Thrawns Guard's ANH E11 blaster build

[Twnbrother]

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,

You will need to go a little deeper to make sure the little lip at the front of the magazine is snug against the magazine well.  looks like about an 1/8" more in front and 3/8" in the rear.  The magazine catch also needs to be seat further.

 

[Thrawn's guard]

As mentioned yesterday I have been working on something a little different for the magazine release button.

 

I wanted it to actually move rather than simply glue it in place and have seen a compression spring used to give this push button effect. What I thought however would be interesting to investigate was to actually fit a compression switch within the magazine housing to give a real mechanical feel to the button when operated.

 

With this in mind the first task was to check the diameter of the switch with a digital calliper before drilling a hole in the underside of the resin release switch, (5mm diameter), so that it would slot tightly in to the top of the push pull switch.

 

Once this had been done I used a Dremel cutting wheel to remove the ends of the switch (I only needed the switch mechanism and the electrical connections would make the switch too large).

 

I placed the cut down switch on top of the magazine housing and used a sharp pencil to mark out the position of the switch so that I can see where I would need to hollow out the resin.

 

The hollowing out of the magazine housing with the Dremel took some time to open up to the correct size and depth but once done the switch was dropped in to place. I then double checked that the positioning and depth were correct and once happy that was the case I glued the switch in to position with super glue.

 

In order to provide a neat detail I wanted to hide the square profile of the cut that I made in order to drop the switch in to position. Green stuff was then moulded with the use of a clay sculpting tool, (and fingers), in to the corners of the square opening and gently sculpted in to position. The switch was operated throughout this stage to ensure that no green stuff, once hardened, would prevent the switch from working.

 

As usual I had some green stuff left over so I took the opportunity to repair the edge of the magazine slot that I had previously sanded down occidentally (This will be filed/sanded as required once dried to ensure it is perfectly blended in with the resin).

 

The remaining green stuff was used to provide additional restraint to the switch.

 

After all this work this is the result (I will file and sand it tomorrow when the green stuff has fully hardened.

[Thrawn's guard]

You will need to go a little deeper to make sure the little lip at the front of the magazine is snug against the magazine well.  looks like about an 1/8" more in front and 3/8" in the rear.  The magazine catch also needs to be seat further.

 

d

 

Good spot Michael and thanks for the feedback. Looks like I know what I will be doing after work tomorrow.

 

I don't know if after this build I will ever get rid of all of the resin powder 

Edited July 19, 2015 by Thrawn's guard

[Thrawn's guard]

Can anyone tell me how I can post a short video ?

 

It's only a few seconds long but shows how the switch works.

[AgeOfStrife]

Can anyone tell me how I can post a short video ?

 

It's only a few seconds long but shows how the switch works.

Post the video to YouTube, then copy the link to it and paste it into your post it here on the forum and it'll automatically turn it into and embedded video. That's how I did the video clip of the rear lock in my own blaster build thread.

 

Dan

[Thrawn's guard]

Post the video to YouTube, then copy the link to it and paste it into your post it here on the forum and it'll automatically turn it into and embedded video. That's how I did the video clip of the rear lock in my own blaster build thread.

 

Dan

Thanks Dan.

 

This is a video showing the magazine release button in operation.

 

I think that this effect would work great with a trigger.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rJFdPfY9jw

Edited July 19, 2015 by Thrawn's guard

[Twnbrother]

Chris I really like the sound it makes. It looks like you button is too high. I think you should only see the base of the button from the side.

[Thrawn's guard]

Hi Michael I also like the sound it makes and it also feels 'correct'.

 

Unfortunately the height is the function of the particular push switch that I had but I'm sure that there are others available with less travel.

 

I may have a look on the internet to see what I can find.

 

Do you think that the height is a big issue with regard to getting the blaster signed off for Centurion use ?

[Twnbrother]

I don't know it that is an issue or not. There are many experts on here who probably know it the button height is an issue

[T-Jay[TK]]

Chris, if you cannot shorten that rod from the switch, what about drilling deeper into that magazine button to bring it lower?

 

Would be good to get that gap closed between the magazine well and the button...

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

For Centurion, a blaster must not be a Hasbro conversion, and must have all of the elements of the "screen used" blasters, assembled properly.

 

I'm with Tino... I'd do whatever I could to eliminate the gap if it were my build.

 

Not sure of the composition of the switch, but could the "post" be cut down or dremelled down about a 1/4 of an inch? It is indeed a very cool modification idea, and if it has been seen before, it certainly isn't common, but getting it to look right will take it to the next level.

[Thrawn's guard]

Tim/Tino/Michael – Thanks for the feedback which is always welcome.

