It’s almost done. After all these years, the end of the project is near.
The results are far better than I expected. Having the accessories matching the same effects of the rest of the gun makes it look a lot better.
Even the sights don’t look so bad but I am still not fully convinced.
About the sights, they propose a new solution.
They work with a company that is highly specialised in “indestructible painting jobs”. This paint will add a layer thick as a paper to the sights which is very good but whatever finish or defects the sights have it will show under the paint like it was made over it.
The metal effect of my sights are brushed just like the rest of the gun, painting over will show as this effect was given after painting on them. Not a problem at all and I believe this might really look wonderful.
But it looks wonderful even with the sights silver so I have to think this thru very carefully. Only problem is that I have to wait at least 3 months for this kind of work. I waited all this time 3 more months is nothing.
There is a problem however. The painting job I requested didn’t turned out as I expected. The color is too silver, almost white and that isn’t good.
They have to make some tests on a part I’m willing to sacrifice to achieve a much more darker tone.
I want something dark grey like a stone. It would look a lot better not to say perfect.
The pictures doesn’t show but this disturbs me more than it should.
At the end of my talks with Vincenzo, the director of this place where they make the Silverballer come true, he gifted me something.
A leather dairy. He said to me “passions like yours should be rewarded. Take this. So you can write down all your notes and details”
I’m writing nothing on it. Too beautiful to be ruined.
At the end of this month I will contact another place to talk about my next project. I am very confident there shouldn’t be any problems to create what I have in mind and even quite quickly.
Vincenzo send me some pics the other day of the color I am trying to achieve and I have mix feelings about it.
I asked for a grey “stone” tone and it seems they deliver that quite well. As a model to follow I told them to use the Mark 2 but now, from the pictures, it seems a bit too dark. Vincenzo said its more or less about the lighting. I might end up really loving it because I still have to see it in person which I will soon.
Chances are I am on the right track and if not they only tried the paint on the slide to see if I like it first before proceeding on the rest of the gun.
My version will have the sides polished on both frame and slide.
This is what I’m trying to achieve:
So I have enjoyed reading this thread…Here is a fun fact. I just bought an AMT Hardballer c.1985
It is Agent 47’s actual gun
Its serial number is A01538. I wonder if he is looking for it.
I was so psyched when I figured this out. I think I am going to do the Pachmayr (sp?) grips in rosewood. Need to find another stainless slide and polish the slide. I will do the extended safety and such as well.
I have one too, I put the green coloured American legend grips on it, but I kinda want to get purple now. Pachmayr used to make lots of variations but recently I have only seen light and dark wood coloured ones. Have you been to the range to figure out if your hardballer runs well or if it is just a really cool paperweight?
I pick it up Wednesday (stupid 7 day wait in my state). I may polish the feed ramp and clean up some of the problem areas. I also bought a Remington R1 1911 as well. I bought out part of a collection. This one was a surprise when we looked up the serial and all of the references popped up.
Don’t polish the feed ramp until you put a box of hollow points through her (or until you realise you can’t do so). You might get lucky and it’ll just run like a Swiss watch. You’ll have to post a photo once you get the legend grips. Anyway now we’re off topic.
Hey @badeaguard do you have more than one magazine for your replicas? I saw the in one photo you have a bumper pad magazine, but I’m just curious if you can swap them between your replicas or how all that works?
I used to try and create the ICA19 Silverballer but was on quite the hiatus. I revisited this thread and Badeaguard’s dedication inspired me to continue my efforts.
When I left I had ordered several handgun parts that were more alike the Silverballer, but since they were all meant for the WE MEU Tactical 1911, they were all dyed in black. Meaning I had to sand off all of the paint to get it to look like its original metal colour.
Problem is now they all look pretty scratched up from all the sanding so I’m in the process of buying different metal spray paints to see if any of them will match the gun’s original colour and protect them from weathering.
I’d like to thank Alex once again for providing me with essential help for the first part of my project. As well as gifting me the magazine which also fits perfectly with this build.
Hello! How have you been?
