Hellhounds Props E-11 review/experience

[KaiserintheHood[TK]]

Hello Troopers! Let me introduce to you the Hellhounds Props E-11 ANH version. I'd like to share my thoughts on the blaster as well as my experience dealing with Daniel Hellhounds. And let me preface by saying, just wow, I wish I could give this a 10/10 review! I'll get into that.. 

 

The Blaster

This thing has really blown me away how good it looks there's no doubt about that. Hellhounds boasts a full rubber blaster which is cast from real Sterling machine gun parts and M38 tank scope. Being cast from original parts, the texture on this blaster is truly next level. This would be impossible with a 3d printed blaster! The folded stock is where the metal texture is most apparent and I really hope pictures do this thing justice. Likewise, the scope is also very nicely textured from the original part. Inside the eyepiece it even still looks like machine metal as you can still see the rings left from the mill. On the scope and on several parts of the blaster there are even the original patent numbers, part names, and dates which, to be honest, he's just showing off at this point!

 

Like I said, this blaster is cast in rubber. Mine is also from his newest molds (as of about a month ago, June). Daniel is continuously improving his molds and his casts from what I've seen on his Instagram/what he told me directly. This newer mold came with an even higher level of fidelity especially when it comes to the seam lines. Basically, there are none! The most obvious seam lines are along the handle, but who's going to see that when you're holding it? Nobody that's who. Even when the seams are visible, they are literally paper thin. The rest are strategically hidden under the T-tracks and stock. The only spot where the seam is "bad" (for lack of a better word) is on the front iron sights. The middle here looks more like just extra flash rather than part of the sight. But honestly, this is hardly a problem because it is still mostly hidden by the two sides of the sight. The front end of the barrel was also cast as a separate part which eliminated any seam from previous versions of Daniel's blaster. For seam comparisons here's a link to @Toothdoc's review of the same blaster but with a mold from only a few months before the one I received. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/50935-hellhounds-props-e-11-anh-and-esb-variants-a-sort-of-review-and-photo-comparison/?tab=comments#comment-717435 

 

The M38 scope on top literally could fool you into thinking it was real, tarnished brass(?) scope. Daniel gave the scope a very subtle coppery paint. So subtle that from some angles it still looks black like the rest of the blaster. As for the rest of the blaster, I believe there is a very subtle amount of silver dry brush. But this is so subtly and perfectly applied that I'm honestly having trouble deciding if there's paint or if it's just the light playing tricks on me. Absolutely the perfect amount of dry brush to fill in around all the beautiful texture. And of course no weathering was done to the T-tracks. He also painted silver details around the selector switch and painted the ejection cover silver (idk if that's what it's called idk much about gun anatomy but you get it right?). 

 

There are a couple metal pieces on this blaster as well. These being the aluminum rail that the scope is mounted to and the D-ring. And, I might be wrong, but I believe Daniel also put a rod through the whole blaster for stability. I'm not certain but it just feels like there's something besides rubber in there. Not metal but cast in rubber is the selector switch, which actually moves! Totally unnecessary but I am here for it. This blaster also perfectly fits in my Darman's Props ANH holster. 

 

Suggestions for Improvement

Honest answer, there is not a lot that I would want changed on this blaster, I'm just being nit-picky. My suggestions here for Daniel are simply that, suggestions. First off, the trigger guard right now is rubber but I feel like it could benefit from being aluminum as well. I'm a little worried that with a finger off the trigger and trying to hold the blaster then the trigger guard might deform or maybe tear off. Likewise, the activation handle is rubber and can wiggle. If it were metal I'd be less concerned about it ripping off if it bent too far. The scope rail did become unglued while it was in transit. Daniel packaged this blaster very well and it didn't require me anymore work than a couple dabs of super glue but maybe something to think about for the next one. On the handle the rubber feels a little bit soft right along the seam. I'm sure this is absolutely nothing to worry about but might just be what happens when things get cast. As stated earlier, the front iron sight didn't come out all the way but this is such a minor spot literally no one is going to notice or care. The silver paint on the ejection cover in particular could have been applied with more care. And lastly, the Hengstler counter might be mounted too low. Someone else probably knows better but I also don't think this takes away from the rest of the blaster. 

 

This is truly an incredible looking E-11 and I am extremely happy to have received it. The level of craftsmanship and attention to detail vastly out weigh any of the suggestions for improvement that I have. If anything, my suggestions could make this blaster even better than it already is. 

