jjarmoryinc Posted July 8, 2015 Report Posted July 8, 2015 Hi guys, this is my first post here so I hope this is okay/in the right place... I've always been fascinated by the 501st and in particular the stormtrooper contingent, although I've never felt the urge to dip my foot in the pond until now... We have been working on a replica of the Episode 7 stormtrooper blaster (which we've lovingly dubbed the 'E7-11' for the time being) for the past couple months, and someone suggested that we go ahead and post about here on FISD in case anyone might be interested...Version 1.0 This first version was done for us by Michael Flanagan, who specializes in firearms modeling, but ultimately we were unsatisfied with it for various reasons (we're sorta sticklers for accuracy, plus it was an 100% static model i.e. no moving parts or hollow sections) so we decided to start from scratch with a different modeler (we do still have the files for this one and may release it to the public sometime in the future as we'd like to give back to the community if possible, but not sure yet, depends on if the modeler would rather regain the rights and sell the files himself).Version 2.0This time we went for broke and hired another talented modeler, Lael Lee. This version was built with internal space throughout the model, including room in the Hengstler counter and magazine for red LEDs and power sources, as well as a hollow cavity in the front of the stock that allows for an LED flashlight and buttons to be installed. The scope knobs actually turn and the stock's 'foregrip' is capable of being deployed since we saw it in a certain BITS shot from SWCA. In addition, the back end of the blaster is modular so that the ATI "tactical stocks" used by Captain Phasma and some of her troopers can be added on at a later date.NOTE: Whenever possible we based our model off the blasters that were mounted on the TFA display mannequins at SWCA (or screencaps from the teaser trailers). We found that the ANOVOS blasters, while more than serviceable, were not super-accurate (even Got Maul on the RPF admitted they were a rush-job that was outsourced last minute), with lots of ugly seams, proportion issues, etc. So we only used the ANOVOS blasters to "fill in the blanks", so to speak, when there was some detail or angle that we couldn't see on the screen-used models. Here is an exploded view of the model broken down into it's printable components and ready for printing. Ignore the tiny screws, and those will all be real hardware to maintain the greatest degree of accuracy/detail...FabricationHere are the first round of raw prints. These still need wetsanding to really bring out that smooth, glossy shine seen on the screen-used blasters but hopefully you get a good idea of how they are coming along:The Plan Going ForwardThe remainder of the rifle should be done printing within the next week or two. Once we've gotten the entire weapon sanded to an acceptable finish, we'll be sourcing the hardware-- allen screws for the grip, allen bolts for the muzzle (would love input as to what size these need to be!), scope knobs, PETG for the scope lenses, etc). Then this "master" blaster (lol) will take a nice silicone bath so it can give birth to what will hopefully be the first of many beautiful brothers and sisters. We figured resin would be most durable while still retaining the highest degree of detail, but we were also thinking of offering a "solid" urethane rubber dummy version. Rubber casts have notoriously lower quality (I'm looking at you, Kylo Ren's stunt saber!) but might be preferable for "stuntwork" or high-risk trooping around the wee ones, just to make sure no one has to worry about their shiny, LED-filled blaster being KIA accidentally. We'd love to get feedback on whether such an alternative would be desired by the community!In ClosingSo there you have it... We've been putting off posting here, as the 501st has a reputation for being serious sticklers for accuracy so it's very intimidating to offer this up in front of the firing squad, so to speak! But I do hope the blaster looks accurate enough to work for trooping, at least until Disney/LFL/Hasbro is kind enough to grace us with a licensed version... Feel free to leave feedback or ask questions. The best way to follow our progress is at our page http://www.facebook.com/jjarmoryincbut we'll try to remember to update this post as the build progresses Thanks for reading! ~JJ 6 Quote
