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

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Yes, keep that in mind but don't get stuck on it! It's very minor

Oh, of course not... I'll just glue them in last. No need to rush that particular step.

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

So. Here with the day 3 photo updates which means that I'll have to do more work in order to post more photos of the build. Thankfully, it is almost the weekend so I'll probably be able to get a little more work done on it.

 

Projects for day #3: The front sight and the rear stock catch. This is the "before" photo.

 

The rear stock catch. My intent: To hollow out the area under the catch, as you see here. I started with two pilot holes, side by side, with the 1/8" drill bit.

 

First dremelling after the pilot holes were drilled.

 

3/4 view - Almost getting to where I want it.

 

A little more work with the rotary tool to shape the inside a bit, and ensure that it has the sloped shape inside.

 

3/4 view after the last bout of rotary tool work. I'll be taking a metal nail file to the corners/edges and the sides along the top of the catch to give it a bit more definition, but tonight I'm doing basic shaping of this part. Clean up will happen later - before assembly.

 

Top view of the front sight, before any work gets done.

 

Left side before any work.

 

Right side before any work...

 

Basic cutting/grinding to open the right side.

 

Right side - more work done. Drilled the small hole in the sight post mount - 1/32" I believe, and ground the groove into the side of the base.

 

Same work done on the left side.

 

Question for the weapons masters... Does that "groove" in the bottom sides need to go all the way through, or is it just an indentation?

 

Hole drilled through the center for mounting the "sight post."

 

Recessed the area around the hole in the bottom, to accommodate a nail (to be used as the sight post) and put some cross-hatching on the bottom for the eventual gluing.

 

Test fit of the nail. Looks good to me at this point in time.

 

Comments, questions? Please, as always - let me have whatever you've got to say.

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

I wouldn't recommand you to use a nail for the front sight. Just wait for your armor and then use a bit of ABS. It's easy to shape to form, it will be more accurate and not really more fragile if glued correctly.

 

 

For the groove, i can't remember but i guess it goes all the way through. 

 

In the end, just give it some depth and once painted the result should be the same.

[micflair]

Builds looking great Tim. I've just got my resin kit and I'm going to follow your thread for tips.. So keep up the good work!

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

No problem Mick!  I expect to do some more work on it this weekend!

 

Please be sure to reference some others, too.  There are some phenomenal build threads that provide some great information in them.  Since I couldn't remember how to post pictures, I delayed posting mine and didn't have some of the information at hand when I started the thread (stuff like drill bit sizes, etc).

[micflair]

Yeah like yourself I've got a load of threads ready to go when it comes to building.

 

I found myself routing through a bin at work the other day after a better d-ring from an old blind. Can see this is going to get silly.. Haha.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Yeah like yourself I've got a load of threads ready to go when it comes to building.I found myself routing through a bin at work the other day after a better d-ring from an old blind. Can see this is going to get silly.. Haha.Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

LoL... Silly is, I believe, a good word!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice work Tim, you have done your research

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Nice work Tim, you have done your research

Thank you, Glen. It is reassuring that you see that!

Edited January 26, 2014 by Dark CMF

[captsafe66[Admin]]

Looking good so far.

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Thanks Mark!!

 

No pictures uploaded just yet (unless you are on my FB friends), but I did get quite a few pieces cleaned up/prepped for assembly tonight! I will be posting those pictures that were taken tonight within the next 24 hours or so. I'm starting to get excited as more and more pieces are nearly ready for assembly to begin, but I continue to research each part before prepping, and continue to prep before building. I've got time on my side here after all!

 

Pics to follow!

Edited January 26, 2014 by Dark CMF

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Pictures, pictures, who's got the pictures?

 

Ah, yes. I do. Here they come (as promised)!

 

My first order of business was to do some clean-up on the Rear Stock Catch. To accomplish this, I began with a metal nail file that my beautiful and supportive wife was kind enough to loan to me, and finished up with a sanding file (100/180 grit) to clean it up and call it done.

 

Metal file, Rear Stock Catch... Pay no attention to the Rear Sight Aperture on the left.

 

Here you can (hopefully) see the little bit of filing that I did between the housing and the knob to the right.

 

The same treatment on the other side.

 

The 100/180 grit sanding file (I got them at Michaels. A pack of 12 of them was about $3.00) I used the 180 side first, and the 100 side second, to clean up the opening that I originally made with the rotary tool.

 

The "finished" product!

Edited January 26, 2014 by Dark CMF

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

I've decided to make my build thread more "reader/commenter friendly" by breaking it down into segments, rather than one post for each day of work. This should make it easier to have comments/discussions on work done on particular pieces as the build thread progresses.

 

Next batch of pictures follows...

Edited January 27, 2014 by Dark CMF

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

So, once I had finished the Rear Sight Catch, I moved my attention to the magazine's preparation:

 

The "before" shot - sort of - I originally began writing on it before taking my picture, so I went back and cleaned it to take the before picture. This is that picture.

