Revvek's SE-44C [IF-T5H] blaster build

[Revvek[TK]]

I present here, my build log for my first SE-44C, printed for me by the Imperial Factory!

again, they are beautiful PRO level SLA prints.

 

Original source files are found here.

 

 

 

 

unfortunately in transport there was a little bit of an issue in a very fragile point on 1 part. 

it had a crack.

 

so, I used some CA glue, with some paper to add reinforcing in the back, and a bit of baking soda on the front and it's all good now.

 

Edited June 8, 2021 by Revvek

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Very nice looking kit

[Revvek[TK]]

I made some progress on this blaster!  

primed the muzzle to check for any more areas needing sanding before paint.

sorted out all the tiny bits that need glueing.

 

 

cleaned up and glued on the bottom rail bars

 

primed that section to find issues.  there is an area on the slant that needs more attention to smooth.

 

also got one magnet glued in. however I realized after trying to put the on in the grip, they are not the dimensions I ordered.. they are a bit thicker... 

so I didn't get the grip side glued up yet...

 

also started to look at ways to make this red LED actually light up. ordered a few things to play with ideas... 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

A very nicely detailed kit by the looks

[Revvek[TK]]

glued more parts on!

 

I'm going to explore making the red LED bump actually light up.

got some parts to play with, like this glowing backlight, I will look at trimming to size and installing behind a red lens.

 

Edited February 26, 2021 by Revvek

[Revvek[TK]]

found a spring.

made 6 2mm x 10mm pins.

 

this is the primer I'm using.

it's great for getting a sense of the surface after sanding and patching areas, but it's not so thick that it hides any details I want to keep. 

 

testing some white on the grip part. this is the Universal White

 

not sure I like this paint... or I just don't know how to use this funny can yet... it sputters when first starting to spray, so you need to start well off the part. 

 

there was a hint of layer lines left, and I wasn't sure if this white would hide them or not.

it didn't.

 

the yellow cast is the light not the paint. 

Edited February 26, 2021 by Revvek
edits

[Revvek[TK]]

made some progress on the red LED illumination upgrade.

 

printed a newly designed “Visor - Rail” part with an opening to house things behind the lens.

 

the original kit parts still fit perfectly!

 

made a red Acrylic lens to fit over the opening. (still not entirely sure how best to attach it once the time comes)

Edited December 7, 2020 by Revvek

[Revvek[TK]]

also started looking at assembly of what is called the Visor (sight) unit that sits on top of the Visor - Rail and Visor - Mount in my last post. 

there is this little "Visor - Detail" (greeble) that hangs off the bottom. the model seems to just want you to glue it on without any mechanical connection at all... 

I considered using a drop of UV resin to do it, but it seems weak just sticking it on there...  

 

so I decided to drill a 1mm hole through it.

 

then sorted out where it should go on the bottom of the "Visor - Body" and extended the hole into that. (not pictured)

 

added a small metal pin though the greeble.

 

and used gorilla superglue to attach in place!

 

that should help keep it from just snapping off easy I hope.

 

Oh. and I opened up the slot on the "Visor - Body" because it was kind of closed up dusting printing and should be an open slot.

(the one just above the 2 round indents) 

Edited December 7, 2020 by Revvek

[Sly11[Admin]]

Wow this is a beautiful build, very nice work Steve, very nice indeed.

[Revvek[TK]]

Hmmmm these may look like spatter, but don't think they are... 

guess I get to sand before my second coat.

 

 

these are the paints I have decided to go with I think.

 

Paint is the hardest part... I'm still not very good at it after years...

[Revvek[TK]]

Ok, I think maybe it's time for an update!

 

while playing around with my back light red side light, I also had to decide where to put a battery. 

I chose to put them in the magazine, making it into a Power Pack, and my power pack will magnetically attach and transfer power to the weapon it's self.

making for easy quick swap outs, should I find I need to do that.

 

but this all required some reworking of the magazine file to work. and in the process of doing that, I chose to take a little creative license and make it more, Star Wars. 

 

this is what I came up with, and settled on for my first build.

 

 

 

though I took it a lot further, and maybe will attempt to build like this at some point, I just wanted something to work out the kinks with.

this may be the final future version...  

 

 

 

Edited February 26, 2021 by Revvek
image size fix'n

[Revvek[TK]]

I mentioned before how the lightweight primer helps pin point things to be fixed without hiding detail.

here is an example. I missed the small support nubs that needed to be sanded down in this detail bit. and some other minor cleanup became evident as well.

UV resin prints tend to light scatter near to the surface that hides flaws.

 

this blaster has made a little bit of progress. 

repainted the issue areas in the white paint, and have the LEDs I think I'm going to use behind the Red lens ready to install.