Dday[501st] Posted July 8, 2015 Report Posted July 8, 2015 Hi guys, this is my first post here so I hope this is okay/in the right place... I've always been fascinated by the 501st and in particular the stormtrooper contingent, although I've never felt the urge to dip my foot in the pond until now... We have been working on a replica of the Episode 7 stormtrooper blaster (which we've lovingly dubbed the 'E7-11' for the time being) for the past couple months, and someone suggested that we go ahead and post about here on FISD in case anyone might be interested... Version 1.0 This first version was done for us by Michael Flanagan, who specializes in firearms modeling, but ultimately we were unsatisfied with it for various reasons (we're sorta sticklers for accuracy, plus it was an 100% static model i.e. no moving parts or hollow sections) so we decided to start from scratch with a different modeler (we do still have the files for this one and may release it to the public sometime in the future as we'd like to give back to the community if possible, but not sure yet, depends on if the modeler would rather regain the rights and sell the files himself). Version 2.0 This time we went for broke and hired another talented modeler, Lael Lee. This version was built with internal space throughout the model, including room in the Hengstler counter and magazine for red LEDs and power sources, as well as a hollow cavity in the front of the stock that allows for an LED flashlight and buttons to be installed. The scope knobs actually turn and the stock's 'foregrip' is capable of being deployed since we saw it in a certain BITS shot from SWCA. In addition, the back end of the blaster is modular so that the ATI "tactical stocks" used by Captain Phasma and some of her troopers can be added on at a later date. NOTE: Whenever possible we based our model off the blasters that were mounted on the TFA display mannequins at SWCA (or screencaps from the teaser trailers). We found that the ANOVOS blasters, while more than serviceable, were not super-accurate (even Got Maul on the RPF admitted they were a rush-job that was outsourced last minute), with lots of ugly seams, proportion issues, etc. So we only used the ANOVOS blasters to "fill in the blanks", so to speak, when there was some detail or angle that we couldn't see on the screen-used models. Here is an exploded view of the model broken down into it's printable components and ready for printing. Ignore the tiny screws, and those will all be real hardware to maintain the greatest degree of accuracy/detail... Fabrication Here are the first round of raw prints. These still need wetsanding to really bring out that smooth, glossy shine seen on the screen-used blasters but hopefully you get a good idea of how they are coming along: The Plan Going Forward The remainder of the rifle should be done printing within the next week or two. Once we've gotten the entire weapon sanded to an acceptable finish, we'll be sourcing the hardware-- allen screws for the grip, allen bolts for the muzzle (would love input as to what size these need to be!), scope knobs, PETG for the scope lenses, etc). Then this "master" blaster (lol) will take a nice silicone bath so it can give birth to what will hopefully be the first of many beautiful brothers and sisters. We figured resin would be most durable while still retaining the highest degree of detail, but we were also thinking of offering a "solid" urethane rubber dummy version. Rubber casts have notoriously lower quality (I'm looking at you, Kylo Ren's stunt saber!) but might be preferable for "stuntwork" or high-risk trooping around the wee ones, just to make sure no one has to worry about their shiny, LED-filled blaster being KIA accidentally. We'd love to get feedback on whether such an alternative would be desired by the community! In Closing So there you have it... We've been putting off posting here, as the 501st has a reputation for being serious sticklers for accuracy so it's very intimidating to offer this up in front of the firing squad, so to speak! But I do hope the blaster looks accurate enough to work for trooping, at least until Disney/LFL/Hasbro is kind enough to grace us with a licensed version... Feel free to leave feedback or ask questions. The best way to follow our progress is at our page http://www.facebook.com/jjarmoryincbut we'll try to remember to update this post as the build progresses Thanks for reading! ~JJ This is 100% the best job on the blaster I've seen to date. Looking forward to seeing your product. Maybe we can arrange a trade 3 Quote
Mayday73 Posted July 8, 2015 Report Posted July 8, 2015 Outstanding work there, very well done! 1 Quote
netslave[501st] Posted July 8, 2015 Report Posted July 8, 2015 My bank account just froze in anticipation of purchasing one of these..... Looks outstanding! 1 Quote
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted July 8, 2015 Report Posted July 8, 2015 Great work looking forward to completion 1 Quote
