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Paint Scheme for the Lewis?


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I've come across a few sites that offer tutorials on how to paint the Lewis replicas, even how to simulate the wood grain.

But I'm curious, what color is the butt of the rifle in the movie?

From the stills (check gallery docking bay photos on this site) it seems that the butt of the gun had been painted over in a flat black or similar dark color.

If they left the wood alone it must have had a very dark stain.

I'm wondering if, for the sake of Star Wars prop replication the simulated wood grain is the way to go.

Now I know that this is probably a matter of personal taste, but it seems to me that all of the other prop weapons used in Star Wars were either black or metallic or a combination of both. If an actual modified weapon (i.e. Han Solo's pistol) was used the wood portion was usually painted over in black. The Empire's weapons were all black -- to the best of my knowledge.

So, unless you're trying to replicate a real Lewis machine gun and not a T-21 it seems that an all black paint scheme would be the way to go.

Are there any opinions or arguments against this theory? Does anyone else out there have a Lewis replica and if so what paint scheme did you use? I'm curious to hear what others have to say before I start slapping the paint down on mine.

ADDENDUM: Looking at some of the Star Wars toys out there, such as the Kotobukiya ARTFX sandtrooper, I see that they also have an all-black Lewis.

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interesting theory.

I painted mine the wood grain, just for the sake of authenticity to the real weapon, but after reviewing screen caps, it does look black, or at least very dark. That one scene is also very dimly lit, so it could be just a lighting issue.

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I like the look with the wood grain and upon inspection the Kotobukiya ARTFX sandtrooper does have some wood color in the stock, it's faint but it's there.

I was going by pics off the internet. I stand corrected. Still, looking at the stills from the movie, it seems to be the same shade as the barrel. The real MG-42 had a wooden butt (as did Pinnochio) and they painted over that. Maybe it was a rubber casting of an MG-42 they used and didn't bother to paint it.

I hope that I don't give off the impression that I'm trying to start a crusade for canon Lewis requirements, it's just that there's so many others out there who know more than I do about this subject.

What I'm really looking for is reassurance that I'm not the only one out there with an all black Lewis. Not, of course, that I really care.

What is the total overall length of the lewis gun butt end to business end?

Sorry to hijack the thread. but I am just trying to figure out some parts that I have.

No problem. Here you go: 50.25"

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If you're scratchbuilding your own lewis or other bfg prop (not including hyperfirms), I don't think you can capture every single detail such as the tooling on the mag plate, or an incremented rangefinder, etc...

I've also got the koto with the lewis for reference, but personally prefer the wood finish (like the real one) when building my own stock. And as mentioned earlier, it really is hard to tell from movie captures what the actual color is so that in itself leaves room for flexibility.

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If you're scratchbuilding your own lewis or other bfg prop (not including hyperfirms), I don't think you can capture every single detail such as the tooling on the mag plate, or an incremented rangefinder, etc...

The Lewis I have is a Hyperfirm and there is quite a bit of detail (wood grain, dents, screws) that probably should be accentuated. I'll definitely paint it black, and dry-brush metallic accents to simulate wear and tear. I'm going to install a strap and add the--what I believe to be--corrugated drain or irrigation pipe ribbed section that they added to the prop.

As far as the wood grain goes, I will probably try to simulate a wood that has been stained so that it is almost black as the rest of the gun.

Any chance that anyone out there has a close up of the Kotobukiya Lewis rifle's stock? I've searched on line but all pictures are pretty small.

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  • 1 month later...

I think the concensus was that the stock was either black or a very dark wood stain on screen. The real lewis stock had a lighter finish which allowed the grain to show through. Personally I like the woodgrain finish better myself but I suppose for accuracy you can't go wrong with all black. What I did was compromise by painting the stock all black and weathered the edges and other wear areas. I later applied a wood gel stain to those places to give the illusion of the underlying wood showing through the worn areas.

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What I did was compromise by painting the stock all black and weathered the edges and other wear areas. I later applied a wood gel stain to those places to give the illusion of the underlying wood showing through the worn areas.

And as soon as his camera is fixed, he'll post pix of what a great job he did.

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What I did was compromise by painting the stock all black and weathered the edges and other wear areas. I later applied a wood gel stain to those places to give the illusion of the underlying wood showing through the worn areas.

And as soon as his camera is fixed, he'll post pix of what a great job he did.

Tried to take pix again but either the photographer (me) or the camera suck (a 1998 model). Its ok for wide angle shots but closeups for detail come out way too dark. I try to avoid using a flash to avoid overexposure and instead use lots of lighting but still no luck. Anyway once I figure out what's wrong or get hold of a better camera I'll post what i've done.

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Slave,

Those hyperfirms look killer!

Well after tweaking my camera settings, I was able to get some half-decent pics. Please excuse the glare from the flash giving that washed-out look and doesn't do justice to my weathering attempts. Custom made the grips with a rasping file (LOTS of filing!) and sanding with 220 grit sp.

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More here:

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d168/ ... wis004.jpg

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d168/ ... wis003.jpg

ttp://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d168/t ... wis002.jpg

My gratitude goes once again to MEPD for the inspiration and helping making this a fun project.

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Brian - that is an insane amount of detail that you have done and the results are stunning.

Folks - this started as a flat slab of wood - all the details you see have been carved and built up laboriously by hand.

You should be very proud - it's a geat piece of work

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