Lucky#Eleven - Phoenix Props Pipe Kit with Completion Set, Conversion Counter, Inner Barrel and more Add-Ons

[Thrawn's guard]

As always great work Tino. A very detailed and helpful explanation of the method of installing T-Tracks and I very much like the power cylinder comparison. I think that this build thread should be considered for pinning once complete.

[sla73]

Great stuff, Tino!

 

I got one of Chris's 3d print too and was happy with the way it came out.. I do  like how you cut the capacitors down, I left mine as is and it was quite tricky to put the resistors and wires in..

 

I really like the shots of how you have shown how the resistors and wires go together.. nice

 

Cheers

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

I struggled with the resistors too. I can shorten them down for a mk2 version. Roughly how much needs to come off? Looks about 1mm based on that's how thick the plates are?

 

But if that's all that's wrong I'll call that a win.

 

Also for finishing: on some parts I primed them with Tamiya then used a heavy coat of auto primer and they are almost as good as the doopy Doo resin they are glued too. I think for the cylinders the best bet is to sand, seal, prime and then maybe sand again if you want a really good finish.

 

Edit: I just noticed the rounding off of the right angle, I can do that too.

Edited June 13, 2016 by themaninthesuitcase

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

I just adjusted the model a bit, fortunately I was able to cut and shut the capacitors and the "bend" has been added too using an extra piece and fillet.  Much more than this might have meant a re-design but seeing as it's so close these small changes were reasonably simple to do.  It's taught me a bit about leaving bits so that I can edit them again in future.

 

Anyway some images:

 

 

The curve of the bend has been added to replace bent metal.  The inside curve is 0.25mm radius and the out side is 1mm, the "metal" is 1mm thick.  I think this looks pretty close to realistic.

 

 

The resistors have been shortened by 2mm.  It's hard to see how much you removed but this looks about right.

 

I could also make the holes a bit larger in both the main cylinder and capacitors which might help reduce the amount of finishing too. I'll need to measure things first before I add these.

 

Then all that's left is a willing guinea pig to order the v1.1 part.

 

Any thoughts on the changes would be appreciated.

[sla73]

I just adjusted the model a bit, fortunately I was able to cut and shut the capacitors and the "bend" has been added too using an extra piece and fillet.  Much more than this might have meant a re-design but seeing as it's so close these small changes were reasonably simple to do.  It's taught me a bit about leaving bits so that I can edit them again in future.

 

Anyway some images:

 

 

The curve of the bend has been added to replace bent metal.  The inside curve is 0.25mm radius and the out side is 1mm, the "metal" is 1mm thick.  I think this looks pretty close to realistic.

 

 

The resistors have been shortened by 2mm.  It's hard to see how much you removed but this looks about right.

 

I could also make the holes a bit larger in both the main cylinder and capacitors which might help reduce the amount of finishing too. I'll need to measure things first before I add these.

 

Then all that's left is a willing guinea pig to order the v1.1 part.

 

Any thoughts on the changes would be appreciated.

 

 

Nice work Chris, very tempting...

 

P.S. Perhaps consider making A,B,D etc variations?

 

P.S.S and, hollow out a spot under the caps from the bottom to glue a magnet into? Maybe scratch that idea...

Edited June 16, 2016 by sla73

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

Nice work Chris, very tempting...

I've not updated the live files yet as I wanted the feed back.

 

I also need to increase the hole sizes and then make it all 1 part again.

[T-Jay[TK]]

PM sent to Chris (themaninthesuitcase) to assist with updating the power cylinders...

[count chocula]

Three power cylinder tutorials for the price of one! This is very helpful for me, as I'm starting to build my cylinders with themaninthesuitcase's v1.0 print.

 

I wonder if there is a good way to make shapeways "strong and flexible" material look as smooth as playwolfcub's cylinders? Since shapeways prints in nylon 12, acetone vapor smoothing is out. I guess I will try sanding, sealing and priming as chris suggests. 

 

Great comparison of some of the power cylinder options out there...  Thanks.

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

Three power cylinder tutorials for the price of one! This is very helpful for me, as I'm starting to build my cylinders with themaninthesuitcase's v1.0 print.

 

I wonder if there is a good way to make shapeways "strong and flexible" material look as smooth as playwolfcub's cylinders? Since shapeways prints in nylon 12, acetone vapor smoothing is out. I guess I will try sanding, sealing and priming as chris suggests. 

