swmand4

Prepare for a massive update! As in, a lot of images. I've finished my first pass at the electronics schematic and PCB layout. And wow did I underestimate how many connectors I would need! Everything posted below is subject to change. Some connector labels are missing as of now. Some external hardware such as switches have not been selected as of yet. The board size is 1.3" (33mm) X 3.65" (92.71mm). The plan as it stands is to create a separate PCB for the LED light bar inside the counter box and connect to it via a flat flex cable. This way, I can push the LED driver to the secondary board and make the main board a bit smaller. The secondary board will also have the power on indicator LED. Note: I have not done this board so there are no pictures of it yet. I also want to create a PCB for the barrel propagation LEDs so there's no extra work involved (soldering wires to leads, etc.) I'm a bit concerned about the spacing of the the vent holes, though. I assume not everyone has them in exactly the same spot, so the fixed positions that work for me may not work for everyone... Current design is based on rechargeable 7.2V Li-Ion battery pack. It has support for charging via external 12VDC power. All devices that need to connect to the main board do so via a connector, so no soldering is required. There are various types including FFC, sub-mini, right angle and vertical plugs (1.25mm and 1mm pitch). A microSD card stores all MP3s and is inserted from the end cap side of the main barrel. I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot, but now on to pictures! First, the schematics: The PCB layout: And last, a corss-section fit test of all tall components to make sure they will fit. The bottom right one will not be installed outside of my own development and testing.

True those are a higher capacity, but they are a larger size that will not fit inside the magazine and receiver. The 14430 size will, but has a smaller capacity. The only pre-made pack I could find using the battery size I want is wired in series for 7.2v. If anyone made a pack wired in parallel, I could get twice the capacity at 3.6v (I'd also need a boost regulator to generate 7.2v for the bright LEDs).

After some more research, I could in fact go with the boost regulator design. If someone made a 3.6V Li-Ion pack with the 14430 cells, I could easily get 1300mAhr out of it. But alas, no one seems to make them. I could design my own protection circuit and make my own 3.6V 1300mAhr pack out of unprotected cells, but that's getting out of my field and into potentially dangerous territory. So it looks like I'm sticking with the 7.2V Li-Ion pack for now. Maybe one day it will be cost effective to have a custom battery made by a company that knows what it's doing.

Very cool! I used to live right down the street from there...

A 9V battery, while it would fit, was never an option. E-11s weren't meant to be single shot, "bolt-action" rifles What I'm looking at is a 7.2V Li-Ion battery pack using two 14430 cells. I can squeeze ~650mAh out of one of those packs and it should fit inside the magazine/receiver. Depending on how deep the magazine and receiver are, I might be able to jam a 4-cell pack in there for ~1300mAh. So much for my original 4400mAh target Thanks Mathias for those links. That's exactly what I was looking for. Here's a mock up of how the battery pack will fit. The outer lines are the magazine edges and the inner and circles are the battery pack.

Mathias and Jon, I appreciate the offer to help out. I'll need to construct another E-11 with a pipe kit. Anyone know anything about the Doopydoo's alternative someone here on the forums made? I can't seem to find the link, but I would want that kit. From what I remember, it was better than Doopy's and I like that it's made by a member of the community. Jon - I might look to you to buy a scope rail/t-bracket at some point. I've also decided to switch to a larger voltage, lower capacity battery (still rechargable). I thought I could get away with a boost regulator, but the amount of current the super bright LEDs pull makes it more or less impractical. Which brings me to my next question: does anyone know the interior dimensions of the magazine/reciever? I need to know what size battery will fit in there...

I've decided to ditch multiple audio formats in favor of strictly MP3. The original idea is overkill and bloats software, physical space, and cost.

Because I tend to over-engineer things. A micro switch would work as well. I'm also thinking it would be awesome to include a rumble pack for force feedback when firing the blaster.

Thanks, Lee. Sound like I'll be using the excess material from the overlap as inner strip, too. In other news, my rare earth magnets arrived from Trooperbay. Now I can really start building.

