T-Jay

No worries. If you haven't sealed the makeup-weathering under a clear coat, it will fade and only remains in believable spots. Good work

Looks like you had some fun weathering this thing

Woohooo! That looks nice! Theo, maybe you don't have to glue the small lens. In my case it was secured in place by the retainer ring and did not need any glue. Only the big lens did, because this was smaller than the retainer ring and kept falling out.

"Utiniii" Those pictures are great, Brian. You thought of everything. Even black gloves with fur. Looking cool. May I ask what exactly you used the audio electronics for? Blaster sounds? Or Jawa voices? Just curious...

Hi Sean, the reticle lenses have a very small engraving which is incredibly hard to read for the human eye. A magnification is mandatory to clearly see it. No chance without that. The lenses from the monocular cause a sufficient magnification to objects that are in the correct distance (like the internal prisms). I simply installed the reticle lens in that place, so the engraving can be seen much better. If they really work? Not exactly, because the image is upside down and left to right. And it would take two very special and small prisms to correct this - until someone else finds a different way to get it working (would love to see that). But at least there is a "tunnel" in the scope with light shining through and everybody who ever had this blaster in hands so far, noticed that and also discovered the reticle lens just seconds later. The lenses were bought online and I am currently wondering, if they would be some useful additions to the Completion Sets, as the monoculars are already a part of it. Just saying...

Glad to see you made some good progress since your last posting. Use the cold winter days to stay inside and make some more

Thank you very much for your words, Brian. Completing this build, brings back the same feelings as 2.5 years ago. Seems like every blaster becomes something special to the builder during the whole process. Having it finished, feels a bit like the end of a long vacation: After enjoying a good time, you are somewhat sad to leave. But there is also interest to get back to the things that were neglected for a while. I look at this with a laughing and a crying eye Each resin kit is individual and I think my blaster has by far not reached the limits of this particular kit. Especially the electronics were just implanted, instead of using an arduino board or something else with additional LEDs. And I could imagine, we will see movable bolts AND electronics in some blasters in the future…

Looks very interesting. Are those lenses flat or domed on one side?

Update #27 - Cables without labels We now come to the last chapter of this build, which covers the electronics. As shown in update #08, I had planned to run the wires like this: Meanwhile I decided to place the speaker inside the end cap, because this is easier with the wiring and will hopefully sound better inside the receiver tube. Also swapped positions of the LEDs (as the lower LED is easier to see in the front muzzle). Placed the circuit board in the middle, because all cables had to meet there. Starting with the LEDs on the front, I wanted to run the wires along the inner barrel. To get it out of the receiver tube, I had to remove the magazine and bullets. After these were out (and broken) it was still not possible to remove the inner barrel, because the curved ends of the T-tracks prevented it from sliding anywhere. That means I had just damaged my magazine for nothing Had to find a way to install the cables while the barrel is inside the receiver… Prior to the permanent installation, it was time for a quick test to ensure everything is working correctly. Used these nice thin wires because black is best to hide in the blaster, but ended up with a lot of “cables without labels”. However, it worked and that really made me happy As a last step, I completed this blaster by (again) adding the rail with scope and counter. Then suddenly it was all done. Here is one last short video that shows how the electronics work. The rotary switch clicks nice and although the light from the red and blue LEDs is hard to see, it is very bright as a matter of fact. So, this is it. We’re done. I would like to end this update with a little addition that has recently been given to me by Stefan (Turrican). A very fine gift which perfectly fits to this Lucky#Eleven. Thank you very much. Enjoy your weekend, Stormtroopers and Cadets Feel free to leave any comments and questions.

