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

[I'm Batman[501st]]

35! Are you sure that's enough?

 

Will be waiting eagerly!

[usaeatt2]

I know that Aaron hates the cliffhanger posts, so this one is all for you, buddy! LoL

 

LOL.  Thanks.  Thanks A LOT! 

I'm on pins and needles here since I'm getting close to paint...and now I have to wait to see your texture analysis.

At least I won't be waiting till October!

 

BTW, have you noticed your thread has had over 5,000 views?  You're trending, buddy!

Edited May 5, 2014 by usaeatt2

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Heh... If it reaches 9001, I'll post a special GIF to commemorate it. LoL

 

I promised pictures, so here they are:

 

Here I have hung the inner barrel near the blaster and the counter which had just received a second coat of paint. It was hung there, so it could receive it's own coat of paint.

 

This is the paint that I'll be using for many of the "internal" parts: The inner barrel, the bolt, the trigger, and the charging handle. It is Rust-oleum metallic and the color is Flat Soft Iron.

 

Here, it has been painted and is drying - nothing more fun than watching paint drying, right?

 

Dry, paint.... DRY!!!

 

Top to bottom: the Blaster, the Inner Barrel (both painted) and the bolt - unpainted - which is the same piece of material that the inner barrel comes from.

 

Since everything is dry now, I began masking the blaster for the application of the crinkle finish paint.

 

Other side... All masked up and ready for paint!

 

Thankfully, I was asked about my sight rail by Derek before I went out to paint. That made me realize that I needed to cut my scope rail template before I paint the texture paint on it, if I want to get that done today, so I grabbed the cardboard box that I intended to cut the template from, to make sure that it is the right size.

 

It is indeed the right size, so I grabbed the aluminum bar that I got at Lowe's for about $3-4 (it is 1/8" by 3/4") and used it to mark the width of the template with a Sharpie.

 

I then used the exacto knife to score the top of the box.

 

After that, I bent the template down and used the knife to cut through the back of it.

 

Checking again to make sure that the template is the right size.

 

Used the Sharpie to mark the size of the rear sight mounting area.

 

Then I used the aluminum bar to mark the corners that will need to be cut out.

 

With the rear of the template cut out, I give it a quick test fit.

 

With the rear mount set, I align that end so that I can mark the front sight mounting area.

 

With the length of the template already marked, I move it back to mark the width of the end that will be bent into the barrel.

 

Here, as always, when I am working in the house, Feliks can be seen supervising my work.

 

Final cardboard template for the scope mounting rail.

 

Looks like it fits pretty well, but as the front is sitting a little bit low, I'll be sure to cut the front longer than the template, ensuring that I have enough material to cut it down to the right size. Remember, you can always remove more material but you cannot always put it back if you take too much off.

 

The template has been transferred to the aluminum bar.

 

With the template complete, I can take the blaster outside and apply the crinkle finish paint.

 

I have rigged up my paint lab to keep the blaster more level than I had previously done. This will allow me to apply the paint more evenly and reduce the risk of runs forming.

 

Just as I did before in the paint test procedures, I applied the first coat of paint, and waited for five minutes.

 

After the five minutes lapsed, I applied the second coat and waited another five minutes.

 

At this point in time, the third coat is applied. The crinkle finish will begin to form after about two hours. It will be dry enough to assemble after 48 hours (according to the directions on the can). I'm going to wait a few hours and move it into the house so that no dew or humidity messes with the finish overnight.

 

During the two hour wait, I took the hacksaw to the aluminum bar.

 

Now, I have my scope rail ready for cutting with the Dremel, bending, and having a hole drilled for the rear sight mount.

 

Two hours have passed, so I am about to take it in the house for two days of drying/curing.

 

Here you can see a little bit better, that the finish has started to form on the blaster.

 

Even outside, I've got supervisors hanging around... Sheesh.

 

Hanging inside the house, so that it can safely dry over the next 48 hours.

 

And the other side... Time lapse photography is now in effect!!

 

BOOM! Two days have passed - gotta love the time lapse photography, eh? Here's a look at the right side.

 

closer look at the finish on the left side.

 

Now, I have a job ahead of me. I have to learn to use the airbrush effectively, and to mix the paints in a manner that will give me the proper color to bring the crinkle paint's color down to what it needs to be. As it stands right now, it is far too black, and far too shiny. I'm going to aim to match the color of the blaster to the folding stock as best as I can and will have to leave the T-tracks, the pistol grip, the ejection port, and the magazine masked in the meantime, which is killing me. I can't tell you how badly I want to un-mask this puppy and get a look at it, but even more so, I don't want to have to re-mask the blaster. LoL It was kind of a pain in the buttocks, Forrest Gump style.