 

Great comparison of some of the power cylinder options out there...  Thanks.

Prime, sand, fill, repeat.  

 

On the flash guards I sanded them, primed by hand with acrylic, sanded again. When I primed them with auto primer I was "heavy handed" and it gave quite a nice finish. Auto-primer direct onto them gives an aweful finish, I assume due to the porous surface messing with things.

 

You could get a mirror finish if you wanted but it's down to how much effort you want to put in.  For a trooping blaster (like on my current one) I didn't see it worth spending hours and hours on it but for a display piece I would.

[T-Jay[TK]]

On 12/06/2016 at 11:56 AM, Thrawn's guard said:

As always great work Tino. A very detailed and helpful explanation of the method of installing T-Tracks and I very much like the power cylinder comparison. I think that this build thread should be considered for pinning once complete.

Thanks for your kind words, Chris. Recently I installed the T-tracks from Roy on “Lucky#Eleven” and there were some differences to consider.

No matter if this build log gets pinned or not, I need to find some time after finishing this blaster to set up an independent tutorial, covering the different characteristics of available T-tracks...

 

On 12/06/2016 at 1:30 PM, sla73 said:

Great stuff, Tino!

 

I got one of Chris's 3d print too and was happy with the way it came out.. I do  like how you cut the capacitors down, I left mine as is and it was quite tricky to put the resistors and wires in..

 

I really like the shots of how you have shown how the resistors and wires go together.. nice

 

Cheers

Hey Bryn, have seen your effort on the power cylinders and yours really turned out far better than mine. So if anyone here wants to know, how good the 3D printed version can look like, I suggest to visit Bryn’s build

 

On 12/06/2016 at 7:13 PM, themaninthesuitcase said:

I struggled with the resistors too. I can shorten them down for a mk2 version. Roughly how much needs to come off? Looks about 1mm based on that's how thick the plates are?

 

But if that's all that's wrong I'll call that a win.

 

Also for finishing: on some parts I primed them with Tamiya then used a heavy coat of auto primer and they are almost as good as the doopy Doo resin they are glued too. I think for the cylinders the best bet is to sand, seal, prime and then maybe sand again if you want a really good finish.

 

Edit: I just noticed the rounding off of the right angle, I can do that too.

Chris, first of all: thanks again for doing these 3D files! The surface I ended up with, was absolutely my own fault, as Bryn’s nice result proves.

Glad to see your latest thread with the updated version getting such positive feedback

 

On 17/06/2016 at 4:36 AM, count chocula said:

Three power cylinder tutorials for the price of one! This is very helpful for me, as I'm starting to build my cylinders with themaninthesuitcase's v1.0 print.

 

I wonder if there is a good way to make shapeways "strong and flexible" material look as smooth as playwolfcub's cylinders? Since shapeways prints in nylon 12, acetone vapor smoothing is out. I guess I will try sanding, sealing and priming as chris suggests. 

 

Great comparison of some of the power cylinder options out there...  Thanks.

Thanks, Sean. Actually only two sets of power cylinders were built, the one from metal was finished by Andy (PlayfulWolfCub).

Very interesting information with acetone vapor smoothing, because this was what I originally had in mind. Like Chris (themaninthesuitcase) already said, it is sanding, priming, sanding … Bryn got a nice result that way…

Edited September 20, 2017 by T-Jay

[T-Jay[TK]]

Update #23     - Railworks
 
As mentioned in Update #20, a rail is required to carry the scope. The front end of it rests in the closest venting hole from the receiver tube, while the rear end can be mounted in three different ways: straight end, upwards bend and Z-bend.
 

 
The upwards bend would be my first choice for a real Sterling (requires no drilling into the steel). The Z-bend is nice for thick-walled pipes (like full resin kits). Or as backup solution, if the first attempt failed and the rail had to be shortened. This blaster kit comes with a countersunk screw to mount the rail straight to the rear sight. Attention: Derrek casted this part in both positions (100 & 200 range) and this affects the distance between rail and receiver tube, as well as the size of the front bend. This is also important when using screws with bigger heads to mount the scope onto the rail. Next pictures (from other builds) show the differences.
 

 
The rails can be made from one or two pieces. This kit has a separate bracket, so the builder can decide about using the counter or not (like on the Episode 5 blasters).
 








