justjoseph63[Staff] Posted September 20, 2022 Report Posted September 20, 2022 Quick back-story- I saw Kevin's @kmwilson343 3D E-11 sales thread a while back, and having some down time thought it was time for another project. Since I already own an E-11, I figured I could build it and after completion offer it up for auction here** with the proceeds donated to the JDRF (the FISD official charity) on behalf of the FISD. I got in touch and asked if he had a B-grade for sale (I like a challenge) and he said that he had one that was partially built and would be happy to donate it for the cause and send it my way... and he did! (THANKS)! As mentioned, keep in mind that it was partially built and was a work in progress that was interrupted by me, lol, so I am only carrying it forward. I will be adding a few of my own touches, of course. I will not be posting a ton of photos as there are already many great build threads here, but I will be touching on a few areas that can be a pain when working on a 3D build so please feel free to ask any questions or add any comments. ** Once complete, I have Andrew's permission to do this and will be starting a separate thread for the auction. Unfortunately, due to postal regulations I will not be able to send it outside the U.S. All that being said, time to get started! Looking things over As seen in the pic below Kevin has done a lot of the work ahead of time, and since it was designed by Bryan @trooper96 the details and accuracy are phenomenal! It begins I removed the front sight guard, folding stock and end cap/clip and selector switch for better access to the main body. After some extensive sanding, I thought it best to hit it with a coat of fillable primer. Looks pretty good, right? Well, this is why using the primer helps. Although areas can look and even feel smooth, having everything all one color brings out all those little details that may not be visible otherwise. Time for more Bondo spot glazing. To be continued! 8 Quote
revlimiter[Staff] Posted September 20, 2022 Report Posted September 20, 2022 Fantastic idea and thanks for donating your time!! Something soothing about building E11s isn't there? Quote
Chemi[Staff] Posted September 20, 2022 Report Posted September 20, 2022 You've left me speechless, @justjoseph63...Time is the most valuable thing that we have, so, nothing more to add. Quote
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted September 20, 2022 Report Posted September 20, 2022 Sounds like someone has too much time on their hands But seriously what a worthy effort Joseph, well done, looking forward to seeing the progress. Quote with the proceeds donated to the CDF (the FISD official charity) on behalf of the FISD. Just one note, the FISD nominated charity is actually JDRF https://www.jdrf.org/ although I'm sure CDF are still a worthy cause. FISD History Did you know? FISD's legacy charity is JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) The detachment started to support JDRF way back in 2007, but it became the official Detachment charity of choice in 2010. We will be returning our focus to this very worthy cause for at least the remainder of this term and doing what we can to support JDRF through donations and awareness. Paul "Daetrin" 2007 3 Quote
kmwilson343 Posted September 21, 2022 Report Posted September 21, 2022 Looking great Joe! Let me know if there is anymore I can do to help out, I will be sending out those 3D printed spare parts you asked for later this week, sorry got busy at work and have not had time, lol. Thanks again for putting your time, energy and effort into this project, cant wait to see the final product 4 Quote
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted September 21, 2022 Author Report Posted September 21, 2022 7 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said: Just one note, the FISD nominated charity is actually JDRF https://www.jdrf.org/ Oops. should have researched that a little more! Thanks for the heads-up, and it has been changed. 1 Quote
Sly11[Admin] Posted September 21, 2022 Report Posted September 21, 2022 Very pleased to see you post this up at last Joseph. How could I say no to such an admirable and generous offer, but that is you to the core. Good luck with this build and ever better luck with the eventual auction. Two things I know for certain, 1. This will be a wonderfully finished piece with you and your attention to detail and skills. 2. FISD members in general are generous and I am positive this pieces will be worth every cent to the auction winner, as not only do they get an E-11 blaster built with love, they will do so in the knowledge that they have made a difference with the proceeds going to a great charity. Well done sir, it's why we love you so much. 2 Quote
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted September 21, 2022 Author Report Posted September 21, 2022 In order to better get to some of the areas of the grip assembly for sanding (blue arrows) I removed the "screw" (yellow arrow) and thankfully they came apart perfectly! Yes, I finished the grip already, lol. This will also help for painting, as I will be using 3 different ones- flat black, gloss black and silver. Still a little sanding to do, but I'm a lot closer. Dry fit The magazine can be difficult to get smooth because of all the tiny crevices, especially those around the clip on the side. I used a cotton swab to apply the Bondo in the ridges and an exacto knife to apply it around the sides, The curved area will get a different treatment to get rid of the print lines. 4 Quote
