Flashy: Phase Four-Almost There...

Today involved a whole lot of sanding, filling, and fabrication of the neat little details on Flashy.

I didn't take any progress photos, but I'll talk about what I did.  First, I took some wood filler and filled in a lot of the gaps and crevasses in the gun.  The trapezoid and the back where the flat "slide" meets the cylindrical barrel were filled and smoothed out as best the paste would allow.  When it dries, I should be able to sand it nice and smooth.

I took a 1/2" poplar dowel and bisected it, with these I glued them to the slide just above the trapezoid.  I then took another section of the Poplar dowel, cut and sanded 4 grooves into it, and made the front and back...I'm not sure what they are in the gun...maybe a laser sight mount?  Anyway, that stick-thing coming out of the trapezoid.

The quarter circles in the grooves above the trigger were quarters of a simple 1" wooden toy wheel blank, cut into fourths.  I took another complete wheel and set them in the trapezoid, along with two short, thin strips of sintra.

For the back of the gun, I cut off the end of a rubber cap that you'd find on the end of a cane or walker and smoothed it out for the "butt-cap".  I used plumbers two-part epoxy putty and made a sloping ridge from the wider part of the barrel to the gun barrel.  Once this dries, I'll take a dremmel and smooth it out to make a nice sharp 45-degree angle.  Finally, I placed a wooden cap in each of the carved recesses in the grip.

The last little detail I needed to figure out were the two "switches" on the back, in-line with the half-dowels.  I knew I'd seen something like them before, but it didn't dawn on me what they were until I was carving away the rubber cap for the end of the gun.

They're the locking switch from a snap-blade box-cutter.  Tomorrow, I make a trip to the dollar store, buy two, and cannibalize them to make the last switches.

There are some details that I just didn't do, and I'm not sure I'll get to them.  There's the oblong recess under the barrel by the trigger, and some details in the front of the trapezoid.  These I may just leave off.  This is "Flashy Mk I", and if there's a Flashy Mk II I'll try to incorporate those then.

All and all, she doesn't look too bad.  And she feels great in the hand.

Really looking forward to finishing this master up, so I can see how I do with molding and casting.