Oddviking's ANH Stunt build - AM 4.5 (Centurion)

[OddViking327[TK]]

Thanks @gmrhodes13 , I just posted for access. 

 

Blaster continued to completion:

        I have made more progress on the blaster, and just completed it. Some things need to be glued, like the T-tracks and other smaller details, but some of the stronger connections are different. The kit uses M3 and M4 allen fasteners in many places (similar to the muzzle ones) that make it feel much more secure. There are also lots of nice design features, where if you assemble it in the correct order, there are holes to aid in assembly. Things like the grip (which has a rubber band for the trigger that I thought would eventually wear out but be glued in a way to be inaccessible) actually all sort of lock together, and once the bolts secure it to the upper body keep it all closed but it can be removed later:

 

Other modifications: On the counter, I painted the raised numbers white (sort of dry brushed the high points), and added my window with a minimal amount of E6000 (do not use CA glue on any clear lenses, as it usually fogs them in a permanent way). It gets bolted on as well.:

 

The folding stock all went together well, and while it is a little floppy on the long side arms (which I may later reinforce with a strip of aluminum or stainless steel on the backside), when it is closed up, it looks really good. The one issue was I couldn't get the rod to "clip" to the protrusion below the muzzle. It just didn't fit quite right which may have been the finishing and paint, or a slight alignment issue. The last thing I wanted was for it to detach when I was holding it, so as a failsafe I drilled out the rod recess, and added a small flat magnet. I screwed in two very tine steel screws to the muzzle protrusion (painted black after this), and now it is held firm by the magnets:

 

The spring was fairly brightly coated, and it was distracting, so I gave it a quick brushing of black acrylic to make it look more like the blaster props. The spring is still quite strong, and sliding back the bolt all the way would be challenging, but I can slide it back an inch or so and let it snap closed with a satisfying sound that shouldn't break the blaster:

 

So I got it all assembled, and painted the remaining screws, and it was complete and new looking:

 

But... I wanted a minimal amount of weathering. I know many can get carried away, and I have a few other costumes where I had to walk it back, and paint it back to black in a lot of spots because it was too weathered. So I hit it in a few spots that would get abrasion going in and out of the holster (muzzle, flash guards, scope, folding stock, front sight, butt cap, and a few other spots. None on the handle or the t-tracks or the back part of the counter, and gold on the scope and the front part of the counter. I love how it turned out:

Some of the features of this kit, the sliding bolt, the folding stock, and the removable magazine (held in with magnets, though I had to add a thin flat rectangle of plastic in the magazine slot to keep it from rattling, and to keep the fit more snug):

 

So it is complete. Total time over a few weeks was about 14 hours.

 

My review of the Imperial Arms 3D E-11 Blaster (Version 3) kit: 

 

Pros: It turned out looking really good. Most parts that should move do move (like the butt cap strap holder). A lot of care and attention has been put into the model so that it assembles really well and in some clever ways, and lines up everywhere. The print lines are very fine, so it needs less finishing work than some other models, but still, in my mind for a blaster to work best, it needs to be so smooth that no lines are visible, so it still needs that high level of finishing work. Many bolts are actual bolts, I only drilled out and replaced ones on the scope, the side of the handle, and on the Hengstler. Some pieces are engineered to be stronger, like the front sight and the front muzzle, by going through slots to the barrel for additional strength. The maker Imperial Arms 3D is usually fairly responsive over Instagram Chat, and on previous builds as well as this one, he plans to update the future kits based on feedback. He already is planning to take out the left side muzzle flash guard and to model and add the bayonet lug.

 

Cons: While I love the folding stock and that care was made to make it look like the thickness of the original, the side strips are pretty floppy as a 3D print. I don't think any trooper actually uses the folding stock, so it isn't an issue with trooping, but I feel like that piece is likely to fail at some point if my kit were to play with it (he shouldn't, but he will). The missing bayonet lug, and the flash guard (that are being updated) need to be there to look more accurate, and also it needs the bolt in the very bottom of the handle. It comes with a flat disk and a target circle for the scope, but nothing for the smaller front hole. Because it already comes with so much hardware, I would just include the bolts for the scope  and un-model the printed ones (as well as on the Hegstler and the handle side). It came with the curled wires for the power cells, but they seemed too short to work, and his examples on his site appeared to have longer cords. I was on the fence about using them as many ANH blasters don't have them, and I like it without. The instructions were fairly good, but the pages got shuffled and weren't numbered, and there are a few key parts that must be done in order or else you can't access the bolt locations (I was also missing a page, but he shared it with me by message). The bolt sprint is very strong, and I imagined sliding it back and letting it snap, but it probably would damage the gun if that happened. 3D prints are all fairly delicate, and this blaster shouldn't be dropped, where other blasters that are metal or rubber probably are sturdier (but cost more, or have less detail).

