Dday

You have really gone above and beyond on this kit. At first glance it was a disaster! The kit after all your hard work looks like it just came off the former. Your build is very clean and the suit you're working on now bears 0 resemblance to the suit you got... well done. When someone asks you "did you build it yourself" you can without a doubt say "yes!"

Very nice job on everything you did recently! You should be sorry for giving us what we want, by posting so many photos and progress updates... shame on you! Your dovetail joint looks very nice and will really help to cinch the look. It makes me want to get working on mine too! I've got a bunch of tubes to sell into kits first though

I agree about the false lettering on the mag well. The only problem I will run into is that because of the lettering the original stuff is removed. Since I do not have an original mag well to mold, I will be copying fixing up the resin master and molding it. This means that it will have no lettering unless I add it myself, and then it will not look very nice since it will be hand done. I think before I go about remolding I need to get in touch with a sterling parts kit. This way I can make my masters real parts instead of resin parts.

Awesome work there! I'm in the middle of a creating a new mold for the hengstler as well. It was these inaccuracies that you have put back into the model that led me to do this. Not much help to you unfortunately but you're going well above and beyond, and I salute you!

I would also like to find a good spring I can include in my blaster kits, but it is always the same problem finding a good looking spring that doesn't cost a ton.

Technically you are right Obi Wan never owned R2, but he 100% surely know who the droid was after years and years of using that particular one as well as C3P0. I know in the SW universe there are lots of protocol droids and R2 units but man, you spend years with this pair you tend to remember or at least vaguely recall...

Yes, which is why I said similar. If I was to do this, the V would 100% not extend so far! Well, you also have to keep in mind the length of the V is defined by the size of the hole with the width of the track base. If you want to keep a nice straight line that is. So it will vary based on if you use Sskunky/Marv (same size) or Roy tracks.

You know what... another hole that bugs me all the time that was introduced in the PT and the Clone wars series is the fact that in ANH, Ben says he doesn't seem to "recall ever owning a droid" ... In the clone wars they spent a TON OF TIME with R2. Anakin basically lived with him and ObiWan knows this. I wonder if the storyline was created for the PT by people who never watched the OT... Or Maybe Obi Wan was going senile in his seclusion and was a little force crazy. Don't get me started with a plasma/heat based weapon making bloody cuts in the cantina and making a blood spatter on Maul... I hate you all, I hate Lucas, I hate myself, but I love it all, and all of you. But Lucas, still not happy with him.

When it comes to bending track I think we are all flying by the seat of our pants. It is easy to do it, but hard to do it really right. To me, it seems the only way to absolutely escape the curl is to have the V shape extent out of the hole. This will make the tracks look similar to the MR ones.

You could potentially heat the curled edge a little and use a nice flat piece of aluminium rail or rules or something to press it flat again.

Looks like you forgot to add in the reset button after reassembling the counter. Either that or you left it out so it wouldn't change your number. Maybe cut it off inside or glue it down so there isn't a blank hole, and it won't reset your number. I think the counter is a little bit too forward, but it's probably not. I will generally assemble the front of the counter equal to the first of the 2 holes/screws in the scope. So I would move it back about 1cm.... BUT that is me and was from one screen used blaster photo. I can 100% guarantee they are not all in the same place and your placement is height aligned which is the most important.

Nice catch on the metal housing to go inside. This will ensure there is never any breakage through the plastic of the counter.

I enjoyed neither. I just sat here pressing refresh until it came back up.

Even with the thinner rail, I don't foresee a problem with the weight for a while. If you do see a problem with sagging, you might add in screws like Aaron has with tall heads. This way instead of the rails sagging down, the bolt heads will help to support it as it bends and interfaces with the tube.

The rails I can easily find here are 20mm x 2mm thick. If I go for the 1.5mm I have to get the full plates and cut the 20mm strips. I've opted to go for the 2mm since it is a good middle ground of easy to find and easy to finish while still looking good. The 3mm is 100% way too thick and looks off in a nice E11 build.

Thanks for posting the comparison to the old cylinders. It is so crazy the difference!

Yes, it looks like the recess was filled with clay for the molding process. What you might do is continue to fill it up so it is level with the rest of the housing then you can carve a fine line all around the edge to show they are different pieces and make the small hole where the screw is. Is should be a pretty easy thing, quick and easy.

The oval shaped part is the underside of the magazine release button. If you se on the other side of the magazine housing, the rounded top is actually a screw that goes through the ejector pin and into this oval piece of metal. When the rounded button on top is pressed the clip is unlocked from the housing.

Markus has the correct answer. That thread will give you all of the details you need on blaster kits and people to build them.

My guess is he is on Vacation Or at least taking time away from the hustle and bustle of orders. It is always best to go to the source if you are in the same country as the source. The export and reimport fees will kill you.

I have noticed this as well in the mold I have that the shape of the sight looks the same. The lettering on my current casting seems to be better, but I did notice the problem with the scope and counter shaping. I think it is caused partly due to a problem in the silicone mold but also I noticed it was made worse when rubber bands are used to hold the mold closed without a stiff backing on the sides. The Rubber bands without the stiff backing cause the mold to compress and can deform the casting. All this doesn't do anything for you guys though. I am working to get my hands on another scope and counter within my local region so I can make a new casting of these parts to fix these problems.

Vern, can you elaborate on why you were sad when you got the parts from Lou? Do you mean the castings or the originals?

I didn't think you were taking a jab but posting an honest critique which is perfectly within your rights. It is critiques like this which will help me to better the parts I put out.

I see tape But it is still a stormtrooper. The difference comes when people start to look at the piece in detail vs just taking in the general look. They all look like a stormtrooper though.

Ian, The first run of kits were not cast by me but a group of kits I got from DVH prior to getting the molds. It looks like the fill hole was not properly filled which creates the crater with the sides reaching up and a depression in the middle. However, all of that aside, if you want a new one let me know. It looks like you are sorted with the front half piece though. On a side note, the Hengstler is a hard shape to cast because of the high number of details. Right now the mold is a 1 part sleeve type mold and I am not really satisfied with it because of the detailing and the bubbles that appear in both the mold and the casting. I'm thinking about doing a 2 part mold for this so that the detailing can be much nicer without a lot of the bubbling.