 

I will use the rotary tool's grinding bit to "soften" up each of these hard edges on the lip of the magazine. The reason for this is that a magazine is a part that is very heavily handled. It wears down a little more than the weapons do, as one magazine can be used in the course of a year by tens, even hundreds of users but the weapons themselves are typically assigned to one user and therefore are only handled by that individual on a repeat basis. My thoughts there are to ensure that there just aren't any hard/sharp edges on the magazine, and the Doopydoo kit magazine comes with some VERY defined edges on it.

 

I penciled in the depth I wanted to grind off of each corner, and marked the location for the bearing hole (7/16" from the short side's outer edge, and centered top to bottom between the long sides) which is a 7/32 bit. I then used the size of the hole to mark off the area for the word "OFF" in what should be the proper proportions, and allowing for the proper length of the arrow, which I centered top to bottom as well.

 

This is the grinding bit that I used.

 

First corner finished, and the word "OFF" is now penciled in.

 

Skipped ahead to all four corners having been ground down (rather than sequentially going two, three, four - as I originally intended to do). Brevity - in small doses.

 

This is the cutting bit that I used to etch the arrow and the "OFF" into the magazine's end.

 

Here's the first pic of the etching. I did go back and clean it up a bit later on. As my rotary tool is not actually a Dremel, I believe that is part of the cause of a slight "flutter" as opposed to a perfectly straight and clean line.

 

Hole is drilled!

 

Used the grinding bit to bevel the edge of that hole just a bit, so that it will not be flush right up to the bearing when it gets glued in, but will have a slight recess around it. You should also be able to see the difference in the etching in this picture.

 

Now, here are some pictures of those edges that I "softened up a bit" using the grinding bit...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More pics to come in a little while. I've got to go and finish a level on Battlefield 4. LoL. Totally serious, my game has been paused since Friday night. I did some pretty extensive clean-up on Saturday night though, and there are still a few pictures left to share from that work.

 

In the meantime, if you have any comments on the ones that I've shared so far, please let me hear them. Thank you!

[Hos1880[TK]]

I am going to echo other comments thank you for the pica as you progress as my kit just arrived and reading this thread and other build threads are most helpful. I want to add the detail the first time. Look forward to your next installment.

 

Merritt

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Thank you, Merritt!

 

Another installment, coming right up!

 

This last bit of work on day 4 is just cleaning up/"sanding" some parts in preparation for assembly. The parts that I've cleaned up are the Magazine well, Magazine release button, Trigger, Trigger Guard, and End Cap. All of them are seen here, before any work began.

 

The end cap has been "dremelled" in similar fashion to the magazine. This piece will receive a lot of handling and therefore, a lot of wear. I took the same grinding bit and ensured that there were no harsh edges left on the end cap, seen here after clean-up.

 

This picture shows the Trigger, Trigger Guard, and Magazine Release Button, before any work began. They received the same treatment as the end cap. Rotary tool grinding bit, to remove all the harsh edges. The trigger and trigger guard will definitely have no rough edges based on the amount of handling they receive. The magazine release button primarily needs to have the bottom piece ground to a circular shape and 3/32" depth, based on DM101's build information.

 

Here are the four pieces after the work is completed. The magazine well has simply had the harsh edges removed, the square edges rounded a bit - for wear, and some cross-hatching put in the spot that the release button will be glued to. The trigger was shaped until smooth, and narrowed at the top to ensure that it will fit in the pistol grip. The trigger guard was ground down to smooth and shaped a little bit. The magazine release button was ground to a basically circular shape and 3/32" depth before cross-hatching was put on the bottom where it will attach to the magazine well. All of this work was done using the grinding bit.

 

The last pieces to receive some "clean-up" today are the Muzzle Flash Guard, the Ejector Guard, the Selector Switch, the Bayonet Lug, and the Sling Swivel Keeper. Here, they are seen before any shaping/clean-up is done.

 

Here, the same pieces appear, post-clean-up. The two Guards required some substantial shaping as you can see by comparing the two photos. It wasn't anything difficult to do, but it required some test-fitting prior to shaping, to ensure that I was shaping the right sides, and looking at the mold lines in the parts to see where it was supposed to stop. The Bayonet lug simply received some edge-softening and cross-hatching on the bottom where it will eventually be glued to the barrel. The Sling Swivel Keeper just got a bit of edge softening and cross-hatching for a better bond when it is eventually glued to the end cap. The Selector Switch got some slightly different treatment. I shaped it down to a basic circle, based on the shape above the extra material. I chose to NOT remove the extra material down to the mold line because I intend to make the switch functional on the assembled blaster. I felt that leaving some extra material (it can always be removed later) will make it an easier job to drill the hole for the bolt that will eventually be fitted to the switch to allow it to work.

 

That's it for work on day #4. I will add a couple of pictures though, because I'm excited about them:|

 

This picture shows the pieces that still need some work done before I can begin assembly. Obviously, the counter and scope will require a lot of work, but I have to find another bit of metal for the sight rail. I've got the piece for the counter bracket already, but will fabricate the rail first and the bracket second. I'm excited that I've only got a few other parts left to make any alterations to, before I begin assembling the blaster.

