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This build is still alive!!! I acquired a genuine Hengstler Counter 400 from Dennis aka @TK-50101 Blue Snaggletooth and it is absolutely gorgeous! So much so I contemplated for a really long time before deciding to paint it. I used toothpaste to create the chipped paint effect and scuffed it up with steelwool. Again I left the cadmium coating intact since I really like that feature. Set the counter to my 501st Legion number.

Thank you for the compliment Chris! Yes I agree the ejection port/muzzle flash guards are off too, like pretty much everything else on the airsoft gun. The bayonet lug is of as well which I will also be correcting. I guess it's all part of the fun/challenge of converting one of these airsoft guns to an ANH E-11. They would make a much easier base for a Rogue One E-11 blaster build considering that's what was used on screen, and that's exactly what I'm doing with the other Airsoft Sterling that I bought; SlyFox's R1 Airsoft Conversion with Real Parts

Hi everybody! DS-55305 here, hoping to become TK-55305. Although we have a lot of TK’s in my garrison/squad, I’m the first one to try an R1 down here. I doubt I’ll be there first to finish, though. I can only work on my TK about 2-4 days a month, so this is a marathon, not a sprint for me. I ordered my R1TK from Jimmi about 3-4 months ago, and it arrived about 2 weeks ago - cheapest shipping option ftw! I was way too happy when I saw this. Unreasonably happy. Like “I’m an adult, I should not be this happy over a costume kit” happy. Unfortunately, I couldn’t really go through it until today. Unfortunately, there was some damage to the codpiece and right thigh (and minor damage to the butt plate). I’ve sent a message to Jimmi, but if I can’t get a replacement, I’m not sure how to fix it. I think I can fiberglass the inside, then use bondo to smooth over the crack, but if anyone has a better idea, please let me know. In in the meantime, I’ve plastidipped the inside of the helmet, put some primer on it, and used spot putty to fix the (very few) imperfections in the helmet. I also drilled out and filed down the area between the teeth, so I feel like I’ve made some good progress here. Next week I hope to paint the helmet. I’m thinking of buying some oil-based paint pens for the blue inside the vents and the black lines in the tears/traps. Am I overthinking this? Would a paint brush be just as good? I have basically zero artistic ability, but I’m willing to keep trying until I get it right. Side note: I’ve decided to prime and (white) plastidip the insides of the armor rather than sanding the interior because I HATE sanding. Hopefully it works out. Fingers crossed.

Attached the thermal detonator this evening. It's scratch built from PVC, and still needs some final things added (interior walls at the ends, and the control panel). Still has yet to be weathered. Also my trooper decided to lounge around last night instead of patrol the area, soooo......... This build should be more or less finished by next Tuesday, so I'll definately post pics.

But it seperates the men from the wannabees. ;-)

I've used Tapatalk on a regular basis since it was reinstituted following the forum upgrade. I haven't noticed any problems. It really is ideal for uploading photos - they go straight from my mobile device (smartphone or tablet) to the forum in one step without having to use a third-party photosharing host and copy over links.

Nice job man!! We'll be seeing you out there trooping in no time!! Isn't it a great feeling when you first put it all together?

The attention you pay to all the details is highly appreciated. It gives a clear understanding to every potential builder about the required effort to turn such an airsoft Sterling into an ANH E-11.

Thanks Matt, Oh i just noticed its my 1 Month Anniversary since starting this build. Start date was 9/23. hahah Andy

Thanks everyone - I fixed all the issues you mentioned. I'll let it sit for a few more days and if there is nothing more, off to the LMOs it goes. I think for weathering we are trying to capture to how it appears to the eye on screen as has been mentioned. To me at least I'm not seeing anything that looks like a "clean" TK should. As has been mentioned this is likely due to the artists making it easier to show depth, etc. In any event, subtle weathering is just that, subtle, to add shade and depth. Also, the fact that it's L2 gives us room to maneuver.