Thank you, Alex Whenever you need help to build an E-11 for one of your costumes, just let me know. Thanks Michael. Glad you see it that way. I personally think it took much too long (due to the build documentation). But who knows, maybe this helps others… Thanks Ian. Believe it or not, but your freakin’ awesome sniper rifle is still in my head and I can’t get rid of it... Thanks for your words, Henry. A realistic appearance was on top of my list for this build. If that looks believable, you are half-way there. Paint chips and the crinkle paint worked together very well. And I never expected the makeup-weathering to look that nice. Not sure if 200 hours are enough in my case. However, most work was caused by the documentation. I think it is possible to complete the same blaster (without build thread) in 2-4 months.

Happy BBB-day

That price is very good. But there is an additional seam line next to the elastic. The low height could cause issues with your shin armor. Just my 2 cents...

Scope rail looks okay to me. Although preferring wider aluminum stripes (20mm) I have already heared of rails with only 16mm. That's a matter of taste and what is available in different countries. You haven't mentioned anything about the tickness, but something around 2mm should be fine. Maybe you want to check chapter #24 (scope rail) from the FISD blaster reference. And while you're there, you can visit chapter #09 for your front sight and chapter #31 for the measurements. Hope this helpes

Totally agree on this. Would definitely pick your scratch-build blaster if I had to chose from these two. It looks much more real to me.

Update #26 - Hengstler counter The last thing attached to the rail is the Hengstler counter. This electromechanical device can be seen on some of the blasters in Episode 4. To get a different shade of black than on the scopes, I paint the counters in semi-gloss black before doing the weathering. In this specific build however, I wanted to go deeper into the details… During the last two years it got harder and harder to find cheap Hengstler counters. A good alternative are the conversion counters, a hybrid made from resin and a different counter with identical dimensions. From the ones I had in hand a year ago, the last and dirtiest was saved for this build. Since update #20, this thread covers the alterations from the prop-builders, which converted the Sterling SMG into the BlasTech E-11 for the Episode 4 movie. All additions are now complete and have been attached to Lucky#Eleven Time for a few daylight photos… Thanks for reading

Thank you very much for your words, Brian. I am really glad you like the result. Both, the very high quality of your casts and the fact of having separated parts, do provide absolutely new options to build and finish such a scope. Don’t worry about minor adjustments to make some rings fit into the openings. I fully understand your point to strive for the most accurate resin pieces, but sanding down a ring to place it into the scope tube should not be too challenging for the builders Feel free to use any photos or to refer people to this build chapter. Keeping fingers crossed for your current work on the M19 scopes...

Hi Jim, you truly did an impressive job on this scratch build. The result speaks for itself. Glad to hear, my thread was a little help and thanks for the kudos. Can't wait to see, what somebody talented like you is able to make from a resin kit... Would you mind to state the weight of your finished blaster? Just curious

Update #25 - Hollowed scope with small parts Today’s progress is about Brian’s (Bulldog44) scope with hollowed core and several bits and pieces. Some build steps will look familiar, because a few things have been done like in the last update. Inside the scope tube is a thin resin wall, so I removed this to get light shining through… Then I started working on the lenses and how to secure them in position. The monocular comes with 2 small lenses. One was reserved as front lens, the other was left over. While looking closer at the prism cell, I noticed that it can be installed there… Okay, rear section completed. Next was the front assembly… Brian’s scope is the very best resin cast I ever came across. I cannot imagine getting the same extremely high details out of a single-piece casting. Especially when considering the small gaps between eyepiece and mounting plate, or the retainer rings. Awesome Brian, thanks for making these! Because of that, I decided to NOT use this beauty on a blaster. Nope, instead I emptied a display case from a Minichamps car model (scale 1:43) and now it can sit in the showcase, next to Andy‘s Power Cylinders prototype Some comparison shots of the three scopes. At a first glance, they all look the same. Full resin on the left, self-hollowed in the middle and Brian’s super-scope on the right side. Alright, let’s call it a day Open for any questions, critics and comments...

