trooper96

Nice work, haui!

^^ Start with a piece slightly larger than the grip panel.

I used fiberglass window screen. Place on top of flat part of grip, get angle right. Brush on glue (I used wood glue)/water mixture, allow to dry. Be sure to water down the glue enough (about 60% glue/40% water)so that it doesn't fill the screen and lose the texture. Use a small brush to push the mixture down into all the holes. The bubbles should disappear as the water evaporates. It will seem like it is not going to stick until the glue begins to cure and starts to get tacky.Use razor blade to trim to shape. Paint. The top coat of paint will also act as an adhesive/sealant for the screen. The texture is a little more coarse than an actual Sterling grip, but it is reasonably close and feels better in your hand than the smooth grip.

Tim and Ian, Thanks for commenting. Words of encouragement are always welcome, especially from guys who have already made great looking blasters.

Added checkering and a gloss finish to the grip. Added checkering to the selector switch. Scope with reticle insert. Magazine and mag well detail.

Time for a little paint. Here she is all stripped down to a basic Sterling and painted... Still a few more details to add, but here she is with a few E-11 goodies added... Scope has been painted and reticle insert added. Still working on the rail. Still to do... End cap catch Bolt and charging handle Buffer spring Barrel Hengstler counter Targeting sensors Electronics

haui, Yes everything is hand made using the templates and other information I have found here. No kit parts. I have also found my Dremel to be an invaluable tool for this project.

Cool scope!

Here's some other views.

I have been trying to work out the design for my end cap, trying to make something reasonably accurate from a 1-1/4" PVC coupling and flat plastic parts. I used SolidWorks to design this, pictured below. The challenge will be to cut the taper on the coupling OD and make the angles cuts on either side accurately. I have already cut some of the parts and they fit together nicely.

Thanks, haui. It has been a long journey and still quite a ways to go, but I am enjoying the experience. I hope your scratch build is going well.

Here are some other reticles I found on the web.

I saw where someone on this site did this and thought it would be a cool feature for my blaster. Since my scope is not functional, I made a reticle for the eyepiece with rebel soldiers in the crosshairs. I know the movie blasters didn't have this feature, but I like it. If there's a better reticle image out there, please direct me to it. Here's the image I made...

Here you go, Ian... A few more progress photos... Selector switch Butt stock locking mechanism The whole thing so far...

Thanks, Ian. The folding stock arms are cut from a composite deck post sleeve. It's a kind of plasticized composite material, about 3/16" thick. It's cut out, heated, placed in a bending fixture (two wooden block halves with the bend profile cut into them), pressed together, then allowed to cool. The other plastic parts were cut from a vinyl screen door cap. I used a 3/8" wooden dowel for the pivoting rod that connects the frame with the butt. The pivot point where the stock arms attach to the main tube is 1/2" cpvc pipe (5/8" OD, yellowish color, not white) cut to length. I wrapped self adhesive sandpaper around a piece of material from which the main tube was made (1-1/4" gray pvc electrical conduit) and sanded the profile of the main tube into the pivot part. Alternatively, you could use a 5/8" wooden dowel. Composite deck post sleeve: http://www.lowes.com/pd_45607-10099-POST+SLV+COMP+100+WH_4294610164__?productId=4221682&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo= Vinyl screen door cap: http://www.lowes.com/pd_21554-958-BRCAP38_4294710990__?productId=3024744&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1%26page%3D2&facetInfo= I will be glad to take more closeup pictures of the pivot point for you. Hopefully, I can have that tomorrow.

Rear sight apertures and scope rail added.

Should all E-11 blasters have some weathering, or is that more a sandtrooper thing? I think the weathering looks good regardless and would like to give it a try on my scratch build. Brass or copper undercoat on the scope? Silver or chrome undercoat on the blaster? What about hammered metal finish undercoating? Is the grip the only part that would not receive an undercoating? What about the t-tracks?

To Do List: End cap D-ring End cap catch Rear sight apertures Finish magazine details Finish magazine well details Finish stock and stock butt details Scope rail Hengstler counter Targeting sensors Bayonet lug Selector switch Hardware Metallic paint undercoat? Satin black paint overcoat Weathering? Gloss black paint for grip Bolt Charging handle Buffer spring Extras: LED's? Sound module? Laser? Switches? Wiring?

Here's a couple of more progress pictures. I assembled the scope and worked on the magazine well details.

OK, so the CRL looks pretty general. As it is based on a Sterling sub-machine gun design, my blaster should pass basic approval, no problems, right? For EIB: Folding stock (does not need to function). Yes, and mine will be functional. A real or replica ammo counter - based off of a Hengstler counter - shall be present. My plan is to construct a replica from the blaster templates. Would that be approvable? D-ring mounted on the rear. Yes. Correct style scope. My scope is dimensionally accurate, but made of wood. It looks very much like the correct scope, but how much detail is required? Two power cylinders on the magazine housing. Yes, also scratch built.. Scratch-built, resin cast, Hyperfirm rubber cast blasters shall have a total of 6 T-tracks on blaster (leaving the lowest row on the magazine housing side uncovered). Yes. I have the correct number of tracks in all the right places, but the material I uses for the tracks is something I found at a local hardware store. Here's a close-up photo of what it looks like: No ESB/ROTJ greeblies are allowed on the blaster. None present. No details for Centurion approval, but I'm sure this is where the real world Sterling and Hengstler details become important. Can a scratch build progress to this level?

Question: I notice almost everyone here does a full resin or PVC/resin blaster. I have already completed a scratch build from templates I downloaded at the BBC (Blaster Builders Club) site, and started another using those same templates, along with some information/drawings I found on this site. It has been a very rewarding experience, though very challenging and time-consuming. Is there a reason most builders seem to be using the resin kits vs. scratch build? Are scratch built blasters approvable, or are resin blasters the standard? My first scratch build, complete and painted... The folding stock is functional. My second blaster, still a work in progress... Functional folding stock and trigger. Is approval for a scratch build worth pursuing, or should I abandon these projects in favor of a resin kit?

This is what I used for t-tracks... ---------- The section is not a conventional "T", but you really can't tell when it's assembled. I cut them 1/2" wide, 1/4" on either side of the raised extrusions. I rigged a Dremel with a cutoff wheel in a fixture with a guide rail to make a nice, clean cut. The material bends easily enough when heated carefully. I made a jig with a 60 degree angle and got the perfect bend angle every time. Trim and sand to fit, glue in place. Here's what it looks like... ----------