Closest Denix Flintlock or similar?

[Indy Magnoli]

When it comes to costuming I prefer having as close to real life as possible (so leather over vinyl, metal/wood/etc over resin...). When it comes to the flintlock it seems the options are either MR prop or a Zizzle conversion. I've handled plenty of Denix replicas and, although they are a bit "rough" compared to real firearms, they do look and feel a lot better than resin props, in my opinion (especially considering the price point). So... for my new Jack outfit, I was debating which, if any, of the Denix flintlocks would be a decent alternative. Here are my preferences:

Flintlock: Denix has a few percussion pistols that look good, but I really think the flinklock arm is an important feature.
Straight barrel: Most of Denix flintlock's have a flared "blunderbuss" type barrel... don't like 'em.
Length and basic shape: A couple pistols have good shape and details but are shorter than Jack's

So, based on the above criteria, I narrowed it down to an 18th century German flintlock:



Here's a larger photo of the brass version: http://www.bladesandbows.co.uk/ekmps/shops/bladesbows/images/18th-century-german-flintlock-pistol-2379-p.jpg

The main draw back, in my opinion, is the heavily engraved barrel and, of course, the long metal pommel piece.

My other favorite, primarily for it's simplicity (just begging for modification and personalization):



So, any other suggestions, preferences, opinions?

Kind regards,
Magnoli

[Capn_Jack_Savvy]

Agree mete. My first Jack flintlock was the German flintlock that under went some major upgrades. I darkened the wood and painted all parts a pewter Colorado. The second flintlock is the Kentucky flint. Nice shape but hes potential.

[Captain McCool]

I know exactly what you mean, and I totally agree. Wood and metal is always preferable to resin or plastic.

As for meself, I've got an older model (I believe it's Denix, but I'm not 100% on that) which is very difficult to find nowadays, and was actually produced as a replica from the film Cutthroat Island (naturally, not many were made, heh). It has, hands down, the best resemblance to Jack's pistol of any wood-and-metal, non-firing pistol ever produced, in my opinion. I know there are still a few floating around out there somewhere, but like I said, they can be difficult to find. I found mine at a local costume shop, just gathering dust in some old case, and I had to replace the hammer, which was missing for some reason.

At any rate though, if you're definitely going to do one of the ones you put up here, I'd say to go with the Kentucky, and then modify the living daylights out of it. The overall shape is very close to Jack's, and with the addition of a few details, like a new lockplate and buttcap, it would look very close indeed. In fact I know there's someone who already did just that and put up quite a few pictures around here somewhere, but I can't remember if it's on here or over on KttC. I was extremely impressed with the work he did on it.

Otherwise, if you're looking for an even higher degree of "authenticity," I would recommend looking into the FUNCTIONAL "Jack Sparrow" pistol replicas that Jeff McKay sells through the Pirate Trading Co. I use the quotes, however, because this so-called replica is not exactly perfect by any means, and would require a lot of modding to look just like Jack's. But still, it already looks closer than the two you put up here, and it does actually fire. Only drawback on that one really is the pricetag.

[Capt Jag]

Any chance of seeing a good pic of your old Denix?

[Capn_Jack_Savvy]

Here are pix of my German flintlock from 2006

[adenry]

I'm using a Denix Italian pistol Brescia, 1825:
http://www.denix.es/product?id=43&content=34&lang=en

This is what it looked like when I got it:


And this is what it looks now after a couple of small mods:


Now, the coolest thing about this flintlock I discovered just a week ago. You can actually put some of those plastic gunpowder holders for toy pistols (don't know how they're called) on the firing mechanism and you can fire it like a toy gunpowder pistol. The effect is pretty cool! You get a bang and smoke and everything!



If you have to choose between the two in your first post, definitely go with the second one!

[FrankSparrow]

I've been wondering if it is at all possible to replace the butt of a Denix with one like this

[Indy Magnoli]

Yeah, I saw that Italian one and really love the shape, but the lack of the flint-hammer is really a shame! There was a French dueling pistol that was really close as well... but no flint-hammer.

I've decided on the German flintlock and will see what mods I can do when it gets here. Stay tuned!

-Indy

[Indy Magnoli]

I got my Denix flintlock:



First thing to do was rip it apart:



Restaining the stock was simply, a little of 220 sandpaper, very dark brown stain and some elbow grease was all it needed. One of the big things I new I wanted to tweak was the flint hammer:



The original is all one piece of solid cast metal. So... I dremeled out the metal "flint" and found a small rock in my backyard:



A little grinding to reshape my "flint" and a small swatch of leather:



Added some superglue for safety and voila:



I lightly spray painted the brass parts silver, leaving a little brass showing through for a bit more depth of color. After reassembly:



Not a perfect replica by any means, but as I stayed before, I usually prefer metal and wood to resin for a more real-world feel.

