Sterling parts – what does what?

[SamJ[501st]]

I’m about to start work on a pipe built blaster but want to make it as believable as possible. By this I mean as if it came out of the Star Wars galaxy rather than being made of parts from our own. As such I was wondering which part does what on the Sterling SMG. I believe the mag release button is behind the mag housing but what does the button next to the word 'off' on the end of the magazine itself do? Why does the grip say free and lock? What does A, R and S stand for on the selector?

 

Furthermore, if I were to remove the English lettering from my blaster and, for instance, stamp the Blastech logo on it would it still be clearable and if so would this be to EIB standard assuming everything else was correct?

[pandatrooper[TK]]

I don't think the lettering makes a difference for EIB. The SR props E-11 had imperial cog logos and perhaps some other lettering on it, instead of the Sterling text (from what I remember, they closed shop so I can't confirm).

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

The button next to off is the magazine end/spring release.

it allows the removal of the magazine cap. off is the indicator

for which direction the end cap slides.

 

A S D on the selector switch is for AUTO SAFE and SINGLE SHOT modes on the SMG.

 

the grip says FREE and LOCK for the bolt that threads the grips on.

if you moved the bolt to the free position you can start

the field stripping process to remove the grips, and trigger assemblies.

 

to be as accurate as possible you should not modify any of the wording/engraving on the body

of the weapon.

[Strongbow[501st]]

The button next to off is the magazine end/spring release.

it allows the removal of the magazine cap. off is the indicator

for which direction the end cap slides.

 

A S D on the selector switch is for AUTO SAFE and SINGLE SHOT modes on the SMG.

 

the grip says FREE and LOCK for the bolt that threads the grips on.

if you moved the bolt to the free position you can start

the field stripping process to remove the grips, and trigger assemblies.

 

to be as accurate as possible you should not modify any of the wording/engraving on the body

of the weapon.

 

I get what the OP is going for... he's less interested in screen accurate blaster, than one which is more plausibly a "blaster." However, in the case of the E-11, that's particularly tough. There are a lot of features of the Sterling that are fairly obvious. The selector letters and the Free/lock text are obvious (and in latin letters). And, of course, there's all that "Sterling" text on the magazine well. In a "real" Star Wars universe, you wouldn't expect to see those things. But you also wouldn't expect to see a charging handle, or a recoil spring!

 

I personally am trying to replicate the screen used prop (more or less), but I think a "plausibly real" E-11 blaster project would be fun.

Edited June 1, 2010 by Strongbow

[Daetrin[Admin]]

There is also some inconsistency in how the blaster works. In ANH Luke says his gun is jammed and you see casings being ejected in some scenes. However in EU it's established that the blast is created by tibanna gas that gets charged and releases a energy bolt, thus there is nothing to get jammed.

 

Which is why in the NT you don't see magazines as they are computer created, whereas in the OT they used gussied up real weapons.

 

In the end it's yours to play with. The blaster cores that you see Pablo and others use add effects not seen in the movies, but to be honest make the weapons much cooler to troop with

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

in the end it's all a personal choice.

 

that's the freedom of costuming, just cover the needed details and your golden.

[Turrican]

May this helps:

Sterling Manual.

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Edited July 30, 2022 by gmrhodes13
link removed no longer working

[SamJ[501st]]

Thanks for all the help guys. I should have probably made my goals clearer. I really am not that concerned with screen accuracy here. I have a Pugman ESB blaster on its way so that will deal with all my screen accuracy urges and then some. However, I've recently managed to pick up a Sterling Mk.4 stock so want to make an ESB style blaster that has greater functionality to the point were I'd even like to make a removable mag etc.

 

I'm not too keen in spraying casings all over the public mind you. I'm going to try to pick up some books over the weekend to get some better pictures then work on some quick sketches, which I'll post up for comments if anything is different or I'm not too sure on a feature. Thanks again.

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

perhaps the gas is used inside of casings. which explains power cells, and drop boxes quite a bit!

clips with gas inside of casings. an ejected casing would be several charges of power in an E-11?

 

a sterling clip with 5-7 tibana gas casings would get "jammed" if the gas casing ran out, and the new

one didn't feed properly.

 

I'm thinking several hundred blaster bolts could be generated via the power coils, the plasma feed

and the focusing assembly, if you're using bespin quality gas casings.

 

each casing would represent a large quantity of energy.

most likely luke had an obstruction in the casing bolt.

 

easially cleared when you're not covered in slime, and wet...