Like bourbon and barbecue, or bacon and more bacon, custom guns and classic cars just go good together. The first time you turn over a freshly rebuilt engine—the straight headers pounding your chest, pissing off neighbors and rattling garage doors—feels similar to pulling the trigger for the first time on a custom rifle built piece by piece under the buzzing fluorescent lights of your friend’s shop. Both situations are driven by the need to set yourself apart, to be different, to be unique. Some people get it; some people don’t.
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So when we decided to have Pat McNamara spread his metallic awesomeness all over the fall 2018 issue of Ballistic Magazine, we knew that we had to bring a little noise ourselves.
Keeping in line with the heavy metal/muscle car theme, we reached out to David Teves at MAD Custom Coating and Michael Sigouin of Blowndeadline to customize a pair of Sig Sauer MCX Rattler pistols. These two guys have known each other since about the time they started in the custom finishing world, and they thought it’d be fun to collaborate on this project. (Michael has a background in graphic design and supplied David with custom vinyl stencils before becoming a full-time coater himself.) I think the results speak for themselves.
Their inspiration started, as with many things these days, with an internet search. “We both knew we wanted to do a cool muscle car color,” David said. “But red is overdone, black is cool, but all guns come in black, white is boring, and let’s face it—nobody really likes orange.” Eventually the two settled on Tyrol Blue, a Pontiac factory color from 1967, based on an image Michael found online.
Trying to get as close as possible to the color base only on the photograph, the two used a mixture of Sky Blue, Robin’s Egg Blue, Zombie Green and Satin Aluminum to match the teal/turquoise. For highlights, they chose Satin Aluminum for the small parts and for the logos, and Hidden White for the rails. I have not seen the photo of the car they were working with, but based on these guns, I have to believe that it was probably rocking a white roof.
That New Gun Smell
“Battle worn” is basically a manlier way of referring to the style of faux-patina painting commonly seen in the hot rod world. So it didn’t surprise me when Michael, who used to work in the automotive sector in Detroit (turn to page 124 to learn more on that), would use this styling as a way to creatively set these guns apart. The red/brown base layering from Blowndeadline does a great job hinting at rust and the red-oxide primer coloration fancied by rodders, and the overall flat finish brings everything together nicely.
In contrast, David and the crew at MAD Custom Coating went for a shiny new look. The smooth bright blue holds all the depth and perfection of a freshly restored classic. The final step of spraying a gloss clear coat gives the impression of something that should be kept dust free on a showroom floor, surrounded by weary sales clerks raising eyebrows at sticky-fingered children who happen to wander too close. Watch your buddies closely on range day—a “door ding” would be tragic on this beauty.
To enter for a chance to win these stunning Sig Sauer MCX Rattler PSB (Pistol Stabilizing Brace) pistols, make sure you visit BallisticMag.com/win-rattlers.
And to see more great custom work and get started on your own hot-rod-style rifle or pistol, check out BlownDeadline.net and MadCustomCoating.com.
This article is from the fall 2018 issue of Ballistic Magazine. To subscribe, please visit OutdoorGroupStore.com.
SIG Sauer MCX Rattler PSB Specifications
- Caliber: 300 Blackout
- Barrel: 5.5 inches
- OA Length: 19.3 inches
- Weight: 38 ounces (empty)
- Grip: Polymer
- Sights: None
- Action: Piston-operated semi-auto
- Finish: Matte black
- Capacity: 30+1
- MSRP: $2,719
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