Thrawns Guard's ANH E11 blaster build

[Thrawn's guard]

I was going to look at the working trigger modification this evening but thought that before I did so I would ask the communities' opinion on the following: -

 

I would like to have a stiffer trigger mechanism than a ballpoint pen spring would provide.

 

Has anyone tried interlinking 2 ball point pen springs within each other to double the stiffness ?

 

Alternatively can anyone think of a cheap source of a similar sized but stiffer spring ? 

[Thrawn's guard]

Just a short build update for this evening.

 

I decided to have a go at a working fire mode selector switch as this seemed one of the similar modifications and would give me a feel for what I needed to do for the working trigger modification.

 

 

Firstly I placed the selector switch in the correct location checking that as it rotated around it could select the separate modes without fouling anything.

 

Once I had a suitable position I drew around the base of the selector switch before rechecking that it was still in the correct position by placing the switch in the marked up area and pointing it in all 3 mode selection positions in turn. I then marked up the centre of the hole for fitting the selector switch pin.

 

I then used a Dremel to drill out a hole in both the handle section or the base of the selector switch ensuring that the hole wasn't too deep i.e. I didn't want to drill all the way through!!!

 

Once I had drilled the hole in both parts I checked the depth of each hole so that I knew how long to make the fixing 'pin'.

 

I decided that I wanted to use a mechanical screw for the selector switch 'pin' for 2 reasons. Firstly I didn't want any issues with the resin cracking by using a screw where the threads were too deep. Secondly the pitch of the threads is much shallower on a mechanical screw so as the selector switch is operated the switch wouldn't be slack in one setting and stiff in the opposite setting (I hope that this makes sense).

 

Two lines were then marked on the mechanical screw. The line on the far right shows the length of screw which will be located in to the handle section and the next line shows the additional length of screw required to fit in to the base of the selector switch. The rest of the screw is not needed so I used my Dremel with a cutting disk to carefully cut the head section of the screw off.

 

I also wore safety glasses as I did this as I have had a number of cutting disks shatter during use in the past with bits of disk flying off in all sorts of directions (Better to be safe than sorry).

 

All that needed to be done now was test fit the selector switch to make sure it fit and worked well. Once test fitted the switch is removed until painting and final assembly.

 

Thankfully all seemed to work fine....so back to researching and deciding what part of the build to look at tomorrow,

 

A quick message to anyone out there who is tempted to have a go at modifying a resin blaster but feels a little worried that they won't have the ability I would say give it a go. You only need to do small bite size chunks of work at a time and when it is broken down in to these small tasks there really isn't anything that I have come across yet that is particularly difficult.

 

The community on here is also very helpful and knowledgeable.

 

Also if you do make a mistake it is not the end of the world as most are easily repairable using a 2 part modelling putty called green stuff (You basically mix a strip of the putty together with your fingers, sculpt to the shape required and the putty will then set. If needed you can then file or drill it as you would with the resin that the model consists of.

 

EDIT - Later in my build thread I carry out a improved method of installing a working selector switch.

Edited November 4, 2015 by Thrawn's guard

[Thrawn's guard]

This evening I have been playing about with trying to get a 3D printed serial number insert modelled and printed.

 

I'm not too far off but due to the small size of the digits the print isn't quite achieving the quality I was hoping for.

 

I have tried to fit the full 15 digit serial number format as described by T-Jay i.e. X00 0 000 X 0000 (X = letter and 0 = Number).

 

All in all it has been a bit of a frustrating evening.

 

 

This is a picture of it placed against the blaster to show roughly were it would be located.

 

Do you think the stamp in green stuff is the better solution ?

 

EDIT The more I look at it the less happy i am with the finish.

Edited July 13, 2015 by Thrawn's guard

[Thrawn's guard]

Having spent much of the evening looking in to the serial number insert shown above I decided to make sure that I would at least end the day having made some progress with my build.

 

To that end I decided to carry out a few repairs using green stuff as well as adding texture to the front scope guard.

 

I also added a serial number to the top of the magazine housing. I know that it will almost certainly be hidden by the power cells that I intend adding however it will be one of the small things that personalises this blaster. The other reason for doing this was that I wanted to practice using the punch in green stuff technique and this inconspicuious spot gave me the perfect opportunity.

 

It turned out to be a good choice to do this in any event as I stamped my 3 the wrong way around, repaired the area for a second attempt then stamped it the wrong way around again. Well at least that was a lesson learnt.

 

I will post some pictures during the course of tomorrow showing what I have described here.

[Twnbrother]

I found out while on my 4th attempt at stamping the digits that you can wait about 10 minutes or more before stamping... this give a little rigidity to the green stuff.

[Thrawn's guard]

Nice tip thanks Michael.

 

Here is a quick picture of what I got up to yesterday evening.

