cjdesign[TK] Posted December 11, 2015 Report Posted December 11, 2015 I'm on Dday's e-11 waiting list but really want to apply for my EIB soon. A stromtrooper can't have too many blasters. After searching through 501st forums I was lucky enough get my paws on a nice doopy's kit, and all the third party fixings eg ammo clip, real counter, finishing kits, esb greeblies. The holidays came early. lol. This will be a ESB stunt build until I get my promo blaster from Dday and then I will convert it over to a ANH blaster. Quote
cjdesign[TK] Posted December 11, 2015 Author Report Posted December 11, 2015 Trigger assembly and guard: Started sanding and doing basic cleanup before assembly. Working on the pistol grip and trigger assembly currently Drilled out holes for real screws but the trigger guard is not very accurate. I've decided to make my own trigger guard out of 1/16 inch aluminum. Here is my tracing to use as a template to fabricate my guard Final dimensions for the replacement guard is 1/16" x 4.25 x 8/16 tapered to 6/16. this is how it pressure fits into the resin part. good start but needs to be adjusted at the top. Quote
I'm Batman[501st] Posted December 11, 2015 Report Posted December 11, 2015 The Doopy guard is a bit bulky isn't it. Perhaps to make it less fragile.... Is yours a bit large?? Like the overall circumference of the circle. Or just a trick of the camera angle? Quote
cjdesign[TK] Posted December 11, 2015 Author Report Posted December 11, 2015 (edited) The Doopy guard is a bit bulky isn't it. Perhaps to make it less fragile.... Is yours a bit large?? Like the overall circumference of the circle. Or just a trick of the camera angle? maybe a little of both. good eye. it's 1/4" larger on purpose for attachment/gluing. I need to excavate more of the resin in the grip so the guard sits higher in the trigger group. Thanks for the input!! Update: after the final adjustment I cut off an addition 1/8" off the bottom. Edited December 15, 2015 by cjdesign Quote
I'm Batman[501st] Posted December 11, 2015 Report Posted December 11, 2015 Maybe place your trigger in there (just loosely) so you can see the whole combo together before fixing the guard. At least you have a real one there for comparison. Don't need reference pics when you got something like that so close Quote
cjdesign[TK] Posted December 11, 2015 Author Report Posted December 11, 2015 Looking to replace the outer trigger assembly with real aluminum. I'm sure I can carefully remove the resin with a dremil. Quote
cjdesign[TK] Posted December 15, 2015 Author Report Posted December 15, 2015 Cutting out the space for the faux aluminum trigger group sides. Slow and steady! Quote
cjdesign[TK] Posted December 15, 2015 Author Report Posted December 15, 2015 working on the preliminary nserts: before I cut with a jewelery saw.. I double stacked two pieces of 1/16 aluminum and taped together. This way I can cut both sides at the same time. 2 Quote
Felice Posted December 15, 2015 Report Posted December 15, 2015 Great idea with the inserts!!!!!! 1 Quote
T-Jay[TK] Posted December 15, 2015 Report Posted December 15, 2015 Love how this turned out. Good job, Carl! 1 Quote
themaninthesuitcase[Admin] Posted December 15, 2015 Report Posted December 15, 2015 This is looking like it will be a seriously nice build! 1 Quote
cjdesign[TK] Posted December 15, 2015 Author Report Posted December 15, 2015 Thanks! I traced my sterling trigger assembly and produced this template for the trigger inserts. Feel free to use as needed. You may need to adjust the upper right side to suit your application. http://www.tk10171.com/img/trigger_inserts.pdf 1 Quote
Thrawn's guard Posted December 15, 2015 Report Posted December 15, 2015 Great work so far Carl and nice of you to share your trigger insert templates. 2 Quote
cjdesign[TK] Posted December 15, 2015 Author Report Posted December 15, 2015 More adjustments using 320 grit sandpaper and steel wool 1 Quote
I'm Batman[501st] Posted December 15, 2015 Report Posted December 15, 2015 Wow, looks fantastic! You sure you're not a surgeon? 1 Quote
cjdesign[TK] Posted December 16, 2015 Author Report Posted December 16, 2015 (edited) Update: Pretty from a far but far from pretty.... The amount of filling/sanding necessary to make like the original is more time consuming then making one from scratch... I have the other side of the trigger guard I can use to create the center portion of the trigger assembly. To be continued... Edited December 19, 2015 by cjdesign Quote
cjdesign[TK] Posted December 16, 2015 Author Report Posted December 16, 2015 (edited) Figured it would be a lot easier to insert real metal then deal with masking and painting to look like real metal. It's a nice contrast to have some raw metal against all the black painted parts. IMA, this jewelry saw takes all the credit thought. Cuts through steel and aluminum with ease. Edited December 16, 2015 by cjdesign Quote
I'm Batman[501st] Posted December 16, 2015 Report Posted December 16, 2015 Figured it would be a lot easier to insert real metal then deal with masking and painting to look like the metal. I'm about to finally paint this section of my blaster, probably tonight after work. It will look like... silver paint, probably. Quote
cjdesign[TK] Posted December 16, 2015 Author Report Posted December 16, 2015 (edited) I'm about to finally paint this section of my blaster, probably tonight after work. It will look like... silver paint, probably. May the force be with you on your metal replicating journey. Use a very tiny brush. 1/0 or 1 Originally, I WAS going to use stainless steel paint and experiment with a coarse steel wool pad (lightly scratch surface) and black and silver latex water based (fill in scratched surfaces and wipe off) to create a tarnished effect with varying shades of scratches?? Just a idea really. Edited December 16, 2015 by cjdesign Quote
cjdesign[TK] Posted December 16, 2015 Author Report Posted December 16, 2015 Magazine Housing & Mag: In order to fit the magazine I had to trim very close. Careful not to carve through to the other side. I used 100 grit sand paper to finalize the inner edges but still came close to breaking through. At this point the clip still didn't fit into the opening and the sides were at or too thin as is, so I shaved off a little from the magazine for the final fit. Fits perfect! 3 Quote
themaninthesuitcase[Admin] Posted December 17, 2015 Report Posted December 17, 2015 You're a braver man than I! I'll be cutting the mag down to reduce the depth needed to be ground out. Partially for strength partially because I'll carve through the walls! Quote
cjdesign[TK] Posted December 17, 2015 Author Report Posted December 17, 2015 (edited) You're a braver man than I! I'll be cutting the mag down to reduce the depth needed to be ground out. Partially for strength partially because I'll carve through the walls! The original idea was to create a working mag, with real button and spring, Once I realized that the clip wouldn't fit properly I had no choice but to glue or use rare earth magnets, and my extensive carving was in vain. I did trim the clip about 1/4 or so inch from the bottom. No regrets. Edited April 13, 2016 by cjdesign 1 Quote
cjdesign[TK] Posted December 17, 2015 Author Report Posted December 17, 2015 (edited) cut a line between the clip and end tab to add the appearance of 2 separate pieces. I'm leaving the ragged edge, for a distressed look. Parts are painted with a light coat of primer to bring out the fine details before: after: Edited December 18, 2015 by cjdesign Quote
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