 

 

Now as to why I will not give my Hellhounds experience a 10/10 

I will be as unbiased about this experience as possible and do my best to show both sides because I believe it is important for the community to know what to potentially expect. This blaster took 10 months to reach me. I ordered in September 2020 and it did not arrive until the end of July 2021. I found Hellhounds on Instagram and ordered from him through the Instagram messenger. I had heard lots of good things, had seen his blasters for sale before at Trooperbay, and wanted to get a rubber E-11 instead of a 3d printed one. So in September I messaged Daniel and we got the order set up and I payed in full including the shipping. He quoted me at about 4 weeks which seemed reasonable to me but I was fully aware that it would probably be a few more weeks longer. That's just how this sort of business works right? After 2 months and no communication I sent a message asking for an update. He replied quickly saying it would be shipping the next week. Sounds great. Another couple weeks go by and nothing. It's December and I ask again for an update to which he tells me there's been some Covid in the family. So okay I am more than fine with waiting longer then. I know he's a father and has a few little kids, it's also the holiday season and I'm in no rush so it's totally ok to wait longer. Also just straight up it's Covid, that's going to mess a lot of things up and I completely understand. January rolls around and I send a message to check in but no response comes back. At this point I was still willing to give Daniel the benefit of the doubt that he was still working on my order and just had other things come up, as they do. Come end of May and he posts a Instagram video saying all the E-11s are done and will be shipped in the next two weeks. Of course this gives me a rush of relief because it means I'll finally get my order after all this time. I was wrong. After several unanswered messages sent in June, I come onto here, the FISD, and find @Toothdoc's review of the Hellhounds E-11. And If you read his review you'll notice he ordered two blasters in 2021 and received both by April. And his was not the only customer review that I found. There were more customers that I found here and on Instagram all of whom said they had ordered months after me and only waited 3-4 months to receive their same orders. Previously, I had been more than ok with waiting longer for my order given the state of the world we were/still are in. But hopefully you can understand how my wait time was not making sense. At the end of June I sent an official email to Hellhounds Props explaining my frustration and that he needs to be fair to all his customers. He responds with his phone number to text him directly. He was very apologetic and explains his messaging became unorganized which made his orders unorganized. We sorted out the situation and he assured me that my order would be shipping the next week. It still took longer than a week to ship and ultimately took most of July for the blaster to arrive. I still do not quite understand how my order could have been misplaced like this and taken the amount of time that it did. The reasons are a bit unclear to me but I have the blaster now, it looks great, and can move on from this situation. Maybe my situation was unique in that it took 10 months but from speaking to other customers it sounds like it is a common theme. Not 10 months of waiting but usually 3-4 is what I gathered. And on my end I could have sent follow up messages more often, but still even with the messages I did send it seems like my order shouldn't have been lost in limbo. 

 

Conclusion

So the question is now, would I do business with Daniel Hellhounds again? If you had asked me that 7 months ago and I had already gotten my order, I would have said absolutely yes. Now I'm not sure I would. I'm still deciding if the price and quality for this blaster was worth such a long wait when it could have been less than half that amount of time. I was very interested in also getting his mando death watch kits which are also full rubber. I'm also very interested to see how his new DLT-19 turns out. But without better communication and following through with when he says he will ship the order, I don't know if I will do business again. I would have rather had bad news than no news. Maybe my experience was unique but maybe it wasn't. If it weren't for this frustrating experience I sincerely would recommend a Hellhounds blaster to anyone who wants a rubber blaster. It's a hard question for me to answer and something for future customers to be aware of before they buy. 

 

(photos incoming)

Edited July 29, 2021 by KaiserintheHood

[KaiserintheHood[TK]]

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[KaiserintheHood[TK]]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KaiserintheHood[TK]]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

A great review, it's just a shame it took so long to get to you, this could have been due to Covid19 but there were some grumbles about Hellhounds as to communication and long shipping times for some time with many thinking they were no longer supplying blasters.

 

Just looking at your photos a few things that could be improved is the air holes in the resin, a few along the right side T tracks, there is also the mold lines on the handle, under and top of barrel and top of front sight, also a bit too much weathering on the sight, should match the rest of the blaster. In saying that all round it does look like a nice blaster, hope you get plenty of trooping out of it. 

[KaiserintheHood[TK]]

8 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

A great review, it's just a shame it took so long to get to you, this could have been due to Covid19 but there were some grumbles about Hellhounds as to communication and long shipping times for some time with many thinking they were no longer supplying blasters.

 

Just looking at your photos a few things that could be improved is the air holes in the resin, a few along the right side T tracks, there is also the mold lines on the handle, under and top of barrel and top of front sight, also a bit too much weathering on the sight, should match the rest of the blaster. In saying that all round it does look like a nice blaster, hope you get plenty of trooping out of it. 

