fragarock's HFX Hyperfirm E-11 Mod

[fragarock[TK]]

Since I'm collecting tools, boots, and various other components needed to build my TK and haven't yet ordered my armor, I figured I'd go ahead and deal with the blaster.

 

I ordered an E-11 elite model from HFX Productions. I chose this because the threads I reviewed said it's a bit more durable for trooping as it's cast from a solid piece. It arrived and I have to say that it does look really good, has a decent heft to it without being too heavy and is overall very nice looking. But as I was reviewing various E-11 build threads, I was impressed by the clean lines and better detail from Doopy builds. So, throwing caution to the wind and frankly, because I can't stand leaving things alone, I decided to attempt a mod in this blaster.

 

My goal is to add in more detail such as a better scope and real screws and other components and tweak the paint job a bit in certain areas. So I started....

 

Here are some reference shots of the out-of-the-box blaster. As you can see the paint job is really good but the scope is problematic.

 

 

 

 

 

The first thing I did was take an xacto and trim off some of the casting joint lines that were left on the blaster. Some were easy to remove, others like at curved areas proved too difficult so I just left them.

 

 

Next I wanted to make the body of the scope look more metallic. The original looked too plastic like. After reviewing the E11 Blaster Reference thread, I masked off the area around the scope to repaint it in a brass color, being sure to include the mounting lugs. Now I couldn't find brass paint so I settled for gold figuring not much of it would be visible anyways so it should be OK.

 

 

 

Next I masked off the scope and grip as I didn't want any aluminum paint getting on those areas. I then painted the trigger and plate area, back end of the barrel, and the scope mounting rail as I wanted a bit more of a scratched metal look in these areas. I also gave the folding stock a dusting of paint.

 

 

 

I let this dry for a couple hours while I played with the kids. Next I removed the masking tape from the scope and painted the scope and the metallic aluminum areas with a coat of matte black. I sprayed it in layers trying not to be too heavy handed with the paint. I wanted the finished product to have some variation in the paint finish with some areas looking completely black while others still had the original HFX paint scheme/color.

 

 

That night I went to work distressing the new black paint job. The goal was to scratch/remove parts of the black paint coat to expose the metallic color and at the scope, some of the gold color.

 

It took some experimenting to find the right technique. First I tried 220 grit sand paper. This was too rough and plowed thru that thin coat of black that I had just put on. So I tried a Brillo pad next. To my surprise it worked perfectly. Only problem was, I had the kind with blue soap already in the pad so that made kind of a mess as I wore off that soap layer during the sanding process. It cleaned up easy enough but you can see blue soap flakes in the photos. I highly recommend getting plain steel wool. The trick is to start off with light pressure and just keep rubbing the area you want to effect. 10-15 light pressure passes over an area are better than a couple heavy ones. You just have more control over how much paint you remove & how fast.

 

So here's the first pass on the scope rail. The effect was nice and eventually I took off most of the black leaving a metallic looking piece.

 

Here you can see distressing of the folding stock armature. I also distressed the scope, wearing off the black to reveal just a bit of the gold below and in some areas taking it all the way down to the original HFX paint. This produced a nice mottled look with a bit of metal showing thru.

 

 

 

I did the same process down the slide bolt and various other areas such as the barrel tip and other wear areas.

 

 

 

 

Of course I did the white crayon trick on the scope lettering.

 

 

I also did a gloss black wash over the handle to replicate the plastic look of the original Sterling.

 

Well that's it for tonight. Tomorrow I'll post the pictures of the scope modifications showing how much fun you can have with a Dremel.

[fragarock[TK]]

So I started the scope mod focusing on the small end of the scope. I figured it would be easier and if I botched something, the botch would hopefully be small too.

 

I purchased a small spotting scope online for about $10. Took it apart and looked at what pieces I had to work with. You'll need a small phillips screwdriver...the kind for repairing glasses.

Once it was apart I was left with the small and large lenses, a couple prisms, and miscellaneous parts.