 

Modifications I made to the kit:

- Used XTC 3D to fill all print lines

- Used Filler Primer and Bondo to further fill some print lines

- Made my own Bayonet Lug that was missing

- Because of the lug, did not use the 7th T-track rail

- Filled in the redundant left side muzzle flash guard slot

- Filled and sanded the joint where the barrel gets attached.

- drilled out the barrel a bit deeper at the muzzle to appear black

- All of the M4 bolts in the kit didn't quite self-thread into the printed holes for them, I had to pre-drill them larger (I believe a 9/64" bit) which made them work great.

- drilled out scope screws to replace with real screws

- drilled out handle screw to replace with real screw

- drilled out Hengstler screw to replace with real screw

- On the scope, replaced plastic disk with a plastic lens I had, as well as a small one for the front of the scope

- Added a glass cover for the counter numbers

- Cut off round details on the rear site, replaced with more perfect plastic circles

- Cut notches with a triangular file in the rear sight

- Added "knurled" texture to the front sights

- Used Bondo to eliminate seams in the scope once assembled

- Added a second small rubber band to the trigger

- replaced Phillips head bolts (on one spot that thread into the rod on the folding stock) with hex bolts that I had

- Added a magnet and screws to the connection for the folding stock

- added a strip of plastic to the magazine slot to make it fit better

- Added a 5mm LED bulb for the detail on the end of the magazine (kit came with a bolt instead)

- replaced the Phillips head screws for the magnets in the magazine with slotted screws

- Painted the spring to darken shine

- Painted several of the long tube Chicago screws ( on the folding stock) to darken the bright shine

 

 

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

FANTASTIC work on this! I like your weathering level on this as well. And I think as already stated, excellent documentation, especially with the listed mods there at the end. This is making me want to print and build my own E-11 even though I already have my own rubber one. Congrats as well on your approval!


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[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice work, the only pieces which wouldn't get any weathering would be the T-tracks and handle grips as they where both originally black plastic

[OddViking327[TK]]

@gmrhodes13 Yeah, I didn't weather those, as well as the "counter" piece of the Hengstler counter, it had plastic housing too.

Edited October 29, 2020 by OddViking327

[OddViking327[TK]]

In my other version of this blaster build, in the ANH E-11 section, someone pointed out that on this model, the scope is a bit too far forward. Part of the order of construction on this seemed that moving it was impossible, but I figured out a solution:

    Moving the scope is possible, but tricky. As it is built, all of the bolts thread into the parts, securing them really well together. As it is assembled, you bolt the back two scope parts (glued to each other and I Bondo-filled and smoothed the gaps) to the scope rail, then you bolt the rail down, and then glue the front piece of the scope in to cover that rail bolt so it is hidden by the scope. To move the scope, I would need to break the glue on the front piece (not easy, but probably doable), in order to remove that bolt on the rail, the two bolts that go through that rail and the L-brackets to hold on the counter, and the one at the back that holds it to the rear sight. Then I can remove the scope bolts, and drill new holes for them, and touch up the glued area with spray paint. The problem arises when I move it, if the scope were re-mounted, there would be no way to bolt the Hengstler counter bolts that are under the scope.

      I figured, I can instead, thread the bolt into the rail from below, but drill the scope bolt holes bigger than the bolt's total diameter, and not put the scope on those bolts at first. Then, bolt the rail down, the Hengstler counter brackets, and then, use CA glue to fill the bolt holes in the scope, and slide it down onto the bolts, and glue the front scope piece down again which should secure it in place. This would be fairly permanent. 

[OddViking327[TK]]

So I moved the scope. The final straw was that when holstered in my Darman's Props holster, the scope prevented blaster from seating down where the magazine would be in the notch. So broke the glued front piece, and removed the rail and counter:

 

Because I would now be able to glue the scope down onto the bolts, I could glue the front piece to the main scope and keep it all as one unit. I added a third bolt, threaded into the rail, that would help secure the front part of the scope, so that all three "pieces" would have a bolt mount to help keep it all attached. I drilled new rail holes for the new scope location, threaded the bolts in, and then mounted the whole rail and Hengstler bracket mounts back on to the blaster. For the three holes in the scope, I widened them to 1/8", so that it could slide down onto the bolts. I filled the holes with glue (using a small nail to push it in, and add more), and the scope just slid on to the ribbed bolts with some pressure, a snug fit:

 

So it looks great, and it is now secure in the more accurate scope location, with the rear lens just peeking out beyond the Hengstler counter:

 

Fits the holster like a dream now:

 

All told, it was only about a 30 minute fix. Thanks for keeping me striving for accuracy!