 

As always, thanks for following along. I suppose that the next/remaining things to do are to build my bolt, paint the remaining parts (counter cover, trigger, guard, selector switch, bolt), airbrush the colors properly, finish the scope rail and cut the counter bracket and assemble everything. Somewhere in there, I have to cut the stock mounting bar, and find counter numbers.

 

Comments and questions are welcomed, as always! More to follow.

Edited May 6, 2014 by Dark CMF

[TrainWreck[501st]]

The sauce is continuing to be awesome! Keep it up brother!

[I'm Batman[501st]]

While the efforts and execution are undoubtedly second to none (maybe equal to others  ), personally I'm not too sure on the finish. I'll have to do a lot of research before I decide on the finish for my upcoming build. From what I understand, just about everyone painted theirs flat black until Steve or others posted pics of the wrinkle finish on the original Sterlings. Do we have detailed pics of the actual E-11's? I guess they just sprayed them black (as Vern hs pointed out), over the existing military finish??

 

Can't wait to see the end result Tim, once you tone down that shine. That will probably make a big difference.

[usaeatt2]

Excellent work, Tim!

 

I'm on the fence with the wrinkle finish right now.  Might be the pictures, but yours looks slightly different than Steve's.  I wonder if humidity affects the wrinkling?  I would imagine it's a little more humid in Alabama than Chicago right now.  Anyway, it'll either be wrinkled or textured, then top-coated.  Can't wait to see your choice for the topcoat!!

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Thanks, Brian!

 

Thank you for the kind words, Ian and yes, the screen-used ones were all pretty much just flat black. I think that Steve and I simultaneously and independently decided to go for a more "realistic" finish as opposed to a screen-used one. Since the weapons aren't required for approval, I choose to have one that lends realism to the presence of the Stormtrooper in the room.

 

Aaron, mine does look slightly different than Steve's but go and look at page 6 in his build thread. At this stage in the game (if you can compare it to my final two pictures) you'll see that they are really very similar.

 

The top coat... That's the learning curve I'm facing right now. LoL. Wish me luck.

Edited May 6, 2014 by Dark CMF

[usaeatt2]

While the efforts and execution are undoubtedly second to none (maybe equal to others  ), personally I'm not too sure on the finish. I'll have to do a lot of research before I decide on the finish for my upcoming build. From what I understand, just about everyone painted theirs flat black until Steve or others posted pics of the wrinkle finish on the original Sterlings. Do we have detailed pics of the actual E-11's? I guess they just sprayed them black (as Vern hs pointed out), over the existing military finish??

 

Can't wait to see the end result Tim, once you tone down that shine. That will probably make a big difference.

 

I can't imagine the propmasters would have had the time or budget to do anything but rattlecan everything flat black.  Right over the existing military finish.  My Sterling parts are a really dark military green - I think the same as Tim and Steve's folding stocks.  That green wouldn't look too slick and futuristic against white armor, but black looks great.  And why else would the cloth covered wires on the power cylinders and other fine details be black?  In effect, I think everyone is using the wrinkle paint to get the texture, then applying a top-coat for color.  Vern likes black for screen accuracy.  Others like a dark "off" color, like gunmetal grey for realism.  Creativity and personal preference.  Always nice to have options.

[I'm Batman[501st]]

Yeah, I've got the same folding stock too, which I don't particularly like the colour of either. From none not too long ago, to heaps! You're right Aaron, options galore. Flat black, heaps of types of wrinkle/texture paint, paper dabbing, etc. I'm leaning towards flat black, but what I found, and it looks like Tim has found, even flat black can have a sheen to it. On my hasbro build, I scuffed it down with fine sandpaper. You probably couldn't do that with the textures.

 

Anyway, Tim - as requested, good luck with the final finish. Awaiting eagerly.

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

A 25 picture update coming along in the next day or two...

 

Scope rail is cut and shaped, but still needs paint and some holes drilled in it.

The inner barrel has had a slot cut out of it for the scope rail to fit into it.

The Stock retaining pin is completely shaped and ready for assembly.

Three more parts are painted and drying.

 

I've reached an internal debate about the final color scheme, and that has given me quite a pause lately.

 

Update coming soon.

Edited May 11, 2014 by Dark CMF

[usaeatt2]

Stay tuned!!!  Next time, on Tim's massive blaster build... 

 

I hear you, brother...trying to make a final decision on paint is going to be the toughest part for me.

Right now, I've got 7 new cans of various "blaster" paint lined up on my side workbench.

I glance over every once in awhile thinking maybe the correct solution will just pop into my head.