I've seen a few threads pop up lately about Blastercore and other sound/LED boards for blasters. It seems like they're either hard to come by or a bit difficult for some to integrate. While looking at some stuff in this thread and this thread, I was thinking it would be fairly easy to make my own version of the Blastercore - it's not too far from what I do for a living anyway! Before I begin, let me say thank you to those who have made their own versions before me. I will most likely borrow ideas from their systems to build up mine. So here's my goal: Create my own easy-to-use E-11 sound board with various LED capability. I want it to be a complete package that takes little effort to integrate with an E-11 blaster build. Plug-and-play, so to speak (for basic functions). I've put a few hours into researching requirements, parts, software, etc. and started my hardware schematic layout. Here's what I have so far in terms of system functions and requirements: Plays a sound from an integrated speaker when the trigger is pulled. (trigger switch still undetermined) Sounds are stored on a microSD card. Audio formats supported is MP3. Will run firmware with open source libraries for RTOS and FAT file system, so final code will be made available per open source requirements. Powered by rechargeable 7.2V Li-Ion battery pack, mounted in clip/receiver well. (I don't know if it will fit, so this might change.) Power LED indicates system is turned on. Other switch turns on electronics. The Sterling fire rate selector switch on the blaster will select between single shot and full auto (plus a third mode... stun?). An LED light bar mounted in the counter box will display either "rifle power" like with the Blastercore, or actual battery pack charge remaining. A volume control knob will adjust audio levels. It would be cool to make the button on the magazine receiver do this, but I don't know if it's feasible. A separate button on the counter box will be used for configuration and setup (switch between gun types? sound classes?). A super bright LED pixel will be mounted in the blaster barrel to emit bright beam on trigger pull (red for kill, blue for stun, green optional because it exists). LEDs mounted in the barrel will emulate propagation of blaster bolt out of gun (red for kill, blue for stun, green optional because why not). Barrel propagation LEDs will be mounted on a printed circuit board to make it easier to connect to main electronics and integrate into blaster barrel. Also helps with alignment. (This is a flexible requirement, based on cost. May switch to a loose chain of discrete LEDs. May also be inside light diffusing inner barrel.) There will be 9 barrel LEDs, despite the ANH variant having a bayonet-lug over one of them. This way, even an ROTJ blaster without the lug will look right and an ANH blaster will propagate correctly (no "skip" over covered hole). A rumble pack in the blaster will vibrate when the trigger is pulled to help simulate firing the weapon. If the electronics work well enough at the end and there is enough interest, I may produce a run of them. I will try to keep this post updated as I make progress, but I still have to build my armor and do other things... like go to work and spend time with family and friends. In the mean time, I would love to hear any ideas for things you would like to see integrated into the system or thoughts on what I have so far! Here's a litte something to whet your appetite:

Thanks, Eric and Tony for the tip. I assumed the RT overlap was already the correct width. Cutting off the excess to make the two halves match a proper coverstrip is definitely the way to go. From what I can tell in this tutorial, the correct coverstrip sizing is: Bicep = 15mm Forearms = 15mm Thigh = 20mm Shins = 20mm Does this sound about right? Eric, you mentioned that your thigh and shin strips are 25mm... and Lee mentioned that Rob cut your thigh coverstrip to 25mm and shins to 21mm. Are those two armor sections supposed to have different widths? What widths look best on each of four sections? I'm also wondering if the ~10mm excess is sturdy enough to use as the inner strip - Lee, how does it feel in your build?

After some research, it looks like most people that assemble RT-MOD with coverstrips use the following method: Cut half of the overlap off on each side of the armor piece (see red section in picture below). Then butt the new "half" overlaps together and glue coverstrips on top of (and below) that. Does that sound about right? Does anyone have a detailed close-up picture of what this method looks like from the front and sides? I want to know if the extra raised height of the coverstrip looks okay... So far Craig, Lee, and Jenny's build threads have been very helpful in understanding what I'm doing.

One of these days, I'll start building my RT-MOD suit. Until then, I'll watch to see how your build turns out, Lee. I'll jump over to Craig's build thread for some ideas, too.

Finally did something to move the build forward... Finished riveting the strap on my holster. Not much, but it's something. Hopefully, I can do some work the armor this weekend

I saw a link to someone's RT-MOD coverstrip build the other day... He butted the overlaps together and put the coverstrip on top. Don't know how I feel about that.

Updated original post to include pictures of and links to all soft parts and accessories.

