My "Distressed" Airsoft Revolver

[raider57]

I got my Airsoft revolver yesterday, and had to doctor it up a bit. First off, the grips look really fake. I removed them and dry brushed them a bit with Tamiya light brown acrylic paint,mostly on the checkered grip area and around the bottom edges. Then I sprayed them both with Testors Model Master clear flat lacquer ..( # 1960). After several very light coats the grips appeared ALOT better.More like real wood.

i187.photobucket.com/albums/x36/scuscu66/DSC01022.jpg

Next I painted over the orange barrel tip by hand with Tamiya acrylic flat black (XF-1). This also required several light applications.It still dosn't exactly match though. I also tried semi gloss black,but it was too shiney.I may work more on this area.

Lastly I dry-brushed the whole gun (with the grips still off,I don't want to metalize the wood!) with a mix of Tamiya flat black(# XF-1) and gunmetal(# X-10) especially on the sharp edges.

i187.photobucket.com/albums/x36/scuscu66/DSC01027.jpg
i187.photobucket.com/albums/x36/scuscu66/DSC01026.jpg

Anyway I think the gun looks a bit more "Indy-used" now

Oh, one other thing,the grips make an annoying "squeaking noise when you grip it. They rub together. I thought about super gluing them but that will make 'em hard to remove again.I ended up just using a bit of regular Elmer's glue on the mating grip parts and let that dry securely. This helped reduce the noise alot. Be sure to wipe of any excess with a damp cloth before it dries on the outside.
raider57

[GCR]

Wow, nice work, Raider57!

I'd love to see a whole shot of the finished product.

If you end up having a lot of trouble with the end of the barrel (the part that was orange), you could always go for that "worn finish" stembridge revolver look (the famous "suitcase" gun, and non-shooter).

Anyways, nice work once again!

-GCR

[Ragingblues]

That's a great example of very subtle weathering that really works. It's a great gun for this purpose too!

Awesome job,

Ken

[raider57]

gcr said:

Wow, nice work, Raider57!

I'd love to see a whole shot of the finished product.

If you end up having a lot of trouble with the end of the barrel (the part that was orange), you could always go for that "worn finish" stembridge revolver look (the famous "suitcase" gun, and non-shooter).

Anyways, nice work once again!

-GCR

Here are some overall shots of the "FBI" Airsoft after my finish work.



I tried to be a bit subtle with it,easy to overdo weathering.Can always add more.

[GCR]

Excellent work, that looks great!!!

I've always been curious about this, what parts of that airsoft revolver are actual metal and what parts are ABS?

-GCR

[raider57]

gcr said:

Excellent work, that looks great!!!

I've always been curious about this, what parts of that airsoft revolver are actual metal and what parts are ABS?

-GCR

That's good question. I assumed it was made of an aluminum alloy of some sort. Now that I look closer, I suppose it really is mostly made of some kind of plastic,maybe ABS? It is quite light in weight. I will say, a magnet will only adhere to the cylinder pin,all the screws,an area between the barrel and frame and to the area in and around the hammer,probably from internal parts.The instruction book doesn't shed any light on the frame material either. The finish on the gun is very durable.I have banged mine around abit and no paint chips off nor had any dents on the edges.

[jmkh]

it almost looks like the real deal

[winstonwolf359]

It's been a while since I owned one of those FBI airsofts, but from what I remember the cylinder, barrel, hammer, and trigger is metal, the rest is plastic. I think it's the best value Indy-style airsoft gun out there, and the only thing I regret about that gun is that you can't replace the grips with real S&W wood grips.

[mwp]

Hi,

I am getting ready to distress my cheap aisoft.

What did you mean by "dry brushing"?

Also, why did you use flat black(again "dry brushed" the whole gun parts as opposed to just spraying it matte??

Thanks.

[Mr. Fusion]

Nov 7, 2008 23:14:03 GMT -5 mwp said:

Hi,

I am getting ready to distress my cheap aisoft.

What did you mean by "dry brushing"?

Also, why did you use flat black(again "dry brushed" the whole gun parts as opposed to just spraying it matte??

Thanks.

Dry-brushing is a technique where you dip a brush in paint, wipe almost all of the paint off onto a paper towel, or something, and lightly paint whatever you are painting. You have to repeat this method a lot, though. The paint applies quickly and comes of the brush quickly.

-Josh