boomshakra

I started trying to weather it with some 220 sandpaper - light strokes...and it seems like it is going down to the primer. It has 2 coats primer, 1 coat silver, 1 coat black hammered finish, and one coat flat black. Did I need additional coats of anything somewhere along the line? If so, what is the best way to remedy this? the thought had occured to me to just get a brush and paint the weathering on....suggestions/comments?

Thanks for the info! I originally thought they would be some sort of inexpensive scope for a pellet gun or the like...oh, well. Will see if any gun-enthusiastic friends have one in their spare parts bins...

What kind of scope is that on the left side - the one with the clear plastic tip/cover? I know I have seen it somewhere on these boards, at least a smaller version, but I haven't been able to find it again (or on amazon, academy sports, wal-mart, etc.). Anyone know? I need it for a project I will be working on.

90% complete, by my estimation - still need to do the white lettering on the scope, weathering, and replace the T-bracket for the Hengstler: You can see below how cramped it is: And resting safely within the confines of Vern's most excellent holster! It was a fun, educational endeavour...but I am glad it is nearing completion!

Very timely post - I am about to start the weathering process on my Doopys E-11! Yours looks great!

Awesome - I am a larger size trooper waiting on my RT-Mod armor, so I look forward to your build thread!

Thanks! (of course I will always think of Jar-Jar now when you reply to my posts... )

Thanks, Locitus - I don't suppose you have a picture of snap placement handy? If not, I'm sure I have seen one somewhere on these boards & will track it down...

I had a thought along the same lines, but using a garter instead: run the garter on the inside of your underarmor bottoms and then out through a slit cut in the leg of the underarmor (stitched to be reinforced) that attaches to the thigh piece (velcro or snap). In theory it would be pretty much invisible, but I haven't put it into practice (yet), and if you are wearing a 1-piece undersuit you'd have to wear the belt inside next to your skin. Just a thought.

Doh! Looking at pictures would have answered my question...might have to go for a 3rd cup of coffee this morning... Thanks!

So, I have been thinking about the best way to secure my belt in position. I didn't have much luck using the search function, so forgive me if this has been covered previously! My thoughts (or understanding) is that the belt itself secures around the waist by velcro in the back, and the clips from the TD go over the overlapped (velcroed) part in the back. The belt covers the gap between the kidney and butt place, and holds the butt and ab (or cut cod, if the case may be) together. To keep it in place (and support the weight of the holster), it is my understanding that troopers use some velcro on the abs to keep it in position in the front. What I was thinking for keeping the belt in position is a strip of velcro along the top of the buttplate. This way if you bend over, the belt stays in place and allows the kidney to move upwards (secured by the elastic underneath). Is that the best way to do it, or is there another (vetted) placement of the belt/use of velcro? Thanks for any input! My armor delivery is still a ways off, but I am wanting to have a good idea of how the various parts will all go together ahead of time.

No pics this morning, but I did get the coat of flat black painted and placed the rail on the body to see how it all looks - Pew-pew-pew indeed! I am going to have to make another Hengstler mount for sure - it butts up right to the scope, >1mm space between the two. No biggie. I remembered to mask the grip off so it still has some sheen to it. My question is whether there is a specific length for the bolt follower - that is the last piece for me to cut. I was thinking ~1.5" visible in the cocking channel (including the part obscured by the cocking lever). Once I have that cut all the innards will be installed and the rear cap glued and it will all be done but the weathering (and new H-mount)! I debated adding wires but am thinking it will be too much trouble. Besides, the fuses from the hengstler are pretty tiny and my aptitude at drilling will probably result in catastrophic damage to the Hengstler...

I got some painting done over the weekend I also got the spring fabricated. I used a 5/8" dowel and 17 gauge fencing wire. I read somewhere on the boards to mark every 12mm for the wrap, so I put a piece of tape on the dowel and marked accordingly (sorry for the shaky-cam and out-of-focus pictures) I am quite pleased with the result! I could not find 'gunmetal', so I used the closest thing I could find at Lowe's...and the color name escapes me. I still need to cut down the piece of PVC for the bolt follower and drill a hole for the cocking lever before I put it all together. I have a coat of flat black to spray this afternoon and will probably try to piece it all together tomorrow or Wednesday. No pictures of the progress on my scope rail and mounting the scope/Hengstler, but it had its challenges as well. I thought I had the holes in the Hengstler drilled level...but I was wrong. So I slotted out one of the holes and will make adjustments to make it level with the rail/scope. It seems to be placed in the correct position, but I'll rely on everyone's feedback once I get that done & pictures posted. While waiting for paint to dry I started tearing down and preparing my Hasbro - but all of that will have to wait until my doopy's kit arrives and I start on that build in earnest!

I agree with silverBoyd - those pictures will be very helpful when I start on my armor.

The ones I got at Lowe's were 1/4-20x3/4. The heads are a bit larger than 1/4", and I had to do a bit of filing to get them to fit into the Doopys muzzle (I cut off the thread length and glued the heads). I bought another pair that are ".8" measurement for my Hasbro conversion, but might exchange them back for the size I used previously - the jury is still out on that.

I was also thinking to do the ab/cod/back first and then 'branch out' from there, especially for getting the thighs correct (knowing that the shins have challenges, too). I'm going to attend my first armor party next weekend so I will have a chance to see how others put their armor together. Granted, I think they are going to be working on Clone armor (for the most part), but getting feed back on what to use, this vs that, etc. will be informative. Plus I will be able to meet people who can lend me a hand when my RT-Mod gets here! good luck with your armor!

