T-Jay[TK] Posted February 5, 2018 Report Posted February 5, 2018 Additional work on the power cylinders looks good and helps bringing them closer to the real thing. Very good build progress on the scope. I just wondered that the front section had to be destroyed to get the lenses. Was the connection glued instead of screwed? 1 hour ago, Suspend said: (...) Woo-hoo!! Scope done. Except for paint. (...) Are you not going to add the 5 metal screws on the scope front? Quote
CableGuy[TK] Posted February 5, 2018 Report Posted February 5, 2018 (edited) (Hehe - #Legoflagpoles) Really like you power cylinders, Mark. Very neatly done. It’s not too late to shape the backplate of the power cylinders, if you wanted too. I did the same as you, fitted the wires at the back etc., then Tino kindly mentioned the possible backplate adjustment (which I’d totally forgotten to do). I carefully shaped mine with a Dremel sander, coming in from the front end to avoid damage to the wires. IF you accidentally caught the wires, they could either be repainted or classed as weathering. Personally, I was inspired by Tino’s and lightly roughed up the wires to show a little red, as seen on the trooper behind Leia. (Not overly clear in this pic, but can be seen on a big screen). Scope is looking great, too. As Tino mentioned, don’t forget the replacement screws from your pack. They really add to the piece. Best wishes, Dan Edited February 5, 2018 by CableGuy 1 Quote
Suspend Posted February 5, 2018 Author Report Posted February 5, 2018 (edited) 6 hours ago, T-Jay said: Additional work on the power cylinders looks good and helps bringing them closer to the real thing. Very good build progress on the scope. I just wondered that the front section had to be destroyed to get the lenses. Was the connection glued instead of screwed? Are you not going to add the 5 metal screws on the scope front? DOH!!! I totally forgot the screws. Scope not done... Yes, the black lens tube was glued to the chrome plastic housing. Mark Edited February 5, 2018 by Suspend Quote
T-Jay[TK] Posted February 5, 2018 Report Posted February 5, 2018 1 hour ago, Suspend said: DOH!!! I totally forgot the screws. Scope not done... (...) Please don't feel pushed, Mark. I just wonder when people upgrade their build with a completion set and skip the easy mods. So in this case at least it turned out useful to mention it. No worries, adding these screws is not a big thing (done in a few minutes) and is the exact same effort now. Quote
Suspend Posted February 5, 2018 Author Report Posted February 5, 2018 17 minutes ago, T-Jay said: Please don't feel pushed, Mark. I just wonder when people upgrade their build with a completion set and skip the easy mods. So in this case at least it turned out useful to mention it. No worries, adding these screws is not a big thing (done in a few minutes) and is the exact same effort now. No, T-Jay, I definitely don't feel pushed. I appreciate the reminder. I totally forgot about the screws. I'm sure I would have noticed eventually as I have all the parts from your kit in a Tupperware box. I just have to check some photos to see if the screws are recessed or sit on the surface. Mark Quote
T-Jay[TK] Posted February 5, 2018 Report Posted February 5, 2018 1 minute ago, Suspend said: (...) I just have to check some photos to see if the screws are recessed or sit on the surface. The 3 bigger screws on the outer edge sit on top of the surface, while the 2 smaller ones are about 1mm under the surface. Quote
Suspend Posted February 5, 2018 Author Report Posted February 5, 2018 Just now, T-Jay said: The 3 bigger screws on the outer edge sit on top of the surface, while the 2 smaller ones are about 1mm under the surface. That was fast. Thanks, Tino!!! Mark 1 Quote
CableGuy[TK] Posted February 6, 2018 Report Posted February 6, 2018 Good job, Trooper. :-)Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote
T-Jay[TK] Posted February 6, 2018 Report Posted February 6, 2018 12 hours ago, Suspend said: Scope done? :-) Scope done - except for paint and weathering And give these screws a black washing, otherwise they will look factory new. Or even better: paint them black and then chip off some paint here and there. 2 Quote
Suspend Posted February 6, 2018 Author Report Posted February 6, 2018 6 minutes ago, T-Jay said: Scope done - except for paint and weathering And give these screws a black washing, otherwise they will look factory new. Or even better: paint them black and then chip off some paint here and there. Thanks, T-Jay. I'm going to come back to you on the "wash" when I get to the weathering stage. I've got a lot of questions and your weathering looks amazing. But I'll save them for when I get there. Mark Quote
