Pics of an Old Attempt on making the Pistol from Bioshock

About 6 months ago, I was starting prop making for my very first time. I am a big fan of the Bioshock series and my favorite one was the first one and I choose to do the Pistol because It seemed like the easiest weapon to make and It was my favorite weapon. I thought it was going to be easy, but I was wrong. I stumbled into problems with my tools, unfixable cuts, or even using the wrong tool for the job. But probably the most problematic thing was my lack of experience. I have not touched this project again since but now, I'm thinking of starting again next month.

Now. The project.

This gun, (with some research) is based on a Webley Mark VI and I looked online, found the measurements, and found a side image of one, sized it to the measure and came out perfectly. I printed it out and for some weird reason, instead of just slapping the image on the wood (MDF) I cut out the pistol on paper and traced it on the wood.


The trace was not perfect and I didn't really check for any correctness so I started cutting.


I then refined the first cut and got it around the trace edges. Seems good right? That was when the first problem occurred. My bandsaw cut it pretty well but the angle was slanted at which it had cut. I tried sanding it but it wasn't good enough. I decide I would tackle it later




I then proceeded to cut off the trigger guard because I needed to cut it out and then I thought that after I had cut it, it looked like it needed reinforcement. I thought bondo would have worked, (seeing other people doing it) but I had no experience with it before and when I tried smoothing it, (I think it dried out) it became a sticky, crumbly mess and just like the wrong angle cuts, I decided I would deal with it later.



So after that, I had cut out two thin plates of MDF for the grips and glued and sanded them. I had also cut out an area for the cylinder and I didn't replace my bandsaw blade, so again, that cuts were angled which really sucked for me.:(




I wasn't becoming happy with that pistol so I started new. This time, I printed a side photo of the actual pistol from the game, gave it the same measurements as the Webley, and printed it out. Then I glued it and cut it out with the saw.


I did all the same things, and when I cut the pivoting joint, It was jagged and angled (I can't believe I still hadn't replaced that band saw blade) and when I did my best to sand the two pivot curves, The pivot didn't turn like it was supposed to, it wasn't aligned, it was wobbly, it was... Lets just say that was the end of my second pistol attempt. :angry




I figured the the photos I was cutting out were throwing my cut off (but it was probably the bandsaw) so I made a blueprint/outline of the pistol and it came out really well. So then I did all those things again, the grips, the cylinder area, and the pivot joint but I just, messed up again. I also failed miserably at making the cylinder itself.


So thats what has happened project and I haven't touched it since. I have now realised that a scroll saw would probably be my best bet for doing some of those tight cuts and maybe a new bandsaw too. Also, a drill press would help me in making the barrel and the cylinder too.

I would really like some input on what I should do in making this pistol because I don't want to mess this up again.

Thank you for reading this.:)

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