 

I repaired the 2 holes that I incorrectly drilled in the folding stock.

 

I also touched up a couple of areas that needed slight repair after being drilled.

 

Once the green stuff has hardened I will smooth with files and sandpaper as required.

Edited July 14, 2015 by Thrawn's guard

[Thrawn's guard]

Here is a couple of pictures of the front sight guard with texture added using a thin layer of green stuff which has been textured using the handle of a sculpting tool. This is a method that i have seen done a couple of time in various threads and I think that it works pretty well.

 

[Thrawn's guard]

Next is a couple of close ups using green stuff.

 

The first picture shows the result of boring out a thin layer of resin, filling with green stuff and smoothing before using number punches to create an imprint. Again this is a method that I have seen a few times which give a result that I really like,

 

The next shot shows the results for repairs that can be achieved quite easily by using green stuff.

 

The corner of the scope feet has material missing from the casting process. I took a small amount of green stuff and pushed it in to the correct locations ensuring that the 'blob' was slightly larger than needed. Once fully hardened I used a fine file to make it flush.

 

Once painted there should;t be any clue of the original missing section of the feet.

[Thrawn's guard]

Lastly for this evening I thought that I would make a start on the ejector by removing the inaccurate moulded strip.

 

I carefully used a Dremel to remove the majority of the material before witching to sandpaper and a file mail file to tidy everything up.

 

I have a question for the E11 experts out there.

 

I have seen that there is a section of the ejector on the right hand side that is rebated and has what looks like some form of slot and cylinder in it. Can anyone post a picture of this detail from a real Sterling ?

Edited July 15, 2015 by Thrawn's guard

[Thrawn's guard]

Well my counter arrived today so I will be able to start looking at getting the relevant parts incorporated in to my blaster.

 

Once the monocular and TJ's completion set arrive I will have just about everything that I need except for the paint to get the build finished. That said I won't be rushing it as I intend to do the best job that I can.

 

I'm also still trying to think of something that hasn't been done before but it is not proving any easy task.

 

Best of all though I am really enjoying the process and I guess once I have finished this I will have to move on to a armour build.

Edited July 15, 2015 by Thrawn's guard

[Tr00per]

Hi there, when you require more, let me know

I can sent them in PM..

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first two digits stand for it's year it was made.... so 1963 in this case.

The position of the digits can be lower postioned on later dated bolts, '' a little lower'' like the years S65,  S66 with the rest following ''I could show you the difference if you wish....

 

It's called a sear btw (extractor) that captures the empty shell and when the bolt pulls back the sear has the empty shell in a grip (spring loaded sear) and ejects it by the ejector when it's pushed back from the gas reaction when fired

 

 

Edited July 15, 2015 by Tr00per

[Thrawn's guard]

Wow Dennis thanks very much for these pictures it is very much appreciated.

 

I just have a couple of quick questions.

 

1) With regard to the detail on the right hand side of the ejector the infill appears to consist of 2 parts. The rightmost part looks like a metal rectangular detail. With regard to the part of the detail on the left I can't quite make out what this looks like as it is quite dark. Is this detail circular ?

 

2) How wide is the steel band running diagonally across the ejector ?

 

Thanks again for the pictures that you have posted.

 

Great looking blaster by the way.

Edited July 15, 2015 by Thrawn's guard

[Tr00per]

Hi there, no problem

 

1) The sear that sit's inside the bolt consists of 3 parts as you see in this picture.... ''ignore the bottom right pin as you won't see it anyway's''

    The ignoring pin is the pin that keeps it all together inside the bolt..

 

    Top ''plunger'' is the part you are refering to with the spring on it.... it's that shape, and only a small part show's as the rest is inside the bolt itself...

 

 

2) Euhmmm, the steel band (it's a self cleaning bolt, so those bands are there to remove dirt, and it makes the bolt have less friction with the tube)

    It's 6mm.

    Doopy's = 8mm, almost 9mm (too wide) , and it sit's at the wrong position as you might can tell from provided pictures...

    So you could sand it down, flat ... and find out a way to replace that part with perhaps a small piece of cut aluminium..

    But judging from your progress, you have figured that out allready

Edited July 15, 2015 by Tr00per

[Thrawn's guard]

Dennis that really helps thanks very much.

 

I'll have to see if I can do it justice and come up with something that looks realistic.

Edited July 17, 2015 by Thrawn's guard

[Thrawn's guard]

I've been looking at a new way to achieve a working trigger.

 

This method has 3 particular features that I was looking to incorporate in to my build (The first feature was the one that I was particularly looking to develop as I wanted more travel than is achieved using the pen spring method.

 

1) It allows you to easily adjust the amount of trigger travel to suit your own preference.

 

2) it can provide a stiffer trigger mechanism compared to the biro spring method if preferred.