 

Moving along, moving along!

Edited January 27, 2014 by Dark CMF

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

I do have a question for the weapons masters. For the record, that's any of you who have built one already, with the modification that I'm about to ask about. This statement applies any and every time I use the title "Weapons Masters.

 

Okay, question: What are the bolt/nut sizes that go in/on the power cylinders?

 

I've got to put some putty into my cylinders before I start to build on it, as it has an air bubble in the bottom of one end of one of the cylinders.

 

Thank you all, as always, for your assistance and your comments. More to follow before you know it!

[millenium1]

Looking good my man!!!!!!!  

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking good, for the power cylinders I just dug through a container of bolts I had and found a small set that looked the same as others used

[SorenM[TK]]

I wish I could be of any use, but as you know I am quite a long ways from my blaster....and I do not recall exactly which bolts I used...

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

I wish I could be of any use, but as you know I am quite a long ways from my blaster....and I do not recall exactly which bolts I used...

All is good, my friend. It is good to know that you are safe, and able to view/comment. I did go and review your build thread again recently. Very nice tweaks you've made, after the "finished" product was revealed. I found a key piece of info that I had not yet researched, while reviewing your build, and that was how to connect the wires to the power cylinders. At least, I found a way that works and is acceptable. I'll be digging into that research as I go forward. For the time being, I'm reviewing Osothebear's thread for the next step of work that I'll do, which is marking my trigger for drilling.

 

In general build news: I have decided to make my own spring, much as Soren did, and I've already found the sacrifice offered up by the Coat Hanger's Guild. I will also be using that coat hanger to make "pins" for my assembly work. I'm getting ever so much closer to that stage. If the weather plays out as expected (snow for the next two days!) I'll be home from work and able to do even more!!

 

Here's hoping, anyway. .

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Coat hanger made a big part of my build also

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Coat hanger made a big part of my build also

Such a versatile and oft-underappreciated bit of equipment, isn't it?

 

On to my last (very little) bit of work last night. I did this AFTER I posted my previous batch of pictures and decided that it should be photographed along the way to assist anyone that is not familiar with how to do this. Quite honestly, this is probably the first time in close to 30 years that I've actually done it. That allows those in more current practice to critique what I've done as it goes along. Anyway... On to what I've done.

 

I mentioned previously that my power cylinders had a bubble in the mold, leaving a "hole" in one of the cylinders. Here's what I was talking about. You can see it at the bottom end of the cylinder on the right in the picture above.

 

A slightly closer look at it.

 

This is the putty that I have to use. If you've been reading the forums at all, you've seen people mention milput, green stuff, Tamiya putty, and even Bondo to use in repairing these types of situations. If anyone wants to chime in on the difference in the different types of putty/materials to make these repairs, please do.

 

To fix it, you simply fill the gap/crack/hole with the putty - overfill it. Make sure that it you use more than appears necessary as some of these products will shrink a little bit and you want it to dry larger than necessary so that you can shape it properly with a knife/sandpaper/etc...

 

Here's my final bit as I left it to dry last night. The next thing that I do (within the next few days) will be to take some sandpaper to it for shaping, and I'll be sure to photograph it before I begin (so you can see what the dry putty looks like), maybe one during sanding and naturally, some after pics.

 

Experts: Share your knowledge/tips/experiences for all of the readers at home (and me) to learn from!!

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

BIG update coming soon. Got a lot of personally very exciting and rewarding work done today. Whilst the rest of the household napped through our southern winter weather conditions, I was busy working on E-11 pieces!!!

Edited January 30, 2014 by Dark CMF

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Okay... Logically (I think, anyway) day 5 began where day 4 left off - putty work on the power cylinders. My basic thought was that I'd finish the work I'd begun and then just continue cleaning up the power cylinders overall, so that is what I did, and here is how that went:

 

The last thing I did (after taking the last day 4 picture) was to press the putty down into the gap a little bit a few hours after I had put it there, to make sure that it was densely packed. On with the sanding.

 

Top is sanded to its basic shape. Work on the front and the rest of the cylinders follows. I was using my 100/180 grit sanding files, and some 180 grit sandpaper for this work.

 

Work in progress...

 

Work in progress...

 

Nearly completed cleanup. You can see that I've cleaned up a lot of the rest of this piece as I go along with these pics. Honestly, they might be slightly out of order...

 

Continued work in progress...

 

More progress pics...

 

Calling it finished here!

 

This is just a picture of a painting that our two-year old son, Kellan, did yesterday - his mother helped him a little bit. It was sitting on the island where I was working, so I decided to share it.

 

Comments? Critiques? (on the build, not the artwork) Next batch follows now...

 

P.S. Next batch WAS following now, but I stopped during the middle of posting it to put Kellan to bed, and while I was away, my computer went to sleep. When that happened, I lost my post. Grrrrr...

 

More to follow.

Edited January 30, 2014 by Dark CMF