The Christmas Story Red Ryder Active Project!
- Thread starter Beeb89
- Start date
You know, I'd forgotten all about this little project. Well, with Christmas right around the corner, what say we pick it back up? 
To get started, you're going to need a Red Ryder bb gun. I found mine at Wal-Mart for about $30. I'll go back and check my backup disks for the graphics I created and we'll get this going again.
As a refresher, here's what mine looks like:
-B89!
To get started, you're going to need a Red Ryder bb gun. I found mine at Wal-Mart for about $30. I'll go back and check my backup disks for the graphics I created and we'll get this going again.
As a refresher, here's what mine looks like:
-B89!
Last edited:
Laffo
Sr Member
I'm in.
Should we get a "Sundial" brand made so we can brand that into the wood?
My old one had the Sundial burned into it.
I wish the barrel insert was still metal. The new plastic guts suck. My old one was dead on.
These new plastic ones are sketchy at best. Maybe we can do that too?
I'm pretty sure I ran 800 pounds of BBs through the old gal before my little brothers took the
hacksaw to her to make a "sawed off."
Laffo.
Should we get a "Sundial" brand made so we can brand that into the wood?
My old one had the Sundial burned into it.
I wish the barrel insert was still metal. The new plastic guts suck. My old one was dead on.
These new plastic ones are sketchy at best. Maybe we can do that too?
I'm pretty sure I ran 800 pounds of BBs through the old gal before my little brothers took the
hacksaw to her to make a "sawed off."
Laffo.
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Branding the sundial graphic? While that would be pretty sweet, that's a bit beyond my capabilities. Too, I agree about the plastic barrel insert, that what mine is, but finding a vintage red ryder that is not only in good condition but still affordable is a tall order.
As for the band around the barrel, like Gig, I used a regular thin strip of metal and brass rub-n-buff. Works like a charm!
And never fear, the graphics for both the sundial and compass are coming.
-B89!
Too, I agree about the plastic barrel insert, that what mine is, but finding a vintage red ryder that is not only in good condition but still affordable is a tall order. As for the band around the barrel, like Gig, I used a regular thin strip of metal and brass rub-n-buff. Works like a charm!
And never fear, the graphics for both the sundial and compass are coming.
-B89!
If you have an inkjet printer, you can create your own water slide decals. I picked up the my decal kit at... yep, Wal-Mart. (You're one stop shop for all your Christmas Story needs! :lol ) You'll need a can of "fixative" to spray on the decal to stabilize the ink. You can find both in the model section. I'm guessing you could find them both at Michael's as well. BTW, my sundial decal is 2 3/4" wide.
As for the compass, good luck finding an "off the shelf" version. I looked but couldn't find a suitable one to work with. That's why I made my own. Here's what I did... (sorry, I didn't take any progress pics when I did mine. Also, my placement for the compass & sundial are based off of the licensed replica from Daisy and screen caps)
• I drilled out a hole and inch wide and roughly 1/4" deep. I used a dremel with a routing bit to flatten the bottom of the hole.
• Next I used the printed Daisy compass graphic and glued it to a piece of styrene cut to a circle to fit the drilled hole. I glued the styrene to the base of the hole.
• Using the same sheet metal I used for the metal ring added to the end of the barrel, I cut the thin piece to line the sides of the hole. This sits flush atop the compass graphic and should be flush against the top of the hole as well.
• For the "arrow" piece, I used the same thin metal cut to shape and attached it to a small tack which was pushed into a small hole drilled into the styrene at the bottom. It was glued into place.
• For the small aluminum ring that caps the hole, let's see if I can describe these things because I don't know exactly what they're called. They come in two pieces and one pack contains several sizes. You cut paper circles to fit inside the two pieces and press them together to make a tag you can label. Like for a price tag or something. They range in size from small to pretty large. The smallest one is what I used for the compass. It has a small rim on the inside so it fits nicely into the hole. I also used a very thin piece of clear plastic cut to fit inside the ring to cap the whole thing off.
I hope this makes sense! :$
-B89!
As for the compass, good luck finding an "off the shelf" version. I looked but couldn't find a suitable one to work with. That's why I made my own. Here's what I did... (sorry, I didn't take any progress pics when I did mine. Also, my placement for the compass & sundial are based off of the licensed replica from Daisy and screen caps)
• I drilled out a hole and inch wide and roughly 1/4" deep. I used a dremel with a routing bit to flatten the bottom of the hole.
• Next I used the printed Daisy compass graphic and glued it to a piece of styrene cut to a circle to fit the drilled hole. I glued the styrene to the base of the hole.
• Using the same sheet metal I used for the metal ring added to the end of the barrel, I cut the thin piece to line the sides of the hole. This sits flush atop the compass graphic and should be flush against the top of the hole as well.
• For the "arrow" piece, I used the same thin metal cut to shape and attached it to a small tack which was pushed into a small hole drilled into the styrene at the bottom. It was glued into place.
• For the small aluminum ring that caps the hole, let's see if I can describe these things because I don't know exactly what they're called. They come in two pieces and one pack contains several sizes. You cut paper circles to fit inside the two pieces and press them together to make a tag you can label. Like for a price tag or something. They range in size from small to pretty large. The smallest one is what I used for the compass. It has a small rim on the inside so it fits nicely into the hole. I also used a very thin piece of clear plastic cut to fit inside the ring to cap the whole thing off.
I hope this makes sense! :$
-B89!
Last edited:
spcglider@aol.com
Sr Member
Not to change the subject, but has anyone gone out and found the Orphan Annie decoder?
My wife has one if anyone is looking for pix.
Oh, and the message he decodes in the movie is gibberish. Yeah, my wife tried decoding it with the real decoder. It doesn't say anything. Sorry to blow the illusion!
-Gordon
My wife has one if anyone is looking for pix.
Oh, and the message he decodes in the movie is gibberish. Yeah, my wife tried decoding it with the real decoder. It doesn't say anything. Sorry to blow the illusion!
-Gordon
Laffo
Sr Member
Branding the sundial graphic? While that would be pretty sweet, that's a bit beyond my capabilities.
As for the band around the barrel, like Gig, I used a regular thin strip of metal and brass rub-n-buff. Works like a charm!
And never fear, the graphics for both the sundial and compass are coming.
-B89!
Lemme see if I can find an insert and guts. We might be able to do that pretty cheap. I'll look for the brand as well. If you don't mind I'll just use your sundial graphic.
Laffo.
FYI, if anybody is still doing these, I have all 3 versions of the gun, an original 1983 Christmas Dream, the 20th anniversary Christmas Dream, and two 25th anniversary Christmas Dreams, one of which is signed by the entire major cast with the exception of RD Robb and Peter Billingsley (they didn't attend the convention).
The compass and sundial vary on them all.
The compass and sundial vary on them all.
Anyone have the sundial art file? It has expired here.