Some scratches might look good. Gives the impression of being used but I do understand why you might not like it. From the pictures it doesn’t look bad at all.
Have you tried searching for other WE pistols that have the accessories you need in silver? One thing you can do is buy another pistol just for that one part you need.
And what about engravings? Have you figured that out?
Thank you Sorry for replying so late.
Your replica is 80% complete with this detail Really a great luck.
The best thing about owning a real Hardballer is that you have all the accessories right without the need to create them. You have the exact extended slide and thumb safety, the right magazine base, the right trigger and so on.
The sight rib is different but after all the one in the Silverballer is reinvented so that isn’t a problem.
All it is left to do is to just engrave it
I’ve been doing a lot better. Had to take a prolonged break from my projects because of reasons, but glad to be back. I’m happy to see you’re still very engaged in your own pursuits!
Well the scratches aren’t really flush which doesn’t match the rest of the gun which has a more smooth finish:
Moreover, I’ve noticed from sanding the base of the magazine you gave me years ago, that the metal underneath will eventually react to what I assume is just the air (since it’s been kept in a display case during all this time) and turn a murky, dark grey which doesn’t match with the gun at all. (Wish I had some pictures to show this, but I already sanded it off again.) So I’m assuming this will happen to all the parts if I don’t do something about it.
Hence the spray paint. I found a good looking one that would match the pistol, it’s an aluminum spray paint that looks really good on test sprays I’ve done on spare parts. So I’m thinking to cover all the parts in this paint, and then coat them with protective clear coating for extra shine and to prevent them from any weathering that could possibly occur over time. Here’s some pictures I took just now:
Also planning on spraying the grip screws with this paint since they’ve weathered and rusted in the meantime as well. Although I’d rather try and find the circular screws that the ICA19 has, but have had no luck finding any yet:
(Sorry for the replies, but since I’m a new account, it won’t let me add more than one picture, and also I can’t reply more than three times so I’ll have to wait until I can post the rest of my update.)
It looks good and you have nice craft skills. At the end of the day it’s important that you like what you accomplished.
Now about those grip screws. I remember well how they are on the WE and they are not how the look in the ICA picture. Try searching online and from there by providing your gun’s measurements you can buy a patch. Probably even custom.
It seems like you need something like this, hex screw.
Also the grips, if you want to make that extra mile to truly make it look identical you can buy these 2 grips and combine them.
Wooden grips like this can be bought on ebay cheap tipping 1911 Wood grips.
There is a modification on the top of the rubber grip to be done. You just have to cut 20% of it circa.
But combining those too you really get the ICA’s identical grip.
Look at that Thanks for sharing. It seems that this company could make lots of things even Hitman custom parts and they also have a very good quality engraving machine.
I have a set of wicked grips, and I have a bunch of their gemstone screws, but I have never looked to see if they do other stuff. Their aluminium grips are super sleek. I had them make me a Chicago flag set that I love. I’ll get a photo of them when I get home from work later.
It seems like a risky move to buy a pistol just for two, possibly three, parts only for them to possibly end up not fitting on mine. That would turn out to be an expensive mistake.
Not yet, but some time ago I’ve read that someone ended up engraving their pistol deep enough for them to be able to fill in the gaps with black nail polish, ending up in a pretty faithful replica. I would like to try this, except I’m not sure how the metal would react to the laser, or nail polish (including the nail polish remover to wipe away the excess). I would hate to see my slide ruined by any possible discoloration around the area of engraving.
After that the only thing really missing are the grip medallions, but I’ll probably save that for last since I have my hands full as it is for the meantime.
I immediately noticed they ship internationally, thank you so much for referring me to this company.
The thin hex screws look very sleek, but they’re advertised as fitting on their thin grips, so I imagine I’ll have to opt for the regular size ones. It’s pretty late now, I’ll check first thing tomorrow morning what size my grip screws are, but I’m betting they’re regular size. Thanks again!
Can’t wait anymore to finish it once and for all.
Sorry for replying so late.
Really a great luck.
Thanks for sharing. It seems that this company could make lots of things even Hitman custom parts and they also have a very good quality engraving machine.