Webley Mk1 pistol - The longest rebuild ever.

This poor old Mk1 pistol always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It’s sat in pieces for years,I think I bought it in around 2008 and it was a great example of how not to buy an Airgun of any kind. It was before I had joined any forums and I saw an advert although I can’t remember where 🤔 and I rang up and spoke to the seller who sounded honest enough so a deal was done over the phone without me having seen the ‘excellent condition’ pistol in the flesh and was posted to me as promised. I figured that if I went for one of the most expensive ones available I’d be guaranteed of getting a goodun but like the rest of my thinking this strategy was flawed. A few days later a rather sorry looking MK1 arrived wrapped in newspaper sporting a healthy coating of cold blue and bent nails though the cocking joints, they even still had the points on the ends 🙄 So back on the phone to the seller who claimed to be shocked to hear from me as it turns out it was another of his top ‘restorations’ and he had never had anyone disappointed before. He wouldn’t take it back but begrudgingly offered to send me £20 if I’d bugger off and leave him alone, I wasn’t happy but I figured I could buy the parts required to make it sort of halfway what he had claimed it was in the first place. Except I didn’t, I put it to one side after having a peek inside and realising it needed a spring and piston washer,breech seal and cocking shoe etc. By the time I’d discovered this half the cold blue had fallen off anyway and I was becoming rather disheartened. Fast forward a few months and I had an idea to strip the remaining finish and have the whole thing nickel plated so I sat out in the sun and stripped and polished it (Guy……No!) and then sent it to a plating Company. I went away on holiday for a few weeks and was looking forward to picking up my newly plated pistol upon my return except it hadn’t been done as the price quoted had been wrong apparently and has risen to £150 😳 well that would mean I was around £300 into it if I did that so I declined and said I’d have it back as it was but then they couldn’t find it. Eventually it was located and sent back but minus the packaging and the protective coating of oil but with a healthy flash over of surface rust! That was it for me I had fallen out of love and it got put away and semi forgotten about. The barrel ended up on another project as did the rear sight and grips and it looked increasingly less likely I’d ever do anything with it until recently when my conscience finally got the better of me. Locating a usable barrel was the final kick up the backside I needed to make a start and so the piston recieved a new washer and a new spring and breech seal were fitted. I didn’t have a rear sight so I’ve made one temporarily until a genuine example happens along. New trigger and sear springs and a pair of grips that I’ve cast and a final polish (still No!…..) and it’s back up and running as a half decent plinker. The finish is in the white, it’s just got a very thin coat of linseed oil applied all those years ago at the moment but I’m going to try out some of this renaissance wax on it to see how that performs as it’s meant to be very good stuff. Tbh it’s probably always going to be ‘that’ MK1 to me which is a shame but atleast I’ve done the right thing by the old girl even if it did take the best part of 18 years 😣  

Coincidentally on the day I finished it there’s a nice honest looking example that’s just been listed on here for sale which sums up what I was hoping to get all those years ago and failed miserably 😄