A Small, Slightly Beat-up, Brown Box Arrived Recently. Doopydoos Full Resin ANH E-11 Build.

[usaeatt2]

I know resin is "soft", but do you think a tap would cut threads to avoid the blowout?  I only ask because with my E-11 approaching 10 pounds, it looks like I WILL be doing a PVC pipe build...  Nice repair.  Just when I think you can't possibly add any more details, you do.  LOVE this build and will use it as a guide for my PVC build!

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Aaron, that's probably a very safe approach, and would probably work.  I think the key is to not buy a huge freaking screw to begin with. 

 

I got lazy and stupid in some regards.  When I asked Steve what size the screw was, he told me 6mm by 10mm and when I went to Lowe's there were no mm measured screws, so I just bought one that "looked okay."

 

That didn't work out so well as you can see.  LoL.  I know that I do that sometimes (Just go "whatever, this will work out fine), and I am usually aware of it and able to stop myself.  Not so much this time.

[Palpatine1977]

Wow, the amount of detail going into this build is just awe-inspiring.. I'm just sitting here watching the updates like  

 

I cannot wait to see the end result!! Fantastic.

[gazmosis[501st]]

Bed=workbench=bed? someone is in trouble!!!

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Bed=workbench=bed? someone is in trouble!!!

That's the guest room bed. LoL

 

Most recently used by Lord Vader during a local troop. LoL

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Wow, the amount of detail going into this build is just awe-inspiring.. I'm just sitting here watching the updates like  

 

I cannot wait to see the end result!! Fantastic.

Thank you, Brandon. Perfectly happy to oblige!

[thederek]

Finally found your build thread! Also, to hell with you guys!!!!! This thread did the opposite of inspire me. It's so damn good its intimidating. 

 

[Cries and throws Doopy kit in garbage and runs home].

 

I'm doing a straight pipe build, and hell I'm off to a rough start, so rough in fact, I spelled the subject wrong and can't change it.

I've yet to post updated pics but I finally got a working trigger but no matter what I did the trigger kept hitting the guard so had to use putty to extend guard out a bit.

 

Very confused about what to do for the bolt. Waiting on barrel retaining screws from gun supply store. I love your ideas about pinning, might look into that.

 

My ish is looking rough right now. After all the other builds I'll hold off for a while. Did you ever post the selector switch? Don't remember your step by step for that.

[TrainWreck[501st]]

Finally found your build thread! Also, to hell with you guys!!!!! This thread did the opposite of inspire me. It's so damn good its intimidating. 

 

[Cries and throws Doopy kit in garbage and runs home].

 

I'm doing a straight pipe build, and hell I'm off to a rough start, so rough in fact, I spelled the subject wrong and can't change it.

I've yet to post updated pics but I finally got a working trigger but no matter what I did the trigger kept hitting the guard so had to use putty to extend guard out a bit.

 

Very confused about what to do for the bolt. Waiting on barrel retaining screws from gun supply store. I love your ideas about pinning, might look into that.

 

My ish is looking rough right now. After all the other builds I'll hold off for a while. Did you ever post the selector switch? Don't remember your step by step for that.

We can only hope to learn from those who are better than us.

 

At this point I've had a broken handle, cocking lever channel, and now scope. Simple repair and move on is my motto now adays (though I have been considering seeing if I can get my user name switched to Train Wreck).

 

Speaking of which, great job on the repair Tim! Nothing a little glue and paint can't fix.

[usaeatt2]

See Tim, you're scaring people with your skillz.  You should just stop now and send your blaster to me...

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Derek... I've never built anything like this before. This is the first time.

 

I was quite intimidated by the others when I began. As Brian pointed out, when all is said and done, there isn't anything here that a little bit of glue and paint can't fix. One key is to decide what you're comfortable doing. If you simply want to assemble one, so you'll have it for carrying around with your armor, then just do that. I started off just wanting to not F it up. As I got more comfortable with the kit and the tools I was using, I decided to do more and more along the way.