jjarmoryinc Posted July 9, 2015 Author Report Posted July 9, 2015 This is 100% the best job on the blaster I've seen to date. Looking forward to seeing your product. Maybe we can arrange a trade Oh, my.... Coming from you, that is one of the greatest compliments we could receive! Thank you! As far as pricing, it is too early to tell... we need to price out the silicone and then see how much resin/urethane rubber each blaster will require... but it will likely be tiered something like this: Raw resin kit Raw rubber dummy cast Raw Resin Kit w/ electronics Finished Resin Blaster Finished Rubber dummy cast Finished Resin Blaster w/ electronics Honestly, we're not sure what a fair price would be, as we've never dealt in SW props before, so we'd love to get some input into what might be a good baseline. I also feel I should add that we are not in this to rake in huge profits... to be honest, we'd be honored to have our blaster be used by 501st members around the world, given all the volunteer/charity work you all do So we'd like to try and keep the price as affordable as possible. 5 Quote
Mayday73 Posted July 9, 2015 Report Posted July 9, 2015 What a refreshing attitude you are taking with this , hope it benefits both you the supplier and us the customers, good job man. Quote
Dday[501st] Posted July 9, 2015 Report Posted July 9, 2015 (edited) Oh, my.... Coming from you, that is one of the greatest compliments we could receive! Thank you! As far as pricing, it is too early to tell... we need to price out the silicone and then see how much resin/urethane rubber each blaster will require... but it will likely be tiered something like this: Raw resin kit Raw rubber dummy cast Raw Resin Kit w/ electronics Finished Resin Blaster Finished Rubber dummy cast Finished Resin Blaster w/ electronics Honestly, we're not sure what a fair price would be, as we've never dealt in SW props before, so we'd love to get some input into what might be a good baseline. I also feel I should add that we are not in this to rake in huge profits... to be honest, we'd be honored to have our blaster be used by 501st members around the world, given all the volunteer/charity work you all do So we'd like to try and keep the price as affordable as possible. I've been folowing this on the RPF as well and really glad you made your way here. You'll get a lot more attention here since this is where the majority of the FO troopers will end up. The fact you're going to offer these with electronics makes you light years ahead of any other blaster maker around. Electronics are a lot of work, and people love flashy things! Sending a PM about some things. Edited July 9, 2015 by Dday Quote
Zaphod[TK] Posted July 9, 2015 Report Posted July 9, 2015 (edited) Oh, my.... Coming from you, that is one of the greatest compliments we could receive! Thank you! As far as pricing, it is too early to tell... we need to price out the silicone and then see how much resin/urethane rubber each blaster will require... but it will likely be tiered something like this: Raw resin kit Raw rubber dummy cast Raw Resin Kit w/ electronics Finished Resin Blaster Finished Rubber dummy cast Finished Resin Blaster w/ electronics Honestly, we're not sure what a fair price would be, as we've never dealt in SW props before, so we'd love to get some input into what might be a good baseline. I also feel I should add that we are not in this to rake in huge profits... to be honest, we'd be honored to have our blaster be used by 501st members around the world, given all the volunteer/charity work you all do So we'd like to try and keep the price as affordable as possible. A lot of troopers use Doopydoo's E11 Blaster, it costs around $45 plus shipping for a raw resin kit. Edit: here's the link http://www.doopydoos.com/stormtrooper-e-11-complete-anh-e-11-blaster-kit-offer-2685-p.asp Hyperfirm is another top choice for unbreakable/rubber blaster with sharp details, I think they go for around $240 Edited July 9, 2015 by Zaphod Quote
TK bondservnt[501st] Posted July 9, 2015 Report Posted July 9, 2015 (edited) I'm sure that it would be great to see metal parts on certain areas of this as well. The scope would be nice to have a real one, with metal parts on it. the Trigger area and guard would be best in a strong material as well. making moving triggers and assembly to allow micro switches and areas for electronics in kit form, and assembled certainly are interests. can you guys get back to me on photos for this? I want to put this on my e-11 website http://www.e-11blaster.com I'd suggest you carefully go over the comparison photos, I can see some alignment updates that could be done. want a detailed exam? Edited July 9, 2015 by TK Bondservnt 2392 Quote
