Thrawns Guard's ANH E11 blaster build

[Thrawn's guard]

Having given this some thought I realised that I had an old steel ruler (The local pound shop also sells these). Checking the ruler against the aluminium strip I found that the ruler was identical in thickness, was sufficiently long however was too wide.

 

I therefore decided to try my hand at ‘recycling’ the old ruler in to a much more useful item. Firstly I decided to check that the ruler would bend OK (after all I didn't want to spend lots of time, like my previous attempt, to get everything else cut and shaped only for the ruler to snap at the last minute). Therefore I made a shallow cut on the underside face of the ruler where I wanted to form the bend to help the bending process.

 

 

Unfortunately I don’t have a bench vice therefore I took two plumbers spanners, (wrenches), to share the load and hold the short section of rail whilst bending the ruler to a 90 degree angle.

 

 

I cleaned up the steel ruler so that I could later mark out the profile of the rail using a wire brush attachment in the Dremel.

 

 

I then used the snapped rail as a template to mark out the profile of the replacement rail and then double checked that the marked profile matched the actual receiver.

 

 

I have now started cutting the profile of the scope rail using a cutting wheel on a Dremel. I only have the detailing to the short section that connects in to the hole in the receiver still to cut so will post some update pictures this evening.

[Thrawn's guard]

Some more pictures of my latest progress.

 

It took a while however I managed to cut out the profile of the scope rail using a cutting disk attachment on the Dremel.

 

 

I marked out a line on the vertical section of the scope rail level with the height the rail sits on the rear sight then used the resin end cap as a template to draw the circular profile of the receiver.

 

 

Once marked out I cut out the profile to the front end of the scope rail.

 

 

Not too bad to say I had to cut the steel ruler down and was aiming for a width of 20mm.

 

 

I will need to check that the front tab on the scope rail doesn't interfere with the internal barrel section that I will be adding soon however it sits very well in to place on the receiver and rear sight.

 

 

I marked out a line in line with the centreline of the folding stock pivot, as advised in chapter 24 of the FISD E11 Reference Team thread. I then measured the distance between the feet of the scope and mark out out a second line which will be central on the front foot of the scope.

 

 

Here is a quick shot of a test fit (Not yet drilled, screwed or glued).

 

Edited August 9, 2015 by Thrawn's guard

[T-Jay[TK]]

Placement looks good. As long as the scope's rear foot is above the hinge from the folding stock, it should be okay...

[Thrawn's guard]

Thanks Tino I do find that the E11 reference thread is very usefully to quickly get confirmations about details such as this.

 

I'm also not at home for the next few days and have already got withdrawal symptoms from not being able to progress my blaster build.

[Thrawn's guard]

Well hopefully I should be back home on Monday so should be able to get back to my build.

 

At least having a few days away has given me the chance to think about the remaining steps I need to do.

 

In the meantime does anyone know if there are any specific types of screws which should be used to attach the scope to the scope rail so as to be screen accurate ? I am thinking about using some hex head screws similar to the screws used in the front of the receiver and base of the handle.

 

Also it occurs to me that BlasTech would be stamped on the blaster somewhere so was thinking of doing this on the underside of the magazine housing. I thought of this location as I'm 99% this wasn't done for the screen used blasters but the underside of the magazine housing wouldn't have been visible to this extent on screen. I would be interested to hear what people's thoughts on this are.

Edited August 14, 2015 by Thrawn's guard

[Twnbrother]

I had thought about stamping "BLASTEC E-11" above the trigger assembly as a nod to the films...    I also wanted the Imperial symbol but could not think of a way to get it stamped into the model.

Edited August 14, 2015 by Twnbrother

[Thrawn's guard]

Mike I may try to 3D print an imperial symbol stamp.

 

If I do I'll let you know how I get on though the trick may be to get the symbol small enough.

 

What sort of size were you thinking of ?

[SeanTX]

Dude that scope is wicked awesome. I just odered three monoculars for $6 at banggood.com to try it myself. In regard to the scope markings, and since you ave the freedom to do what you want. Maybe you could challenge the norm. I know there are crosshairs people use from video games but it is a laser weapon not a projectile. I'm no laser scientist but light is affected by gravity a whole lot less than a bullet. Does a laser scope need distance ticks at all? Not that star wars ever followed rules like that. Just a thought.

Edited August 15, 2015 by SeanTX

[Twnbrother]

I'm thinking about 4-5 mm diameter of stamped above the trigger assembly. This would make it bigger than my 2mm stamps. It would need to be the negative of the symbol to transfer. This could be really cool. If it's on the bottom on the magazine well I would say anywhere from 10-15mm. What are your thoughts

[usaeatt2]

In the meantime does anyone know if there are any specific types of screws which should be used to attach the scope to the scope rail so as to be screen accurate ?

I am thinking about using some hex head screws similar to the screws used in the front of the receiver and base of the handle.

 

Hi Chris, I don't think anyone could identify the screen used scope to rail screws with 100% certainty. It's LIKELY they used the original scope screws, but I've seen some screen caps where the heads look too tall to be scope screws. In the end, the prop masters probably grabbed whatever would fit for such a minor detail.

 

In my opinion, regular hex head screws (like the ones in the muzzle and grip) don't look good. The head is too tall.

For your reference, here's a picture of original scope screws (I think credit goes to Vern for this picture).