 

I haven't posted my selector switch yet, quite frankly, because I'm not fully happy with my current (and likely final) solution for it. I know that my method will turn, but I don't know that I'll be happy with the final result as it is currently planned.

 

The pinning really made it easier to assemble the blaster. I would say that some parts should probably be painted prior to assembly though (Power Cylinders... ) because of the paint scheme that I intend to use.

 

The very, absolute bottom line most critical key to doing these builds: Relax and have some fun. As cool as my thread is and as nice as I think my build is going, I panicked totally when I broke that piece... I left the parts sitting on the floor for nearly 40 minutes before stopping and going "So what? I broke something. I've got glue.. Let's get on with it."

 

Test fit your pieces, and ask a lot of questions. There's plenty of help to be had here, brother!! Troopers (and cadets) helping Troopers (and cadets)!!!

Edited April 25, 2014 by Dark CMF

[thederek]

See Tim, you're scaring people with your skillz.  You should just stop now and send your blaster to me...

Bwahah! More like I can eff up drilling screws in drywall. I'm a computer nerd and can wire anything up. You get me around toos/nails/power stuff and I'm like a caveman.

 

As far as bondo, did that really seal the gaps? Looks,like it went around it. Thought about epoxy resin puddy, but then I'd have to sand it a final time. Thoughts?

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

See Tim, you're scaring people with your skillz.  You should just stop now and send your blaster to me...

LoL... I'm winging it, and you know that. LoL

 

Since I pretty much finished building "Kellan Stormtrooper" tonight (just have to put the lens in) I'll be back to full-on Doopy build this weekend!!

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

As far as bondo, did that really seal the gaps? Looks,like it went around it. Thought about epoxy resin puddy, but then I'd have to sand it a final time. Thoughts?

Just went and double checked in order to give you an honest answer, and I'd say that the Bondo did indeed seal the gaps at about a 95% rate. There is one spot where it looks slightly less than ideal, but most of the joints (now that the blaster is black, anyway) look like welds. So I'd say yes to the Bondo, and intend to use it again on any successive builds I may do.

Edited April 25, 2014 by Dark CMF

[thederek]

Just went and double checked in order to give you an honest answer, and I'd say that the Bondo did indeed seal the gaps at about a 95% rate. There is one spot where it looks slightly less than ideal, but most of the joints (now that the blaster is black, anyway) look like welds. So I'd say yes to the Bondo, and intend to use it again on any successive builds I may do.

Nice, I'll pick some up for after I'm done gluing stuff. Is it sandable or do you need to be super precise with it? Another quick question regarding the pinning and maybe I missed it: you didn't extend the pins too far into the pipe, right? Im not worried about a working spring or bolt at this point so I doubt it would matter anyways, but was just curious.

 

Sorry I have a million questions, don't want to bog your thread down.

[TrainWreck[501st]]

Bondo is sandable. If you go to a hobby store you can find little sanding implements for model building. I just sit with a cup of coffee in the morning and a sanding stick and slowly work at it before I fully wake up. It seems to help with the boredom of sanding.

[thederek]

Yea sanding sticks are awesommme. I had some left over for when I built tanks. I bought a bag of them, different grades for really cheap online. If anyone is interested I can hunt the link down.

 

So I have to sand my doopy bolt down to fit in my barrel. Do you all recommend I use the dremel sander or hand-paper sand it?

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Nice, I'll pick some up for after I'm done gluing stuff. Is it sandable or do you need to be super precise with it? Another quick question regarding the pinning and maybe I missed it: you didn't extend the pins too far into the pipe, right? Im not worried about a working spring or bolt at this point so I doubt it would matter anyways, but was just curious.

 

Sorry I have a million questions, don't want to bog your thread down.

What I've found with the Bondo is that it is best to overload it, and let it dry forever.  On more than one occasion in my build, I've used it to fill holes/gaps and gone back to sand it two days later and for holes (thick applications) it is still wet in the middle.  It is highly sandable though.  If you look at my magazine divot fills, you'll see examples of both.  Huge globs of Bondo, wet when I sanded it down.  As a result, they're not quite totally filled.