 

3) The force required to pull the trigger is constant.

 

I have a prototype version working at the moment so will look to post some pictures and notes showing what I have done tomorrow.

Edited July 16, 2015 by Thrawn's guard

[Thrawn's guard]

Ok as mentioned in my post above I was looking for a method to allow more trigger movement (To be honest wanted to come up with something hopefully new to contribute to this community).

 

Therefore I have been working on an alternative method of achieving a working trigger.

Firstly I found, as is probably the case for most people, that the Duppydoo trigger is too wide to fit in to the trigger housing on the main model so used a mixture of careful work with a Dremel and filing to open up and smooth the width of the slot.

 

Once the slot was wide enough the trigger is positioned in it’s correct location and pencil marks are made where the trigger meets the housing. The trigger is then placed on top of the trigger housing, lined up with the pencil marks made and is then used as a template to draw the profile of the trigger which will be located within the main housing.

 

The location where the trigger is to rotate about i.e. where the pin will be located is then marked up and a Dremel is used to drill through the two walls of the main housing (I used a timber drill bit as these work very well to drill the resin). I placed the handle of the desk and drilled vertically downwards in one action.

 

The trigger was then placed in the correct position within the housing and the drill was used to drill through the trigger using the holes that I had just drilled in the housing as a template. Once drilled a nail or similar item can be dropped through all 3 holes and the trigger moved to double check that it is not clashing with any material in the recess of the housing.

 

A slot was then carefully cut in the top of the trigger local to the holes that have just been drilled. The slot is provided to accommodate the spiral spring. The spiral spring I used was actually a stiff piece or wire coiled round 3 times with ‘tails’ on both ends and was actually part of the counter mechanism that I have taken apart. A coil spring could however be made by bending a suitably stiff piece of steel/brass etc.

 

The ‘spring’ is then placed on top of the trigger and housing and the ends of the profile of the spring drawn on the trigger and housing. This shows where inside the blaster the spring will be once installed.

 

I checked that there was adequate room for the circular part of the coil within the housing before drilling out both the housing and trigger where the spring tails are to be fitted using a pin vice (Small handheld drill).

 

The spring can then be fitted in to the trigger and trigger housing by feeding the ‘tails’ of the spring in to the holes just drilled and once in position the nail can be fitted.

 

At this stage I had a working trigger and by slightly bending the spring to change the angle between the tails you can quickly and easily adjust the amount of trigger movement to suit your preference.

 

The last job at this stage was to repair the slot in the front of the trigger, where it would be visible, with some green stuff. Personally I find that once you have green stuff more or less where you want it you can smooth it very easily by wetting your finger and using your finger to get a smooth finish. Wetting your finger stops the green stuff sticking to them and therefore allows you to smooth out any ridges etc.

 

I will look at fixing and hiding the trigger pin when I get home later today.

[Bulldog44[TK]]

Ok as mentioned in my post above I was looking for a method to allow more trigger movement (To be honest wanted to come up with something hopefully new to contribute to this community).

 

Therefore I have been working on an alternative method of achieving a working trigger.

Firstly I found, as is probably the case for most people, that the Duppydoo trigger is too wide to fit in to the trigger housing on the main model so used a mixture of careful work with a Dremel and filing to open up and smooth the width of the slot.

 

Once the slot was wide enough the trigger is positioned in it’s correct location and pencil marks are made where the trigger meets the housing. The trigger is then placed on top of the trigger housing, lined up with the pencil marks made and is then used as a template to draw the profile of the trigger which will be located within the main housing.

 

The location where the trigger is to rotate about i.e. where the pin will be located is then marked up and a Dremel is used to drill through the two walls of the main housing (I used a timber drill bit as these work very well to drill the resin). I placed the handle of the desk and drilled vertically downwards in one action.

 

The trigger was then placed in the correct position within the housing and the drill was used to drill through the trigger using the holes that I had just drilled in the housing as a template. Once drilled a nail or similar item can be dropped through all 3 holes and the trigger moved to double check that it is not clashing with any material in the recess of the housing.

 

A slot was then carefully cut in the top of the trigger local to the holes that have just been drilled. The slot is provided to accommodate the spiral spring. The spiral spring I used was actually a stiff piece or wire coiled round 3 times with ‘tails’ on both ends and was actually part of the counter mechanism that I have taken apart. A coil spring could however be made by bending a suitably stiff piece of steel/brass etc.

 

The ‘spring’ is then placed on top of the trigger and housing and the ends of the profile of the spring drawn on the trigger and housing. This shows where inside the blaster the spring will be once installed.

 

I checked that there was adequate room for the circular part of the coil within the housing before drilling out both the housing and trigger where the spring tails are to be fitted using a pin vice (Small handheld drill).

