Thank y'all. "believable", "looking like it just came out of an 18th century gunshop". That's what I really try to do. To the best of my ability make something that may not be perfect, but looks and feels like a real 18th century rifle.
Bob, it's an optical illusion, the sight leans back a bit.
Yeah, usually I leave the barrel bright... or rather I just leave it alone, handle it, rub off any excess rust with steel wool, and by the time I'm done with the gun, the barrel is already "aged" with a nice grayish "patina".
Majorjoel, the barrel is browned with some old Belgian Blue. Just heat the barrel with a torch, and wipe some of the solution on, repeating and going over the barrel until you get it evenly colored. It's a "fast rust blue" solution, you're supposed to apply it a little at a time (rather than a lot, like I did to make brown), card off rust, and boil it in water to turn it blue, then repeat until a good blue is built up. When you do it right, it will make a most pleasing deep satiny grayish black. I have only experimented with it on small parts and not done a barrel with it yet (other than browning with it!
).
I think I'll brown the pin tips before I send it out.
