COLT NAVY/ARMY

Colt pistols of that era came in so many different configurations that trying to determine whether navy or army is difficult. Most of these revolvers seem to have been produced with hexagon barrels. The one I moulded here appears to be a rarity - but who knows?  

This one with the round barrel usually has a different ramrod set-up. Maybe if someone reads my blog they will be able to correct me. 

Colour is all important. I emailed my gun pictures to Annie and on her computer and adjusted the colour - something I couldn't do on mine. Amazingly the guns took on a beautiful gun barrel blue colour,in reality they look black although I added blue when mixing the paint.

MY FAVORITE

The Colt 45 single action revolver is undoubtably the worlds most famous handgun.
It of course was the first one I chose to mould. The moulding process I prefer to keep to myself. It took a few tries to get it right. To obtain a good mould I had to dissemble the gun and remove the cylinder to start with. I did this with the other guns as well. The process is quite involved. First moulding it,then cleaning off the burrs and sanding it. Painting comes next - and it took quite a few attempts to get the colour right especially the look-alike timber butt. Framing it meant buying top quality framing gear.

NICOLE AND DAVE'S DOWNSFIELD

Special thanks to Dave and Nicole. We had a great time. Everything from motorbikes to shooting cane toads. It was my birthday on Tuesday and they put on a great seafood dinner for Annie and I.

I was presented with a new saddle blanket,a bridle and breastplate to go with my saddle. Now all I need is a horse. Annie took up some dollies and trinkets for the girls. They had a lot of fun with them. Does anyone have a spare horse?

MY MAGNIFICENT MACHINE

Here it is my new but old YAMAHA XJ650 FOUR.

I suppose in a way I'm trying to recapture my youth. I suppose that's why old men buy motorbikes,

This style of bike has always been my style of bike-big,tough looking,no frills,four cylinders and the rest. Certainly not to-days style,but to me the quintessential motorbike.

Dave is going to register in Queensland for me. This will take a week or two. Can't wait to pick it up!

ANNIE & STEVE DO GYMPIE

Annie and I drove up to Downsfield (near Gympie ) from Annie's to see Nicole, Dave and the kids. We had a great time and stayed overnight. Gympie's not that impressive but Downsfield - about 20kms out, is. Typical green valleys and dense vegetation. The highlight of the trip for me being I bought a motorbike. Dave and I set out to see it using a map ( 50 kms ) but when we entered it in the Navman found it to be only 19kms. Well what a trip. The back roads it took us on turned into tracks complete with flooded creek crossings. After enduring the tracks and crossings in sometimes torrential rain we couldn't get the bike started. We rang the guy next morning to find he had got it started (only fuses), took it for a ride and bought it.

DISPLAYING MY GUNS

I've showed all my guns on the left side (including the peacemaker ) as most of them show up better on that side. The Peacemaker I moulded on both sides, the right side being better than the left. It also seems to appeal to more people as that's the one they mostly choose to buy.

ALL MY GUNS

Handgun replicas being illegal in New South Wales I bought six replicas in Queensland.  A Colt Peacemaker, Pocket Colt, Colt Python, Colt 45 1911A Auto, Colt Dragoon and Colt Army.

After moulding them all at Annie's I took the moulds back to the Hideaway.  

FRAMED HANDGUNS

After Annie moved the banana state and the Hideaway was in order my thoughts turned to income in my retirement. Always having a fascination for handguns and especially the Colt 45 Peacemaker I decided to mould one and frame it.

IN THE BEGINNING

About 18 months ago my wife and I set up in the bush above Wollongong NSW in a place everyone refers to as '' The Hideaway''. It's only a tin shed really, but through hard work and at some cost we made it quite habitable. Annie preferred Gold Coast living in Queensland and moved up there. Since then we've had what we consider the best of both worlds and move between the beach and the bush.