Sidkit Mal Gun Build Thread

As Boba took his thread off, here's a new thread for anyone wishing to post build tips or pictures of their finished pistol.

Pics of mine -- top one is resin philipes, middle is sidkit and bottom is special Mal pistol/holster set offered a few months back on this board.

Other pics include a few pics from the Firefly book showing the actual set-used prop.

Thanks for hosting pics, wacky chimp!

I'd like to know if anyone in the UK has a good source for gun-blue that ill work on this kit?

DrMcoy, what did you use to weather the SidKit? Did you use Sid's recommended bluing solution?

IronFist said:

DrMcoy, what did you use to weather the SidKit? Did you use Sid's recommended bluing solution?

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Yes, I used BLUE WONDER and applied as suggested -- it has a nice gunmetal finish with a hint of golden-bronze color -- but not as dark as finish on actual prop. I have also noticed that the finish is wearing off in a few places and i haven't handled it all that much -- so it may require a protective finish to keep bluing intact.

I got both the Birchwood Casey gun blue and plum brown on ebay UK.

Birdie said:

I'd like to know if anyone in the UK has a good source for gun-blue that ill work on this kit?

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kurtyboy said:

I got both the Birchwood Casey gun blue and plum brown on ebay UK.

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Would love to see how these look when applied to the pistol...please post pics when you get it done. I had read on one thread that the plum brown turned out more grey...but not sure if this was verified or not.

I'm no expert, but I BELIEVE the BLUE WONDER is unique and that it doesn't require as many steps or elaborate prepping as other bluing solutions. With Blue WOnder you simply have to clean up metal with acetone and then heat up the metal with a hair dryer, apply the Blue WOnder bluing solution and then the developer. It says you can apply multiple coats of the bluign solution but this didn't seem to deepen the color on my pistol any.

The thing you need to be mindful of is making sure that when you apply the bling solution the first time is to make sure you get it in all the tiny cracks, nooks and crevices -- if you don't, I don't think the bare metal accepts the bluing as much after the first application -- my pistol has a few small areas where you can see the bare metal that didn't take hold on first application -- subsequent applications didn't seem to affect the finish.

That must be where the blue wonder differs from the more traditional bluing kits. Mine got darker with each subsequent bluing, starting from a bluish gray after the first application, to a more uniform dark blue after the 10th bath it took in the solution. The birchwood casey perma blue I used has no "developer", you just blue the metal, then oil it up which BC lists as a step to aid in the curing of the finish.

I will mirror what DrMcoy says as well. Make sure you get it into all the wee crevices etc. And mine is also very prone to wear. I think that is because the metal is so soft on these kits.

Just an idea here about the nooks and crannies not bluing if you miss them the first time: Well, you know how you're supposed to clean the gun initially with the acetone so that the solution gets on the metal unimpeded. Is it possible that you didn't clean off the developer from the first coat of bluing, so that's keeping further coats from getting to the metal? Maybe a Q-tip with some acetone and then another round of bluing would help?

Has anybody tried a coat of transparent yellow/orange after the bluing to get the brassy color?

If anyone would like their own posts from the old thread moved into here, let me know.

Curious as to Boba's attempt at soldering the seams.

Boba (or anyone) have you ever tried that cold solder? Would it adhere? Would it be as destructive to the 'soft' metal of the kit?

Don

androidandy said:

Has anybody tried a coat of transparent yellow/orange after the bluing to get the brassy color?

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That seems like a potentially great (or potentially disastrous) idea. :lol

I'd just like to mention that, since Boba Debt seems to have decided not to make the nicely-machined thumbscrews he had mentioned, I just had to do something about the Sidkit thumbscrews. It's not a huge deal, but I'm just running an xacto knife across each line in the knurling to make the lines a bit "sharper." It's a subtle but nice touch.

Also, has anyone figured out how to make the trigger pull a little more..meaty?

I've been toying with the idea of using some browning solution over the bluing solution to either darken the finish, or just darken it in places to add a weathered look.

I just placed an brass bar stock order with mcmaster-carr. I'm still pretty novice at machining, but we'll see what I can do. I've got stuff coming to hopefully be able to have 2-3 attempts at making a brass barrel & front sight, my missing top plate, rod for the knurled knobs, and hopefully a few spare dummy mags that will get hollowed & a dummy round put in. Hopefully I won't make scrap chips of it all, but that is all I accomplished with the aluminum I had for my GDO project ... the GDO however was alot more complex on the curves than this pistol stuff.

does anyone have scans of that book there in high res for weathering reference?

androidandy said:

Has anybody tried a coat of transparent yellow/orange after the bluing to get the brassy color?

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As long as the bluing process isn't "oily" it should work, though I wouldn't recommend it. It would look like you had encased the "blue" in yellowish plastic (and it probably wouldn't take much to peel it off).

If you go with the tinted clear coat method , you really want to put the bluing on the outside.




Here's the method (as posted in the first Sidkit thread):

1. Get a two-part automotive (matte if at all possible) clear coat paint and a GOLD CANDY pigment additive (or whatever color you want the metal to be). There are colored clears available in cans and from Tamiya, but they're not nearly as durable as a two-part, and you will want that durability later. Alsacorp has one called "clear4chrome" that also has candy pigments available, but there are others as well.

2. Spray the parts until you get your desired shade of gold/brass/bronze. The more layers, the darker and less transparent it will become. The metal will shine through the clear/candy preserving the look.

3. If you had to get a glossy clear (quite probable... I've never heard of a matte 2-part clear paint) then you need to buff it with a good, gritty rubbing compound. Get one of those meant for SOLID auto paints that aren't supposed to be used on metallics and clears (we want to destroy the gloss). Make sure you wash off the compound thoroughly with soap... you don't want any wax to remain. You can also use very fine grit (2000) paper to dull it down, but if you're working on a complex shape with lots of small spaces and corners, using rubbing paste/compound is easier.

4. Assemble your gun and spray the entire thing with an acrylic (water-based, like Tamiya acrylics) matte black, mixed with a little blue or brown depending on what effect you're after.

5. When it's cured, get a polishing cloth (or paper that won't easily break apart when wet) and get it moist with Ajax dish washing liquid (the regular kind) or a mild alcohol and then gently rub over the parts. After a while, the alcohol will take off the airbrushed acrylic coat, but not touch the gold automotive clear underneath.


I've used this technique lots of times with good results. It also works on things like Pulse Rifles if you substitute the first clear coat for a silver metallic. I used it on my Phillippes Mal pistol cast, substituting the clear with gold and on my Jayne LeMat, adding a black additive to the clear to give it a smoky appearance.

The finished result (with wood grips):

Joe, not to throw this thread off topic, but have you tried that method on a resin Mal gun? I am curious if it could be done over a silver coat and get similar results?

Yes, the method will work well over a silver metallic. It will slightly dull the metallic effect, but it works. I used the method for the gold parts of my Darth Sidious cutaway saber. First sprayed them silver and then candy coated them.

Just be very careful when spraying automotive paint over an acrylic or "spraycan" paint. The other way around works fine because the auto paint is (for most prop purposes) basically indestructible, but if you gun it too hard onto a "weak" paint you might get the dreaded crackling. (I actually had to redo the Sidious saber from scratch due to not waiting for the silver to not properly cure.)

Interesting finish, Boba. Would love to hear how you did that.