 

Here's a link to the McMaster-Carr LOW PROFILE hex screws I use on my E-11's:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#92220a171/=yi0cyr

 

I'M ENJOYING YOUR BUILD!!!     Aaron

[I'm Batman[501st]]

Thanks Aaron. I was just searching my photo bucket for a photo of the screws my scope came with. Same ones!

 

If you zoom in, you can see how they look installed. Nice and neat.

 

[usaeatt2]

Thanks Aaron. I was just searching my photo bucket for a photo of the screws my scope came with. Same ones!

 

If you zoom in, you can see how they look installed.  Nice and neat.

 

Those look much better than a regular hex head, although the originals are slotted.

You could also try to find slotted cheese head screws in this size, but the head is usually slighty rounded.

I used the low profile hex head screws as a compromise.

Looks close to original and who's gonna check for the slot?

[I'm Batman[501st]]

Those look much better than a regular hex head, although the originals are slotted.

You could also try to find slotted cheese head screws in this size, but the head is usually slighty rounded.

I used the low profile hex head screws as a compromise.

Looks close to original and who's gonna check for the slot?

 

Feel free to check for my slot! These ones are original slotted ones. Direct from the M38 (well, M77C). Bit hard to get a great shot installed:

 

Edited August 15, 2015 by Sith Lord

[Thrawn's guard]

Thanks for the help and advice guys I'll see what I can source but will try to get as close as possible to the originals.

[Thrawn's guard]

Mike I think the 4mm-5mm diameter versions may be a little tricky to achieve though the 10mm-15mm diameter imperial logos sound much more achievable.

 

I'll give it a go when I am home and will probably try a variety of different diameters to see how small I can get them to print out well.

[Thrawn's guard]

Feel free to check for my slot! These ones are original slotted ones. Direct from the M38 (well, M77C). Bit hard to get a great shot installed:

 

Ian could you tell me what diameter these original slotted screws are ?

 

Also do you know if the screws are brass ?

Edited August 18, 2015 by Thrawn's guard

[Thrawn's guard]

It's great to see that the servers are up and running again.

 

I also have quite a few pictures of what I have been able to do since getting back home which I will try to add tomorrow.

[I'm Batman[501st]]

Ian could you tell me what diameter these original slotted screws are ?

 

Also do you know if the screws are brass ?

 

Will do Chris. Will check when I get home this evening. They look to be the same as Aarons, posted previous page, so I'm guessing 7mm but will confirm. What they're made of? No idea, until I have a look later....

[I'm Batman[501st]]

Here's a couple extra pics, Chris. Confirms Aarons measurements...

 

As for what they're made of, mine are quite black, but hints of brass under maybe, so I would guess yes. Someone more experiences might have to chime in there.

 

Keep up the great work!

[usaeatt2]

As for what they're made of, mine are quite black, but hints of brass under maybe, so I would guess yes.

 

Can you pick them up with a magnet, Ian?  If, NO, I would say brass is a good guess.

[I'm Batman[501st]]

Can you pick them up with a magnet, Ian?  If, NO, I would say brass is a good guess.

 

Negative to Brass! Magnet picks them up!

[Thrawn's guard]

Ian/Aaron thank you very much for your detailed responses and very helpful photos which are a great help. I wanted to ensure that I order the correct colour of screw if I decide to include some very light weathering.

 

As I understand it iron, nickel and cobalt are the only metallic elements attracted to a magnet and as brass is an alloy formed from copper and zinc it isn't attracted.

 

I therefore assume the screws to be some form of steel i.e an iron alloy.

Edited August 20, 2015 by Thrawn's guard

[Thrawn's guard]

Well I decided on a small project after getting back from my break to ease myself back in to my build so decided to look at the counter assembly.

 

This is what I started with from my Doopydoos kit. As you can see the power connecters are little more than blobs of resin which needed to be filled off and the screw underneath them is very poorly cast and therefore also needed removing.

 

 

I started by drilling out the holes for the power connectors and screw using a 3mm diameter wood drill bit.

 

 

 

As I understand from my research the central detail between the two power connectors is drilled out but no power connector is located here. Can I just double check that this is correct with the master builders on here ?

 

I then looked around for some small electrical connector, preferably with 2 small holes, and came across these in Maplin.

 

 

Once the plastic insulator is removed they are a perfect tight fit in the holes that I drilled.

 

 

 

As usual any comments, operations, suggestions or questions are very welcome.

[Thrawn's guard]

Looking at mounting the scope rail on to the rear sight I decided that it would be better to fill in some on the details which would be hidden in order to provide more material for a stronger fitting for the screw (The screw is actually the screw provided in the wing toggles shown on the previous page of this thread cut to length).

 

 

Once the green stuff had fully hardened I placed the scope rail in to position and used the hole in the scope rail as a template to drill through in to the green stuff and resin below.

 

 

Once I have everything completed I will probably drop a little glue in to the hole and install the screw but for the moment I want everything to be easily removable.

[AgeOfStrife]

The contacts on the counter are a mod I haven't done on mine, will have to do it sometime. Looks like I've got female spade connectors in my toolbox but not the male ones needed for this so I'll have to pop out and get a couple.

 

Did you also shave off the extra bit of resin on the side of the counter (left hand side when mounted on the blaster, facing outwards) where the two T pieces are joined next to the recessed square area?

 

Dan

Edited August 20, 2015 by AgeOfStrife