Suspend Posted February 6, 2018 Author Report Posted February 6, 2018 Thanks, guys.... I've been working a little bit ahead of the photos I'm posting. So I think this week I'll try to catch up with my progress.... Handle / Grip / Trigger I started off sanding down the grip a little to get rid of the casting seam. Then I drilled out the "lock/free" screw and the hex screw at the bottom of the grip and replaced these with the screws from T-Jay's kit. I reviewed several build threads looking specifically at the trigger, trigger guard and the fire-mode selection switch. I'm really not interested in fabricating a new trigger guard. I'm also not fond of the idea of cutting out a huge chunk of plastic to install a working selection switch under the firing-mode selector. These are pretty major undertakings and at this point in time, I'm more interested in getting the blaster complete so that I can start on my armor. I may go back and revisit these at a later date, but for now, I reluctantly made the decision to use the Doopydoo's trigger guard, and to pin the firing mode selector in place AND ALSO pin the trigger to be non-functional. At least, that was my idea then. It didn't take long for things to change... I decided to use two cigar box nails (my favorite) to pin the trigger in place. I used a cutting bit in a dremel to hollow out the inside of the trigger housing a little more and then positioned the trigger and drilled two holes to hold the cigar box nails. I did several "test" fittings with the trigger guard in place to make sure the trigger was at the right angle and wouldn't be touching the trigger guard. Then I nicely counter-sunk the tops of the holes to allow the nail heads to fit in which I could later fill with "green stuff" and sand. And this is my first test fitting that changed my mind on pinning the trigger... Once I had the first nail in place I had a sudden realization: the trigger was pivoting quite nicely on the first nail. By controlling the size of the second hole in the trigger, I could limit the travel distance for the trigger. It was a really easy solution to getting a working trigger. So I just elongated hole #2 in the trigger and when I inserted the second nail, the trigger could move back and forth realistically. Then I drilled a larger hole into the trigger housing for a pen spring and I had a moving/working trigger. I made the hole in the trigger as large as I could but I'm not 100% happy with the travel distance. The travel is good.....but 1 or 2 mm more travel would be better. As it sits, I have two holes in the trigger. Hole #1 is the pivot hole and hole #2 is the elongated hole which controls the travel distance of the trigger. My issue is that to increase the travel of my trigger, I need to further elongate hole #2. But because I drilled hole #2 fairly close to the edge of the trigger housing, if I enlarge hole #2 any more, the hole will become visible. If I were to redo this, I'd drill hole #2 a little more toward the inside (back, away) from the trigger. Like this... But it's really not bad. It's just my OCD says it could have been a slight bit better. :-) Mark Quote
CableGuy[TK] Posted February 6, 2018 Report Posted February 6, 2018 Nice work, Mark. I also struggled a little with the trigger ‘travel’. Left on just one pin it just swung freely - not ideal. I ended up with another pin around 90degrees from the spring, restricting the outward movement. Looks like you’ve adapted well on the fly. Quote
Dracotrooper Posted February 6, 2018 Report Posted February 6, 2018 Ah, I see you had a bout of creative problem solving - it’s sweet to come away with a workable solution three cheers for Mark!Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote
Suspend Posted February 7, 2018 Author Report Posted February 7, 2018 Thanks guys, I think the problem wanted to be solved. As soon as I put in the first nail the answer was slapping me in the face. :-) Mark 2 Quote
T-Jay[TK] Posted February 7, 2018 Report Posted February 7, 2018 10 hours ago, Suspend said: (...) The travel is good.....but 1 or 2 mm more travel would be better. (...) (...) If I were to redo this, I'd drill hole #2 a little more toward the inside (back, away) from the trigger. (...) Good job Marc. In case you are not happy with your trigger travel, there is something else you can do. Instead of repositioning hole #2, you could also trim your trigger. If you remove a little resin right where it hits the nail, it will result in a longer travel. Quote
BaneLives85[TK] Posted February 7, 2018 Report Posted February 7, 2018 Yup, I had to do what T-Jay mentions, shaved a bit off the back of the trigger itself. Worked a treat! You can also deepen the hole the trigger sinks into, though personally I'd take some off the trigger first and see how it goesI also used the Doopies trigger guard, but found that it got in the way of the trigger a bit. Taking a bit of height off the trigger helped for thatSent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk Quote
Suspend Posted February 7, 2018 Author Report Posted February 7, 2018 Hi, thanks for the suggestions but I think maybe I'm not explaining things well enough. The issue is that the hole in the trigger that I call hole #2, cannot be any larger. I've enlarged (elongated) it as much as I can. Any larger and the hole will become visible when the trigger is extended fully forward. This elongated hole and the nail that fits within are what limits the travel distance of the trigger both forward and back. Unless I am misunderstanding, shaving off the back of the trigger would not help unless I also further enlarge the travel distance hole, which I can't do if I want it to remain hidden within the plastic. I think the only solution now would be to putty up the hole in the housing (not the elongated hole in the trigger) and drill a new hole further back for the nail to sit in. This would allow me to further enlarge the elongated hole in the trigger allowing for greater travel distance while still remaining hidden within the housing. But really, I'm just being OCD. The trigger functions well. You can pull it back and the spring returns it forward. I just mentioned the hole position in case anyone happens to try something similar using my photos. It would be a little better positioned inward. That's all. I appreciate the suggestions, however. I will never overlook a different point of view. I'm just shooting from the hip, here. I've never built a blaster before. And let me know if I'm just not understanding the suggestion... Mark Quote
