Bakail IZH BloodEagle O/U Pistol:

Construction Notes:

If you want a hard to find weapon crafted for a convention or party email me the details and we can work out a price: mike@fantasyprops.com

This pistol was inspired by Warhammer 40K and my Ruger GP100 .38/.357. I imagined a futuristic backup weapon and they types of utility it might serve. I love the idea of O/U combination rifles and noticed that there was a lack of combination pistols. I love the large 'slab' style of the Warhammer guns so I wanted to bring in a little of that flavor. This pistol is constructed from wood (poplar and pine) and bits of PVC. The grips are molded directly from my textured Hogue GP100 grips. I cast them in polyester resin because it has a natural brownish cast and looks kinda like the Blade Runner pistol grips.

I started with a small illustration where I laid out the separate 'layers' of the gun. Next I draw the finished design on my 3/4" slab. I trace this to faithfully recreate the raised portion of the frame, cylinder and release. These are all cut from the 1/4" slab. I sand all the pieces using the palm sander and dremel, constantly checking their fit. The hammer and trigger are carved down with the chisel and sanded. Next I glue the slabs together and clamp them overnight. Front and rear sights are cut on saw and glued on, as well as the upper PVC barrel (drilled with ports), and the lower barrel. When it's dry I fill in all the crevices w/ wood filler and begin carving in details with the knives (cylinder release, frame, hammer, selector switch) and sanding off excess filler. When it's perfectly smooth I coat the whole thing with liquid epoxy resin. (IMPORTANT: This hardens and smooths so you can't see the wood grain after you paint). After a quick, light sanding I prime w/ Krylon Fusion grey. Then I do a light acrylic airbrush silver and a mist coat of luma ink black which is rubbed from the high points to make that 'battle worn' look I really like. Seal it with clear, flat spray.

The grips are cast from polyester resin in silicone molds. More on this process in "how to" for anyone interested. I paint the back of the grips lightly with yellow, red and black luma inks to create a 'starburst' effect. Seal with clear flat spraypaint and glue them on. This is a somewhat simplified version of the process. If I get enough requests I may post a longer tutorial.

Tools: Electric scroll saw, detail files, 3/4" PVC pipe, 3/4" pine wood, 1/4" poplar wood, carpenters glue, wood filler, clamps, tracing paper, ruler, drill, exacto blade, carving knives, chisel, several grades of sandpaper, hand sander, dremel tool, epoxy resin, heavy duty household adhesive, modeling clay, silicone rubber/dispenser gun, polyester resin, paints.