Not even sure where to post this…Just wanted some input on this idea…seems a waste of time as I’m typing this. Keep in mind this is a prototype: brass may be too large for .45, angle of ejection ect… ect. Of course there are the considerations of muzzle flash and smoke. I will say this looks much better to the unaided eye. It is bits of wire glued to a dam cat hair…now it really sounds hoakie…Has anyone pulled this off? let me know what you think…
I don’t think it’s going to work. The spent cartridges look too large and you’re still fgoingh to see the hair. The shells don’t go that far, either. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KOgOEvhrbw]Here’s a clip from a machine gun shoot in which one person frires a Thompson on full auto. Note: this is the show where the kid accidently shot himself, but there’s no indication of it on the clip and it’s not the same kid in the clip.
I’m afraid your right…Again it was just a test, thanks for your honest feedback, exactly what I wanted.[:D]
What about trying a smaller gauge for the shells and a clear filament to connect them? Or maybe a blonde hair …
… or not. I wouldn’t want to try and explain to my wife why I need to talk to her blonde friend!
Just my [2c]…
Fishing line possibly?
Sterno,
Try fusing wire from a laser printer or copier. I got a roll from a friend of mine that services these machines and the stuff is hair fine, its wire so it bendable and rigid, and can be painted black to make it less noticeable. I use it for real fine arials on small scale aircraft and for other fine detail wire work.
I think it’s a cool concept- if you could make it work that’d be awesome! I’d try a similar set up- just put the finished product into a shadow box with some forced perspective, paint the wire black and put it against a black backgroun- mussle flash- a grain of wheat bulb surrounded by some cotton- you could make it a dusk/night dio
Wait till Hans get’s a hold of this idea- he’s all about some shadow boxes [:P]
I think if you take some of the advise about smaller shells, smaller wire and a more accurate arc- you’ll be good to go!
Well it is a great concept. I do hope it can be pulled off successfully. Just a side note. The .45 ACP cartridge, as you are probably aware, is a pistol round, the spent brassshould be a tad bit shorter. If you want a good idea of extraction pattern, try watching the railway embankment firefight seen in “Battleground”. James Whitmore’s charecter uses a Thompson and you will see many casings in the air as he fires off bursts.
Thank you guys for the input…Yes I’m aware that the brass is large (I own a Glock 21) and the arc may be innacurate, the thomson was just the first weapon I picked up. They look more like Garand shells[:D]…just testing the concept. I was more worried about hidding the material used to hold the shells…I used the smallest thing I had, a cat hair…Thanks again fellas
I have NEVER thought about using a grain of wheat!!! Great!?! Now armed with this knowledge and the idea of suspending casings, I’m off to my next idea … this one will make #5 on the workbench.
DANG IT, psstoff, stop putting thoughts into my head!!!
Thanks for the start up idea Stern0. You don’t mind if I run with it for a bit do you?
Run with it my friend…would love to see what you come up with…good advice from prev posts! Hope to come up with something workable…good luck
As much as I’d love to take credit- all my knowledge on the grain of wheat bulbs and shadow boxes comes straight from Shep Paine’s book of Diorama “How To’s”
Hans knows all about that one
haha hope you don’t mind the addition to the workbench [:)]
It’s a curse that I must burden … alone … until the write-up comes to the forum. Then it’s all on you! HAAHA
Grain of wheat bulbs are good, but never underestimate the power of fibre optics. [8D]
I’d use fiberglass or spun glass “Angel Hair” with the GOW bulb for muzzle-flash… It’ll actually transmit a portion of the light ala fiber optics, and reflect some more, way more than cotton.
Hans … do you have some posted pics of that?
Now THAT sounds cool- good call
Sadly, no… I built that box almost twenty years ago, way before there was any digital photo cameras, everything was on film, and I never could afford a good SLR camera, the film, and the developing costs to photograph models…
Wish I’d been able to photo all my stuff back then…
Hans, that’s too bad. Can you explain how you used the fiber glass threads? They should work well if teamed with FO lighting, right?
I just took the angel hair from a Christmas tree topper… I pulled a bit of it out of the larger ball and just kinda “fanned” it into a rough cone-shape. I used a GoR (Grain of Rice) bulb instead of a GoW (GoR bulbs are smaller) and glued it to the gun’s muzzle. I then glued the 'glass over the bulb and shaped it a bit more until it looked like a flash, trimming it here & there, until I was happy with it. Always glue on more than you think you’ll need, BTW…
I ran the wires down the back-side (out of sight to the viwer), and back to power source. If I had it to do over, I’d use LEDs though… Bulbs burn out. Especially if you put 9 volts thrugh one… [:)]
When you use LEDs, remember to tie in a 1/2 watt resistor to soak off some voltage. They WILL fry if you hit 'em with too much juice. Also, wire your lighting in a parallel cicuit rather than a series. In a parallel circuit, if one bulb goes out, the rest will stay lit. In a series, if one goes out, ALL go out, which, if nothing else, is a PITA to find the culprit…
For power, I use a model railroad transformer, the kind that come with train sets (I hunt garage sales for stuff like that), but you can build your own rheostat fairly easily, or just buy 'em from Radio Shack or the like… You could even use the wall-switch types used for 115/120 v lighting, just put it in FRONT of the transformer, rather than between your tranny and lights. I prefer rheostats in order to control the brightness and to extend bulb-life.