Kind regards,
Magnoli

[Capt Jag]

Yeah, I saw that Italian one and really love the shape, but the lack of the flint-hammer is really a shame! There was a French dueling pistol that was really close as well... but no flint-hammer.

I've decided on the German flintlock and will see what mods I can do when it gets here. Stay tuned!

-Indy

Yeah. The thought of being able to fire a cap (plus I have brass primers for my percussion pistols that would be even louder) is nice, but the lack of the flint has made me hold off trying this. However, few people will even notice, and usually those are the people who are at the larger events that allow real firearms. I have the PTC Sparrow Pistol for such events, but something where firearms are not allowed that actually goes bang is appealing...

[Polynesian Pirate]

Great job on the Denix modifications Indy! I was planning on doing something similar, but with the Kentucky.

I was thinking of shaping my own wood body, and buying the hammer/trigger/sideplates online to make an accurate replica. But seeing it wouldn't be too hard to make a real firing weapon, I'm guessing I'd have trouble getting the parts into New Zealand (without a gun license anyway).

[Indy Magnoli]

Actually, from what I understand of NZ firearms law, blackpowder/flintlock components, etc are much easier to deal with than modern firearms. Shoot me an e-mail and I'll see what I can dig up on the subject.

[Polynesian Pirate]

Actually, from what I understand of NZ firearms law, blackpowder/flintlock components, etc are much easier to deal with than modern firearms. Shoot me an e-mail and I'll see what I can dig up on the subject.

Hmm, interesting! PM sent

[jacksadventures]

i used the 1198 and got amazing results its one of my favorite things ive ever modded really wood its been dropped by kinds and i have not had a problem with it yet!! i got the silver SA bits from, your county flintlocks

[Captain McCool]

YES! I knew it was someone around here who did that! I couldn't remember which pirate it was! I LOVE your Denix mod, Jacksadventures! I may very well have to do that one myself someday.

Incidentally, about how much would you say that whole project cost you?

[Capt Jag]

Oi mate! How about some pics of said Denix with York Co. bits mod? I'd love to see it!

[Captain McCool]

There are some in this thread:

http://www.brethrencourt.net/t233-flintlock-mod

But personally, I'd love to see more!

[jacksadventures]

thanks mate i have actually done more too it it looks pretty darn close now ill post some new pics. I love when ppl who have held the MR version hld mine because they expect it to be resin lol

[jacksadventures]

here you go it still needs some filler but this is the pistol [img][/img][img][/img][img][/img] and here are some boots i just won off ebay they will be the base of my new jack boots im going to get them sewn and will still be cheaper than caboots lol if you look at some of the shots from the movies they look perfect shape wise to me![img][/img][img][/img]

[jacksadventures]

so the hat baldric were 100% made by me the gun is modded from this[img][/img]

[jacksadventures]

And the whole thing cost probably 100 dollors I got the little bits at a discount but the parts could be cast from the zizzle that would be very cheap:)

[adenry]

That flintlock mod is just fantastic! Probably the best Jack flintlock I've seen as the MR is resin, the toys are plastic, and the real Perry London replicas never look right. And just $100 for the parts! Can't really beat that! I'm so doing this if I ever get my hands on a Kentucky flintlock (not available in my country unfortunately).

[Capt Jag]

Very nicely done - I applaud you sir...

Now I'm kind of wishing I had tried this with a real black powder pistol instead of shelling out the doubloons for the lesser accuracte Pirate Trading Co. CJS pistol. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice pistol, but it was a pretty penny and not as accurate as it could have been...

I'd still like to get a Denix pistol for those places I can't carry the real deal, and I'd like to find a way to mod the percussion lock to look more like a flintlock but still allow me to fire caps on it for a bit of bang.

Hmmm....sounds like a Spring Break project coming up...

[adenry]

Yeah, after using caps with my Denix percussion cap pistol, I was more than pleased with the effect. I was thinking about the possibility to mod a flintlock mechanism to use caps rather than modding a percussion mechanism to look like a flintlock mechanism. I went to a local Denix shop the other day and looked at the flintlock mechanisms, and I think it's possible.

[Captain McCool]

Also, it occurs to me that if you want a functional pistol that's more accurate, you may just be able to modify a real Kentucky flintlock in a similar way to how jacksadventures modded the Denix replica Kentucky.

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