Edited November 15, 2020 by OddViking327
swapped a duplicate image

[OddViking327[TK]]

I have submitted for EIB, and while taking those photos, I set up some lights and got an action shot with a red rim light. This is what the armor looks like edited into an appropriate setting:

Edited November 4, 2020 by OddViking327

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

Very nice chroma key implementation! I especially like the addition of the red reflections on your armor. Looking ready for battle!


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[OddViking327[TK]]

I am officially approved EIB now, so on to some adjustments for Centurion! 

 

Also, I took one of my EIB submission photos and illustrated a vector version of it, so I could make a shirt for trooping (just using one of the custom digital print places, so anyone can order it now, PM if you are curious, but not here to sell shirts). I will probably make stickers with the design but with my TKID, to give to kids, like I have with some of my other costumes.

 

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

That's a sweet conversion. If I ever finish my build I definitely want to vectorize a shot of myself. Or multiple ones. Haha. I think I'm still running CS5 on a 10-year old machine since a new computer isn't in the budget. But it gets the job done for my basic needs.

[OddViking327[TK]]

As an update, I had a few things to change for Centurion, and while a majority were going to be simple enough to adjust, one was not. The blaster had a fairly major change that would be fairly difficult to do and keep its integrity, but I found a solution, and it is actually going to work fine. I won't post the blaster modification here, but it is ongoing on that thread: 

 

UPDATE May 2021: Imperial Arms 3D just released their V4 blaster today, which, based on this feedback on my build, has addressed all of the placement and accuracy issues (keyhole, knurled sights, some missing screw spots, and most notably, the scope and hengstler counter locations). Imperial Arms V4 E-11 blaster

 

The only thing people might consider modding is to make an aluminum rail like I did, but his kit is now much easier to build "off the rack" now. Just be sure to do the work, and finish those print lines!

 

Edited May 28, 2021 by OddViking327
UPDATED kit

[OddViking327[TK]]

One of the modifications for Centurion is to move my back plate up a little bit:

 

So does anyone have a suggestion for the best way to do that? I figured I can move the shoulder snaps back-plate-mounts down? Shorten the shoulder straps? Or lengthen the ab to back plate straps? What will work best here?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Normally shortening the shoulder strap elastic should take care of this, you may also need to lengthen the backplate to kidney elastic if that is too tight.

[OddViking327[TK]]

Journey to Centurion:

 

So I spent a week of early mornings updating the blaster, and that was the hard part of my list for Centurion. So on to the other improvements. Here is the blaster, with the new rail, and Hengstler counter in the right spot, and keyhole filled (see my E-11 build thread linked above for process shots):

 

Now on to the thermal detonator. My end caps were a bit on the wide side. In addition, the clips were too long (easy trim), and the screws were fairly large (easy swap, and the clips would move over, covering the old larger holes):

 

Unfortunately, they were firmly glued on, so that meant trimming them in place. So I measured in 2mm, and made a line, and then taped it off with blue tape.

 

Then I took my No. 11 Exacto blade and started slowly scoring down. The idea is that if I cut just through the plastic, I can pop it off and clean up the E6000 underneath. So I scored... and scored... and scored. More than 30 times around, changing blades every so often, and I hit the point where it wasn't really cutting any deeper. Then I took a very thin Japanese saw, and carefully cut just on the inside of my score mark, deeper and ever deeper, until it was very close to the tube. Then a few more passes with the blade, and it popped free. A cut from the side allowed me to pull it all off, and it looks great. 

 

Belt edges: 

I also needed to trim down the AM belt's initial height:

 

This was easier, I detached my boxes (because I used screws, this was easy, and I will also be able to raise them once the new height is done). I drew my line, and then scored and broke the strips off. Sanded to finish them, and they now look more accurate. 

 

Just a few more minor fixes over this week, and I should be ready to get some new photos.

 

 

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice work on the updates, almost there 

[OddViking327[TK]]

Painting retouches:

      In my EIB notes, they asked that I fix some of the borders on the tears and traps, as well as some minor shapes on the vocoder.

 

These were decals that came with the kit, and the die cut them a little off-center, leaving a thicker black border in some places. I had used a template from Trooper Bay to paint the lines in (my armor came with two sets of decals, one with lines, one blank, and I used the blank ones so that I could paint in the lines). So the trick was, I was going to need to paint gray over the black borders, but because the paint gray was not the exact same shade as the printed gray, I needed to paint all of the gray over, including between the fine lines. Challenging, but I have a lot of fine painting experience, so it was doable. First I wanted to make sure the decal would not react to paint on top in any way, so I took a scrap from the decal sheet, put it on a scrap of ABS, and did a test paint a week ago. It seemed to be fine with paint on top, so I was set to start painting in.