Happy May the Fourth, everyone! My special plans are continuing my E-11 build and disassembling my Hasbro in preparation of the Doopys upgrade kit arriving (hopefully next week). Hopefully by this time next year I'll be armored and there will be a Troop to go to!

Another no-pic update: When I positioned the Hengstler holder on the scope rail, it was hitting the tube - should have gotten 1 1/4" "L" rail... So I debated between slotting the scope rail and H-rail and went with the latter, as slotting the scope rail would have taken the scope out of alignment down the axis of the tube. It was not a big deal, just clamped it down and went to work on it with a couple of needle files - ugly but functional. I also took a little off the bottom so the Hengstler would sit higher - I think I have it in the right position. Finally drilled the hole to mount the rail to the rear sight and found screws the correct size for it & the Hengstler. So, tonight will be priming and drying for the rail and a 2nd coat of primer on the E-11. I am thinking I will just go with the flat black on the scope and Hengstler and just use the hammered black on the E-11 before a coat of flat black. The scope already has a 'texture' to it and the Hengstler should be smooth anyways, right? I still need to fabricate the spring and decide how I am going to attach the end plug - just glue it or try to glue some 'notches' inside so it will be a twist off...probably will go for the former. On an unrelated note, my wife borrowed the white duct tape I bought for my 'emergency armor kit'. She commented, "This is probably for your E-11, isn't it?". It is the first time she has used the proper technical description instead of the usual "that thing" and eye-roll.

Thanks, Eric! I have been so absorbed in my doopys E-11 I hadn't gone back to look for that...elastic is still on my 'need to buy' list, I'll be sure to get both colors.

Thanks! I could probably "straighten" the part of the rail that the Hengstler attaches to with a file and some patience. Looking at my bondo job this morning under the primer made me realize I would never get a job doing body work! I will try to clean it up with an exacto and sandpaper before the 2nd coat of primer.

I, too, thought it was black on black almost everywhere. I was originally going to go single-snap on the shoulder bridge, but after looking at Rick's photo the 2" webbing looks like it would be more comfortable for longer periods in armor. Hmmm...

Some bondo pics and the screw that holds the stock to the pipe: And of course a side view of the "Ugliest Scope Rail", which should also be a contender for the "Ugliest Hengstler Counter Rail" - very glad this won't be visible... Still need to drill the final hole to attach the rail to the rear sight and the holes to mount the Hengstler - will prime the rail separately when it is done, but I went ahead and did the first coat of primer on the E-11 I have read that some add clear coat after finalizing the paint job - I am on the fence but have a can of flat clear coat. I am probably going to use flat black as a finishing coat of paint...am also on the fence about using hammered black. If I use the hammered black, would a flat clear coat kind of tone down the gloss of the hammered? Anyone do that paint scheme?

Bought bondo & a new hacksaw yesterday. Went home and glued on the 'flash cover' infront of the last hole and ejection port - damn rubber bands can be finicky when you're trying to secure these odd-shaped pieces, aren't they? No pics (forgot the camera) but had a BIG setback on my scope rail. I had the front all bent & notched, so I decided to cut the excess off of the rear...and went too short. Picked up the remaining stock and bent a new bar, marked the notches. Here is where I should have stopped and gotten some tea or something - I was a little pissed at myself for screwing up my original scope rail. Instead I forged ahead and totally botched the front notch. I'm down to my last usable length of rail (after the 2nd screw up)...really don't want to have to go back to Lowe's (bought their last steel bar so they might be out of stock). Slow and easy does it for the cuts - cutting small sections and using a file to slowly remove material. A bit more successful this time - the bar fits in place, but I have very little room to drill for the screw that will hold the bar to the rear sight. I am very nervous about drilling that hole in the right place, so when I got to that point last night I just walked away from it. I did do a little bondo-ing to the gaps on the front sight and the stock. Letting everything dry and will work on a template to get all the holes drilled to mount the bar to the E-11 and scope to the bar. Of course, I still have to make the "L" holder for the Hengstler...but have plenty of material in case I screw that up on my first try. If nothing else, I feel I have claimed the coveted title of "Ugliest Scope Rail" I am glad it will soon be painted black and will be looking for 'Night Troops' once I get my armor

Which is a better gap filler - plumbers' putty or bondo? As I indicated above I have a little work to do on my resin Doopys and am sure I'll need to do some on my Hasbro after I get started on it. Are those the best options since I'll be priming/painting soon, or is there some other product that adheres to resin better and also gets paint to 'stick'?

I got the stock glued on tonight. I drilled out a couple of the holes for the 'realism' and on one only went 1/2 way so I could add a screw to keep the stock secured to the body. Unfortunately, I turned the screw just a little too much and it separated the bond between the two pieces . So...bondo time before I prime/paint, which is fine, there are a couple of other places to touch up. In a sense, knowing my armor isn't shipping for another month helps me take this project a little slower, even though I have had my little challenges like the one described above. I picked up a Hasbro over the weekend ($10 off craigslist - score!) and the Doopys upgrade kit should be here in a couple of weeks, so I can carry over some of the lessons learned to that project. I busted out the spray paint again and silvered the back of the Hengstler (already painted brass on the front) and flat black over the scope (again, brass undercoat after primer). Oh, and silver on the tube I will be using as a bolt follower. I also found some wire that may work for the spring, if I can find the correct diameter pipe to wrap it around...and need some gunmetal paint for that as well. No 'pew-pew-pewing' around the house since the glue is curing...oh, well.