 

The spring can then be fitted in to the trigger and trigger housing by feeding the ‘tails’ of the spring in to the holes just drilled and once in position the nail can be fitted.

 

At this stage I had a working trigger and by slightly bending the spring to change the angle between the tails you can quickly and easily adjust the amount of trigger movement to suit your preference.

 

The last job at this stage was to repair the slot in the front of the trigger, where it would be visible, with some green stuff. Personally I find that once you have green stuff more or less where you want it you can smooth it very easily by wetting your finger and using your finger to get a smooth finish. Wetting your finger stops the green stuff sticking to them and therefore allows you to smooth out any ridges etc.

 

I will look at fixing and hiding the trigger pin when I get home later today.

That is a cool idea for adding a spring to the trigger! Keep up the great work on this blaster!

[Thrawn's guard]

Thanks Brian I'm glad that you liked it.

 

I wanted to try to come up with one or two ideas to add to the pool of knowledge available to others during there builds.

[Thrawn's guard]

The final stage of the trigger modification, other than fitting the trigger guard, was to replace the temporary nail being used with some form or permanent pivot pin.

 

Basically this could be a smooth circular rod such as a nail, smooth part shank of a screw or in my case part of one of the solid steel rods taken from the counter (See page 1 of this build for details of the counter).

 

I decided that I intended to come up with a hidden fixing so that there were no visible signs of a pin/nail to the sides of the trigger housing.

 

To do this I measured the width of the trigger housing using digital callipers. What I then wanted was for the pivot pin to be inset 2mm at either side so that I could conceal it inside the trigger housing whilst at the same time having sufficient bearing.

 

I then marked off a section of the counter rod and carefully cut it to length using a grinding disc on the Dremel.

 

A small amount of green stuff was then pushed in to one of the holes from the outside face of the trigger guard (There is no need to be neat with this as any excess is removed later).

 

The pivot rod was then fed in from the other hole and pushed so that it is approximately 2mm below the surface of the outside face of the trigger guard.

 

Green stuff is then pushed in to the hole that the rod was installed from. At this stage the pin should be hidden from view however you will have 2 lumps of excess green stuff on the faces of the trigger housing.

 

Taking a flat surface, in my case just a plastic ruler that I had to hand, I scraped away the green stuff (before it had hardened).

 

Once hardened the trigger mechanism should be completely hidden.

[Thrawn's guard]

Since the magazine provided with the Doopydoos kit is very inaccurate My next part of the build was to incorporate one of Steve's, (Gazmosis), fantastic upgraded magazines.

 

I wanted to make the magazine removable so didn't want to cut it short to fit in to the magazine housing. Unfortunately this meant considerably more work in carefully hollowing out the magazine housing to the correct depth. I didn't realise how long this would take when I started 😖

 

I was also thinking of using some magnets to keep it in place however the fit is pretty tight anyway. Perhaps I'll use some anyway incase the fit loosens over time.

 

I'll post some pictures in the morning

Edited July 18, 2015 by Thrawn's guard

[Twnbrother]

I really like your trigger idea...    your build is looking great.

[Thrawn's guard]

Further to my post yesterday evening I have not had chance to work on the blaster build today as we have had visitors. However here are some photos taken of my work on the magazine upgrade promised yesterday.

 

As you can see from the first picture Gazzmosis' magazine is far superior to the one provided in the Doopydoos kit and in  my mind is well worth the upgrade.

 

I intend to be able to remove the magazine therefore want to keep the entire magazine intact however if the magazine wasn't to be removed shortening the magazine would be a much easier and quicker task than hollowing out the magazine housing so that the magazine fits.

 

After lots of grinding and sanding I finally managed to get the magazine to slot in to position,

[Thrawn's guard]

On a positive note my 8x20 Monoculars that I intend to use to upgrade my scope arrived today.

 

I also have TJay's great looking completion set on the way and also managed to get one of his 6 digit working counters ordered so I will be kept busy on the build for some time yet

 

I had originally intended to strip down a cheap counter that I ordered from Amazon, (See page one of this thread), to use some of the parts to convert the resin counter supplied in the Doopydoos kit however I couldn't resist the temptation to add that extra bit of realism.

 

Next on the list of things to do is a working magazine release button for which I have something a little different in mind. I will post details and photos soon (Hopefully it will be a success).

Edited July 19, 2015 by Thrawn's guard

[charlesnarles]

Trigger looks sturdy! I wonder which last longer for this application, compression or torsion springs? Can't wait to see more, sounds like you'll be busy 😎

[Thrawn's guard]

Scott hopefully both will last but at least we have some alternative methods for people to consider. 

 

I also thought about replacing the compression spring in the trigger mechanism with a push switch, (similar to the switch in my next post), but only have the single blaster build so had to make a decision which of the two methods to use.

 

Maybe someone carrying out a future build will give this a go.