 

I realized that if I painted only the tears, that the traps would not quite match, so rather than doing the bare minimum, I just went ahead and fixed all of the decals, including the back traps that each have 12 lines to paint around. The borders would look better though, and they would now all be completely hand-painted, and all the same gray as the frown, ab buttons, and ear buttons (Testors 1138). Here is a pic of the color difference. On the left is an un-painted decal, which is a little bit greener of a gray, and the right is painted:

 

Sometimes I even surprise myself. With a good brush and a steady hand, I finished them all this morning without incident:

 

[CableGuy[TK]]

Painting retouches:
      In my EIB notes, they asked that I fix some of the borders on the tears and traps, as well as some minor shapes on the vocoder.

 
These were decals that came with the kit, and the die cut them a little off-center, leaving a thicker black border in some places. I had used a template from Trooper Bay to paint the lines in (my armor came with two sets of decals, one with lines, one blank, and I used the blank ones so that I could paint in the lines). So the trick was, I was going to need to paint gray over the black borders, but because the paint gray was not the exact same shade as the printed gray, I needed to paint all of the gray over, including between the fine lines. Challenging, but I have a lot of fine painting experience, so it was doable. First I wanted to make sure the decal would not react to paint on top in any way, so I took a scrap from the decal sheet, put it on a scrap of ABS, and did a test paint a week ago. It seemed to be fine with paint on top, so I was set to start painting in.

 
I realized that if I painted only the tears, that the traps would not quite match, so rather than doing the bare minimum, I just went ahead and fixed all of the decals, including the back traps that each have 12 lines to paint around. The borders would look better though, and they would now all be completely hand-painted, and all the same gray as the frown, ab buttons, and ear buttons (Testors 1138). Here is a pic of the color difference. On the left is an un-painted decal, which is a little bit greener of a gray, and the right is painted:

 
Sometimes I even surprise myself. With a good brush and a steady hand, I finished them all this morning without incident:

 

Wow - what a superb improvement. Great job! :-)

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

Not gonna lie. I’m digging how this method lets you keep the absolute smooth outside edge of the black border. And then painting between the stripes gives it all a true hand-painted look. Excellent work!


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[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking great

[OddViking327[TK]]

Body work:

     Another fix to get to Centurion was my back gap. As is an issue on many AM kits, those back corners need a little nudging to look right. I also needed to raise my belt, especially after trimming it, the snaps would need to be taken out and new ones added higher:

 

I started by trimming a bit of the return off... and then realized I needed to trim more in order to get it to move. I then used a heat gun on low, and slowly caressed those corners up and in, as well as some of the lower return to be more flat so it would fit better. In addition, I created a few longer elastic internal straps that would allow it the slack it needed. I only ended up using them on the sides, the central one was fine at the original length. I will need to try this on, but it looks like it will fit more like the originals now.

 

Snaps were drilled out by kissing the center with a 1/4" drill bit. After measuring, new ones were placed just under 1/2" higher, and now the belt sits where it just covers the lower edges of the blue buttons.

 

Not shown, but I also moved my sewn-on shoulder bell snap mounts on the strap a bit which will get my shoulder bells even closer to the shoulder bridges. All that is left is re-attaching my belt boxes into place, and trying it all on, and getting new photos taken. I feel like I am getting really close to Centurion submission!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Great work on the fixes

[OddViking327[TK]]

Test fit:

      I re-attached my hanging boxes to fit the newly trimmed belt. That was my last fix, so now it was time to strip down in the cold garage early this morning for a test fit!

 

Shoulders fit nice and tight to the bridges:

 

Belt fits just over the lower buttons, and the boxes are lined up:

 

Back plate sits higher now, and the trimmed and heat-shaped corners don't overlap (this is hard to take a pic of in armor, using a mirror, as twisting and raising my arm behind me sometimes shifted everything around, but it worked after a few attempts):

 

Looks like it should all be ready for some Centurion submission photos in the next few days!

Edited November 26, 2020 by OddViking327

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

5 hours ago, OddViking327 said:

Looks like it should all be ready for some Centurion submission photos in the next few days!

We'll be waiting for your Centurion App Sir.!!  

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice work, almost there 

[OddViking327[TK]]

Forgot to update. The final thing I had to change was to remove the wrist return to totally flat, which I did:

 

Before: 

 

After: 

 

And I was approved for Centurion, number 485! 

 

And one final thing, I took some extra action pics, and some in the same light of a Black Series 6" K-2SO droid, to photo edit into this pic: