www.TK560.com

[jegner]

Making replicas from a 3D reference.

A friend loaned me a resin cast version of a real Lewis gun. I wanted to make copies of this, but without damaging or disassembly of the reference. How do I do this? Well, a master would need to be made out of MDF or wood. Basically the buttstock, lower receiver, upper magazine deck, and barrel connection would be made from a study of the the resin version, then cardboard templates would be made as a tracing. Next, measurements of depth are taken and notations of odd shapes are made. Then finding wood blanks the proper thickness were located or laminated together, and the cardboard templates transterred. Next is the sculpting. No too hard actually as the Lewis gun is pretty flat. Bandsawing out the transferred templates, and adding detail. Each detail is made from common material, like broom handles, basswood, etc. Then the parts are assembled in a fashion that can be taken apart. Once I reached this point, its time to make silicone molds, and then resin copies from the wooden masters.

This is like a scratch build, but instead of making one at a time, a master pattern is made, molds created from that and then black dyed resin is poured.

The barrel has little detail that is needed other than the tube wrapping at the base, and a taper section. Most of the barrel will be hardware store PVC or ABS pipe.

The end result will be an accurate scratch built replica but a completely fresh sculpt, not a recast.