T-Jay[TK] Posted March 12, 2014 Report Posted March 12, 2014 (edited) Hello everybody, as a total newbie in this hobby I am interested in your thoughts and comments about my blaster build. So far I had no experience with props, resin, weathering and postings in this forum . Chose the E-11 resin kit from DoopyDoo's in the U.K. as the blaster has to be light-weight and low-cost. Was surprised by the "one-pieced" folding stock, had not seen this before. The quality of the resin is really good. Only a few minor issues had to get fixed with "green stuff". My aim is to make the blaster realistic and stable, also to give attention to some details. So I decided to replace and/or upgrade some parts. Let's start with the handle: - real screw for "FREE & LOCK" (can be rotated) - functioning trigger (with a spring from a ball pen and a nail) - rotatable selector switch - real hexagon screw at the bottom (M6) - two stabilising screws to mount the handle (both will later be invisible) Let's move on to the next part: - drilled all holes on the bottom side (11,0mm) - two real M6 hexagon screws at the front (M5 simply looked too small as you can see in the comparison shot) And now the folding stock. This really caused the most work (up to now ). But I wanted these details . - drilled all fake holes (including folding stock releaser) - front lock (simple screw with some insulating tape and a short heat shrink tube) - two stabilising screws to mount the folding stock (will later fill heads with "green stuff") - drilled all holes on the bottom side and made an inlay to simulate the metal bar in the background Magazine and magazine port were next. The 4 corners got angled according to a reference picture from the original Sterling. There are different angles on front and rear end. Then I placed a 5mm LED with a washer from the inside and filled the magazine with some foam. Looks like too much foam, but it works: if the head of the LED gets pushed, it immediately comes up again . One of my biggest sorrows was how to get a nice "OFF ->" engraved on the top of the magazine as the real guns have. You may have noticed the black tape in the last picture. This was just to cover my first attempt . Then the idea: I still have a lot of this "green stuff" and borrowed something nice from a co worker (many thanks to W.A. for that). While doing this with the magazine, the serial number on the mag port also got changed (because it is the same on all DoopyDoo's kits). Okay, okay - the power cylinders will later cover this place anyway, but I am currently not sure if these will be used. A long screw got drilled through the magazine port to provide more stability when it later gets glued. Ouh, before all this got done, a small black allen screw was added to replace the resin version. When checking a few reference pictures some day, I noticed this little metal thing on the magazine. Looks like it avoids inserting the magazine too deep into the port (not sure). Unfortunately this is not included in the Doopydoo's kit, so I started with some aluminium from scratch... I am happy with the result and it looks okay (to me). Exactly one day later, I met Darth Chridan (best regards by the way ) and he gave me a resin version for free . Thank you very much for this!!! Now I have to decide which one will be used at the end. Any comments on this? Which part would you choose? And what about the power cylinders? With or without? Let me know, what you think about it. Will try to post the next update soon. Edited September 20, 2017 by T-Jay 1 Quote
The5thHorseman[501st] Posted March 12, 2014 Report Posted March 12, 2014 No offense to your work but i would choose the DarthChridan's clip pin I like green stuff and that trick for the engraved letters is just genius! You're doing an amazing work, however you did a small and common mistake with your folding stock. You hollowed too much at the top of the notch, you should have left some resin as it is supposed to be 2 differents pieces of the folding stock fitted into each other: Looks like there's a lot of great e-11 build thread these days, keep on like that Quote
TK bondservnt[501st] Posted March 12, 2014 Report Posted March 12, 2014 I have a casting of the end of a clip with the correct size wording "off" and I also have a real scope and counter you could add to this? let me know? bondservnt@aol.com BEAUTIFUL JOB! now I have to up my game! Quote
Dark PWF[Staff] Posted March 13, 2014 Report Posted March 13, 2014 Looking good! Definitely liking some of the mods so far. Quote
gazmosis[501st] Posted March 13, 2014 Report Posted March 13, 2014 OOOH this is a tasty build!!!!! Quote
DarthChridan[TK] Posted March 13, 2014 Report Posted March 13, 2014 (edited) Really great assembling, Tino ..and great moddings of the parts as well , especially of the folding stock ...really well done ...oh and hey, the magazine clip is really close to the original. I'm looking forward to see your end result. But all in all, the only thing that I don't like from the doopydoos blaster is the magazine. It's to small opposite of the original magazine...look at this pic, than you can see what I mean--->> I got another resin part of the magazine with better details of the original--->> Edited March 13, 2014 by DarthChridan Quote
Felice Posted March 13, 2014 Report Posted March 13, 2014 Really nice build my friend!!! I like the "Gutenberg" letter style;-) Quote