Mayday73 Posted July 9, 2015 Report Posted July 9, 2015 Can I ask what kind of electronics you plan to offer with this, I would think the light on the front is a must but could you also give it some sound ? , if so does this new version sound the same as the classic E-11 ? Quote
jjarmoryinc Posted July 9, 2015 Author Report Posted July 9, 2015 Oh, wow, lots of interest here Where to begin... What a refreshing attitude you are taking with this , hope it benefits both you the supplier and us the customers, good job man. Thank you! I've been folowing this on the RPF as well and really glad you made your way here. You'll get a lot more attention here since this is where the majority of the FO troopers will end up. The fact you're going to offer these with electronics makes you light years ahead of any other blaster maker around. Electronics are a lot of work, and people love flashy things! Sending a PM about some things. Yep, it took a while, as it's super nervous showing our work to consummate professionals like yourselves. The warm welcome and the honest feedback is encouraging, however. A lot of troopers use Doopydoo's E11 Blaster, it costs around $45 plus shipping for a raw resin kit. Edit: here's the link http://www.doopydoos.com/stormtrooper-e-11-complete-anh-e-11-blaster-kit-offer-2685-p.asp Hyperfirm is another top choice for unbreakable/rubber blaster with sharp details, I think they go for around $240 Hm, I doubt we could get our resin kits as low as $45, especially since so many pieces are hollow/slush cast... but it is good to have an idea of what similar kits go for in the community. Hyperfirm's price for his rubber one is about in line with what we anticipated a fully rubber dummy one costing (actually we were thinking $150-200 but it all depends on materials/time involved). I'm sure that it would be great to see metal parts on certain areas of this as well. The scope would be nice to have a real one, with metal parts on it. the Trigger area and guard would be best in a strong material as well. making moving triggers and assembly to allow micro switches and areas for electronics in kit form, and assembled certainly are interests. can you guys get back to me on photos for this? I want to put this on my e-11 website http://www.e-11blaster.com I'd suggest you carefully go over the comparison photos, I can see some alignment updates that could be done. want a detailed exam? Yes! So we definitely would love to incorporate metal bits into the rifle. Some of them are obvious (hardware like the allen screws or the hinge that connects the foregrip to the stock) while others we will have to look into (the scope rings and knobs). We may cold cast the scope lens rings which would help keep costs down but they would still look like shiny real metal with a bit of buffing/polishing. Just as an example.Our trigger was designed to be 100% static, but almost the entirety of the blaster is hollow so if you could figure out how to do it you could probably stuff the necessary stuff inside along with a pressure-sensitive switch to make it make the trigger activate lights/sounds. Can I ask what kind of electronics you plan to offer with this, I would think the light on the front is a must but could you also give it some sound ? , if so does this new version sound the same as the classic E-11 ? Electronics kit will include red LEDs for the hengstler counter, red LEDs for the magazine clip, and then the flashlight for the front. We haven't considered sound and likely won't be doing that unless there's a huge demand and we can find someone who knows how to set all that up. We also have no idea what they sound like and might not until the movie, further complicating matters. But as I said, the gun is actually mostly hollow (to make it lightweight/cut on material costs) so there might be room to incorporate that kind of stuff if you know what you're doing Quote
Vertex[TK] Posted July 9, 2015 Report Posted July 9, 2015 Looks great. Will follow with interest. Quote
