Bowcaster Parts

[Chuey]

One of my garrison members who plays one of our Vaders also made a Chewbacca suit along with a bowcaster. I will dig up the pictures and post them them later.

 

[Chuey]

Here are the pictures. This thing is very heavy.

 

[GotWookiee]

That's a nice a bowcaster. Can you post any info on it's construction?

I sent an e-mail to Horton and asked if they knew anything. This is the reply I just recieved:

Originally posted by Michelle at Horton
Good morning Matt,

First of all let me say that this is the first question of this type that I've had to answer, and being a Star Wars fan myself I was intrigued by the subject.

Every crossbow maker has their signatures. Certain key features that no matter how old or new they are, are seen on every bow they make from start to finish. Horton was founded in 1964. The founder, Bernard Horton, being a former gun smith wanted to revolutionize the crossbow and give it the look and feel of a firearm. I've attached an image of the oldest bow that I could find. It was called a Safari Magnum and it was first introduced in 1979.

While it wasn't introduced until 3 years after 1976 you can see how the shape is very similar to the bowcaster. I've also attached an image of a bow that was only just manufactured in the mid-90s called the Stag. The Stag has a lot of the key features that the bowcaster has, for example the hollow stock and the overall shape is very similar. (Also the Stag is 32" long.)

Looking at the bowcaster from the front the limbs/arms look tapered as the Stag and Safari Magnum are.

In my opinion, I'd say there's probably a 95% chance that the bowcaster WAS modeled off the Horton bow of the time simply judging by overall shape and size. In short, if you know what one Horton bow looks like you can tell when you see a different one if that is a Horton, and the bowcaster has all the earmarks to me of being a Horton. (The bowcaster from Revenge of the Sith was most likely a fabrication of Hollywood, so I won't try to judge that one.)

Hope this information helps,
Michelle

*may the force be with you*

Not any new info, other than that they've been around long enough to have made the crossbow that was used for the bowcaster.

Using the photo from the Parts of Star Wars, I scaled the bowcaster to about 30 inches long. Does that sound about right to you guys?

 

[kurtyboy]

The Horton Magnums with the solid stock are only 27" long.

 

[GotWookiee]

Good to know.

Any idea if my 30 inch measurement for the length of the bowcaster is correct?

 

[Macklin]

Hmm...I get 27-1/2" on mine.

I was always under the impression that the original prop was a real crossbow of the time, possibly a European tournament crossbow.

When I saw the Horton Magnum being used to scratchbuild props I immediately concluded that Horton acquired the original design either through a defunct company or it was an old design of theirs. Then they retooled it for injection molding in whatever space-age material they used. In the retooling process, they made certain modificatoins, the most noteable being that they filled in the negative space from the origilnal design.

This would provide more stability with the lighter material and add some weight, perhaps helping to balance the weapon. I suspect that it would make the manufacturing process a bit easier as well.

So...let's not assume that they actually used the current Horton Magnum for Chewie's crossbow. It could have been an earlier productoin piece from Horton or another company. It could have been a prototype. It could have been a specialty crossbow for tournament use only and not marketed to the general public.

And yes, it could have been that blasted Champaigne crossbow.

Whatever the case, I'm sure the bow used for Chewie's prop was original to the weapon they used. We're just trying to find a suitable replacement for the Horton Magnum, which is roughly similar in shape, but doesn't have those neat 70's swooping curves. So far I haven't found any source for just the bow, which is called the prod in crossbow circles.

Not trying to rant here, just trying to offer some perspective and help uncross some wires.

BTW, those pics - is that TK818? I've been trying to contact him with no success.

Patrick

 

[kurtyboy]

Yep, closer to 27 1/2" than 27". Still way short of 32".

 

[GotWookiee]

Thanks for the scaling information.

Thanks for the clarification on things, Macklin.

Regarding the Champagne Champion Crossbow: What is the source of that information? How did it get started that that bow was the basis of the bowcaster? Also, does anyone have any information on it at all? Any pics? Any evidence of that crossbow's existence? How about any information on the company? Do they still exist?