I've even considered getting real parkerizing solution from Brownell's - that would be different.

I also have a can of truck bed liner.  I see lots of test panels in my future...

Since I do lots of other fabrication work, I'll use all the paint one way or another.

 

Who needs Obama?  We've got the "stormtrooper stimulus plan".

I think that every time I spend money for something else.

If everybody in the U.S. joined the 501st, our economy would be just fine.

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

The color thing has become an insane internal debate. It has seriously slowed me down.

 

Regardless of the paint debate, I got some work done today.

 

Honestly I expected the Dremelling of the aluminum to be a breeze. It was quite a hair-raising experience and one that (for the first time in this build) had me second guessing my considerable laughter directed at the face of OSHA. The Dremel and it's cutting wheels didn't have any problem with the aluminum, in fact it cut through it easily, but it would occasionally "grab" the aluminum and run under the piece that I was holding at which point in time it propelled itself towards my fingers on the underside. This happened repeatedly. Nerve-wracking is an apt description of the situation. Fortunately, I escaped unscathed - though barely.

 

On to the pictures:

 

I started with the cutting wheel on the Dremel to cut the excess out of the folding stock retaining bar/pin. Doing this will allow my bolt to be charged to the rear should I desire to do so - even if an energy weapon doesn't really have a need for such a mechanism.

 

Halfway through the process, I decided that this was a: taking too long and b: destroying the cutting wheel (it was working though).

 

I switched to this grinding bit, expecting that it would work faster and more efficiently than the cutting wheel, but afraid that it might be too soft.

 

This time, it only took a moment for me to decide that the bit was indeed too soft, as it was being destroyed faster than the steel bar was. So, I immediately switched over to this grinding drum, expecting that it would do the trick.

 

And do the trick it did - quickly, and efficiently. This piece is ready to go!

 

Going back to my cutting wheel on the Dremel, I cut the rear corners off of the aluminum bar that was set aside to become the scope rail, and gave it a test-fit - which you can see here.

 

As I mentioned earlier, getting to this point was a serious pain in the.... (Fill in the blank on your own). The wheel just kept running under the bar towards my fingers. After getting it basically shaped properly, I went to the file and did a bunch of work with it to get it ready.

 

I took the Dremel cutting wheel and put this notch in at the point that I intend to make my bend.

 

While bending the aluminum, I would only bend it a little bit at a time. Each pause was so that I could take the file to both sides of the bend to ensure that there was no extra material there preventing a good clean bend.

 

Thankfully, it did give me a good, clean bend. I used the pliers to bend the aluminum, and set the long piece of the bar on the counter I was working at.

 

First test-fit, looks pretty good. I can still make some improvements, but I'm happy to have it cut and bent and done with that part after the crazy experience that I had cutting the aluminum (maybe I should be wearing gloves for this. LoL).

 

I put the rail's barrel end into the charging handle channel to mark how thick the resin is, so that I know where to bend the front tip forward into the barrel.

 

Using the same technique as before (Bend, file, bend, file) I bent the front tip forward to go into the inner barrel and keep it stabilized after assembly.

 

I marked a sharpie line a little bit forward of the bend, to ensure that it stays locked into the inner barrel and used the Dremel cutting wheel to cut it.

 

Inserting the inner barrel to mark the location for the scope rail tab opening.

 

Marked the location with the Sharpie.

 

I switched over to the Dremel cutting bit to cut the hole into the inner barrel.

 

Cut is complete and the tab fits just fine.

 

This picture is a little difficult to see all of the details, but if you look at the left-side, (the bottom of the barrel) you can see that the inner barrel is indeed in the blaster. Looking to the right side, you can see that the scope rail is in place, with the tab in the inner barrel.

 

The inner barrel is clearly visible here through the vent holes in the bottom of the blaster.

 

All it needs now is a few holes to be marked and drilled before it heads off to the "paint lab."

 

Speaking of paint, the selector switch, trigger, and charging handle are ready to receive some of it!

 

Just like the inner barrel, they will receive the flat soft iron rustoleum metallic.

 

Once again, watching paint dry...

 

That's it for now. Thanks as always for following along. Questions and comments are welcomed. Getting pretty close to done. I have to build my bolt, make some counter numbers, paint about three or four pieces, and decide on a finish. After that, I've just got to put it together. and with my armor kit's shipping looming (2nd - 3rd week of May, Rob said!!!) I've got to get it finished soon!

[TrainWreck[501st]]

Tim I had a similar problem with dremeling the aluminum. I started off think "this is going to be so much easier than working with steel." I finally gave up on the dremel and moved to a hack saw. It's looking great!

