Tomenosuke Kit Arrived with pics

[racprops]

I also can tell you that you cannot replace their Bulldog with one of mine NOR a real one.

At lease not with out some work cutting and redrilling etc.

First there is the fact that the lower pin hole is slightly forward to a real Bulldog and my casting, then there is the trigger guard, that locks in with the pin and sits into a hole in front..where the real prop used screws...in all not a match.

Not a complaint, just the fact of manufacturing and the differences between their model and mine, we are not a exact match.

Rich
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I never have enough time to do all I want to do!

[BeastMaster]

Yeah that's the problem area. Looking closely it looks like there is a little too much excess metal there. I'm sure I read they actually zinc plated the metal. If so would sanding bits off interfere with the finish? There are some minor mold lines in places that need a bit of smoothing out.

As for the grips looking at them now assembled to the grip frame in slightly darker lighting conditions they look pretty orange and less yellow. I'd much prefer these to the pro ones which are too red imo.

I've also been looking at the sidkit grips which resemble the pictures where the hero grips are darker. What I noticed about the sid grips are that I can never get that yellow tinge represented in some hero images as they have too much red in them. I actually now favor the color of the tomen kit grips as for me they are more representative of amber which is more yellow in color. I've gathered images of the more lighter hero grip pics and the tomen kit grips are a very close match to these images in natural light.

It's a tough one and mainly down to preference. I'd be curious to know what grip that tomen one is next to the hero in the image as they are a pretty good match

Also what is all the beef with the grip pattern criticism? Am I missing something? As it looks pretty good to me.


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"F*ck it, it's just a movie. Let him worry about it" Harrison Ford

[Scorpion]

does the bottom section slide out? the part with the red leds on? like on r. coyles
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[racprops]

There are those pictures that look more Yellow...

And you have not painted your grip frame black yet so that will also darken the color.

That was why I suggested people review all Karl's Pictures of the hero and see the different ways the grips looked take with different lights and with flash.

They do show yellow and/or amber depending on the picture.

Rich
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I never have enough time to do all I want to do!

[racprops]

Not and become a more complete clip, it is just the bottom shell like my early non-removable clip and it snaps in and out nicely.

Rich

[BeastMaster]

It clips in, though you have to take the housing off to squeeze the clips if you want to take it out.

Rich, yeah I see your point on some parts. Some inventive fitting I'm not too fussed about, though I cant understand why the weaver/slot screw and the bindpost aren't simply screwed in? I'm definitely modifying the side panel to fit a proper bindpost in.
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"F*ck it, it's just a movie. Let him worry about it" Harrison Ford

[racprops]

When your manufacturing you need to cut man hours, drilling and tapping and then assembling strews triples their time putting this together, so the combined some operations, thus one hole and you get the trigger guard and bulldog grip frame and Bulldog tied together in one pin.

Skipping two holes to be drilled, and tapped and then screws (that have to bought too) that have to be screwed in...often by hand.

Rich

[phase pistol]

[racprops]

Rats I missed that...

Right on.

And lower you can see a more amber grip in different light...

Rich
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I never have enough time to do all I want to do!

[Skin-Job]

Do we know if the grip in the picture next to the real prop is the same colour as the ones supplied with the kit?

I don't know about you guys, but I just don't like the piss yellow, screen accurate or not.

I plan to do something about it on my grips


Karl

[racprops]

Sadly no as the real prop is amber in pictures lower on that page, so I would think the first picture they were the right amber and matched the real prop as both photographed as the same color.

I know I have been down this road many times myself.

IT is hard to get the color close enough to please most buyers.

Rich

[phase pistol]

The grip colors do not look in person the same as they look in photos. Also when you're looking at the grips in person, they change according to lighting. They CAN look rootbeer dark, or "piss yellow" amber at different times.

I think the current (version 3 PRO and KIT) Tomenosuke grips look pretty close to how I remember it in person, but who really knows, lol. The version 3 grips have a "cool" cast to them, a sort of greenish sheen, that I don't like though and isnt accurate I don't think.

All that said, I like the earlier version 1 "dark rootbeer" grips as well!

All a matter of taste I suppose...

Karl

[phase pistol]

The pic in the lower right of that collage is actually a detail from one of my Worldcon photos (note watermark).

Karl

[BeastMaster]

[racprops]

The side rod is GREAT, it looks and feels like Machined aluminum and is totally LED ready, even with the recessed pockets at the ends for the LEDs and a hole on the side to run the wires down to the clip.

Very nice touch.

And the fit of the rear cap to the Steyr Receiver is to die for.

And another positive note: It looks like a real Bulldog Cylinder will fit, you might want to sleeve it for a tight fit, it is a little louse on their swing arm or use a real swing arm if you can drill and tap for the side cover holes..also you will then need a real bulldog swing arm screw..

BUT it looks like they will fit, and that way you get more weight and rid of that metal washer in the cylinder.

And the models bullets fit the real cylinder.

Rich
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I never have enough time to do all I want to do!

[joberg]

Well, here we go: the grip are changing colours according to the light.
With Tom Southwell's pics of the gun when first delivered shows dark grips as well as the pics from the auction.

And here, I see that the grip are actually lighter...oh well, it's up to each one of us to pic one or the other

Thanks Rich for all the info and help to others here trying to build a better prop

[racprops]

As for the "Blued" Black pistol parts, I found Rust-Oleum 7519 Stainless steel a very close match to the real thing.

I have NOT tried it on this kit yet, I did use it on my plastic models...

Rich
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I never have enough time to do all I want to do!

[andy]

Is there any chance there are "Batch" color variations with the grips? I tried looking at mine in different lighting, and just can't get the amber look. As far as the checkering, it may also be an issue with some but not all of the grips, because even in the two sets I have, the soft flow and "Fill in" in the edge of the pattern is worse on the black police set than on the hero version.

Andy

[Skin-Job]

Andy,

It's fairly unlikely, but not impossible, that the the black Police grips are from different tooling than the clear ones.
I wouldn't have spent the money on remaking and retooling the grips, if it were me.

Do you think it possible that the flaws are just easier to see on grips cast in an opaque medium?


Karl

[cratercritter]

Well... If some of us stop calling it "piss yellow", it may start to have some appeal.