Finished Project: Hitman Silverballer (aka AMT Hardballer) replica



I have yet to see a faithful replica of the Silverballer prominently featured in the Hitman series of videogames. I was further dismayed by the movie which featured of all thing a 9mm Para-Ordinance. Not to mention the abortion that turned up on Gunbroker awhile back that might as well have been done by monkeys that didn't even bothered to look for the original image of the pistol in the game.



The pistol started out as an AMT Hardballer and was basically un-shot since it was bought in the early 90's:







Then I scoured the web as well as the game itself (installed it played it and took a bunch of screenshots for myself) to find the definitive engravings on the pistol itself. What I found was that the game featured a LEFT and RIGHT version of the same pistol, something that could never be duplicated unless at great cost. There was also the detail of the grip medallions which also has the logo. I wanted to cast new medallions but in the end decided that it was a frivolous addition that would detract aesthetically from the pistol. It took me about 3 weeks to put all the images together and do a mock up of the engraving to be done.



A compilation of good source images:







Then I proceeded to do a mock up in Illustrator:







I proceeded to prep the pistol for the engraving, which involved stripping it down to the bare frame and slide and polished the flats. This was much harder than anticipated because the material was actually quite hard, there's something to be said about stainless steel durability. I ordered the correct grips and reassembled the entire thing to see how it look.



The pistol fully prepped:







It was than torn down again to the bare frame and slide and was off to the engraver for the job. My mock ups were then transferred into Corel Draw and laser engraved onto the frame and slide as it looked in the game.



Here is the result side by side with the "inspiration":











This has been a fun project since it allowed me to be creative on something that otherwise would be completely utilitarian. Hope you guys enjoy my replica. Well it took me a bit over 4 months but finally completed the darn thing. It will be put up for sale soon since I need the money to start another project. Those of you that knows what this is will love it, those that does not then it's probably not your cup of tea.I have yet to see a faithful replica of the Silverballer prominently featured in the Hitman series of videogames. I was further dismayed by the movie which featured of all thing a 9mm Para-Ordinance. Not to mention the abortion that turned up on Gunbroker awhile back that might as well have been done by monkeys that didn't even bothered to look for the original image of the pistol in the game.The pistol started out as an AMT Hardballer and was basically un-shot since it was bought in the early 90's:Then I scoured the web as well as the game itself (installed it played it and took a bunch of screenshots for myself) to find the definitive engravings on the pistol itself. What I found was that the game featured a LEFT and RIGHT version of the same pistol, something that could never be duplicated unless at great cost. There was also the detail of the grip medallions which also has the logo. I wanted to cast new medallions but in the end decided that it was a frivolous addition that would detract aesthetically from the pistol. It took me about 3 weeks to put all the images together and do a mock up of the engraving to be done.A compilation of good source images:Then I proceeded to do a mock up in Illustrator:I proceeded to prep the pistol for the engraving, which involved stripping it down to the bare frame and slide and polished the flats. This was much harder than anticipated because the material was actually quite hard, there's something to be said about stainless steel durability. I ordered the correct grips and reassembled the entire thing to see how it look.The pistol fully prepped:It was than torn down again to the bare frame and slide and was off to the engraver for the job. My mock ups were then transferred into Corel Draw and laser engraved onto the frame and slide as it looked in the game.Here is the result side by side with the "inspiration":This has been a fun project since it allowed me to be creative on something that otherwise would be completely utilitarian. Hope you guys enjoy my replica.