Finally got around to build and complete my F-11D kit from Justinian. Great kit to work with, minimal clean up on the parts, just a few areas to patch up and reshape with epoxy. Sorry, I didn’t document the build. Here is is the raw kit I received from Justin. This photo is from his sales thread. This is exactly what I received. Disney Parks E-11 Blaster internal soundboard and lights. Blaster before completion, sound and barrel light electronics not installed yet, exterior parts not glued in place yet. 99% complete I should say. I have not added the small white stripe details on the rear barrel. The grip material was some floor mat material I found locally that looked nice for the grips on the handle and stock handle. The lenses were glued into place using E6000 but I regret that now as the glue looked message after it dried. I wanted to avoid using cement glue as it causes the clear plastic to turn white along the contact points. But the E6000 stuck so well I can’t remove the lenses without causing damage to the scope rings. Better left as it is I guess. Short video: https://youtu.be/pBgGzv_yV6w

Excellent - I look forward to seeing that. Your armour is looking great. :-) ...and, thank you kindly. :-)

Nice build buddy, I will follow you, next step after armour is the blaster(thx to Tino that give me his doopy) Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk

Nice work buddy[emoji6] Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk

Coming along nicely

For the CRL, it says the lenses are dark smoke, but in the first of the reference pics from Eric in the thread above, the lenses look green. Since it seems to be a secondary reference, I don't know if that applies. The posterior description still shows "weathering" as L1. The shoulder bell reference seems to be off (template issue?), may also have the "weathering" description as L1. I believe there was a red pauldron as well, but I am trying to find a reference shot for it. Overall, it looks good!!

Did a test troop with my Rebels friends the other night. Everything held up well, which is great. I want to add a strap to keep the chest from sliding back, but other than that, it was a very easy suit to wear..!

Did my first major test fit and I'm absolutely giddy!!

The hammered paint (preferably combined with the paper dabbing method) is a good way to bring a nice texture on your paint's surface. Compared with the wrinkle paint, it is easier to apply, dries much faster and does not smell like hell. In this build here I had used the wrinkle paint and it turned out not as perfect as I had expected. Be aware: this paint requires a specific room temperature, air humidity, triple layer spray technique and 48 hours drying time. And although my paint job was completed 1.5 years ago (at this moment) it still smells! Keep that in mind. Oh and for working with green stuff, I found it useful to simply keep my fingers and tools wet. This reduces the stickiness.

