Chapter 2.1 – Kimiaki Ohba of K-Ohba Minifacturing in Tokyo 

How it All Began

After many hours of scrutinizing what limited information is available on the miniature guns of the Japanese artists, digging deep, researching facts over and over again but getting nowhere eventually I felt a prudent move would be to respectfully ask master Ohba a few questions. Like what got him into the making and dealing with miniature guns in the first place? Or about his philosophy regarding their making? And finally which techniques are applied in the making, batch production, use of (external) free lancers etc. 

Here is what Mr. Ohba wrote in November, 2018¹⁾:

"Long ago, when I was not a maker of miniature guns yet, one of my friends who owned one of Beretta's real shotguns, gave me a necklace with a very small pistol-shaped pendant. That pendant was a tiny Beretta 92 F cast with solid brass and had absolutely no function at all, but the proportion was so wonderful. Then I went to some firearm store selling Beretta's shot guns and accessories, and bought another same 92F-pendant." 

"I could finally completed one movable 92F miniature gun by using slide and frame cut out from that two 92F-pendants. It was about 1/4.4 scale and the first movable brass miniature gun I ever made. That was the opportunity for me to start making original 1/4 scaled miniature guns by myself."

Kimiaki Ohba's Beretta 92F pendant 

"Now I am making some miniatures and also help some friend-makers export their miniatures to customers outside Japan."

"I founded my work shop and website of K-OHBA Minifacturing in 2003."

"I wish to make the realistic miniatures to realize the function of the original gun at 1/6 to 1/4 scale as precisely as possible. But miniatures are only - for display and handling. Dummy ammos could be loaded but will never be fired."

"I make a prototype with brass parts first. Then brass parts are replaced with cast parts finally replicated with 925 silver."

"The miniatures made of 925 silver could be polished to simulate a stainless or a nickel-plated gun. Or they are chemically gun-blued to simulate realistic and beautiful black-steel guns."

As further explained by Ohba his company is serving a number of Japanese miniature gun artists as an outlet providing access to the international collectors' market. Incidentally, the business is handled on a production against firm order base.

The Art of Kimiaki Ohba

Scroll down and have a look how nicely Ohba expresses his talent.

This 1:4 scale blued miniature cased set of a Colt 1851 Navy with round triggerguard in the Hunzinger Collection is a gem. It was received in 2015 in a walnut case together with cap box, powder flask, two cavity bullet mold and nipple wrench as accessories. 

The fully functional percussion revolver has been fabricated from a 925 silver cast. Its serial number reads #92508. Were this serial number found on a 19^th century Colt 1851 Navy it would have been made in 1859 already.²⁾

Marks and Markings of the Kimiaki Ohba Colt 1851 Navy

Barrel top: -ADDRESS SAM^L COLT HARTFORD C.T. -

Frame (forward left side):

COLTS

PATENT

Cylinder

• Between naval scene's ends: COLTS PATENT N^o92508
• Legend close to forward rim: ENGAGED 16 MAY 1843

Serial number (visible on barrel lug, frame, triggerguard, butt strap): 92508

U.S.-Italo-Japanese Family Reunion –Three Generations of Colt 1851 Navies…