 
Scope and counter on the last pictures have only been used to demonstrate the placement. Except of the drilled holes, these parts are still like they arrived with the blaster kit. Next time I cover the scope - no idea yet, when that will be ready...
 Thank you all for reading and enjoy your weekend

Edited September 20, 2017 by T-Jay

[sla73]

Nice, I've been waiting for this part.. excellent detail and walk through!
 
 

Hey Bryn, have seen your effort on the power cylinders and yours really turned out far better than mine. So if anyone here wants to know, how good the 3D printed version can look like, I suggest to visit Bryn’s build

P.S Thanks for your kind words about my efforts with Chris's power cylinders! The truth is that owe everything to all the good stuff that has been done before me...
 
Also I have been really getting to the whole painting bit, I remember painting model WWII aircraft when I was a boy... It's brings back memories...

Sent from my SM-T705Y using Tapatalk

Edited June 20, 2016 by sla73

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

If you prefer a sharper bend in the aluminium strip you can do it. If you just try bend it that sharp then the strip will snap. However if you cut a groove about 2mm wide half way through the strip it will bend easily and cleanly to a nice sharp bend.

 

Thought I'd mention it as I can see this thread becoming a sort of defacto tutorial.

 

Edit:

The wider the slot the further you can bend.

 

This is a 2-3mm slot:

 

This is the width of a hack saw, so around 1mm:

Edited June 20, 2016 by themaninthesuitcase

[usaeatt2]

As always, beautiful work Tino.

 

Maybe worth mentioning, almost any aluminum strip you can buy at a hardware store is 6061 aluminum.

6061 is the most commonly used aluminum since it can be cut, machined and welded very well.

HOWEVER, 6061 does not bend well without cracking.  In other words, it's not very malleable.

If you want to bend aluminum and avoid cracks, order 5052 aluminum.   

[T-Jay[TK]]

On 19/06/2016 at 3:14 PM, sla73 said:

(...)    Also I have been really getting to the whole painting bit, I remember painting model WWII aircraft when I was a boy... It's brings back memories...   (...)

Ha, same over here. For the first time in my life, it seems like it paid off to build these aircraft models when being a child

 

On 19/06/2016 at 3:46 PM, themaninthesuitcase said:

If you prefer a sharper bend in the aluminium strip you can do it. If you just try bend it that sharp then the strip will snap. However if you cut a groove about 2mm wide half way through the strip it will bend easily and cleanly to a nice sharp bend.

 

Thought I'd mention it as I can see this thread becoming a sort of defacto tutorial.

 

Edit:

The wider the slot the further you can bend.

Thanks for stating this. Had such an idealized bend in my first build and never found a screen reference for it. That is why this time I wanted to go for the softer curve. Everybody preferring a sharp bend will be happy you posted this. Thanks Chris

 

On 19/06/2016 at 4:07 PM, usaeatt2 said:

As always, beautiful work Tino.

 

Maybe worth mentioning, almost any aluminum strip you can buy at a hardware store is 6061 aluminum.

6061 is the most commonly used aluminum since it can be cut, machined and welded very well.

HOWEVER, 6061 does not bend well without cracking.  In other words, it's not very malleable.

If you want to bend aluminum and avoid cracks, order 5052 aluminum.   

Wow Aaron, I had no idea about the different types of aluminum.

Up to now I built scope rails from the AL-stripes in the Completion Sets and in Derrek’s blaster kits and so far nothing cracked. Not sure what exact type of AL they sell over here in the local hardware stores…

Edited September 20, 2017 by T-Jay

[T-Jay[TK]]

Update #24     - The M38 Telescope(s)
 
This thread covers the standard way to build this kit out of the box and alternatives to go the extra mile. Because of that, there will be more than one scope. Brian (Bulldog44) generously sent me two scopes with hollowed core. Never seen such highly detailed resin casts! Very nice work. Thanks again, Brian
 


 
The plan is to make 3 scopes: standard, then one with lenses and one with hollowed core plus lenses. The standard scope was easy, because the resin part from this kit had a very nice surface texture and already came in black color. It was not mandatory to paint it.
 



 
What you have just seen, is how I usually finish these scopes. Dry-brushed, not painted.
 

 
The 2nd scope got real lenses from a monocular. Instead of gluing these into drilled holes (like done in my first build), they got installed from the inside. This occasion was used to run a hole through the entire thing. I began with disassembling that monocular…
 








 
After the paint had dried, it was time for the finishing touches.




Also thought about integrating the prism(s) but a convex lens turns the image upside down and left to right. Hoped that a 2nd lens (see arrangement in the monocular) would revert this effect. But these are used to compensate pillow- / barrel-distortion.
 