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted September 22, 2022 Author Report Posted September 22, 2022 A bit of an issue here, but I shall persevere.. Since I will be adding in a coiled wire spring, I had to remove the area in the cocking channel. I caaaaarefully used a Dremel with a thin grinding attachment, and it came out OK. Lots of sanding to be done on the inside of the channel to get it flat and smooth still to come. The issue is that this is one of Bryan's "heavy duty" prints. Awesomely super thick to withstand years of trooping, but it had a PVC pipe glued in (pic 1) for even more strength. This obviously narrows the interior, but I though I could drill out the pipe without damaging the printed outside using a 1" drill bit (2). This way, the wire coil would be the correct width. Here's a hint: Don't try this. It worked well the first inch or so (3) but then started to bind up. I stopped there, as I got the feeling it was going to crack. 1 2 3 I will have to make adjustments and do the best I can with this once that time comes. Suggestion: If you do add an interior PVC pipe for added strength, when installing it I would only use it in the center part and stop at the end of the bolt. This will allow you to add a full size spring. 2 Quote
trooper96[501st] Posted September 22, 2022 Report Posted September 22, 2022 Joseph, you got skills, dude! Following! Quote
T-Jay[TK] Posted September 23, 2022 Report Posted September 23, 2022 On 9/22/2022 at 10:44 AM, justjoseph63 said: I found spade drill bits to be very good for this kind of work, because you have more control while drilling. 3 Quote
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted September 23, 2022 Author Report Posted September 23, 2022 Didn't have a lot of time today, but I got some of the detail work completed. The plate that fits into the "bolt" opening got a coat of filling primer and some sanding as well as 2 coats of silver paint**. **Silver paint out of the can is really shiny, and has a bit of a texture. Since the bolt is (in theory) is constantly being used (and oiled) it should not have a sheen, per se. Bryan's design has an actual serial number printed into it (COOL). The photo above is a little out of focus, but the actual plate shows the numbers quite clearly. After the last coat of silver dried I ran my thumb across the paint for a few minutes to get rid of the shine. I used some charcoal dust to fill in the numbers to make them pop and then hit it with a clear coat of matte to seal it. Added the wires that go from the central fuses to the edge of the mounting plate and the capacitors that sit below the rear of the power cylinders. I will add the red cloth covered wire at the end of the power cylinders toward the end of the build. Some references state that the red wires behind the power cylinders were not seen on-screen, but in at least 2 scenes they were (photos 1-2). The first shows a Stunt TK holding his weapon with it present, and the second is from a photo where Luke is holding it, but I believe this to be the same exact weapon. 1 Quote
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted September 27, 2022 Author Report Posted September 27, 2022 Sorry for the delay folks.. been prepping for hurricane Ian which is due here in a day or so. I may be offline for a week or so as massive power outages are predicted, so thanks for your patience! 3 Quote
Nairy[Staff] Posted September 27, 2022 Report Posted September 27, 2022 (edited) 9 hours ago, justjoseph63 said: Sorry for the delay folks.. been prepping for hurricane Ian which is due here in a day or so. I may be offline for a week or so as massive power outages are predicted, so thanks for your patience! Hope everything will be alright! Stay safe! If anything you at least have some analog projects to spend some downtime on! Edited September 28, 2022 by Nairy Quote
Bulldog44[TK] Posted September 28, 2022 Report Posted September 28, 2022 Stay safe. Looking forward to see what progress you make next. Quote
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted October 2, 2022 Author Report Posted October 2, 2022 UPDATE: Sorry for the delay, but I am awaiting a few "surprises" for this build in the mail. 5 Quote
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted October 9, 2022 Author Report Posted October 9, 2022 OK, so bear with me.. I am in the middle of constructing my new workshop (from the ground up) so that has taken a lot of my spare time. Time to get back to it! Taking a break from the shroud to work on a few bits and bobs. I decided that I wanted to install real lenses in the scope, but I applied way too much pressure and broke it trying to take it apart. Oops. In theory I could have repaired it, but being as this would have taken a lot of extra time I decided to reach out to Bryan (Bulldog44) of the Japan Garrison for one of his phenomenal cast from original M-38 resin scope kits. I have used these in the past, and the details are as accurate as you can possibly get! Unfortunately he said he could not sell me one, but would be more than happy to donate one for the cause. I got that in the mail last week, and all that needs to be done before painting is to remove the lenses (easy). Screws will be added after painting. THANK YOU for your generosity, Bryan.. you saved me a ton of work, brother. This will make an awesome addition! Wrapping removed, accurate screws/lenses included! Insanely easy detailed instructions. 2 Quote
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted October 9, 2022 Author Report Posted October 9, 2022 A couple more mishaps.. I knew I wanted to install a real metal D-ring, but the mounting was securely fastened to the cap. After snapping off the printed D-ring it was time to break out the Dremel and grind off the mounting. Only took a few minutes, and then it was filled/sanded smooth. When trying to remove the site guard to be able to do some detail filling/sanding, guess what. I snapped it in half. (You built this a little TOO well, Kevin)! I could glue it back together, but I had another idea. Although the end cap clip assembly was 100% accurate, I decided to replace the 3D printed U channel with an aluminum one. With some brute force, I removed the entire thing but since the metal pin that holds the clip in place was glued in I knew I needed another one, otherwise it would not fit into the channel. Since I needed several new pieces, I hit Kevin up for some replacements. He not only stepped up to the plate, but (again) paid postage as well. What a guy! Raw prints Filled/sanded Primed (D-ring mount is NOT glued on) New clip/Aluminum U channel Next up, the Hengstler counter. 5 Quote