Yes the wait was disappointing and could have been partly because of Covid but the reason is still unclear to me. There are some air holes here and there you're right, but from a distance they're not even noticeable. And yes there are some mold lines but for the most part they are well hidden. I assume the scope looks so golden in the photos because I took them at 7am today in the sunlight. In person and in less intense light you might not even realize it's painted at all. My first two pictures show a little bit better how subtle the bronze is. 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

great looking blaster despite the frustrating waiting time. Enjoy and Troop a lot  

[Sly11[Admin]]

Thank you for the detailed review Dan, very useful for our members.

Glad you finally received it and as others have mentioned, i hope it serves you well for many years of trooping.

[KaiserintheHood[TK]]

1 hour ago, Sly11 said:

Thank you for the detailed review Dan, very useful for our members.

Glad you finally received it and as others have mentioned, i hope it serves you well for many years of trooping.

Yessir. Tried to be as unbiased as possible despite my frustrations. Not bashing Hellhounds(there are reasons for everything) and certainly not criticizing the product, it's just important for other members and future customers to know what they might be in for. And I do hope it serves me well for many years. 

[Toothdoc]

Dan, what a great and honest review!  Nice work, my friend.  I think you were more than fair in revealing your story and laying it all out there.  I'm sorry you had such a long wait, but your blaster is VERY nice and should serve the Empire well.  One thing I've noticed since I've seen several photo layouts of the Hellhounds E-11, is that each one is pretty unique.  They are, after all, a sculpt, a paint, a weather job and a work of art.  They aren't massed produced and every one the same.  The two I have are very similar to yours, (and I see some recent improvements) but different as I would expect.  And not at all in a BAD way!  Your E-11 appears to have more gold weathering on the scope than mine for one comparative example.  I still need to try and get him to send me a Magazine release mechanism for one of mine that didn't come with one, then I'll be happy with both of mine.

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences!  I truly hope Hellhounds Props LLC improves some things with customer communication.  Except with a similar experience to yours, I'm a happy trooper (wanna be).   

[KaiserintheHood[TK]]

43 minutes ago, Toothdoc said:

Dan, what a great and honest review!  Nice work, my friend.  I think you were more than fair in revealing your story and laying it all out there.  I'm sorry you had such a long wait, but your blaster is VERY nice and should serve the Empire well.  One thing I've noticed since I've seen several photo layouts of the Hellhounds E-11, is that each one is pretty unique.  They are, after all, a sculpt, a paint, a weather job and a work of art.  They aren't massed produced and every one the same.  The two I have are very similar to yours, (and I see some recent improvements) but different as I would expect.  And not at all in a BAD way!  Your E-11 appears to have more gold weathering on the scope than mine for one comparative example.  I still need to try and get him to send me a Magazine release mechanism for one of mine that didn't come with one, then I'll be happy with both of mine.

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences!  I truly hope Hellhounds Props LLC improves some things with customer communication.  Except with a similar experience to yours, I'm a happy trooper (wanna be).   

Thanks Bryan. And everybody keep in mind that these iPhone pictures I took might in fact be showing off TOO much detail and saturation in the scope and overall weathering. The gold saturation really varies in all sorts of light conditions as does the silver dry brush. Indoors it looks almost entirely black, outdoors it starts to light up. 

 

I do hope he improves customer communication for the future, especially after my situation. Things go wrong and we sorted it out eventually but you never know what might happen. 

[MesdupBoogie[TK]]

I’m late to the party, but thanks for the detailed review. My blaster was ordered back in March, and I’ve not heard anything since April. It looks like he’s no longer running an Etsy shop. 

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

I’m late to the party, but thanks for the detailed review. My blaster was ordered back in March, and I’ve not heard anything since April. It looks like he’s no longer running an Etsy shop. 

Yeah Daniel has never really operated through his Etsy shop, so it doesn’t surprise me that he took his E-11 listing (the only one he ever had) and store offline. IG and FB are his mediums of communication, but it’s been over a month since his last post, though he did add some stories more recently than that. My last comm with him was during the last week of June. Hope you get your blaster soon. I know somebody who has been waiting since December, I think. Hellhounds makes excellent products, so it’s a shame the wait time has extended to what it is now.