Dday[501st] Posted July 10, 2015 Report Posted July 10, 2015 Oh, wow, lots of interest here Where to begin... Thank you! Yep, it took a while, as it's super nervous showing our work to consummate professionals like yourselves. The warm welcome and the honest feedback is encouraging, however. Hm, I doubt we could get our resin kits as low as $45, especially since so many pieces are hollow/slush cast... but it is good to have an idea of what similar kits go for in the community. Hyperfirm's price for his rubber one is about in line with what we anticipated a fully rubber dummy one costing (actually we were thinking $150-200 but it all depends on materials/time involved). Yes! So we definitely would love to incorporate metal bits into the rifle. Some of them are obvious (hardware like the allen screws or the hinge that connects the foregrip to the stock) while others we will have to look into (the scope rings and knobs). We may cold cast the scope lens rings which would help keep costs down but they would still look like shiny real metal with a bit of buffing/polishing. Just as an example. Our trigger was designed to be 100% static, but almost the entirety of the blaster is hollow so if you could figure out how to do it you could probably stuff the necessary stuff inside along with a pressure-sensitive switch to make it make the trigger activate lights/sounds. Electronics kit will include red LEDs for the hengstler counter, red LEDs for the magazine clip, and then the flashlight for the front. We haven't considered sound and likely won't be doing that unless there's a huge demand and we can find someone who knows how to set all that up. We also have no idea what they sound like and might not until the movie, further complicating matters. But as I said, the gun is actually mostly hollow (to make it lightweight/cut on material costs) so there might be room to incorporate that kind of stuff if you know what you're doing I really wouldn't worry about trying to match with Doopy kits. They are in a whole different world. It is a great price for the level of detail you get, but as your kit is fully custom built with a lot more parts in much higher detail, you don't have to worry about competing with them. Quote
Mayday73 Posted July 10, 2015 Report Posted July 10, 2015 Well I am sold, the lights will be all I need on this, look forward to these becoming available, once again great job Quote
Colin1138[TK] Posted July 10, 2015 Report Posted July 10, 2015 Yup..colour me interested in this! Quote
charlesnarles Posted July 12, 2015 Report Posted July 12, 2015 Nice work! Can't wait to see it in action Quote
jjarmoryinc Posted July 14, 2015 Author Report Posted July 14, 2015 Promised you guys updates... hope our constant work-in-progress isn't considered spam!Still more missing lots of details and needs wetsanding, but it's good to finally be able to test the scale and fitment of everything!~JJ 1 Quote
Dday[501st] Posted July 14, 2015 Report Posted July 14, 2015 Promised you guys updates... hope our constant work-in-progress isn't considered spam Still more missing lots of details and needs wetsanding, but it's good to finally be able to test the scale and fitment of everything! ~JJ Not spam at all! This is a substantial update. Keep em coming! Looks great. Quote
T-Jay[TK] Posted July 14, 2015 Report Posted July 14, 2015 Wow, this looks really good. In the teaser I think I have seen that rear sight being mounted vice versa. The front sight guard appears very thin. On real Sterlings it is more solid, but not sure if the screen used thing was copied from original, or just recreated. Seen some pictures, where the D-Ring holder at the end cap was not mounted horizontal, but vertical. Not sure if these pictures showed the real thing... Anyway, great work and keep the photos coming. 2 Quote
jjarmoryinc Posted July 14, 2015 Author Report Posted July 14, 2015 (edited) Wow, this looks really good. In the teaser I think I have seen that rear sight being mounted vice versa. The front sight guard appears very thin. On real Sterlings it is more solid, but not sure if the screen used thing was copied from original, or just recreated. Seen some pictures, where the D-Ring holder at the end cap was not mounted horizontal, but vertical. Not sure if these pictures showed the real thing... Anyway, great work and keep the photos coming. Good eye! The rear sight is indeed backwards-- we just lightly hot glued the gun together for photos, and in our excitement that was one of (many) parts that likely ended up off. A very easy fix. Likewise, we noticed the thinness of the front sight immediately... we may thicken it up a tad. That will require a reprint, unfortunately! The D-ring holder cap seems to freely spin. In some shots of the rifle it is horizontal... and on others it is vertical...! It confused us a lot and we couldn't decide how to model it... so we decided to make the D-ring holder a separate piece that gets connected via a bolt on the inside of the end cap... in other words, the D-ring is capable of turning freely if desired so every trooper can set it however they wish. We really did think of everything-- or at least, as much as we could! Thanks a lot for the feedback! Edited July 14, 2015 by jjarmoryinc 3 Quote
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