 

 Unfortunately the switch mechanism requires quite a bit of vertical movement and I don’t really have the space to drop it down any further. In any event if I did drop it down further the switch would actually start to disappear within the top of the magazine housing.

 

I do however like the basis and feel of this modification therefore see that the best solution will be to find an alternative push switch with a much reduced vertical travel. I guess that I need a switch that has a vertical travel equal to the depth of the recess under the circular resin button.

 

 I will search around and see what I can find.

 

NOTE - I think that I may have found something suitable on Amazon   

 

Order placed so once it arrives I will have a go at reworking the magazine release button modification.

 

Edited July 20, 2015 by Thrawn's guard

[Thrawn's guard]

Hmm after thinking about it a little more I think I was missing the point about altering the length of the stem.

If I shorten the stem I could get the button to the correct height and it would have a solid spring action I just wouldn't get the switching click sound (I was getting fixated on the switching sound).

I'll give it some more thought after all the new switches that I ordered were less than £2 for 5 delivered so there are no issues there.

Edited July 20, 2015 by Thrawn's guard

[Thrawn's guard]

Taking onboard the comments and advice about the magazine release button I decided to see what I could do with the push switch currently installed as the new push switches are not due to be delivered for a few days.

 

I removed the resin switch and cut down the stalk of the push switch using a cutting wheel on the Dremel before tidying everything up with fine file. I also took the opportunity to hollow out the magazine housing a little more to allow the upgraded magazine to be fully inserted.

 

 

 

 The next task was to check that the button was now located at the correct height and after some further minor filing I was happy that I had the button located at the correctly.

 

I carefully test fit the button before applying a small amount of super glue to the base of the resin button and top of the push switch. Once the two sections of the switch were glued I double checked that the button was correctly centred and that it would fit in to the tolerance hole when pushed.

 

[Thrawn's guard]

I came across some steel eyelets at the weekend and wondered what people’s opinion was with regard to using them on the folding stock to replace the resin rivets. I have taken some comparison photos below to clarify what I mean.

 

They seem to be a good match for the end of the stock but less so for the other detail.

 

 

 

Edited July 20, 2015 by Thrawn's guard

[charlesnarles]

You'd only need the switch to click if it were connected to something, which would make for a very cool aux placement for a firing-at-the-hip grip on the magazine like the TK inside the Falcon (for righties only lol). The eyelets do look good for the bigger rivets (or whatever they really are, I'm too scared to degrease and disassemble mine) Externally it's a great match

Edited July 20, 2015 by charlesnarles

[Thrawn's guard]

This is the video of the updated switch mechanism in action.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91Qd9dKLicE

 

Scott - I agree that the eyelets look a good match for the larger 'rivet' detail and smaller detail looks like something that a small diameter tube could replicate.

[charlesnarles]

Looks like they're both small eyelets, with a raised lip around the front's:

Hope that helps!😎

Edited July 21, 2015 by charlesnarles

[Thrawn's guard]

That is very helpful indeed Scott.

 

Thanks very much for going to the trouble of taking and posting the photos.

[Thrawn's guard]

Can anyone tell me what the overall length of the fuses to the cylinders is supposed to be ?

 

EDIT - I may try to 3D print some to see how they come out. I have modelled them as shown in the picture below however I need to scale to the correct length.

 

Edited July 21, 2015 by Thrawn's guard

[Twnbrother]

When I did mine I cut the tubes based on the length of the DD tubes...  It looks okay, but I understand wanting the precise distance. 

[T-Jay[TK]]

Can anyone tell me what the overall length of the fuses to the cylinders is supposed to be ?

 

EDIT - I may try to 3D print some to see how they come out. I have modelled them as shown in the picture below however I need to scale to the correct length.

 

 

Checked my metal power cylinders from Andy (PlayfulWolfcub) and it looks like 25mm is the total lenght, which is why the aluminum parts in my completion sets are 23mm (because you have to add the "end caps" from green stuff).

 

Hope this helps

[Thrawn's guard]

Thanks Tino.

 

I will be using the aluminium parts from the completions set for my blaster but also wanted to experiment printing some especially with regard to the end caps.

 

I may print end caps and see if the look good on the ends of the aluminium parts.

[Thrawn's guard]

Based on Scott's photographs that he kindly provided I have had a go a reproducing the rivet effect the end of the folding stock.

 

I took an eyelet and glued it onto a steel washer which seems to reproduce the detail pretty well and was quick and easy to do.

 

 

This is what it looks like in position.

Edited July 23, 2015 by Thrawn's guard

[Thrawn's guard]

Well I have now started to look at the scope and though I have quite a lot of work to do to get it completed I hope to try something a little different.

 

I will get some pictures posted tonight showing haw far I have managed to get.