[usaeatt2]

Looking good, Tim!  I like the part about using the charging handle slot to mark the wall thickness - brilliant.  And yep, those cut off discs don't last long against steel.  I buy them in a little dispenser that contains 20 discs.  I'm liking the soft iron metallic - I may have to add that one to my growing collection!

[I'm Batman[501st]]

Excellent progress Tim!

 

Can you remind me (can't seem to find it now) on your inner barrel thoughts? Did you go for a thicker barrel at the front just because it matches and makes it easier for the rear section? I'm guessing once it's all together you won't see much through the front holes anyway??

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Ian, thank you. As for the inner barrel, it wont' really be very visible at all, when everything is assembled.

 

I'm using a piece of PVC that fits perfectly inside of the Doopy for both the inner barrel and the bolt, that keeps everything looking better, and more importantly, held together tightly and properly.

 

That's really a big part of why/how I'm doing it that way.

Edited May 12, 2014 by Dark CMF

[I'm Batman[501st]]

Yep, fair enough. And with the Doopy kit, there's only that one row of holes that you can see through anyway.

 

It'll be a nice secure blaster (as you say), ideal for trooping with.

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Generally speaking, there is only the one row, yes. Mine will have two though, occasionally.

 

I do like the extra bit of weight that it will have, also.

[thederek]

Looking good Tim!!!! (Your blaster, not you!)

[gazmosis[501st]]

Just curious if you intended on locking the scope rail into the inner tube? Your attention to detail and precise measurements helped you with the rail's construction. I am surprised that you took that approach, though. I thought you would have made the front bend first, then trimmed it to fit between the uppers of the rear sight using that forward pressure to lock it into the top vent hole.

Looking great! The crinkle finish really came out awesome!

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Yeah...  I know going forward on any further rails I make, the bend will be done first.  There was a bit of a question after cutting the back of the rail about "Will the bend make it too short?"  So word to the wise...  Make the front bend(s) first.

 

As for locking the scope rail, the cutout in the inner barrel will "lock" it in place in the manner that you described.  The bottom bend fits just about 3/8" into the inner barrel, beneath the Doopy's resin barrel.  There won't be any need to use any sort of bolt/screw/etc to hold the front of the rail in place.

 

I'm really happy with the crinkle.  Thanks Steve, for sharing the VHT with everyone.  It is awesome for our purposes here.  I did have some spots that didn't get a very good crinkle, but quite fortunately, they are areas that would receive considerable handling so it will simply look used, when finished.    I'm almost fully decided to go with a more screen-accurate looking paint finish at this point in time.  I suppose if I were doing a TD, I'd feel a little bit better about making it more "real" and weathered more heavily, but I think with the shiny TK I'm going to go basic black. 

Edited May 15, 2014 by Dark CMF

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

18 more pictures of some minor work (paint, glue... things like that) coming soon.

 

Very nearly done. God's honest truth: I could probably be finished (except for waiting on paint to dry) if I were to take about four hours of time and commit it to nothing else except doing this. I've just been busy this weekend, so I snuck in a bit of it here and there. The biggest work that I still have to do: Finish my bolt.

 

Pics will be posted here within the next 48 hours or so.

[gazmosis[501st]]

The light has appeared at the end of the tunnel!!!!!!! What was your final color paint decision???

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

I went "screen-accurate" flat black.  There really was a lot of thought put into this and ultimately, I decided that I was building a replica E-11, not a replica Sterling.  Since this is THE blaster that I'll be using for Trooping (for the time being ) I ultimately decided that it should represent what the kids saw on screen, when I eventually show up in front of them. 

 

I think that a more "realistic" build may be in the future for me, but we'll see what happens.  I've got to get this one wrapped up and spool up on armor building techniques.    I'm currently in a mental debate about original strapping or not.  LoL

 

For the record, if anyone reading this thread has decided to use the VHT crinkle paint, you definitely want to use an airbrush to top coat it.  Spray paint does diminish the finish a bit. 

 

OH!  Question for the masses of masters:  What type of "sealer" coat (if any) do you recommend spraying on to protect the finish?  It seems to me that the basic spray paint is quite easily scratched/chipped.  Suggestions?

[I'm Batman[501st]]

I went "screen-accurate" flat black.  There really was a lot of thought put into this and ultimately, I decided that I was building a replica E-11, not a replica Sterling.  Since this is THE blaster that I'll be using for Trooping (for the time being ) I ultimately decided that it should represent what the kids saw on screen, when I eventually show up in front of them. 

 

I think that a more "realistic" build may be in the future for me, but we'll see what happens.

You're on the right page Tim. Remember we're on a Star Wars forum, not a WWII military forum.