminum tube inserted. The trigger was made from laminated styrene sheets.
I screwed and epoxied the grip to the receiver and capped the pivot with 1/4" MDF.
The trigger guard was made from 1/8" styrene with an aluminum rod connecting them. There is a compression spring glued behind the trigger so that it moves forward.
I turned the barrel out of Bass wood on the lathe.
The pivot arms are made from stacked styrene sheets on a steel base.
The brackets that hold the other end of the trigger piston are made from 1/8" styrene. I made a small chisel to carve out the slots in the barrel.
I glued on half-round styrene piping to the gun. The tight curves were heated first.
The piping completed and primered.
The sights were made from 1/8" acrylic rods glued to styrene blocks.
I heat formed styrene rods for the tubes on either side.
The only gold color I could find that matched my screen caps was a Krylon Farm Equipment paint. It has a great industrial texture that makes it look like cast iron.
I back painted green acrylic and inserted it into the barrel.
The vents holes were cut from a thin sheet of styrene. It was glued over reflector tape....
...so that it would glow under a camera flash!
Here is the final assembled gun.
The individual shells painted to show accurate specs. FYI, there are 20 different shells on the show.
Detail of the barrel.
Detail of the receiver.
The arm swivels down and the breach opens.
Detail of the open breach.
A shell inserted.
The shell seated.
I shot a short video of the gun loading in action
Caster Shell Loading ¶ 9:13 AM 17 comments
I started working from the inside-out by making a master for the shell from Bass wood. The shell is about 3" long.
I masked off the design and then sprayed several coats of primer to build up some thickness. When the tape was removed, I had inset markings!
I made a mold of the master and cast five copies in resin. There was some cleanup to do but they came out pretty clean.
I used a PVC pipe for the receiver and drilled a hole for the pivot arm section.
Luckily, a PVC connector was exactly the right size for the pivot...no trimming needed!
I cut off the end cap and plugged it with MDF.
I cut the grip halves from 3/4" MDF.
I planned to use a wood screw combined with epoxy to attach the grip to the receiver.
I carved the recessed areas to the grip.
The slide was made from a section of PVC. I lathed an interior to the cap from MDF.
I cut a slot in the pivot PVC to allow the slide to move through.
The closed slide.
The trigger assembly was made from an acrylic rod with a sliding aluminum tube inserted. The trigger was made from laminated styrene sheets.
I screwed and epoxied the grip to the receiver and capped the pivot with 1/4" MDF.
The trigger guard was made from 1/8" styrene with an aluminum rod connecting them. There is a compression spring glued behind the trigger so that it moves forward.
I turned the barrel out of Bass wood on the lathe.
The pivot arms are made from stacked styrene sheets on a steel base.
The brackets that hold the other end of the trigger piston are made from 1/8" styrene. I made a small chisel to carve out the slots in the barrel.
I glued on half-round styrene piping to the gun. The tight curves were heated first.
The piping completed and primered.
The sights were made from 1/8" acrylic rods glued to styrene blocks.
I heat formed styrene rods for the tubes on either side.
The only gold color I could find that matched my screen caps was a Krylon Farm Equipment paint. It has a great industrial texture that makes it look like cast iron.
I back painted green acrylic and inserted it into the barrel.
The vents holes were cut from a thin sheet of styrene. It was glued over reflector tape....
...so that it would glow under a camera flash!
Here is the final assembled gun.
The individual shells painted to show accurate specs. FYI, there are 20 different shells on the show.
Detail of the barrel.
Detail of the receiver.
The arm swivels down and the breach opens.
Detail of the open breach.
A shell inserted.
The shell seated.
I shot a short video of the gun loading in action
Caster Shell Loading ¶ 9:13 AM 17 comments