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[Revolver Ocelot[501st]]

On 8/31/2021 at 8:27 AM, MaskedVengeance said:

Yeah Daniel has never really operated through his Etsy shop, so it doesn’t surprise me that he took his E-11 listing (the only one he ever had) and store offline. IG and FB are his mediums of communication, but it’s been over a month since his last post, though he did add some stories more recently than that. My last comm with him was during the last week of June. Hope you get your blaster soon. I know somebody who has been waiting since December, I think. Hellhounds makes excellent products, so it’s a shame the wait time has extended to what it is now.


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Recently had to file a paypal claim. Time came and passed and no response to messages.

 

Shame, I really wanted to get both his ANH and Rogue 1 e11s.

 

Looks like all the rubber blaster makers are gone now.

Edited September 1, 2021 by Revolver Ocelot

[Toothdoc]

Recently had to file a paypal claim. Time came and passed and no response to messages.
 
Shame, I really wanted to get both his ANH and Rogue 1 e11s.
 
Looks like all the rubber blaster makers are gone now.

Hmmmm…
I hate to hear this. Indeed, what a shame.


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[KaiserintheHood[TK]]

On 8/30/2021 at 8:14 PM, MesdupBoogie said:

I’m late to the party, but thanks for the detailed review. My blaster was ordered back in March, and I’ve not heard anything since April. It looks like he’s no longer running an Etsy shop. 

My suggestion would be to start messaging him at least once a week if not more to get back on his radar. TBH I had heard there was an etsy shop at one point but in my entire experience with him I had never found it even when I looked for it. In hindsight doing all our business over instagram was not the safest thing to do. 

[KaiserintheHood[TK]]

On 9/1/2021 at 2:50 PM, Revolver Ocelot said:

Recently had to file a paypal claim. Time came and passed and no response to messages.

 

Shame, I really wanted to get both his ANH and Rogue 1 e11s.

 

Looks like all the rubber blaster makers are gone now.

I hate to hear you had to do that as well. There is definitely a market space for rubber blasters for someone else to fill. He is from SoCal and still has a tk number on here, so possibly someone you know knows how to get a hold of him if that's still an option.

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

Daniel has shared with personal cell number with several members who have had conversations with him over the past half year, and members of the SoCal and Imperial Sands Garrisons have also had dealings with him in recent months. Hopefully he comes through for everybody who still has active orders with him; I know he’s has lots of life issues, though that doesn’t excuse the lack of communication.


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[Eagle[TK]]

I'm currently waiting on an e11 I ordered back in March. The guy seems nice and I know quiility isn't an issue. It's just communications. At this point I just hope he's ok.

 

I urge anyone that knows him or has his number to give him a call and just check in on him. 

[Brew12[TK]]

I'm waiting on mine from February. Been told it would ship a few times now, but no luck. Still hoping, but I've ordered an alternative since I hope to submit my TK to join the 501st soon.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

3 hours ago, Brew12 said:

I'm waiting on mine from February. Been told it would ship a few times now, but no luck. Still hoping, but I've ordered an alternative since I hope to submit my TK to join the 501st soon.

Hope you see it eventually, it's a shame when a maker stops communicating.

 

FYI you don't need a blaster for basic approval  

• Blasters are not required for legion membership per our weapons policy. 

://databank.501st.com/databank/Weapons_policy

 

[Adianu[TK]]

Another person chiming in who is out $370 and no communication. I paid in June. I’m a patient person and don’t mind (too much) about the wait, but I’m afraid I’ll never see my money or the E11. And I’m now past the deadline for PayPal intervention and possibly credit card chargeback. Ugh. All he has to do is respond and say “So sorry, I’ll get to it in (x) months”.


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[Toothdoc]

I feel so lucky to have received mine. I so hate that this has happened to more people than I ever realized. This is just ridiculous! So sorry to all of those who have held up to their end of honesty and integrity, just wanting to make fair trade. As far as Hellhounds Props, LLC, I don’t have any patience or respect for people who operate this way. This is no way to treat people! I think it’s time we officially regard him as a high risk vendor and recommend for our group to seek business elsewhere.

What say the leadership?


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[Bulldog44[TK]]

It's unfortunate when communication goes dark and there are no clue at whats happening. Hopefully Daniel can reach out to all his paid customers and let them know whats the status of their orders.

 

 

[TK Monkus[TK]]

Not to pile on, but I am in the same boat (ordered and paid in April, last comm was July). I would like to just ask if anyone has talked to him recently (last few months) and seen if he is ok? If so I am sure he will get orders out, but sounds like he may just be overwhelmed. His most recent E-11 post (end of June) was about how he had a "catastrophic failure" on the E-11's and had to remold them. This could be some of the reasoning, but agree better communication would alleviate a lot of this concern.