 

 

 

You can see the small lens is almost the perfect size to fit the scope. I removed the silver plastic part by untwisting it. This left a threaded black part containing the lens. Also,

a secondary lens fell out. I just put it aside. I decieded to install the whole housing into the scope but figured I better cut it down a bit. That way I wouldn't have to drill out

too much of the scope.

 

 

 

 

For reference here are the sizes of the lens and the lens/housing piece.

 

 

 

I began by drill the center of the scope with a small dremel bit. Quickly realizing I should just use a bigger carving bit. I went down to a depth of about 3/8". started at the

center and worked my way out. I went slow once I got near the edge of the scope. Don't want to tear thru that!

 

 

 

Here's the lens friction fitted into place. I left it sticking out slightly as I liked that better than pushed all the way in.

Plus I can then remove it with plyers in the future if it breaks.

 

[fragarock[TK]]

Now it's time to add the large scope. First I clamped the blaster to my worktable and carefully...and at a slow speed...drilled a 5/32" pilot hole using my power drill. Then I re-drilled the hole using large bits all the way up to 1/2".

 

 

Then I switched over to my spade bits. Started with the 1/4" then moved up the line thru the 1/2". I had to hold the scope with my left hand as I drilled with my right. I was worried it would break off due to the force

from the drilling. By this time the hole was getting big and I'd take so much material out of the scope that it started to really distort when I tried the 9/16" bit. So I stopped and reevaluated the process.

 

 

 

Next I tried a carving bit on the dremel. This one was larger than the one I used for the small scope. I strongly suggest you use safety glasses and a respirator for this work.

Boring out this large hole creates a lot of dust...a lot. And it's easy to inhale and get in your eyes.

 

 

 

So I went to work boring out the scope to receive the large lens piece. I wanted to insert the entire sliver plastic lens housing, not just the lens. Again the idea was to

friction fit it into place and not have to worry about glue or fogging up the lens.

 

The photo below shows about 45 minutes of dremel work. It got to a point where the hole was so deep and the angle was bad that I couldn't see what I was doing. So

I unclamped and just held the blaster between my knees so I could down into the scope.

 

 

 

More drilling, emptying the spoil, more drilling, etc. until I could insert the lens body. Overall this whole process took about 2 hours.

 

 

This is the lens/housing. I painted the outside matte black. Could have painted the inside but decided to leave it metallic looking.

 

 

Here's the size of this piece.

 

 

Here's the inserted piece. I didn't push it in all the way. Do you think it should go in further? Based on the reference photos I'd say yes but I'm worried about being able

to remove it in the future.

 

 

Next post will be screw replacement. Joy!

[Bulldog44[TK]]

If you decide to set the lenses in deeper and wish to cover up the seams, I can send you some spare resin M19 retainer rings for the large and small ends. Just a thought. PM if you need them.

[fragarock[TK]]

If you decide to set the lenses in deeper and wish to cover up the seams, I can send you some spare resin M19 retainer rings for the large and small ends. Just a thought. PM if you need them.

Thanks for the note about setting them deeper. I looked at your scope casting thread. That's amazing work and looks you gained a lot of knowledge during that process.

 

I'll definitely keep a tab on your work as I further mod this thing.

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[Bulldog44[TK]]

No problem. Happy if I can be of any help.

[fieldmarshall]

Nice modifications  !

[fragarock[TK]]

Thanks Chris, I've started to add in some of the real screws in various parts of the blaster starting with the muzzle. Last night I think I finally figured out the numbering system for the cheesehead machine screws at the front of the scope. Now if I can find some place that sells them with the slotted head configuration.

[Coloursergeant]

This is a pretty cool project.  I didn't think you could really do this type of modification with the material the Hyperfirms were made of, but you've proven it!

 

I'll keep following along, I may have to get one of these now.  

[fragarock[TK]]

Hi,

 

After talking with Brian he convinced me to set the lenses deeper into the scope and he hooked me up with some of the rings he's casted to complete the mod. I got the rings a couple days ago and went to work.

