Simon's Hasbro Conversion 2016 (DHPFX kit and extras)

[Tiger2488]

In common with a great many of you now and in the past I am awaiting the arrival of the BBB in Q1 2017 (from ANOVOS) and am going to tackle an initial build of an E11 blaster to practise build skills.
I initially bought a Disney blaster from Amazon thinking that would be the easiest base to source....then found a Hasbro blaster in the local Goodwill store for less than $3.00....
Going to work on the Hasbro as the base, and possibly swap out the electronics from the Disney blaster. Using DHPFX kit for the bulk of the add one, but considering swapping the barrel for a full length pipe, and will be putting optics into the sight (bird watching monocular).
Also have some thoughts about substituting the power cylinders for working laser dots ($1 from Dollar tree) to increase Stormtrooper accuracy (will inform Lord Vader if they work....!).
Finally also looking at automotive LED sets that provide super bright illumination in small units.
Hope to use lessons learned here to build a full Pipe build to as high a standard as possible, and to have this Hasbro as a 'spare' for kids to use in photos or to shoot me when Trooping!
Grateul for any and all advice as this progresses.
Simon

Edited November 17, 2016 by Tiger2488

[Tiger2488]

First things first:

I have sanded down the text that appears on the sides and undersides of the blaster:

 

 

Removed the peg from the folding stock post:

 

Carefully removed the Hasbro muzzle cover using a small hacksaw, making sure to avoid the wires running to the LED. I don't think I will be using this LED in the final build but want to keep the electronics intact for as long as possible.

 

Removed the scope entirely - will be replaced with a modified resin version from the DHPFX kit:

 

And very carefully succeeded in splitting the blaster into its 2 constituent parts.

 

[Tiger2488]

Session Two - Modifying the scope

 

I want to make the scope look as accurate as possible, and have therefore followed a lot of previous builds example by purchasing a cheap bird watching monocular, and will be installing it into the DHPFX resin scope. First issue of course is that the resin scope is a solid cast, and therefore a lot of the interior volume needs to be removed to create the space to install the large and small monocular lenses. I used a combination of increasing size drill bits to bore out a central channel in the scope, and then increased the size of the bore with the Dremel, and then a large and a small circular file. This took 3 days of piecemeal work to accomplish, with a lot of time taken in test fitting the larger lens and identifying which interior areas needed to be smoothed out with the small file.

 

 

 

Making steady progress clearing out the interior of the scope...

 

 

Almost there...

 

 

 

Test fitting the larger lens..

 

 

Pretty pleased with getting the lens flush with the end of the scope....will use Green Stuff to close out the gaps around the lens itself before painting.

 

 

Will also use Green Stuff to fill in a couple of small holes in the scope main body in areas where the walls thinned out too much trying to create the optic channel:

 

 

Controversially I have cut off the front end of the scope (using the original weld line from the resin cast as a guide) to provide easier access to mount the smaller lens, and to hollow out the interior of the front of the scope. Will glue this back on when the optics are fitted correctly, hopefully the join will appear to match the original weld line / seam, and be covered further in the painting process.

 

 

Lots of time spent getting this right, and also learning the capabilities of some of the tools used. Looking now across various build threads to see what the best set-up will be of the lenses, ideally to avoid having an inverted image, and if possible avoiding the extreme tunnel effect of having the lenses mounted in reverse orientation!

[Tiger2488]

Next Steps:

 

The build is progressing as I have been able to work in the evenings this week, and have focused on preparing the ancillary parts, and on making a full-size barrel from PVC piping.

 

The Folding Stock:

 

Used the Dremel to accentuate the features of the folding stock, particularly the delineation between the folding stock and the main bar. Also drilled out the holes in the main bar, and created a central channel which I hope to fill with a silver tube (biro, or stylus tube) later in the build.

 

 

 

The resin cracked during the drill process but this should be fixable with Green Stuff.

 

Front Sight:

 

Hollowed out the plastic molding from the center of the Hasbro front sight to make it more accurate. Will need to add some Green Stuff to one side, and add suitable markings (bevelling?) before the build is finished.

 

 

Used a file to adapt the shape of a cheap dollar store screwdriver head to act as the Front Sight Blade, and used Green Stuff to make the basic shape of the front sight block itself, adding in a small grub screw to the right hand side for accuracy. This piece is very rough for now but will be filed to shape once it is set properly.

 

 

[Tiger2488]

I have become a rapid advocate of Green Stuff - is it amazing to use and has been incredibly useful fixing minor errors and in creating small structures. I definitely recommend having a bowl of water nearby to wet your fingers while working with the Green Stuff as it really stops it from sticking to your fingers or tools.

 

I have been able to make good the small holes in the scope caused when drilling our the optic channel, and also smoothed out some of the bubbles from the molding process. Will sand to a smooth finish before painting.

 

 

I was able to buy a length of PVC piping at Home Depot, and printed off a fantastic pipe build template that I found on this Forum - thanks guys, really standing on the shoulders of giants here!