kmwilson343 Posted October 9, 2022 Report Posted October 9, 2022 WOW! Looking awesome Joe. I enjoy seeing the progress come to life and enjoy the tips and trick you share . Keep up the good work! Quote
Bulldog44[TK] Posted October 10, 2022 Report Posted October 10, 2022 18 hours ago, justjoseph63 said: OK, so bear with me.. I am in the middle of constructing my new workshop (from the ground up) so that has taken a lot of my spare time. Time to get back to it! Taking a break from the shroud to work on a few bits and bobs. I decided that I wanted to install real lenses in the scope, but I applied way too much pressure and broke it trying to take it apart. Oops. In theory I could have repaired it, but being as this would have taken a lot of extra time I decided to reach out to Bryan (Bulldog44) of the Japan Garrison for one of his phenomenal cast from original M-38 resin scope kits. I have used these in the past, and the details are as accurate as you can possibly get! Unfortunately he said he could not sell me one, but would be more than happy to donate one for the cause. I got that in the mail last week, and all that needs to be done before painting is to remove the lenses (easy). Screws will be added after painting. THANK YOU for your generosity, Bryan.. you saved me a ton of work, brother. This will make an awesome addition! Wrapping removed, accurate screws/lenses included! Insanely easy detailed instructions. Happy a help a great cause. Thanks for reaching out to me for a scope. Can’t wait to see this blaster finished in all its glory. Quote
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted October 12, 2022 Author Report Posted October 12, 2022 Update time! The original print I received had a few more print lines in the small crevices than I was willing to sand down (pic 1), and was just a tiny bit crooked. My OCD kicked in and I asked Bryan (the designer) if he could hook me up with one printed in resin. He put me in touch with Matt, who donated this (second pic). There were a few vague lines, but some filler, sanding and paint took care of those quite nicely! I dug through some of my E-11 surplus parts and found a front piece that had the metal connector pins. I know these are rarely seen or used, but they were present on the originals. I think most were knocked off at some point during filming due to holstering and such, but I want this to be as accurate as I can make it. Reference images I really didn't want to Dremel off the entire end of the new counter and add this, so I cut the pins out with a hacksaw (pic 2). The openings were just a fraction too small, so I drilled them out. Since the resin is so thin in those areas I used my fingers instead of a drill to carefully twist the bit as not to destroy them. Ouch. Everyone knows what fillers and primers look like, so the first pic shows it after painting. I decided to do a little weathering on the forward part, since the original fronts were made of "brass"** (pic 2) and I figured that some of the black paint would "wear off" when holstering. I'm not too happy with the way it looks (pic 3) and will be re-doing it before it gets mounted. ** Before anyone cries "foul", yes, Hengstler did manufacture these particular counter fronts in a silver colored base metal with an almond colored front (pic 1)... BUT, in all the references I can find the weathering seems to indicate that the brass version (at least on the Baptys) was used. Reference images I added a tiny "cheese-head" screw to the front, and painted the numbers** on the counter white (I still gotta' touch up the bottom of that last 7). Yeah, you can see some tiny print lines, but they are actually not that noticeable. I will be adding a curved Lexan counter (pic 3 below) cover from my "box-o-parts" once I get it cleaned up and polished. ** In case you didn't know, Bryan chose these particular numbers for a reason, and it also happens to be the exact date I saw the coolest characters in a film. Ever. HINT: If you plan on using one of these plastic or Lexan covers, do NOT use any type of CA (super) glue to mount it. If you do, it will permanently fog it up. I will be using good ol' Elmers. Sparingly. Overall I am pretty happy with the build so far. Still lots to do, but I hope the finished product will not only make someone very happy but raise some funds for our charity! Next up, the scope! 5 Quote
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted October 12, 2022 Report Posted October 12, 2022 Some nice detail work there. Wonder what that date is 1 Quote
revlimiter[Staff] Posted October 12, 2022 Report Posted October 12, 2022 I do love me some good counter obsession. Beautiful work! 1 Quote
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted October 12, 2022 Author Report Posted October 12, 2022 16 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said: Some nice detail work there. Wonder what that date is It was the date when German Minister of Economic Affairs Ludwig Erhard passed away, as well as the day some obscure Sci-fi film was released. I'm thinking it was the latter. On a side note, I would like to sincerely thank all of those who have helped along the way, and they will be listed in the main post. I am just the builder of this prop weapon, but I could not have done it without the help of those who have supplied the parts. All of you ROCK! 2 Quote
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