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PlayfulWolfCub

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  1. E-11 Power Cylinders Research Thread (renamed from "3 Central Fuses...")

    in ANH BlasTech E11

    Posted · Edited by PlayfulWolfCub

    That's an awesome blog!  I looked at it a LOT before I started building mine :salute:

     

    I still don't think we have anything "concrete" about the origin of the E11/MSE/Y-Wing/Speeder Power Cylinders.  Andy19422 & Marv did a lot of research, as did I, and the closest we got was that they're probably from WW2 British RADAR equipment but exactly which model we still don't know & haven't found any real life examples.

     

    As a result of this thread I painstakingly recreated metal replicas which I believe are as close to screen-accurate as it's possible to get unless someone finds an original or gets George to let us cast from his MSE or Speeder. 

     

    I made a pdf containing all the research: https://www.dropbox.com/s/s53lnuh9rq5xe7a/E11%20Power%20Cylinders%20Analysis.pdf

    & one of screen-accurate E11 replicas:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/a9dfofb9kpi6zp1/E11%20Replicas.pdf

     

    I'm now selling the metal replicas (with vintage capacitors until I run out) & "budget" resin casts (see links in my signature)

     

    Cheers, Andy

  5. E11 Power Cylinder Build

    in ANH BlasTech E11

    Posted

      You'd think only 1mm off would be close enough, but you can really tell the difference side-by-side.

     

    Stare at these things for long enough & inaccuracies as small as 0.1mm begin to look huge!  :blink:   (I'm not even kidding!  lol)

     

    That photo is in my "Analysis & Research" pdf along with many others if you want to see even more...

     

    Cheers, Andy

  6. E11 Power Cylinder Build

    in ANH BlasTech E11

    Posted

    Great job Aaron!  :) 

     

    You mention you're looking for an alternative way to make the capacitor ends. For my scratch-built "UBER" capacitors I use FIMO.  I make a tiny ball, squash it slightly, make the hole in the centre with a wire, bake it, glue it to the capacitor and then file it to exactly the right shape (or shapes, since the original rubber capacitor ends were crimped into shape & therefore varied in shape).

     

    Note, the original capacitors appear to have had grey and brown ends, rather than black. That may have been a variation for the military-grade spec as all the vintage ones I've found so far have black ends.

     

    Cheers, Andy

     

    Original capacitors (photo by Michael Washko):

    sZbsEtO.jpg

     

    My scratch-built capacitors with FIMO ends:

    WMzgUq4.jpg

  9. The Best Sterling Templates EVER!

    in Templates and Blueprints

    Posted · Edited by gmrhodes13
    link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2020

    On 4/17/2014 at 2:43 AM, elleerre said:

    Hi folks, sorry for the necro-posting here, but if these are the best sterling templates evere I cannot ask for something better.

    I'm doing the 3D model for my blaster (I'll make a 3D print of the parts), and there is a question regarding the muzzle.

    the shape of the last section it's a bit different. It seems like it isn't perfectly circular, but oval, and for sure it's on a lower position than the template one.

    Could anyone please confirm this?

     

    Thanks,

    Lorenzo

     

    Hi Lorenzo,

     

    These plans never got finished because sadly Lucas (Zeroroom) vanished off the face of the earth.  I know Sskunky would like to finish them up, as would I, but it's a matter of getting round to it.

     

    To answer your specific question though....  here's a pdf of the muzzle that I made green corrections on for Lucas:  ------------

     

    Cheers, Andy

  14. Doopy build...real Sterling folding stock

    in Build Threads Requireing Maintenance

    Posted

    What size are the screws and nuts actually supposed to be? That's making me crazy trying to find it. Is there a definitive blaster measurements thread/resource that I've simply not discovered yet?

     

    I'm really enjoying this build thread & couldn't help noticing this being asked a few times.

     

    According to my research, the original screws & nuts were 10BAs.  It's an old British size which is quite rare these days. 