 

Starting point:

 

 

Almost there:

 

 

Used a small drill-bit to make pilot holes, and then switched to my largest drill-bit, although this was just too small to hollow out the full size required. Luckily the spherical tool on the Dremel was the perfect size and made quick work of finishing the job. I used a round and a flat file to clear any burrs from the inside of the pipe, and a small Dremel attachment to clean up the holes themselves.

 

 

Magazine Button:

 

I followed advice in the E11 Build guide and used an LED (the original red one from the Hasbro.....I swapped it out for a higher-power output LED as an experiment) to mimic the small button used to release the spring pressure and allow the base of the magazine to slide off for cleaning and maintenance. I have glued this in place, but may remove it and add a small spring from a biro or similar to make the button move a little. Not happy with the 4-year old handwriting of 'OFF', hopefully this will be less dramatically rubbish once painted...

 

[Tiger2488]

Having made some progress I decided to try my hand at some painting - used a primer layer, and then a metallic silver for the magazine and magazine housing, barrel, muzzle, end-cap, stock, and a smaller PVC pipe I found that I may use as an inner barrel and mounting point for the LED strips I hope to use in the upgraded electronics.

 

 

Sprayed too heavily on the smaller parts so they will need sanding and then a second lighter coat applied.

 

Also gave the scope a coat of brass paint (beginning to look good...!)

 

 

And painted some of the 'greeblies' I hope to use for the Power Cylinders....these include two $1 laser pointers that are almost the right size (diameter is good, they are slightly longer than the THPFX parts though), which hopefully will provide a fun laser aiming device for the blaster.

 

[Tiger2488]

Installation of Lenses into the Scope

 

Today I was able to complete the major work on the scope. I had previously removed the lenses from the donor bird-watching monocular, and hollowed out much of the interior of the scope to accommodate these lenses. I experimented quite a bit with additional lens pieces to see if I could create a non-inverted image, and found that whilst this was technically possible (by putting two of the smaller lens assemblies in line with each other in the scope body, the resulting sight picture had the benefit of being the right way up (!) but provided even more of a distant, tunnel effect that it was difficult to make out details. I therefore decided to stay with the traditional approach and have a clear although upside-down, tunnel effect sight picture installed in the scope (as others have said on this forum this helps to explain why Stormtroopers can never seem to hit anything!).

 

 

Inserted the larger of the monocular lenses into the rear of the scope where it fit perfectly, and then added Green Stuff to seal the gap around its outer circumference. This will be sanded down to shape once hardened, and brass paint brushed on to match the remainder of the scope.

 

 

Inserted the smaller lens assembly directly into the front body of the scope, and then gradually hollowed out  a counter-sink area for the 1-2mm of lens protruding from the housing so that it would match up as closely as possible to the lens cover that I had previously removed to allow better access to hollow out the front of the scope. Used glue to bond the front piece back onto the main body of the scope, and then Green Stuff to fill the small gap left between the two pieces....again will sand down and paint in 24hrs time.

 

 

Overall a clean sight picture through the finished scope:

 

[Skypig]

I did a Hasbro/DD build for my first blaster, and I remember how much fun it was to build.  Yours is over the top!  Looks fantastic.

[Tiger2488]

I only had a brief period to work on this project today, but managed to further the scope build by sanding down the excess Green Stuff, and then applying paint.

 

 

 

And applied a base layer of Green Stuff to produce the raised top and bottom rims of the power cylinders.

 

 

Enjoying the build project so far - lots to learn and perfect, and lots of time to be spent in the future sanding and refining the components before final assembly. Making good progress with the little components, not too long until I have to tackle the bigger elements including replacing the Hasbro barrel, setting up and installing the electronics (once I summon the courage to cut into the pristine Disney blaster....) and working on a replacement for the barrel rails, as the THPFX ones will no longer fit on the extended pipe barrel I hope to use.

[Tiger2488]

Lots of progress to report on - the overall build is progressing nicely, beginning to look like an E11 blaster, although in one in need of a much more refined paint job!

 

Power Cylinders:

I left the laser pointers for 24hrs to allow the Green Stuff to set, and turned the attention to a trio of electrical fuses that I also added Green Stuff to in order to form spherical ends, and added some thin wire for effect. I then found four small pieces of scrap cylindrical plastic that I used to make the detail to the rear of the power cylinder housing,  cut up a For Sale sign to make the frame, and used an old black shoe lace to add the insulate cable detail at the rear. Once each piece was individually produced I assembled them together, with the laser pointer buttons at 12 O'Clock, and glued them in place. Followed of course by an initial application of brass paint:

 

 

 

 

 

Laser pointers still function perfectly, and I hope this brings an interesting twist to the standard E11 build!