First thing was to pull out the lenses which was easy since I had already left the sticking out a bit. Then I carved out more material on the inside of the scope to make room for the ring. Once I was happy with the test fit I made sure to

blow out any remaining dust and debris from inside the scope and then painted the inside black. I also took my Dremel and cut off about 1/4" of the plastic lens housing as the whole thing would now have to fit deeper into the

scope body.

 

 

Here are the large and small rings from Brian. They are for the M19 scope. I gave them each a coat of gold (don't have brass color) and black paint.

 

 

 

Here's the lens reinserted into the scope prior to installing the ring.

 

Here's the final install of the large scope. No glue needed, it's friction fit and isn't going anywhere.

The front small lens was essentially the same, just inserted the glass lens further down into the hole I'd already bored out and the fit the ring on top.

 

 

 

I also wanted to add in real screws where practical. After a visit to the local hardware store I came away with the proper hex head screws although I used a shorter length than the real ones so I wouldn't have

to drill too far into the resin. I started off with an inconspicuous spot at the bottom of the handle.

 

 

Drilled out a hole using progressively larger bits until I got the right size. Then CA glued this screw into place.

 

 

Next was to replace the molded screws at the muzzle. This was a little dicy and may not be worth the hassle as the originals looked pretty good. First shot is the original.

Then started carving this piece out with a dremel bit. This was tricky not to accidently carve up the adjacent muzzle piece. Basically I carved away the original cast screw then drilled a

hole for the new screw to be inserted.

 

Here's the screw inserted. You can see the original screw on the right side of the muzzle for comparison. The problem with this mod is there's no good way to make a perfectly clean/sharp

line when you cut out this material. Even with an Xacto it's still difficult to get rid of all the burs and tore up edges around where you cut/bore. Keep that in mind if you attempt this, in this case

the screws look good but the area under the screw where I had to cut is a bit rough. I also bore out the muzzle hole a bit to make it deeper.

 

 

Final mod on this is adding some cheese head screws to the front of the scope. Pretty simple once I got my hands on the screws. Just drill a small hole, route out the opening as needed

to fit the screw head in so it's slightly recessed. These are friction fit and I did a thin wash of black paint over the heads. The last photo shows the finished end with screws and the small

lens retainer ring in place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's it. Only thing I may still tackle is the Hengstler counter but I haven't wrapped my head around how I'd remove it and then secure the new one in place.

Hopefully some of you find this useful.

[Bulldog44[TK]]

Fantastic work on this. Love it! Happy to help out with the rings. Going to try this if I get a hyperfirm!

[pwhitrow]

So impressed with this, may have to do mine!

[kira47[501st]]

wow looks like I'll be doing the same with mine

[fishmeok[TK]]

I have done similar to mine, but it did not occur to me to replace with real screws- great idea! If you really want to get into it replace the rail and drill out all the barrel holes- it's not really that difficult once you get the right size bit. I added a light and a little red lens inside my scope, just for fun. 

 

 

 

Edited November 16, 2016 by fishmeok

[fragarock[TK]]

How did you get the molithic rail off? Slice it off with a utility knife or something?

I like drilling the barrel holes idea.

[fragarock[TK]]

Hi Troopers,

 

It's been  a while since I posted on this thread. When I left off, I had added a scope and cleaned up the Hyperfirm a bit as well as did some painting. Ultimately I was unhappy with my paint job and over the past few months have been pondering a re-paint.

 

If you've been following me you know I made a build thread for my son's EVA foam TK armor which he wore on Halloween. Part of the work was a repaint of a Ruby's kids TK blaster. This was helpful because i got to try out a few painting techniques. Basically practice for my E-11 repaint.

 

Here's the repaint of my son's Rubies.

 

 

Here's the repaint. You can see my E-11 in the background (prior to it getting a new paint job).

 

Here's what I did on mine. These are the "before" shots. Pew Pew!

 

 

Started off with Krylon Fusion for Plastic gray primer. I was going to paint it with Alclad II laquer metallic finish paints and I'd read that they can eat away at the resin which this blaster is made from. So the primer was a safety feature. Also it helped smooth out the finish which is a bit rough being a resin cast.