    The nuts are 3mm across the flats, 3.3mm across the points. The original nuts varied slightly in depth (depending on which Cylinder rack you look at) but the 10BA nuts I use are 1.5mm deep. The bolt diameter is 1.6mm

     

    Click any of the links in my signature for some fairly comprehensive Power Cylinders resources.

     

    Keep up the great work  :smiley-sw013:

     

    Cheers, Andy

    • Like 1

  15. E-11 Power Cylinders Research Thread (renamed from "3 Central Fuses...")

    in ANH BlasTech E11

    Posted

    I was thinking there's a place near me that deals with ex-military stuff and I believe one of the things they handle is old radios, it may be worth just asking if they have any idea what the resistors are from if I show them an image?

     

    Go for it Mark  :) 

     

    The more years pass by, the less likely it is we'll find them. If the technicians that soldered the original parts were 20/30 years old at the time they'll be in their 80s/90s now!  :o

  17. E-11 Power Cylinders Research Thread (renamed from "3 Central Fuses...")

    in ANH BlasTech E11

    Posted

    Hi Mark,

     

    The guy selling these capacitors didn't know anything to help our quest.  Like other people who are searching I've asked so many sellers & experts that I'm astonished none of them have yet had the answer.  Still looking though.

     

    Heads up to anyone who is thinking of bidding on these:  http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=121277310570&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:3160  It's an exciting photo at first glance but none of them are the right size. CP32Ns (which are on the card) are too fat.

     

    Cheers, Andy

  18. TM's ANH Hero build[*TM]

    in Build Threads Requireing Maintenance

    Posted

    Finally got to display my Hero on a bendy mannequin.  Here's a quick shot:

     

    TK421_zps1bec82ed.jpg

     

    Cheers again Paul!

     

    Wow!  I'm totally blown away by this photo, Scott!  I love it!   :)  The mannequin's pose & the lighting make Pauls's amazing sculpt & build really come alive.  It makes me want to order a TM Hero & bendy mannequin right now!  :)  This would make a fantastic poster image!

     

    Cheers, Andy

  19. E-11 Power Cylinders Research Thread (renamed from "3 Central Fuses...")

    in ANH BlasTech E11

    Posted

    Exciting update!  After many months of searching I've finally found and bought some of the correct-sized vintage capacitors that actually have "METALMITE" printed on them!  :)

     

    They're not perfect because they're not K-numbered but it's very nice to be able to test-fit some genuine "METALMITES" into one of my baseplates.  I'm not soldering them in - they're too rare & expensive.  I might put them in a little perspex case.

     

    I'll tell whoever gets this particular baseplate that it once had genuine "METALMITE" capacitors sitting in it!  :smiley-sw013: 

     

    Cheers, Andy

     

    METALMITES1e_zps100534a2.jpg

     

    METALMITES2e_zpsfd987b0d.jpg

     

    METALMITES3e_zps5ad21e28.jpg

     

    METALMITES4e_zpsc6650034.jpg

     

    METALMITES5e_zpsb412f496.jpg

  20. E-11 Power Cylinders Research Thread (renamed from "3 Central Fuses...")

    in ANH BlasTech E11

    Posted · Edited by PlayfulWolfCub

    Thanks Jon, glad you enjoyed the thread and maybe your ideas will help get closer to finding a real set.   I'll be honest, I have very little working knowledge about wartime radios and RADAR electronics & I keep hoping someone more knowledgable than me will have a Power Cylinders breakthough!

     

    To follow up on a couple of your points...

     

    I'm certain they were "METALMITE" as opposed to "METALPACK" because you can see the ITE" (albeit rather blurrily) in this photo:

     

    ITEoncapacitors_zps34a6e7f6.jpg

     

     

    Your idea about KHz works well on Sskunky's photo.  Unfortunately it doesn't work so well with the text printed on vintage TCC capacitors whose dimensions fit the Power Cylinders.  In the photo below you can see that none of these vintage TCC capacitors have a "KH" or "K".  Instead they have what I believe are parts and batch numbers: "6914" and "011-5551".  The spacing and content of the text on these capacitors matches very closely that of the original Landspeeder capacitors so I suspect they didn't have the "KH" & "z" either.