[Tiger2488]

Miscellaneous progress:

 

I found some suitable metal Greeblies on some old electrical connectors that Iw as able to trim and add to the front of the Hengstler Counter for increased accuracy:

 

 

Sanded down the front of the barrel to simulate the flattened area for the bayonet mount:

 

 

Crafted a bayonet lug out of Green Stuff and added a small screw to aid attachment to the barrel:

 

 

Was able to finish filing and applying the front sight to the new barrel:

 

 

Added a metal screw to the magazine housing:

 

 

Add took the plunge and completely removed the Hasbro barrel (!!) to be replaced with the pipe build version:

 

[Tiger2488]

An amateur playing around with Electronics....!!

 

From the outset I wanted to replace the Hasbro electronics with those from a Disney Blaster....although very nervous as I have not used a soldering iron since schooldays a very long time ago!

 

Having looked through a lot of similar threads I found a 3 way switch (actually 4 way I believe) that would be ideal to transition between Blast, Stun and Safe modes. I also tried to upgrade the trigger using some random pieces of hard plastic I found at work:

 

 

Later on when test fitting the parts I found that the trigger was too bulky (specifically too fat) and required a lot of filing to allow the trigger mechanism to operate effectively. I was however able to Dremel out a suitable hole in the pistol grip to accommodate the switch, and add another piece of plastic to act as the switch for now....again will probably file this down considerably before the build is complete, but for now it is large enough to be easily manipulated with gloved hands:

 

 

I then proceeded to remove the electronics from both the Hasbro and the Disney blaster, taking copious photos of their wiring layout to use as reference when the inevitable happened and I pulled out a wire when trying to reconnect pieces together....

 

I used a lot of trial and error to determine the correct set up of the wires, speaker and bulbs - including test fitting with the barrel, and the smaller diameter pipe I am still hoping to use as a mock inner barrel (with cut out section to allow light promulgation). Once satisfied with the layout I took the plunge and soldered the wires into place, and then used super-glue to stick the wires down within the body of the blaster to reduce likelihood of damage/loose wiring when actually trooping.

 

The following pictures show the operation of the electronics, and the Red /Blaster and Blue / Stun LEDs. The photos were taken prior to gluing the firing switch into place.

 

 

[Tiger2488]

Laser Pointers!!!!

I have mentioned a few times in this build that I want to try and incorporate something a little different into the mix, specifically adapting the power cylinders to include laser dots (and small flashlights as a bi-product of the laser pointer design I used). I have now finished the power cylinder build and attached them in place to the blaster, and been able to test their functionality (!!!):

 

 

Paintwork is only temporary - the booster used with the CA glue has the unfortunate side effect of attacking the spray paint I have used, so the whole blaster will be sanded and repainted when the build is finally completed!

 

Rough

 

Rough or not both laser pointers function perfectly, and can be seen across reasonable distances - either as a mark of being hit by a blaster, or as a laser spot to 'target' people:

 

 

Fun, Fun, Fun!!!
 

[Tiger2488]

Inner Barrel:

 

I have used a small diameter plastic pipe to form a mock inner barrel for the blaster. Initially I was planning on shining the LEDs through this to have a muzzle blast effect, but they lack the power to make this effective. I have therefore decided to lose some realism and cut away the side of the barrel to create a flash chamber of sorts to line up with the two uncovered lines of holes in the outer barrel.

 

 

I painted the outer side in Hammered Black, and the inner in Metallic Silver:

 

 

I have used some rough cut pipe cladding to create a tight seal/grip on the inner barrel when placed inside the outer barrel:

 

 

You can see the two elements together in the above photo. You can also make out the T-Tracks that I have tried to fashion out of some garden stakes - they are a real compromise and although pleased with the outcome based on the starting structure I have decided to buy some bespoke T-Tracks from Todd's Costumes http://www.toddscostumes.com/

[Tiger2488]

Coming Together:

 

Moving towards the last few major elements of the build now (notwithstanding replacing the T-Tracks when the new ones arrive).

 

Replaced the resin sling swivel loop with a metal one, and then painted both parts:

 

 

Added Green Stuff to the screw holes to bring them level with the exterior of the blaster body (to increase accuracy in the final paint finish). I have also used Green Stuff to fill in some of the gaps inbetween sections of the blaster (top and bottom seams for example).

 

 

Have also spray painted the DHPFX included sight rail with silver paint to see if this enhances its look:

 

 

Things still to do:

 

Install the blank plastic plate on top of the blaster to hide where it has been savagely attacked with a Dremel.....and seal remaining holes with yet more Green Stuff (need to get stock in this company).

Fix the pipe barrel to the blaster body (have already installed 4 x pins into the barrel, and will fix with CA Glue and Green Stuff).

Fix the sight rail and scope to the body.

Add a paper dial and plastic cover to the Hengstler counter.

Add a bolt into the bottom of the pistol grip.

Add silver detailing in to the ejector port / barrel port.

Try to extend the length of the Hasbro conversion Folding Stock to accommodate the increased length of the new pipe based barrel....

Paint and weather the blaster.