 

 

Next I primed it with the Alclad II primer. Allclad is applied using an airbrush so the coats are very thin.

 

 

Here is is after the Alclad II primer

 

 

Alclad II paints work by using a gloss black base coat. Over the top of this goes the metallic topcoat. So to start off I applied the gloss black base coat over the whole blaster.

 

 

Here you can see how shiny it is on a plastic spoon.

 

I then did spray tests of various metallic finishes to see which would look best. The polished brass would be used on the scope and the Gun Metal would be the blaster body. Airframe Aluminum was nice and shine so I wanted that for the discharge port and as a base coat under the Gun Metal hoping scratches would come thru.

 

Here is the Gloss Black coat. It wasn't as shiny as I'd hoped. The surface of the blaster was just too rough. So I decided to wet sand the finish using Micromesh sanding cloths. These are high grit for fine polishing. Basically they go up to 12,000 grit.

 

 

 

 

After the sanding i applied a new Gloss Black base coat. You can see it's much shiner that the first coat.

 

 

 

 

Now that the base coat was acceptable...not great...but as good as it would get on this resin. I decided to paint the scope first using Polished Brass. I then covered it with Alclad II gloss clear coat (2) coats to protect the finish so my weathering wouldn't chew thru the brass finish.

 

 

Over the brass I wanted a semi-gloss black. Something that would look slightly different than the blaster body. I chose Tamiya X-18 and sprayed it in my airbrush.

 

 

 

I put a heavier, glossier coat on the end of the scope for a more polished look.

 

 

Then I started wearing away the top coat with fine steel wool. I did the very slowly and deliberately.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like the scope, I wanted a metallic coat on the blaster body, something that would show thru the weathering. Ultimately this didn't work all that well and isn't a necessary step. But here's what I did for reference.

 

I painted the body with Airframe Aluminum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used the gloss clearcoat and it looked great but when I started weathering, I wasn't getting the effects I wanted. So it now exists under the top coat. Maybe it will show thru as I get actual wear and tear on this. One useful thing I discovered, a light mist of this aluminum over your dark colored top coat give a great metallic-iness look. Very subtle but nice looking. Really hard to capture on film but looks great in person.

 

Next step was to apply the Alclad II Gun Metal.

 

Here's the Gun Metal applied. I didn't put it on the handle grip, wanting that part to stay more black. Notice that I gloss clear-coated the scope. This was to protect the weathering and give a gloss look but it was too shiny. So I lightly went over it with steel wool which knocked down the gloss. I left the end by the eye piece a bit shinier than the rest of the scope. You'll see this in the final photos. Also, the discharge port is the Airframe Aluminum color.

 

 

 

 

 

I took steel wool and applied directional scratching down the folding stock parts and the Hengstler counter. Also did directional strokes around the circumference of the main body barrel and end cap. Don't have pics though but it adds a bit of a machined metal look as the aluminum color below gets slightly exposed.

 

Fore weathering/wearing of the Gun Metal finish to show what would be the bare metal below I used AK true Metal wax-based paint "Steel". This comes out of the tube slightly wet and is dry-brushed on. Apply in very thin layers. Build it up slowly. Too much will give a very metallic look but no look right for weathering. I bought this product as a test experiment but so glad I did as it works great. I should have bought the brass and used it on the scope.

 

 

Here are the final photos after the weathering. I put a light sheen clear coat over the blaster to protect the weathering paint job, (2) coats.

 

A few of these were taken before I put the scope glass/trim rings back in place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you like it. Get out there and do some painting!

This was a warm-up for my next job....a E-22. I'll start that build and painting in a week or so. Short person Shoretrooper build coming next year!

[Harbinger[IPM]]

Great work!

[Big Deal]

On 11/16/2016 at 5:08 PM, fishmeok said:

I have done similar to mine, but it did not occur to me to replace with real screws- great idea! If you really want to get into it replace the rail and drill out all the barrel holes- it's not really that difficult once you get the right size bit. I added a light and a little red lens inside my scope, just for fun. 

 

 

 

Do you still have images of removing the rail available?