     

    (TCC made the "METALMITE" series, for anyone who hasn't read the whole thread).

     

    Vintagecaps1_zps0c4f15df.jpg

     

    I've found two other other versions of these TCC capacitors with the same dimensions and electrical specifications but with different batch numbers so I still very much hope to find a "METALMITE" version with a batch number starting with K (which I'm led to understand is a military designation). 

     

    I've only ever found one "METALMITE" capacitor with these dimensions.  It was in a batch of these TCC capacitors but it was already sold before I found it  :(   (Top left in the photo below)  You can't see the part or batch number in the photo and the seller couldn't tell me but it does reassure me that they do exist - it's just a matter of time (and luck...) before finding one and maybe it'll begin with a "K"... 

     

    Metalmitecapacitorse_zps3410ef4f.jpg

     

    Just to check, Jon, did you also spot the "History & Analysis" pdf summary of the Power Cylinders research?  There's a link in my signature.

     

    Cheers, Andy

  22. November 2013 Newsletter

    in The Newsletter Archive

    Posted · Edited by PlayfulWolfCub

    You're welcome Andy. I think a lot of folks have been following your research. If you look in the forum where your threads are located you'll see the number of views the thread has received. I'm not sure if that's exactly what you're looking for. If you compare it to other seemingly popular threads the number becomes more meaningful. 

     

    Actually the staff has been so wrapped up that we're just getting the email notification out today. Expect it in your inbox some time in the next few hours.

     

    Thanks!

     

    -Eric

     

    Thanks Eric, I just received my newsletter notification  :)

     

    I was hoping to know how many people have clicked "Follow" on my research thread, rather than how many visits it's had (since some people have visited many times.)  Would the FISD webmaster know?   If so, who is it now?

     

    Cheers, Andy

  23. November 2013 Newsletter

    in The Newsletter Archive

    Posted · Edited by PlayfulWolfCub

    Thanks Eric, I appreciate the appreciation  :)   I didn't know you were following the thread - glad you're enjoying it.

    Is there any way of finding out the total number of people are following the Research thread? 

     

    Cheers, Andy

     

    PS - I often don't receive Newsletter notifications.  I'm subscribed but got nothing through this month again & I've checked Spam so it's not that.  Do any other people have similar problems?

  24. Sorry, but WTF?

    in eBay Armor

    Posted

    When an Ebay seller has almost run out of stock and doesn't want to let the listing end they put a ridiculously high price on so no-one buys.  The mag price will go down when they've made more. 

     

    However, the normal mag price is silly too compared to buying a whole Doopy kit   :blink: 

  25. E-11 Power Cylinders Research Thread (renamed from "3 Central Fuses...")

    in ANH BlasTech E11

    Posted · Edited by PlayfulWolfCub

    So if I have a deactivated Sterling, a M38A2 scope, proper T-tracks, and the Hengstler 400 counter, how do I decide which one to use for the E-11?  Critieria? Preference?

    Thanks in advance.

     

    Hi Darren,

     

    Sergiu & Vern make good points.  It's true that the A2 scopes aren't screen accurate on a TK blaster but it's nice to be able to use your grandfather's scope.

     

    All 5 shapes of Power Cylinders I make are screen-accurate and, since we don't have clear photos/screencaps of most of the E11s used on-screen, you could simply choose the shape you like best.

     

    However, if you want to make a screen-identified blaster you need to choose one particular blaster that we have clear photos of.  In my Replicas pdf (link) I've recreated 5 screen-identified blasters.

     

    Are you a curly wires fan?  If so, they're only screen-accurate or screen-identified with Shape E - "Post Production".  Shape E will have been used on blasters without wires but we have no clear screenshots of it.

     

    Hope that helps.

     

    Cheers, Andy

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