Webley R.I.C No.1 New Model 455 revolver - Help please!

Panic

Panic

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Would anyone happen to have a copy of the schematic of this pistol for a Webley RIC New Model No1 .455 that they can share please?#

I've tried searching Google and nothing to be found except direction to a book for $85 on Amazon!

I'm looking to undertake a rebuild by myself and want to know where things are suppose to be going. I'll likely have to finish the fit by hand so I'll be taking parts from a donor TPF marked .44 Webley and file for the closest fit.#

Thanks in advance for any assistance.
 
Hmmm... that might be a tough one, although surely someone here on CGN will have a diagramme. I have Ian Skennerton's "455 Pistol Revolver Nº1 Mk VI" (from the Small Arms Indetification Series, Nº9) which has schematics going back to the Mark III, but the RIC was a pretty early version. (Apparently Custer had two at the Little Bighorn!). I don't know how much the internal lockwork changed before the more "modern" Webleys.

I had a web archive of Wm. Chipchase Dowell's "The Webley Story" which I hoped might be useful but I think it's corrupted as I can't open it.

In the meantime, you might also check the British Militaria Forums as there are several people there who are v. knowledgeable on Webleys and such. One is "Grant R" (Grant Rombaugh), a lawyer from Medicne Hat. He used to post here on CGN as well. I found one link (from 2005!) on that forum where someone had a RIC and he chipped in. Doesn't answer your question but might be a useful website to check out.

Another useful website is Cornell Publications, although they may not be much help on the Webleys, but they have a large archive of old manuals and books which tbey scan and reprint.

:)
 
If you are not comfortable meddling in the works of the gun without a picture to guide you, why do you think you have it in you to decide whether a particular part needs to be reworked or fitted in a particular manner?

In all seriousness, there are not all that many ways to put it together wrong, and still have it work. And if you are actually having to fit and adjust parts from a different gun, to make them work, you WILL end up with a very detailed knowledge of what fits where, and you will find at the end, all you got out of the picture was something to hang on the wall.

I figure if you understand the way it works, and why it does what it does, you will have far more info than you should need, in order to get all the pieces in their correct places.

Before digital photography came along and made things so simple to record, I usually kept a sheet of paper and pen or pencil handy, to make notes on where the various springs fit in the grand scheme. All you really need is a rough diagram showing the gist of the thing, rather than trying to make high art out of it.
 
Im not concerned about figuring out what goes where. I have an original and a donor Belgian "clone". Just wanted to make sure I have all parts needed between the two pistols. If it's not on the pistol butbits on the diagram, I'm covered and know what else I have to source.
 
josquin said:
Could you post some pics of the RIC, including internals, or whetever state you have it in? Might be useful. :)
Click to expand...

Here you go buddy ☺

LAE2SVv.jpg
 
josquin said:
It looks like the RIC should have a separate backstrap, which is missing in your pic.
Did you get the Mk.III schematics I sent via PM? Although I don't think they'll be overly helpful for this model. :(
Click to expand...

I did get the schematics, thanks but no help on this one.
You could be correct but all the RIC revolvers I've seen didnt have a back strap. Maybe a later or earlier model?
 
WC Dowell book online

FWIW, I did find the 1987 reprint of The Webley Story online on the Scribd website. If you go to page 76 (actually 68 in the text) there is a section on the bulldog & RIC revolvers. I'm not sure all the plates (illustrations) are showing up; may be the settings on my locked-down browser.

I found several references to this book and a couple suggested that Dowell's original had a lot of errors, which were coreected in the 1988 revision by Gordon Bruce and Christian Reinhart. However, as expensive as the original is, the prices for the revised version are, to put it mildly, eye-watering (or perhaps, "wallet-withering.")
 
Appreciated. Those pictures do help. So if I'm reading the info on that link corrctly, the TPF service revolver is a later model. The frame and parts are all stamped with a number 2 whereas the RIC parts all have the number 1 stamp.
Interesting differences in the loading gates of the RIC and the Bulldog too. The RIC has a spring mounted into the body below the gate to keep it closed, the Bulldog had that omitted. I can't see where it would have been...not that it matters much if I'm selling the parts on that one.
 
Panic said:
Appreciated. Those pictures do help. So if I'm reading the info on that link corrctly, the TPF service revolver is a later model. The frame and parts are all stamped with a number 2 whereas the RIC parts all have the number 1 stamp.
Interesting differences in the loading gates of the RIC and the Bulldog too. The RIC has a spring mounted into the body below the gate to keep it closed, the Bulldog had that omitted. I can't see where it would have been...not that it matters much if I'm selling the parts on that one.
Click to expand...

My British Bulldog has the spring for the gate.

Cheers
Moe
 
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