Thanks Chris To be honest, this was nothing new here on the FISD. Squimspickle and Thrawn’s guard made very inspiring things with their scopes… Thank you, Brian. That big part from the monocular ensures a good distance between the reticle and the rear lens, so that the engraving can been seen well. Last weekend I had 2 real scopes in hand, but that was before you asked me to compare the screws If you got real screws, I can send you the ones I have for comparison… Yes, that photo was just taken to show the smaller parts are separate. It is not 100% correct. If you scroll down a few lines, you will see a better lens arrangement

Out of words but I like it

Great information, Brian. As most of the parts I ever had in hands were made from resin, I always thought that were inaccuracies of the casts (and painted silver accents there oh dear) However, just this weekend I had hands on two real M38 scopes and examined them closely. One scope missed just 1 of the two "Joe Proof Fillers" On the other position the adjustment screw was visible. So your speculation sounds absolutely reasonable to me.

Update #24 - The M38 Telescope(s) This thread covers the standard way to build this kit out of the box and alternatives to go the extra mile. Because of that, there will be more than one scope. Brian (Bulldog44) generously sent me two scopes with hollowed core. Never seen such highly detailed resin casts! Very nice work. Thanks again, Brian The plan is to make 3 scopes: standard, then one with lenses and one with hollowed core plus lenses. The standard scope was easy, because the resin part from this kit had a very nice surface texture and already came in black color. It was not mandatory to paint it. What you have just seen, is how I usually finish these scopes. Dry-brushed, not painted. The 2nd scope got real lenses from a monocular. Instead of gluing these into drilled holes (like done in my first build), they got installed from the inside. This occasion was used to run a hole through the entire thing. I began with disassembling that monocular… After the paint had dried, it was time for the finishing touches. Also thought about integrating the prism(s) but a convex lens turns the image upside down and left to right. Hoped that a 2nd lens (see arrangement in the monocular) would revert this effect. But these are used to compensate pillow- / barrel-distortion. Wasted several days researching and trying every possible combination with lens(es) and prism(s). No luck. As a last chance I grabbed some scopes plus monoculars and went to my eyewear optician. Result: with the given hardware, there is no way to get it working correctly and I was not willing to spend a little fortune to try and error. At least there is light shining through that scope and the lenses make it look somewhat real. There is still Brian’s (Bulldog44) scope with hollowed core. That nice piece will be covered next weekend...

Ha, same over here. For the first time in my life, it seems like it paid off to build these aircraft models when being a child Thanks for stating this. Had such an idealized bend in my first build and never found a screen reference for it. That is why this time I wanted to go for the softer curve. Everybody preferring a sharp bend will be happy you posted this. Thanks Chris Wow Aaron, I had no idea about the different types of aluminum. Up to now I built scope rails from the AL-stripes in the Completion Sets and in Derrek’s blaster kits and so far nothing cracked. Not sure what exact type of AL they sell over here in the local hardware stores…

Update #23 - Railworks As mentioned in Update #20, a rail is required to carry the scope. The front end of it rests in the closest venting hole from the receiver tube, while the rear end can be mounted in three different ways: straight end, upwards bend and Z-bend. The upwards bend would be my first choice for a real Sterling (requires no drilling into the steel). The Z-bend is nice for thick-walled pipes (like full resin kits). Or as backup solution, if the first attempt failed and the rail had to be shortened. This blaster kit comes with a countersunk screw to mount the rail straight to the rear sight. Attention: Derrek casted this part in both positions (100 & 200 range) and this affects the distance between rail and receiver tube, as well as the size of the front bend. This is also important when using screws with bigger heads to mount the scope onto the rail. Next pictures (from other builds) show the differences. The rails can be made from one or two pieces. This kit has a separate bracket, so the builder can decide about using the counter or not (like on the Episode 5 blasters). Scope and counter on the last pictures have only been used to demonstrate the placement. Except of the drilled holes, these parts are still like they arrived with the blaster kit. Next time I cover the scope - no idea yet, when that will be ready... Thank you all for reading and enjoy your weekend