BaneLives85[TK] Posted February 7, 2018 Report Posted February 7, 2018 So is the second pin you've got in there to stop the trigger going too far back? If so, do you need it? I had very similar issues with the trigger, but didn't have a pin controlling the distance, so when I shaved the back off, this allowed the trigger to be compressed further, and i chopped the top off (the pivot part) to allow more room between the trigger and the guardOne of the good things I found about a blaster build is you always have the green stuff to come to the rescue if things go pear shaped! LolSent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk Quote
CableGuy[TK] Posted February 7, 2018 Report Posted February 7, 2018 Hi Mark, Not sure if this is any help, however you could put an extra pin in your trigger to stop the travel, thus not needing the #2 pin that you have. Here’s a pic of what I did, (apologies, the picture is very basic) Green is a very rough representation of the hollow area behind the trigger. Blue is where my spring is (approx)Red is the extra pin to determine the end travel. The red pin touches the inner housing BEFORE the trigger comes out too far. Now, I have no idea how he hollowed part of your grip looks, but maybe it throws another option into the ring. Ps, apologies for the awful diagram. A picture of the trigger with the extra pin is about the only thing i didn’t take a picture of during my build. ;-)Dan Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote
Suspend Posted February 7, 2018 Author Report Posted February 7, 2018 2 minutes ago, BaneLives85 said: So is the second pin you've got in there to stop the trigger going too far back? If so, do you need it? I had very similar issues with the trigger, but didn't have a pin controlling the distance, so when I shaved the back off, this allowed the trigger to be compressed further, and i chopped the top off (the pivot part) to allow more room between the trigger and the guard Yes, the pin goes through the lower hole so it controls both the forward and backward limits. I figured if I wanted to increase the forward travel, I could elongate the rear of the hole. And if I wanted to increase backward travel, I could elongate the front of the hole. I thought it was a great solution to control the end points, but failed to realize that at some point, as the hole got larger, it would start sticking out from the housing and actually be visible. I guess the reason I need it is it also stops the trigger from being pushed too far forward. Mark Quote
Suspend Posted February 7, 2018 Author Report Posted February 7, 2018 3 minutes ago, CableGuy said: Hi Mark, Not sure if this is any help, however you could put an extra pin in your trigger to stop the travel, thus not needing the #2 pin that you have. Here’s a pic of what I did, (apologies, the picture is very basic) Green is a very rough representation of the hollow area behind the trigger. Blue is where my spring is (approx) Red is the extra pin to determine the end travel. The red pin touches the inner housing BEFORE the trigger comes out too far. Now, I have no idea how he hollowed part of your grip looks, but maybe it throws another option into the ring. Ps, apologies for the awful diagram. A picture of the trigger with the extra pin is about the only thing i didn’t take a picture of during my build. ;-) Dan Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Oh, I get it. You've got a new position for the red pin that controls forward travel. Yes, that would work. Assuming I have enough resin left inside the housing. Mark Quote
CableGuy[TK] Posted February 7, 2018 Report Posted February 7, 2018 Yes - the red controls the outward stop and the spring and main pin can control the inward motion. :-)Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote
Suspend Posted February 7, 2018 Author Report Posted February 7, 2018 1 hour ago, CableGuy said: Yes - the red controls the outward stop and the spring and main pin can control the inward motion. :-) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I especially like the second trigger that's part way down the grip in that photo. Is that one for "stun"? 2 Quote
CableGuy[TK] Posted February 7, 2018 Report Posted February 7, 2018 3 minutes ago, Suspend said: I especially like the second trigger that's part way down the grip in that photo. Is that one for "stun"? Hehe. Yes, the downside of a packing for holiday AND mocking up photos!! Lol 1 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.