[darkwriter77]

So, I've been seeing online that they sell these 80% lower kits, complete with 80% grip frame and all the bits needed to finish it, for around $150. They look to be molded like those Lone Wolf style frames, which give the pistol a slightly different ("conventional" 1911-ish) grip angle and a flared mag well, and appear to be sized for a G17/G22 slide. Of course, I don't really have a NEED, per se, for yet another full-sized 9mm or .40 S&W carry piece, especially another Glock, and the idea of carrying a non-serialized pistol just seems like it has the potential to create more headaches than it's worth. (Say you get pulled over, hand over your pistol when asked by the officer, and when he tries to run the serial number and finds there is none, wackiness ensues as he won't likely know ATF laws regarding "manufacture" of firearms for personal use. )

Anyhoooo, while watching the series "Dark Matter" a week or two ago (one of the few good shows to ever come outta the Sci-Fi Channel, IMHO), I noticed some of the characters were using modified Glocks with G34/G35 uppers, a G26 grip, and two magazine adapters stacked to make it a G17 length grip, in addition to the other spacey stuff they'd added onto the front. (Most of the pistols in the show appear to be Glocks or XD's with extra stuff tacked on.) I dunno why, but the overall thing looked kinda nifty in a way. Kinda reminded me of a super-sized version of the XDS 4.0" - the whole short lower, long upper kinda setup - and it especially looks a LOT like the Silencerco Maxim 9. Found a pic of the prop gun's original concept mock-up, just imagine the front end painted black:

Sooooo, I got to thinkin' ... hmmmm ... $150 for a grip frame is kinda cheap, and even when you figure in the cost of a complete slide/barrel assembly (I've seen used ones listing for like $200 to $300, depending on model), it's still cheaper than a new complete Glock. And I'm less likely to feel bad about cutting up or potentially ruining a grip frame if it's one that I "made" and it's relatively cheap. So, if I wanted to try my hand at doing a grip reduction mod on that, stacking mag adapters, and then adding either an OEM Glock or aftermarket (Lone Wolf?) G34 length upper, I'd have a fully functional "movie gun" to mess around with at the range. I mean, it's no "Robocop" Beretta or anything, but still ... the nerd in me finds this idea appealing.

Anyone else here ever considered making (or already has) a "movie gun" for a range toy or display piece?

 

[darkwriter77]

Ummm ... no? Anyone? Nobody? Seriously? I'm the only guy who ever saw a sci-fi show and thought, "Heyyyyy, I'd like to build/own one of those things" in their lifetime?

 

[CJP32]

I see where you're going with it. Another good reason to use the 80% is if it doesn't go right you won't be out an entire gun, you can just buy another and start over.

I'll admit that I've bought guns because of something I've seen in a movie. In the late 90s when I was first getting into them I saw shotguns with the full length magazine tube. The first shotgun I got was my winchester 1300 defender for just that reason.

I also really wanted the pre-judge 410 revolver from Three Kings. I never got that one but I did pick up a judge.

 

[darkwriter77]

I did a bit of thinking today - yes, it hurt my brain, and smoke came out of my ears - and I think it might actually be more economical to buy a police trade-in Glock 22 and modify that than it would be to build up an 80% lower. I mean, most trade-ins are already kind of beat-up from carry/use, so it'll probably need a going-over anyhow (cosmetically, if not mechanically), and they can be had for pretty darned cheap ... significantly cheaper than a completed 80% lower. Those Poly80 kits cost $150, but then you've got to add in the cost of the lower parts kit (around $100), plus a complete upper slide (around $250+ lately), which put it right at $500; a lot of police trade-in G22's go for at least $100 cheaper than that, so it might be a cheaper starting point. But then you run into the issue of cutting the frame of a serialized gun and, if it gets boogered up in the process, wellllllll ... strip it apart and sell the guts and slide assembly on eBay or something to recoup expenses, I guess? And then there's the added costs of all the bits to add onto the thing to make it look the part of a sci-fi pew-pew. And plus the fact that all of the aftermarket G34/G35 slides I've seen are stupid-expensive, while the factory ones are just so ... well ... factory-looking...

Meh. Crud. More I think of it, the less this is sounding like a realistically do-able thing.

 

[Pinstriper]

Top Movie Guns I'd Buy:

1) Planet of the Apes .30 Carbine kit (Original)
2) Logan's Run sidearms
3) Battlestar Gallactica sidearms (Original)
4) The bitchin' gun from Aliens that was part SAW/part flamethrower/part grenade launcher
5) Old School Startrek pocket phaser - the one that looks like a cricket cell phone
6) Wasn't there something special about the Mac-10 that Snake Plisken had, besides being silenced ? Seemed like the rounds were explosive tipped or something.
7) Phased plasma rifle in the 40W range

 

[HitManX]

7) Phased plasma rifle in the 40W range

. I like this.

 

[Beastly]

I'm like to improve my nominal fabrication skills, maybe someday 80% lowers would be a good goal. I tend to overdo things though and do I really need a gazillion lowers?

 

[FLT]

I'm like to improve my nominal fabrication skills, maybe someday 80% lowers would be a good goal. I tend to overdo things though and do I really need a gazillion lowers?

Most likely not, but I don't think a dozen or so would hurt anything.

 

[darkwriter77]

Yeah, I really don't wanna start with 80% lowers of AR's because I know what kinda dark path that could lead me down. Next thing I know, I'm building a 10th AR because I'll have one that's all A2-style Vietnam-era, one that's an M4-wannabe, one that's strictly for playing with a bump-fire stock, one set up for 9mm, one for 7.62x39, one that's a dedicated .22 LR and all the goofy crap needed to make THAT simple conversion work reliably, one that's dedicated for a .50 BMG upper for God-knows-what-reason, one that's for close-range stuff, one strictly for long-range stuff, one that's ... ummm ... tan, or something ...

You can see where this is going.

Then again, the same probably could be said for Glock lowers, too. Only difference is that building up a Glock appears to be more expensive than building an AR, which strikes me as being kinda silly. I mean, maybe buy a police trade-in G22 and then start swapping out the guts and add every whizbang upgrade you can think of until the only Glock-original parts on it are the actual slide and frame ... or maybe just the frame. I know it's possible to make a "100% zero-Glock Glock" with Lone Wolf parts, but good grief, has anyone ever actually priced that? You'd be looking at like a $1,500 Glock ... which is in the realm of ridiculousness shared by people that own $2,000 1911's and AR's and such.

Anyway...

The how-to vids I've watched for the Poly80 kits make it seem pretty idiot-simple, enough that even someone like myself could probably manage to pull it off without mangling it (much). And now they've got G19-sized 80% lowers, which makes it additionally appealing because then I might not even need to really bother with cutting down the frame much, if at all, it achieve the "cosmic whizbang pew-pew" look. I dunno. Maybe this is one of those things where I should just disregard the whole "how do I justify this expense" issue (up to a point) and just do it for the sake of doing it ... and because there's really not a whole lot currently or soon to hit the market that really appeals to me, anyway. I'm thinking one of these bolt-on optic mount thingies might be a good means of attaching other material to give the rest of the gun that squared-off look I'm going for:

Maybe take some kydex, drill it and run the bolts through it, trim/form it as needed, and voila! Space pew-pew.

Two other guns from shows (that are popular with Über-nerds) that share the same squared-off nose-heavy look, now that I think of it...

The "Dominator" in "Psycho Pass":

And the "Lawgiver" from the original "Judge Dredd":