T-Jay[TK] Posted March 15, 2014 Author Report Posted March 15, 2014 (edited) Hi all, thank you very much for your friendly replies so far! Happy to have some experts following this build. Especially the critics are very welcome, because this helps to improve some parts while still building the blaster. Good to see there are a lot of detail-lovers out there @ Germain (The5thHorseman): Thanks for pointing out the mistake with the folding stock. You are absolutely right. Will see if I can solve this issue and keep you updated. @ Daniel (Darth Chridan): Thanks for the good comparison shots. I already wondered why there is so much space between the mag and the port. Now I have to think about a quick solution... @ Vern (TK Bondservnt 2392): Haven't thought I would say this, but after Daniel posted his photos, I am now thinking of replacing my magazine . Will think about your offer... Okay, back to topic Today's update is about the scope. Most of the resin scopes can be identified via the scope decals. Although these are interesting, I wanted to stay as close to the look of the original as possible and decided to go for real lenses. The one for the front has been taken from a compass. To give the view more depth, the hole got drilled deep into the scope. And the 5 resin screws got replaced with real ones - 2 metal and 3 plastic (but they will be fine for painting). Unfortunately I made some scratches in the lens. Hopefully I can get these polished... For the rear end I couldn't find a fitting lens, so I went to my eyewear optician and he made me a convex lens exactly in size . Like on the front, the hole got drilled with some monster drills (again thanks to W.A.) by using different diameters when going deeper. This reduced the weight only a little bit. But it will hopefully give the scope a real look when it's being painted on the inside with black and brass. Thanks to M.F. for the nice digital precision tool and of course to my roommate TK-0000 for holding the lens to the scope, although being tired from his shift at the detention block, where they had some trouble today with a few guys... Thank you for reading. Next steps will be uploaded around Wednesday. Have a nice weekend all Edited September 20, 2017 by T-Jay 1 Quote
T-Jay[TK] Posted March 18, 2014 Author Report Posted March 18, 2014 (edited) Hi again Now that the scope is done, it requires a scope rail. This has been made out of an aluminum stripe (2x20mm) and with some help of Billhag's brilliant graphics. And yes, it was cut in on the underside, before it got bent to 90 degrees. Billy, if you ever read this: thanks a lot for having spent your time into these meaningful pictures! This had to be said Does anybody know, if there has to be a countersunk screw at the rear sight, or not? Just liked the smooth optic of it, but would replace it to stay correct. Sorry guys, but at this stage I could not resist to pre-mount all the major parts (no glue, only screwed) just to get an idea, how the whole thing looks and feels... Some of you have surely noticed the missing magazine clip. Yeah, I am still working on the corrections of the size. Grrr. Will show this in a later update... Another important missing thing is the Hengstler 400 counter. Although there is a resin version included in the kit, I liked the idea of having a real one - for the details, you know . Got a simple and fully operational battle station - huh, what was that? Sorry, of course I meant fully operational counter - arranged by some good friends (thanks to S.B. & M. & S.W.) Yes, it is not perfect for a few hardcore prop fans out there , but I didn't want to spend a little fortune only to have an eagle-logo, a reset button and all six digits in black. This one is fine enough for me The front connectors will get removed later and a fake reset button will be added too. Here are the pictures. Then I tried to mount it in a way, so that it could later still be removed out of the bracket holder. Don't know why I liked this idea, but it somehow didn't work to realize it (with the limited options I have). So I chose the simple way and just drilled through the bracket holder into the counter itself. It works fine - even with only one screw and it is stable too. It can later be glued as well. In own matters: I am trying to keep this thread compact to avoid boring you here. Therefore some sections got skipped (for example: time consuming trimming of every single resin part after unpacking) and all pictures are selected and combined 4 in 1 before being uploaded. If you prefer higher resolutions (or just don't want me to combine the pictures) or want more photos of all the steps in between, then just let me know Alright folks, that's it for now. Any comments, ideas or critics are really appreciated! Next update will hopefully come just in time for the weekend. Edited September 20, 2017 by T-Jay 1 Quote
I'm Batman[501st] Posted March 21, 2014 Report Posted March 21, 2014 Awesome work T-Jay. Yes, I think most of us know how sandpaper works, so you don't need to show us that. Don't be afraid to be more detailed on any special or tricky steps you took. We do like the little details here Quote
T-Jay[TK] Posted March 22, 2014 Author Report Posted March 22, 2014 (edited) Hi all Thanks Ian for your kind words. Every encouragement is really appreciated at the moment. Although I am working on this blaster every day after work, the progress is currently low - due to being busy with some corrections. Especially the magazine issue keeps me in trouble. That's a bit frustrating. But the worst part to me (painting and weathering) still needs to get done . Anyway, here are a few infos of what I did the last days: Have fixed all issues in the folding stock with "green stuff" and replaced the wooden bar with a new one made from aluminum and painted it black. Hey, the first part got painted - oh my god... The clip (or lock) on the rear end has been trimmed to look more like it's made out of two separate parts. Also the white "ring" got replaced with a more accurate one and the end cap had to be adapted to this. Next problems came with the bolt and charging handle. The inner diameter of the kit is a bit lower than 22mm. For quite a while I thought of making the resin walls thinner at the gun's rear end (because you'll later be able to identify the DoopyDoo's kit with a single view on this section) but as already mentioned, my options are limited and I wasn't sure if this could make the blaster unstable. So I searched for an accurately fitting tube - with no luck. Then two pieces of a