 

Edited February 26, 2021 by Revvek

[Revvek[TK]]

assembly photo of parts I have painted so far.

 

And finally I have the power pack (V1) printed and the battery fits in the bottom as planned!

 

just need to wire things up and install the magnetic contacts in the top, and find a way to keep the slide on cap on the bottom.

 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

looking great ! 

[Revvek[TK]]

Been so busy with Tax prep and other stuff, but I did find time to start gluing some of the black painted parts to the white shell.

decided to make a few small divots in the glue surfaces. I masked of areas where I wanted glue as well, to give the E6000 direct surface to surface grab, and the divots maybe helped just a bit more.

 

 

As I was fitting the Flash hider, I discovered an OOPS with my masking on the front. I masked off to much! I forgot it had flutes on the sides, and the resin print is visible... 

I was going to fill it in with back but decided it should be white under there...  time to mask better and paint again. 

Edited June 8, 2021 by Revvek

[Revvek[TK]]

hints of how Imperial printed the main frame.

I have a bit more cleanup before I can paint this part. 

 

[Revvek[TK]]

I have been pondering the way to get the wires from the power connection in the grip up to the LED in the side of the Visor Rail. 

The Visor Rail will be installed after the Slide and Frame assembly is inserted into the Shell... However, it dawned on me, nothing can be be sticking up from the top of the Slide when you insert the assembly into the Shell assembly. 

 

and the location of the light source is not directly over the grip space either. so just pushing something up through the a hole from the grip space, isn't an option...

 

 

this is where things end up under the Visor Rail I modified... at the back of the slide.

 

 

I have a couple ideas....   more to come when I have time....

 

Edited March 25, 2021 by Revvek

[Revvek[TK]]

time for a quick update... I finally got around to getting a little bit more work done on this yesterday.

 

time to try and solder some wires onto these tiny posts. 

 

 

Wow, getting the wire to stay in place while applying solder and heat, and NOT melting the thing, was tricky.

Used some e6000 as insulation and strain relief.

and I made sure to match black to black, red to red. These connectors only join 1 way. 

 

I spent some time designing an insert and printing it, last week.

this will slip into the top of the grip unit, and hold the other end of the connector in place. 

 

this side gets a couple tiny screws!

 

next up I need to figure out how to install the power pack side into the shell. it's going to be a bit of a challenge. (maybe I need a small access door in the side of these things after all, not just the bottom cap...

 

oh, and note to self... don't glue the side magnet in place before installing the connector.... that's going to make this more of a challenge! (it wasn't to attract the magnets in the connector!!) oops.

 

Edited April 19, 2021 by Revvek
minor order change

[Revvek[TK]]

First off, I came up with a solution to install this side on my way home from work!

Then, it occurred to me that maybe I left out an important nugget to those following this thread.

Seems like it should be simple, BUT this side needs to be inserted from INSIDE the magazine shell!

It doesn't use screws like the other side, and I didn't want it to pull out easy by installing from the outside.

it has little wings on the corner, to help it not pull through from behind.

 

Anyway, it's IN!

 

I used the magnet on one end, stuck to a long hex driver, to reach down inside the shell and push it into place.

(pictured here, without wires)

 

Now I had both sides ready to test conductivity once I put them together! so I broke out the meter!

 

And, it didn't work....

 

If you notice, in the photo above, the 2 center little contact pads moved back inside when I soldered the wires on! 

Something a small hammer and the same hex driver didn't solve. 

 

It works now! (insert squealing sound of the meter showing 0 resistance!)

 

time to move on with grip paint and final assembly 

 

 

 

Edited April 20, 2021 by Revvek

[Sly11[Admin]]

[Revvek[TK]]

a few last bits to sort out on the power pack.

Added some sides to the battery holder to make it fit just right.  (I didn't paint them yet... still UGLY green PLA! but inside so...)

 

test fit before soldering wires. you can see a notch where the wires pass on the other end. (both sides are the same)

 

after soldering and with pull tab added. (if you look close, there is a small bump to help align thing with the battery holder)

 

 

one power pack completed and ready for duty!

 

I may put some foam or a block inside the main shell to keep the battery from going up inside too far.

 

 

Edited April 29, 2021 by Revvek

[tat2trooper[TK]]

[Revvek[TK]]

1 hour ago, tat2trooper said:

LOL

[Novak Dimon[TK]]

Great work 

[Revvek[TK]]

Let the final cleanup and assembly, begin.

need to fit and paint the trigger parts.

get things ready in the slide for the LEDs that go behind the little red lens (this version will just light up, not contain blastFX or something)

And paint the grip. 

 

oh, and paint the little lever that goes in the slot at the back of the slide, and craft a metal holster plate.

As this will be my FOTK’s sidearm.

Edited May 3, 2021 by Revvek