Thanks.

 

[Macklin]

The first I ever heard of the Champagne crossbow was in a phone conversation with Jeff Ritzmann back in '99 (Jeff, you out there?). He told me that he had researched and discovered the identity of the crossbow, then after a LONG search he found one. I'm sure he spoke to other people about this because soon after our conversation it came out on the boards.

I also remember that he gave me the length as being 27-1/2". Huh...

I have done a fair amount of research on this over the years and have found no evidence of there being such a company. I trust Jeff at his word and he said that they were ultra rare. So finding one will be next to impossible. Still, I feel that I should have run across something by now.

The Horton Magnum is the next closest thing. I'm certainly thankful that we have at least this to work with. They pop up on ebay from time to time. Just keep looking.

I'm taking my time with the conversion on my crossbow, taking step-by-step pictures in anticipation of creating a tutorial. It's slow going, but it seems to be coming along nicely.

 

[GotWookiee]

Thanks, Macklin. I've asked that question for a long time and have always got "I just heard on the boards."

If you can get a hold of this Jeff guy, it would be awesome to see some pics of the crossbow as well as more information on how he found out that it was the basis of the crossbow.

 

[Treadwell]

Jeff sold his bowcaster to lonepigeon, IIRC, so perhaps Chris can tell us what his take on the "Champagne" is.

 

[lonepigeon]

Originally posted by Treadwell@Jun 20 2005, 01:38 AM
Jeff sold his bowcaster to lonepigeon, IIRC, so perhaps Chris can tell us what his take on the "Champagne" is.

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I wish.
Are you sure he sold it?
He told lots of people about it, but I never saw a single photo.

 

[Treadwell]

I guess I was thinking of the Fett rifle.

No, I never saw it, either. I'm not sure he ever finished converting it, come to think of it.

If I manage to re-re-re-re-reestablish contact with him (for other pending issues) I'll ask him about it.

 

[GotWookiee]

Sorry to bump this, but has anyone had any luck getting ahold of this Jeff Ritzmann (TK-423) guy? I tried contacting him using the e-mail addresses listed on his 501st profile several months ago, but never recieved a response. I've sent off e-mails to to the CO and XO of his 501st Garrison, the Old Line Garrison, but I am still waiting on a response.

 

[kurtyboy]

Come on guys. If there was such a thing as a Champagne Crossbow, I'm sure there would be at least one mention of it (apart from the Jef Ritzman reference) on the world wide web.

As I said before. I sent pictures of the original Bowcaster to Horton Customer Services asking them to identify it and they wrote back to me saying it was definitely a Horton, a very old one. A predecesor to the more recent Horton Safari. That it had an aluminium frame and that only one existed currently in the entire Horton USA company... and it was not for sale.

 

[GotWookiee]

Okay, here is another question:

I've heard that there were some differences between the ANH bowcaster and the TESB/ROTJ bowcaster.
What are they?

 

[kurtyboy]

Really hard to say because of the lack of good reference material for the ANH version and any clear shots showing some parts of the others.

The main thing that stands out is the front sight changed after ANH. Not sure about ESB but the 'string' was added to the bow in ROTJ (it wasn't present in ANH).

And for the trivia fans.... It has been written that Chewie didn't fire his weapon until ROTJ. He actually does fire it once in ESB.

Originally posted by JediToren@Aug 26 2005, 04:31 PM
Okay, here is another question:

I've heard that there were some differences between the ANH bowcaster and the TESB/ROTJ bowcaster.
What are they?

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[Hammerhead]

Originally posted by kurtyboy@Aug 26 2005, 04:47 PM

And for the trivia fans.... It has been written that Chewie didn't fire his weapon until ROTJ. He actually does fire it once in ESB.

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When is that? I've been wracking my brain, but I can't recall the scene. Is it in Cloud City?

 

[Skaught]

Mynock hunting?

Scott

 

[Treadwell]

Yes. It's Chewie's shot that makes the cave worm wiggle the first time.