plastic tube (for electrical installations) were used. One got cut in the long way to fit over the second one, resulting in a diameter of a bit more than 21mm. In case this won't be enough, the inner tube can still be wrapped with a few layers of insulation tape. Drilled a screw into the charging handle, then cut off the head and placed it into a hole in the "bolt" to run a first test fit. Looks okay. The spring caused some unexpected problems. It took two metal clothes hangers (thanks to E.S.) but the result was not satisfactory . The metal wire was 2mm, so I bought a few meters of 1,8mm wire, which was easier to handle - and as far as I know it's the correct size from the original gun. Finally found something with the required diameter, to wrap this wire around and tada: it fitted well into the resin body. On the reference photos I have, there is always a total of 11 visible convolutions on the installed spring. Please let me know if you have different information. Alright folks, it's 4 o'clock in the morning. Need some sleep before continuing the build... Edited September 20, 2017 by T-Jay 1 Quote
The5thHorseman[501st] Posted March 22, 2014 Report Posted March 22, 2014 Man, you're clever! And nice fix on the folding stock, sometimes it's hard to find the motivation to fix those small kind of flaws. However, your way to mount the cocking lever isn't really accurate. In fact the cocking handle has a rouded base which slot into a rounded recess on the inner bolt: (it's hard to see on the reference above so i borrowed this one from Gazmosis:) Quote
T-Jay[TK] Posted March 22, 2014 Author Report Posted March 22, 2014 Hi Germain, thanks for pointing this out . Will try to change it if still possible... Quote
gazmosis[501st] Posted March 22, 2014 Report Posted March 22, 2014 You just keep rocking this build out, Tino! Where'd you get your end ring?? Quote
T-Jay[TK] Posted March 22, 2014 Author Report Posted March 22, 2014 Hi Steve, thank you very much. Your own build is also very outstanding and inspiring. I found the end ring in a standard Do-It-Yourself store. It is just one single piece of a metal chain. Was happy about the perfect fit. If you check the stores in your area, you'll surely find something similar. Quote
sloth Posted March 22, 2014 Report Posted March 22, 2014 What size bar did you use in the stock? Quote
Dark PWF[Staff] Posted March 23, 2014 Report Posted March 23, 2014 Looking quite good, Tino - and moving along quite quickly, too! I'm with you... The thought of painting mine ties my stomach in knots. LoL Quote
T-Jay[TK] Posted March 23, 2014 Author Report Posted March 23, 2014 @ Josh (sloth): if you mean the black aluminum bar, the diameter is exactly 10,5mm. As the folding stock will not be operational, it can only be seen through the drilled holes underneath it. Didn't had a measurement of the real piece. Maybe these are 10 or 11mm, so I took it as a compromise @ Tim (Dark CMF): thank you very much. I am also following your thread. Seems like you, Steve and me are currently running our builds in parallel. So I should eventually slow down and wait, how you guys solve the painting issue Quote
T-Jay[TK] Posted March 24, 2014 Author Report Posted March 24, 2014 (edited) Regarding my last sentence: it was meant as a joke but it might really come like I wrote there because my next weekend is now completely blocked with other things. Anyway, to me this is not a competition with Tim and Steve or anybody else . I am much more surprised of 'a few guys' independently planning to run a resin blaster build with loads of modifications and starting all within just a few weeks... Nice Will update again as soon as possible - maybe before the weekend... Edited January 13, 2016 by T-Jay Quote
I'm Batman[501st] Posted March 24, 2014 Report Posted March 24, 2014 I'm sure Tim and Steve, and anyone else with a build happening aren't in 'competition' or offended in anyway. And for people like me, bring it on! The more totally awesome build threads I've got to refer to means (hopefully) a better looking baster than I would have otherwise made. Quote
T-Jay[TK] Posted March 27, 2014 Author Report Posted March 27, 2014 (edited) Okay, time for update #04 As earlier mentioned, the Hengstler counter still needed some actions. The electrical connectors got removed by pulling them out of the rear side from this black socket. Tried turning and drilling there at first but the solution was to simply push them back through the socket - with a careful hammer knock Then a hole for the reset button was made in the counter housing, by using Simon's measurement diagram from his great build thread (thanks again Simon ). A 2mm plastic piece was sufficient to make the actual reset button from it. Unfortunately I did not find a way to make it movable with a little spring so far, but it looks quite real when the cover is installed. After this I trimmed these little shields / guards on the side because they are much thinner on the original guns. The Dremel was ideal for this. You can see the difference in the comparison shot. The snug fit to the gun's body was achieved by rubbing them over sandpaper, which was wrapped around it. After doing the same with the bigger shield, I heated up the ends to bend them to the exact curve radius of the ejection port. Start liking this resin material... As I had one quarter left over in the last picture, I've inserted a photo from a strange big brown box which had arrived here some weeks ago. The sender is somebody called "Paul" in the UK. Don't know if you ever heard of him... Comments and critics are welcome. Have a nice weekend. Edited September 20, 2017 by T-Jay 1 Quote
SIMpixels Posted March 27, 2014 Report Posted March 27, 2014 You're doing a darn fine job Tino, keep up the great work! Quote
gazmosis[501st] Posted March 27, 2014 Report Posted March 27, 2014 Damn.....never thought about thinning out the shrouds!!!! Nice work! Quote
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