Hi all, Got a few little parts added today. I’ve taken to using bolts and removing the head. I can then screw that part/s into place before gluing. Here’s some update pics. It’s nice to see more parts on my blaster than on the shelf next to my workspace. Means I must be getting closer to he finish line. :-) Cheers, Dan :-) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Episode III - Revenge of the Sights, & Stock Sorry for the delay in this build thread, but after finally repairing all the broken Photobucket links in my posts I can now finally continue where I left off. The next inaccuracies I will correct will be the front sight, rear sight, and folding stock. As you can see a real Sterling (Top) has knurling on the front sight guard, where the Airsoft replica(Bottom) does not. I removed the 4 tack welds holding the front sight guard with a precision dremel tool, then I used a punch to recreate the staggered knurling pattern. After knurling the front sight guard I tack welded it back onto the airsoft gun. Here are some Before & After comparison photos of the airsoft modification. Before (Top), After (Bottom). Notice I also filed the round opening on the front sight guard to be a little bit deeper like the real thing. Here are some comparison photos of a real Sterling (Top) and my Airsoft modification (Bottom). I also filed the front sight pin a little bit to make it more accurate to the real thing. A real Sterling rear sight guard has knurling as well, where the Airsoft replica does not. The pivot pin on the Airsoft is also different than a real Sterling. Using this needle file set I was able to add the serrations on the rear sight guard. Here are some Before & After comparison photos of the Rear Sight Guard modification. I also changed out the pivot pin for something that looks a bit more like the real thing. Here you can see the Airsoft rear sight guard has a mushroom head shape, this is inaccurate. I used a file to round it off like the real thing as well as adding the serrations. Here is a comparison photo of a real Sterling (Left) and my Airsoft modification (Right). A real Sterling folding stock is different than the Airsoft folding stock in a number of ways. First of all the shape of the bends arch outwards on a real Sterling, and they arch inwards on the Airsoft gun. There is a also a steel block present at the base of the "Y" on a real Sterling, but it is absent on the Airsoft gun. There are some other small differences which I will discuss and correct as well. Here are some comparison photos of a real Sterling folding stock and the Airsoft folding stock. I started with a 1/2" block of steel with a 7/16" diameter hole in it, I used a center punch to mark the center of two opposite sides. Then I drilled a center hole through both sides. I also had to shape the end of the support bar on the folding stock to match the tip of the 7/16" drill bit I used. I did this for two reasons; 1. To keep as much steel around the pivot pin as possible for strength, 2. To allow me to chamfer the edges and corners of the block without penetrating through the thin walls of the steel block. I chamfered the edges and corners of the block using a lathe, and then used sandpaper to smooth it out after. I also drilled a small dimple in the top of the steel block to make it look more accurate. The Airsoft folding stock is made of thinner steel than a real Sterling so it's rather easy to work with. I used a rubber mallet and the rounded edge of an anvil to correct the shape of the Airsoft folding stock. The bends now arch outwards correctly like a real Sterling, not inwards. Here are some Before & After comparison photos of my modified Airsoft folding stock. Here are some comparison photos of a real Sterling folding stock with my modified Airsoft folding stock. A real Sterling buttstock is slightly different than the Airsoft replica in a few ways. The pins have dimples on the ends and the corners of the folded steel buttstock are rounded, the Airsoft gun does not have dimples on the ends of the pin and the corners of the buttstock are pointed. As you can see here I drilled out dimples in the center of the pin on both sides and filed down the corners of the buttstock so that it's rounded off instead of pointed. Here's a Before & After comparison photo. Before (Top), After (Bottom) And here's a comparison photo of a real Sterling (Top) with my Airsoft modification (Bottom) A real Sterling folding stock also has dimples on the ends of the support bar pivot pin where as the Airsoft gun does not. Here is a Before & After comparison photo of the Airsoft modification. Before (Top), After (Bottom) Here is a comparison photo of a real Sterling (Top) with my Airsoft modification (Bottom). A real Sterling folding stock (Top) is mounted with carriage bolts, where the Airsoft folding stock (Bottom) is mounted with slotted dome head screws. Here's what the folding stock mounting bolt looks like when removed from the airsoft gun. To replace the slotted dome head screws I used a custom combination of Chicago screws, Small washers, and a threaded rod. This screw also holds the grip in place as you know from my earlier grip modification chapter. For this reason I needed a fairly tough small threaded rod so I modified a steel machine screw by cutting the head off and filing it down smooth. Here are the other parts I used to create the custom mounting bolt for the folding stock. Chicago Screws, Washers, Modified screw for threaded rod. Here they are assembled in the same way it would be when they're on the blaster. As you can see, the Chicago Screw dome heads fit perfectly inside the recesses on the Airsoft Folding Stock. Here are some Before & After photos of the Folding Stock Mounting Bolt modification. Before (Top), After (Bottom). Here are some comparison photos of a real Sterling (Top) with my Airsoft modification (Bottom). A real Sterling folding stock has square locking studs where the Airsoft gun has round locking studs. Using a scriber I was able to carve the correct shape into the folding stock and fill in the incorrect one with bondo. Here is a Before & After photo. Before modification (Top) After modification (Bottom) Here is a comparison photo of a real Sterling and my Airsoft modification. I hope you enjoyed this chapter of my blaster build, please don't hesitate to leave any comments or critiques. Stay Tuned for the next episode, To Be Continued...

Part of the defining characteristics of the animated style is that all the characters have a bit of porcelain-like weathering while still being glossy. Very much unlike the Clones where they are dirty and matte. Likewise, I used the Rubies stormtrooper blaster and did the cleanup, including adding a proper D ring. It's readily available and has the animated look. At $12.99 at stores right now, it's an easy mod until or unless someone builds a custom one. Hope this helps the conversation along!

Well the rebels blaster does have a totally different look. That may be a good “level up” The lines that go down are just that. Lines That is not an opening area . Shoulder bridges and belt. Ya that is a fixed part of the armor and will need trimming to fit smaller/ thinner people . And yes they all are dirty to a point But then again so we’re the ANH Tk’s Possibly another “level up”? They look so cool clean. .... just my opinion

I messed up! As caught by @darthcue, the folding stock was able to engage the back cap lugs without pressing the back cap catch. That implies to me there is excessive allowance between the back cap and the catch. More work to do!