E-11 Blaster from Andrew Ainsworth

[DarthVader87[TK]]

Hi everyone,

 

I dont post much on this forum, although I did make a claim that Doopydoos ripped me off in my search for a E-11 conversion kit which I never got, filed a claim through Paypal, got my money back and DDs got black listed on Paypal for not complying with paypal policies. Since then I have been looking for a good E-11 to complete my Anovos armor and icomms voice changer ensemble (they are both worth every penny of them), I went through phoenix props I think is called and others too but none seemed like a good option for me because either they didnt ship to my country (Ecuador, South America) or they were too expensive between actual price and shipping.

 

Finally, I came across the notorious www.originalstormtrooper.com page owned by Shepperton Studios and Andrew Ainsworth (for those who dont know, he's the original prop maker of all the actual props in Star Wars A New Hope back in 1977 that got a lawsuit for copyright violations and won in the UK). I talked to them through Skype and they did all the work so they could send an E-11 blaster replica by Andrew Ainsworth to my country with Fedex!! the blaster arrived with perfect details, quite sturdy, light and perfect in every way! I HIGHLY recommend to all my fellow legionnaires this blasters because they are utterly awesome, ready for trooping, extra fast delivery (5 days tops) and excellent costumer service although you do have to call through skype if you need help because your email tend to get lost in so many mails hehe (Richard Evans from costumer service told me that in a very strong British accent).

 

P.S. I do have to warn all U.S. potential buyers, due to copyright restrictions and lawsuits between Andrew Ainsworth and Lucasfilm (research for more details) they dont sell in the U.S. so you might have to find a way around it to buy a blaster from them but believe me its worth it. I attach a couple of pics of the blaster to give you more perspective on what you are buying.

 

Regards,

 

[Rob .T .[TK]]

Original prop maker of all the actual props eh ? <br>

Well, he did vac form some armour parts I suppose . But he had nothing whatsoever to do with any of the blasters used in the film, <br>

However, if you are pleased with it , then great .

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Certainly a nice looking blaster, but there are a few discrepancies..  There is no charging handle and the trigger guard looks way too curved at the front among other things.  There is a lot of nice attention to detail (especially the front sight), but since it is a resin cast I wonder why he didn't use a real recoil spring instead of making it solid.

[I'm Batman[501st]]

Ummm, it has a pop rivet as a front sight LOL.

 

There's already a few threads here on FISD showing it's details, or lack thereof.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Must have missed those threads!  Just from looking at the photos it looks as if there are no fuses between the power cylinders either.  (Even Doopydoos has those)  I may be mistaken, but weren't the coils attached to the Hengstler counter only used in promo shots?

[humperdingle]

Having seen a couple of the Shepperton blasters up close, I wasn't very impressed. Well, not for the money. Lots of detail was missing, and some of the finishing left a lot to be desired. But as said, If the buyer is happy, that's all that matters

[Lichtbringer]

I´m glad you like what you paid for.

 

Not bad but far from the best.

[johnbc21872[TK]]

I have an E-11 from SDS, seen in my profile pic along with the armor I'm wearing too. Despite of all the differences I'm reading and have heard from the past from others and not to mention the cost, I love mine as well!!

[ninjagrips]

Original prop maker of all the actual props eh ? <br>

Well, he did vac form some armour parts I suppose . But he had nothing whatsoever to do with any of the blasters used in the film, <br>

However, if you are pleased with it , then great .

Yeah, I really hope they didn't claim that Ainsworth made all the props for ANH.

 

There's a real stinky old can of worms surrounding this subject, and I hope it can remain closed.

 

I'm glad they followed through and that you're happy with what you got. I reckon that's what matters most here.

 

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

[SlyFox740[TK]]

If you're happy with it that's great, power to ya! While it may be the best blaster that you have personally ever owned many people on this forum will disagree with the statement that it's the "Best E-11 Blaster EVER".
I commend you for doing your research on the lawsuit between Lucasfilm and SDS however you are very incorrect in assuming that Andrew Ainsworth at Shepperton Design Studios is "the original prop maker of all the props in Star Wars A New Hope" he actually didn't make any props, not a single one. He was contracted to manufacture the stormtrooper armor for the costume department and that's it. He DID NOT design or sculpt the stormtrooper Armor, that honour only goes to Liz Moore (R.I.P.) and Brian Muir. Andrew Ainsworth being a maker of canoes and fish ponds at the time simply molded Liz and Brian's sculpts, that's all. The actual props were made by Pinewood studios, SDS had absolutely nothing to do with the props.

The golden standard for the E-11 Blaster will always be the real genuine vintage parts used on the original props. Many people on here have paid more for a real vintage Scope or Counter than you have for your entire blaster so you'll understand why they would disagree that this is the best blaster "EVER". It just doesn't get any better than the real thing.

However I will point out the the power cylinders on the airsoft based E-11 blasters in the new Rogue One movie are believed to have been taken from an SDS E-11. However these power cylinders are very inaccurate and much different than the original power cylinders seen in A New Hope as they claim to be.

Edited April 11, 2017 by SlyFox740

[Truimphmark[TK]]

Hi javier I two have a e11 from sds and to be honest for the money you pay for it I was very disappointed with it for the money that you pay but as a trooping blaster very light and also the issues that you said you had from various suppliers around the world

[DarthVader87[TK]]

Hi Guys, I have to say that I agree with most of you. The blaster isn't "perfect" but it is perfect for me, since better blasters wouldn't ship to Ecuador or were ridiculously expensive plus shipping. I did read a lot more about the SDS lawsuit and yes, Ainsworth didn't design the original props (i never said he did), he made the molds for mass production and then delivered them to LFL. But I do have to say that for someone living in the an impolite person-end of the planet as is Ecuador like me (LOL) where nobody ships almost anything I was very pleased to see that a company would go through the trouble of making it possible to ship to my country in such short time and at an affordable price. The Blaster is good enough for approval purposes, its light for trooping(700g) and very good detail and quality considering I paid 320usd for it including all the hassle of shipping (the blaster was 150usd at the time). When I tried HF or phoenix props they had a lot of good reviews but they wouldnt ship outside the US and I had no way of bringing them. I understand that propmakers in the US have some limitations when shipping outside the US but for a global organization like the Legion, just because we dont live in the US doesnt mean we cant buy good things. I was very dissapointed with other E-11 makers and I couldn't build my own for lack of materials in Ecuador. I hope this thread and info is helpful for other legionnaires inside and outside the US. 

[ABS80]

The guy who makes the blasters for all my AP customers ships anywhere in the world, his blasters are top quality and much cheaper, you can see pics here