 

The pins did NOT (intentionally, anyway) extend into the pipe.  They were only meant to go right up to, but not into the interior of the pieces so I wouldn't have holes poking through.  Some of them (the rear stock latch) did poke through though. 

 

Questions are the only way to figure it out - besides trial and error, and when you've only got one kit, that can be costly. 

[usaeatt2]

What I've found with the Bondo is that it is best to overload it, and let it dry forever.  On more than one occasion in my build, I've used it to fill holes/gaps and gone back to sand it two days later and for holes (thick applications) it is still wet in the middle.  It is highly sandable though.  If you look at my magazine divot fills, you'll see examples of both.  Huge globs of Bondo, wet when I sanded it down.  As a result, they're not quite totally filled.

 

When mixed properly with the correct creme hardener, Bondo should cure due to a chemical reaction which should "kick" about 10-20 minutes after you mix it.  Too little hardener and it won't cure properly.  Too much hardener and it will get HOT (due to an excessive chemical reaction).  Other than precise measurement, I think the best way to judge the mix ratio is by color.  If you mix up a batch that kicks off just right, remember the color.

 

Judging by the color in your build, you may have been using Bondo Spot Putty.  That is air dry and should only be used in very thin layers.  It's purpose is to fill pinholes and very slight imperfections in regular Bondo.  If it's too thick, I think it has a difficult time releasing the solvent which causes it to dry...

Edited April 25, 2014 by usaeatt2

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

LoL.  The Bondo that I've got is a pre-mixed spot-filler compound.  I didn't think it was economically sensible to buy a "bucket" (or whatever it comes in) of Bondo for AN E-11 build.

[usaeatt2]

LOL - You were responding while I was editing - After I thought about it, I figured it was Spot Putty and not regular Bondo.  Yeah, you could probably build an entire blaster with a gallon of Bondo...

Edited April 25, 2014 by usaeatt2

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Yeah.  LoL.  That's exactly what it is.  It was a glaring act of laziness meeting opportunity. 

I suppose future uses will need to be applied in layers, rather than blobs.  LoL

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

As I mentioned earlier, the nuts on the power cylinders were free spinning while I was cutting them to the proper length. To me, this was an indication of what they'd be prone to do if left to their own ideas.

 

Here they are, freely movable, after having the bolts cut to size.

 

Here's my solution. A little bit of a squeeze of gel type super glue on each one, before turning them tightly to the bottom.

 

Glue applied.

 

Hehe... PRIME TIME!!!

 

Primed and drying.

 

That's it for this group of pictures. Just a few more to share tonight before I have to get back to work on the blaster tomorrow.

Edited April 26, 2014 by Dark CMF

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Since the last image was of the blaster primered and waiting, we'll lead off this installment with this photo:

 

Grab some flat black paint, and head outside to meet the blaster!

 

Patiently waiting for some paint.

 

That patience is rewarded here.

 

Another angle... same paint job.

 

Hengstler Counter, waiting for it's turn.

 

A fresh coat of paint on the counter.

 

It will still need another coat at some point in time before final assembly.

 

While paint is drying, I've received another package from England!! (Additionally, I've received another project to paint and build. )

 

Just to see how it might look (of course, it will have the real stock and the other parts on it) when it is sitting on it's eventual stand. Not too shabby!

 

As long as I'm outside using the black spray paint, I'll take care of the scope, too.

 

Back to watching paint dry, I go...

 

That's it for now, thanks for stopping by and reading/following along. Please feel free to leave comments/questions, knock-knock jokes here!

[thederek]

Dude, that's looking fan----xxxxx----ing-tastic! Love the idea on the plastic primer paint! I will pick some up for my future paint job. Do you plan to use white lettering on the scope when finished a-la toothpickin' it?

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

I'm heavily intrigued by the crayon idea... I'm pretty close to needing to do that, too, since my scope is actually weathered (for the most part) already.