Wasted several days researching and trying every possible combination with lens(es) and prism(s). No luck. As a last chance I grabbed some scopes plus monoculars and went to my eyewear optician. Result: with the given hardware, there is no way to get it working correctly and I was not willing to spend a little fortune to try and error. At least there is light shining through that scope and the lenses make it look somewhat real.

There is still Brian’s (Bulldog44) scope with hollowed core. That nice piece will be covered next weekend...

Edited September 20, 2017 by T-Jay

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

Thanks for the tutorial on the lenses.  I want to pick up a new casting (or 2) at some point and do this mod.

[Bulldog44[TK]]

That's cool how you fit the monocular part inside the scope. I hadn't thought about that. I just assumed you would have removed the lens then try to fit on the scope. I will wait to see what you do on the hollow scope before speculating any further.<br><br>

Nice surgical work with the spade drill bits. Reticle looks awesome too. Glad you could fit that and really see the graphics. Weathering is brilliant, always love how how the white text looks. Its great the base resin is pure black onyx, saves you a bigger paint job. Thanks to Dday, he pointed me to a company in Japan that sells Smooth-on black onyx resin. I might invest in that for my scopes.<br><br>

Too bad you can't get a prism system to work yet but what you have accomplished already is more than enough I think.<br>

Fantastic work and the step by step documentation is perfect for anone trying to do this. <br>

I also think the 3 screws you have for eyepiece look perfect. The height of the cheesehead looks more accurate than the ones I bought. Let me know if you get a chance to compare yours to original scope screws. <br><br>

Bravo again Tino!

[Bulldog44[TK]]

Tino , just noticed that when you laid out the scope kits I sent, you placed the large retainer ring in front of one scope and the partial lens assembly in front of the other. Only want to check as the partially casted lens assembly looks similar to the retainer ring, hard to tell even on the original scopes as the lens assembly sits directly behind the retainer ring making it hard to tell they are two separate parts. Probably the lens assembly is not needed in the kit but I casted them anyway in case someone wanted to put together their scope like the original scope, part for part.

[T-Jay[TK]]

On 26/06/2016 at 11:26 PM, themaninthesuitcase said:

Thanks for the tutorial on the lenses.  I want to pick up a new casting (or 2) at some point and do this mod.

Thanks Chris    To be honest, this was nothing new here on the FISD. Squimspickle and Thrawn’s guard made very inspiring things with their scopes…

 

On 27/06/2016 at 4:56 PM, Bulldog44 said:

That's cool how you fit the monocular part inside the scope. I hadn't thought about that. I just assumed you would have removed the lens then try to fit on the scope. I will wait to see what you do on the hollow scope before speculating any further.<br><br>

Nice surgical work with the spade drill bits. Reticle looks awesome too. Glad you could fit that and really see the graphics. Weathering is brilliant, always love how how the white text looks. Its great the base resin is pure black onyx, saves you a bigger paint job. Thanks to Dday, he pointed me to a company in Japan that sells Smooth-on black onyx resin. I might invest in that for my scopes.<br><br>

Too bad you can't get a prism system to work yet but what you have accomplished already is more than enough I think.<br>

Fantastic work and the step by step documentation is perfect for anone trying to do this. <br>

I also think the 3 screws you have for eyepiece look perfect. The height of the cheesehead looks more accurate than the ones I bought. Let me know if you get a chance to compare yours to original scope screws. <br><br>

Bravo again Tino!

Thank you, Brian. That big part from the monocular ensures a good distance between the reticle and the rear lens, so that the engraving can been seen well.

Last weekend I had 2 real scopes in hand, but that was before you asked me to compare the screws  If you got real screws, I can send you the ones I have for comparison…

 

On 29/06/2016 at 3:03 PM, Bulldog44 said:

Tino , just noticed that when you laid out the scope kits I sent, you placed the large retainer ring in front of one scope and the partial lens assembly in front of the other. Only want to check as the partially casted lens assembly looks similar to the retainer ring, hard to tell even on the original scopes as the lens assembly sits directly behind the retainer ring making it hard to tell they are two separate parts. Probably the lens assembly is not needed in the kit but I casted them anyway in case someone wanted to put together their scope like the original scope, part for part.

