Denix replicas made to fire caps

Hi Guys. Just thought I would tell you that it is quite possible to modify the Denix replica pistols (older style models) to fire off the red plastic kid caps.
Being very interested in the Old American West, I bought a Denix Colt Peacemaker pistol & a Smith & Wesson Model 3 pistol, both nickel plated as I think this looks the best for these cheap replicas. Where i live, we are very limited in the choice of replica guns available, Denix pretty much being the only ones available.
Well, I wanted these guns to make some sort of noise & smoke, so set to work.
For the Peacemaker, I managed to drill a small hole into the hammer where the firing pin would be, & pushed in a small diameter steel rod, which has to be the correct length of course. Then, to hold the plastic caps in each chamber, there are several different ways you can do this. I chose to enlarge each chamber, using a file, as I did not want to pull apart the whole gun to get the cylinder out. Have heard this can be a real pain. Unfortunately, using a file takes a long time & effort. I resized them so a .32 cal empty cartridge would fit in. Yes I know, this is a safety issue, I would not do this if you have any real live ammo at all, which I do not. I used an empty cartridge because I found if you punch out the used primer cap, the hole left is the exact correct size to fit a red plastic cap into, a very good fit. All you have to do then is to screw a small diameter screw into the cap firing hole, so the screw head is inside the cartridge, & adjust it so the end of the screw is level with the outer rim of the cartridge base. Push a plastic cap into the end of the cartridge, & if the firing pin is the correct length, the cap will fire very well, louder than a regular cap gun because of the strong hammer spring. I also cut a slot into each cartridge base to vent more gas out, preventing the cap from popping out too much & jamming the mechanism.
For the Smith & Wesson, once again a firing pin was added, but a hole had to be drilled for the firing pin to go through. I used solid fake brass cartridges instead, without resizing the cylinder holes. Fires caps very well too.
For a bigger effect, you can use starting pistol caps, big flash & very big bang, not to be used in urban areas at all !!
Anyway, I had lots of fun doing this.
Cheers, Chris.

Good on ya mate!

Nice to hear from someone else who is modding Denixs.

I've almost finished my Denis Webley mods to use PFC cartridges.
I'll probably post some photos later this week.

Kt would be good to see some pics of your Denixs.

Keep up the good work!

Kiwigunner

Hi Kiwigunner.
Great to hear you have done a similar thing. Unfortunately I cannot easily obtain PFC carts where I live, so have used the cheap plastic caps. Still not bad, of course the flash & smoke come out from the back of the cylinder instead of out the barrel. A real gun should never do this ! Another thing, the guns need to be well cleaned after every firing stint, just like real guns, otherwise the cap residue really jams things up & causes corrosion. And keep it well oiled.
I can post some pics soon too. Cheers, Chris.

Hi Guys.
Here are a few pics of my test firing of the Denix Peacemaker using a starting cap.
First one is with the cap placed the correct way round to create maximum noise, viewed
from behind.





Second one is of the peacemaker with the cap placed upside down, I found this creates a bigger
flash effect, but not as much noise.




Third one is of the peacemaker looking side on. Yes, I know, there is no flash out the end of the barrel
at all.... I really need PFC cartridges for this, but they are hard to find where I live....




Cheers, Chris.

Nice pictures :-) Even if the side view is not so realistic, I still like the overall effect :-)

How did you take picture at the right moment?

To get the pictures, I filmed the whole sequence in HD with my ipod touch, then just extracted the frame with the
best flash effect in it (only lasts 2 frames anyway). The starter caps also create a fair bit of smoke too, which looks
nice in daylight. Good for the older model guns that used black powder, they were very smokey.

Much smarter than trying to press the shutter at the right moment :-)

The Denix Webley

NOTE: These mods are purely to fire PFC caps. The very soft Zinc alloy Denix makes its replicas from precludes firing ANYTHING else.

Well, I've finally found time to get the mods done as mentioned in my previous post '">https://mp40modelguns.forumotion.net/t2581-new-models-from-denix?highlight=DENIX;''
but I'll be posting them in two sections. One now - the other one later. '

PART ONE
Here are the initial mods:

TAKING THE WEBLEY APARTEasy to strip down - only one mainspring, which is easy to remove and replace.


BORING THE CYLINDER FROM 9mm to 10mm
The first modification was to bore out the cylinder to accept the Marushin Enfield PFC cartidges.
Easy tasy provided you have a drill-press and vice! Gently does it, the Denix pot meta is very soft !!
l

PREPARING THE HAMMER
Next on the list is to prepare the hammer for a firing pin. I chose to cut a slot and make a pin hole to hold it.


THE FIRING PIN
Then I chose a piece of 1.5mm steel to make the firing pin. I chose MILD steel as the prototype. Easy to work with and adjust. Later I could either temper it or make one out of something harder using it as a template.


Which I marked out with a black felt-tip marker pen



Now for the tricky bit. ''
The pin has to enter the "Shield" face to reach the PFC cartridges.
It also has to be just the correct length to strike the cap detonator. Too short and it won't detonate. Too long and it will bend and/or break.

ENTERING THE SHIELD
Using my Marushin Enfield cap gun as a guide I drilled a hole in the approximate place.


Then I partially assembled the Webley to check clearances. So far so good. ''



The I reassembled the Webley and check for operation and fit!

(to be continued.......)

KIWIGUNNER

PART TWO ''

Installing the firing pin requires attention to detail:



After the initial det pin installation I found the access hole in the shield was TOO SMALL. ''
So I changed it to a slot (on both halves). The clearance was fine now!


Check for rotation - WELL without installing more internals it's a matter of luck where the cylinder will actually STOP! Pity Denix didn't install a cylinder lock. ''

Well now we're ready to load some caps. ''


Test firing
1. The hammer doesn't strike with enough force on a normal trigger pull. I might put a secondary spring on the hammer - if I can be bothered! ''

2. But it works every time by manually pulling back and releasing it. Quite loud with a 7mm PFC cap - and smoke drifts out the barrel. '

3. The Stirrup catch has a dummy spring, so it tends to work loose after a while! Replacing the dummy with a real one would fix it.....but how far do you go with modifications??? I guess it's up to the individual - but it looks like the Denix Webley is capable of upgrading to a better working replica.

For now, this will do! A Denix Webley that does go "BANG!" and is more than a wall hanger! ''
Kiwigunner

And a video clip:

You can see the initial misfire; then the need to align the next cartridge (it over rotated); then finally the hammer-pull and detonation!

A quick Video:
https://s890.photobucket.com/albums/ac108/kiwigunner/Videos%20-%20Guns/?action=view&current=DexinWebley.mp4


And here's a still frame at detonation! ''



I guess other Denix revolvers with a cylinder lock would work better, as Spectre has done! ''

Kiwigunner

Ok, here is a pic of my Denix Colt 1860 Army firing a plastic cap. Very easy to get these models to fire a cap, just fixed a
small steel screw on the front of the hammer. I find that the Chinese made plastic caps are much louder than the Taiwanese
made ones. I found the Chinese caps in a local $2 bargain shop, have not seen them in any other stores.