S&T(airsoft) Sterling L2A1 to E11 "build" thread

[charlesnarles]

A heavy brown box came today with my very first airsoft gun:

The stock came all bent, but I can exchange it.

[jannick]

Been waiting to follow one of these! Don't hold back on pictures and descriptions

[Sonnenschein]

The grip seems a little off...

[T-Jay[TK]]

That's what I've been waiting for. Gonna get fun to watch

 

Can you check if its possible to replace the grip with a real Sterling's grip?

 

And is that selector switch operational?

[charlesnarles]

Grip is a rounded rectangle shape (very much like the Disney toy) and the fire select is fully functional (safe, auto, repeat). Looks like the whole grip could be removed but I'm not sure yet. Gonna exchange it at a "superstore" (woah!) so I'll ask them about breaking it down as much as possible. I need some calipers..

[Arnie_DK[TK]]

If this is, in any way, built like other airsoft guns out there, the Gearbox' motor housing extends into the grip. Hence the weird shape.

Dont expect to be able to replace it with a real sterling grip, unless you do a lot of cutting and maybe welding

[charlesnarles]

Yeah that's where the motor is, battery space just inside the end cap. I have a DVH grip I could just glue if the other will come out... maybe. Hard to find scopes these days

[charlesnarles]

Removing the orange safety tip voids your 45 day warranty... I got mine off with pliers and (carefully) a razor blade to pry it off intact for adding later on for airsoft etc.

The front half looks pretty good other than the bayonet lug lacking some details (fixable with a dremel):

 

Muzzle is great other than a small spacer between the sight and the bolted-on nose piece. Hopefully it's removable:

[charlesnarles]

This is the DVH handle on top of the S&T one. Much too big and missing an angle in the trigger housing:

 

It fits on the tube pretty well, which might mean it's 40mm diameter but it's hard to tell without the right tools. Spending all day in an airsoft superstore has clearly affected my subconscious. Pew pew turned to eh-eh-eh for a second there:

[charlesnarles]

The S&T handle attaches differently from the DVH's two screws (no idea how a real Sterling is), so I'll have to just unscrew everything and see what happens:

 

Idk why but they decided to switch around the fire select modes. I put it in between to show all the letters:

[charlesnarles]

Tried to use a Gazmosis mag but it's way too small for this gun. Too bad, I'll have to cut the full-length mag that came with it:

[charlesnarles]

I guess the end cap isn't actually slanted/tapered, but parallel to the pipe. Darn! But the cap itself looks thick enough to take to a steel-grade belt sander (I think those exist):

 

I really like the overall look, despite its technical inaccuracies. Sure feels good to hold and it's a great start if you ask me:

Here's with my DVH M19 scope sitting on top just for funzies:

[charlesnarles]

Look what I found to help me with dismantling:

 

Only 2 screws between me and the faux bolt which has a spring-powered mock charging action (it pulls back and snaps closed... even though Sterlings are open-bolt SMGs so it should at least stay open until the trigger is pulled😛). Gotta add the diagonal stripe by actually recessing the rest. It looks like a thin piece of plastic but I think I can do it enough to get the right look.

 

Idk what I'm gonna do with the magazine since the end plate's "OFF-->" seems to be aesthetic and not meant to slide off even though the metal there is cut to where it looks plausible. Pliers!

[Arnie_DK[TK]]

For the barrel, it should be enough to remove the airsoft inner-barrel, to get the right look.

I plan on getting one of theese myself, and "merge" it with my MR E-11, to get the closest to a demill Sterling, as possible

[charlesnarles]

I can honestly live with the handle, it's the end cap that bugs me. What's not perfect on the MR? How's the scope btw? i couldn't tell from videos

Edited May 24, 2015 by charlesnarles

[charlesnarles]

Considering this scope as its aluminum and much cheaper than a real one:

http://www.evolutiontoys.com.ar/index.php?id=item&item=408

 

I'd have to do too much work to get a brass layer under the black paint. Plus the lenses are weirdly sized/placed. I'd love an accurate M38 reproduction scope, they'd sell like hot cakes especially if you could see through them. Idk why SDS or MR don't sell E11 parts😕

 

Update: I was directed towards an aluminum DL-44 scope project on the rpf so I'll investigate the heck out of that. Cool.

Edited May 24, 2015 by charlesnarles

[Arnie_DK[TK]]

Not much wrong with the MR scope, except its not an Original M19

Have some photos of my MR on Photobucket http://s1167.photobucket.com/user/Arnie_DK/slideshow/Master%20Replicas%20E-11

[jkno]

The MR scope is a copy of M38/M40 with rounded foot. Pretty cool targeting sytem on it too.

[charlesnarles]

Sorry to bounce around so much topic-wise. So many ideas about all the different parts!

 

The grip comes off via two screws to expose the motor which is more securely attached. To remove it I'd have to disassemble the whole trigger assembly and I don't want to yet and don't have an Allen set somehow:

 

Once the battery is off, it looks like the DVH handle is barely wide enough to fit on the trigger assembly if I cut off all the flat parts:

 

[charlesnarles]

Or...!

I could sand down the rounded corners of the S&T grip until it looks better. The battery itself takes up most of the grip but the inside corners are reinforced a little. Then it stays functional and a replacement piece couldn't be too expensive if I ruin it:

[Heat2237]

I just received the same airsoft gun. Im watching your thread closely. I also want to convert mine to an anh E11. But I want to keep the functionality of it.

[charlesnarles]

Cool, make one for yours and we can bounce ideas around. Yours rusted or marked up anywhere? My 1st had rust so I exchanged it but the new one has machining marks all over the barrel shroud. Disappointing at first, but I kinda like that it's not so AFB. I can weather the scope and the rest to match

Edited May 26, 2015 by charlesnarles

[Heat2237]

No. Mine actually came in perfect condition from evike.com

[SofusSnake]

I'm trying to save up for this one, but.. Ah.. I dunno if it's this site that has gotten the best of me, but the inaccuracies are kind of annoying me now. 
I used to be like "whatever, it still looks pretty accurate." but now, after seeing it side by side with the accurate parts... It's waaay cheaper than a real one, though, which pretty much trumps everything.

(And I can't be bothered getting a doopy without a functioning folding stock.)

Question:
Is the safety tip a plastic cap that slides over the metal muzzle, or is it the muzzle itself, painted orange? Could be useful to know if I'm transporting it or trooping in public areas.

Edited May 27, 2015 by SofusSnake

[charlesnarles]

Mine came with an orange ring glued on the muzzle. Comes off easily but left superglue residue. Not a big deal to fix tho. And I'm sure I can either fix an accurate handle to it or round off the one it has