Yes, that photo was just taken to show the smaller parts are separate. It is not 100% correct. If you scroll down a few lines, you will see a better lens arrangement

Edited September 20, 2017 by T-Jay

[T-Jay[TK]]

Update #25     - Hollowed scope with small parts
 
Today’s progress is about Brian’s (Bulldog44) scope with hollowed core and several bits and pieces. Some build steps will look familiar, because a few things have been done like in the last update. Inside the scope tube is a thin resin wall, so I removed this to get light shining through…
 

 
Then I started working on the lenses and how to secure them in position.






 
The monocular comes with 2 small lenses. One was reserved as front lens, the other was left over. While looking closer at the prism cell, I noticed that it can be installed there…





 
Okay, rear section completed. Next was the front assembly…





 
Brian’s scope is the very best resin cast I ever came across. I cannot imagine getting the same extremely high details out of a single-piece casting. Especially when considering the small gaps between eyepiece and mounting plate, or the retainer rings. Awesome Brian, thanks for making these! Because of that, I decided to NOT use this beauty on a blaster. Nope, instead I emptied a display case from a Minichamps car model (scale 1:43) and now it can sit in the showcase, next to Andy‘s Power Cylinders prototype
 

 
Some comparison shots of the three scopes. At a first glance, they all look the same. Full resin on the left, self-hollowed in the middle and Brian’s super-scope on the right side.



 
Alright, let’s call it a day    Open for any questions, critics and comments...

Edited September 20, 2017 by T-Jay

[Bulldog44[TK]]

Awesome work on the scope Tino! So honored to have you build one and make it look amazingly real. The icing on the cake is you have displayed this in a case as part of your showcase collection. Truly honored! <br>

The brass painted on the inside parts looks fantastic, and the weathering is perfect. Again, I love how you were able to use the monocular as a whole part to install into the scope. It came out beautiful. I hope some of the retainer rings screwed on without too much trouble, most of the newer scopes I casted have a slight shrinkage problem which will make the builder have to file the threads down a bit to fit the rings properly. <br>

Thank you so much too for your kind words on the quality of the scope. Over the moon to are happy with it and your step by step of building it is greatly appreciated as now many people can see all the details and features of the scope kit. It actually looks better than the original scope and that no joke. <br>

Arigato my friend! Super job!

[T-Jay[TK]]

Awesome work on the scope Tino! So honored to have you build one and make it look amazingly real. The icing on the cake is you have displayed this in a case as part of your showcase collection. Truly honored! <br>

The brass painted on the inside parts looks fantastic, and the weathering is perfect. Again, I love how you were able to use the monocular as a whole part to install into the scope. It came out beautiful. I hope some of the retainer rings screwed on without too much trouble, most of the newer scopes I casted have a slight shrinkage problem which will make the builder have to file the threads down a bit to fit the rings properly. <br>

Thank you so much too for your kind words on the quality of the scope. Over the moon to are happy with it and your step by step of building it is greatly appreciated as now many people can see all the details and features of the scope kit. It actually looks better than the original scope and that no joke. <br>

Arigato my friend! Super job!

 

Thank you very much for your words, Brian. I am really glad you like the result.

Both, the very high quality of your casts and the fact of having separated parts, do provide absolutely new options to build and finish such a scope.

Don’t worry about minor adjustments to make some rings fit into the openings. I fully understand your point to strive for the most accurate resin pieces, but sanding down a ring to place it into the scope tube should not be too challenging for the builders

Feel free to use any photos or to refer people to this build chapter. Keeping fingers crossed for your current work on the M19 scopes...

[T-Jay[TK]]

Update #26     - Hengstler counter
 
The last thing attached to the rail is the Hengstler counter. This electromechanical device can be seen on some of the blasters in Episode 4.
 



To get a different shade of black than on the scopes, I paint the counters in semi-gloss black before doing the weathering.
 

 
In this specific build however, I wanted to go deeper into the details…
 



 
During the last two years it got harder and harder to find cheap Hengstler counters. A good alternative are the conversion counters, a hybrid made from resin and a different counter with identical dimensions. From the ones I had in hand a year ago, the last and dirtiest was saved for this build.
 







Since update #20, this thread covers the alterations from the prop-builders, which converted the Sterling SMG into the BlasTech E-11 for the Episode 4 movie. All additions are now complete and have been attached to Lucky#Eleven    Time for a few daylight photos…

 

Thanks for reading

Edited September 20, 2017 by T-Jay

[Memory[501st]]

Tino I´m in awe! It´s a bloody piece of art!

 

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