Kokusai S&W M29-2 8 3/8" AF 1985 - Momocampo mod

Kokusai S&W M29-2 8 3/8" AF 1985 Momocampo mod

Once upon the time, a gold Kokusai S&W M29 Model Gun.


This piece of playgun history was made in 1985 based on its real steel big brother, the Smith & Wesson M29-2, well-known for being the most powerful punk threatener.
This model has an impressive 8 3/8" barrel and an A.F. "adjustable front sight" I've only seen on 10" S&W M29 Silhouette revolver. It's all metal but the plastic grips, 1369g heavy and was delivered in a N.O.S. level. (thanks again JohnnyV)
Japanese law from 1971 required the japanese model guns manufacturers to paint their products so they can't be mistaken with real weapons. But here in Europe our laws don't prevent us from stripping off this bling-bling-ness.
Thanks to this forum and especially Momocampo experience, I took my 3M pad and got rid of the history.

Military & Polish.


The gold plating stripping was fairly easy for the main part, but the 3M pad was totally useless when it came to details and small/narrow areas.

But yeah, I felt lucky as the hot topic of last week and Momocampo help (again) gave me all the answers I needed.
So if it had to be said again: Autosol polish compound + toothbrush and cloth work did the trick.

Rebirth

So here it is, my metal M29 in its glorious silver finish:



Markings are deep and clean and I like the KS logo on the frame a lot. It's a shame the logo on the grips doesn't match it or vice versa.


Some parts are left in gold either on purpose either cause I still can't figure out how to strip them off - like say the remaining gold in the markings. I'm in no hurry. I like the look of the revolver as it is for now.
One cartridge had an issue and blocked the revolving process. Took me a while to figure out it was the cartridge, and that the top part of the cartridge had to be glued.

Kokusai vs Tanaka

Sadly, due to a different cylinder blocking system shape, the cartridges on the metal Kokusai are shorter than on the Kokusai HWABS version and on the Tanaka's version. The M29 Tanaka cylinder doesn't fit the Kokusai frame, while the Kokusai HWABS cylinder does.


The A.F. is totally useless, but although I would have prefer a more classic front sight, I don't hate it.

Despite some details such as the A.F., the unmatching logos, the plastic grips and the smaller cartridges, this is my favorite piece in my collection for now. it's heavy and its silver finish is beautiful. I was previously planning to blue it but I love it like that. (Thanks to Dronne bad experience). The parts are finely detailed and the metal click is baller.
It just makes me want more.

Speaking of more, I'll achieve this review with additional pics:


Here with a 1978 all-metal Kokusai Military & Police (aka M10)



And finally with my 1987 metal Kokusai Colt Python.

 

Well done mate, very very beautiful work.
I just give you some advices but it's not me who did the work.
Un grand bravo !
;-)

Dronne: I know how it feels , having messed up with very expensive things before. You showed some serious perseverance, I know you'll find a solution, and it will look great in the end.
Cerwyn: Thanks a lot !!! I recently bought a macro lens, so I need to use it as much as possible.  
And having a place to share about my love for those beautiful things without being thought as a pyscho is a real treat.
Momocampo: Thanks !!! Some advices will still save days of mistakes. And as far as I know the first un-golded Kokusai model gun I've seen was yours. So it's the "Momocampo mod" in my book.

I like gold version...

...and I like polished one too, your job looks very nice :-)

Hi,
I'm impressed by the high quality of your photos. They are splendid.

Thanks Dronne! Very appreciated!
I've shared my process on the photo topic if you wanna know more.

New photo, new process:


It's all explained here here.