Thanks guys. I would love to go Centurion, but don't know if I have the patience for some of the details. Mostly, I'm concerned with the helmet details. Should all painted areas appear hand painted (paint or decal)? Or are the "idealized" tube stripes and traps okay for Centurion level? I already plan to replace the vocoder decal with paint, but don't want to remove the other ones... Which reminds me - I forgot to buy helmet s-trim in my Trooperbay order. I'm very afraid to do any cutting! Guess I'll have to just dive in and hope for the best

Finally getting around to starting this thread! I first looked into replica Stormtrooper armor some 13 years ago and realized it would have to wait for money and size reasons, as I was 11 years old. I've had the armor (RT-Mod) since the tail end of December, but haven't had time to do anything with it. I'll be following Darth Aloha's RT-Mod build and a few others as I make an attempt to build this thing. I've added pictures and links for all the extra soft items I purchased for the build (neck seal, etc) below my initial armor pictures. I apologize in advance for my sub-par Android phone pictures... Obligatory box shot: Helmet: Armor layout and inventory: And now for the soft parts! I've included a link, if possible. Boots / TKBoots Hyperfirm E-11 Blaster / slavefive D-ring for Hyperfirm / Trooper Bay Holster / TK Bondservnt 2392 (Vern) Canvas Belt / TKittell Thigh Garters / Tsalagi Underarmor / East Bay Neck Seal / Veedox (I don't know if I'll actually use this, as it's technically a "hero" neck seal... plus the bib is awkwardly short and only comes down to about mid-torso.) Thermal Detonator / troopermaster Gloves / Home Depot Hand Guards / Sonnenschein (Karin) Black Canvas Webbing (1.5" Wide, 0.06" Thick) / Strap Works Non-roll Elastic banding / Joanne Fabric Store AB Buttons / VaderDave (Not sure if I'll use these or just paint the raised section built into the RT-MOD) Vortex-Squirrel Fans / EvilBoy Hovi-Mix Tip Helmet Speakers / 501st Creations (Again, not sure if I'll use these, but I did purchase a ROM/FX so I can if I want to.) Split Rivets / Trooper Bay Tandy Line 24 Snaps & Setting Anvil / Tandy Leather Supply Stay tuned for updates and questions!

Here's the solution I came up with for the bead. I bought a #4 round head screw and filled in the screw driver slot with Green Stuff. It's not perfect and doesn't sit recessed, but it's the best I can do now that the magazine is glued into the receiver. I toyed with the idea of digging a little around the screw head to make it look recessed, but ditched the idea after seeing that it doesn't sit flush with the resin (slight return edge). One thing I'm not happy about is that the paint job is inconsistent now. There places where you can see the tape lines from masking off certain areas when I resprayed the magazine and folding stock. I'm thinking I can make it "invisible" by adding some weathering in those areas to hide the flaws. Screw with green stuff: Painted: Painted folding stock drilled down holes:

Wow. Just wow. Stunning work, Rob. I'm looking forward to seeing more of this scratch build!

Finished cutting out the indent thingy in the folding stock. Not as good looking as I would like, but I think the black paint will cover the imperfections. The broken drill bit was a pain to extract... thought for sure I would crack the resin. I rounded the corners of the magazine and gave the straight edges a bit of bevel. I also sanded down the side of the magazine to reduce the "wood grain" look. Really wishing I'd done some of this stuff before painting and/or gluing. Live and learn, right? Now, a very important question. I want to add the bead to the side of the magazine, but the inside of it is hollow... what's the best way to add the bead now that the pieces are glued together? If it were solid, I would just drill into it and drop a ball bearing into the hole, but I can't do that. Any ideas?

I went ahead and drilled down the holes in the folding stock using a 7/16" drill bit, to a depth of about 1cm. For the half-covered hole, I used a smaller bit to get the bulk of it and a hobby knife to get the rest. Still needs some work, and a little Green Stuff to fix a couple mistakes. The holes are not centered because I foolishly used the light indentations on the mold as a guide. Oh well, I stopped caring about mistakes the moment I decided I would eventually do a pipe build. I also started cutting out the indentation area. This didn't go very well. I was trying to drill a few holes and get the rest with a hobby knife, but after the drill bit broke and got stuck in the resin I've decided to just buy a Dremel and cutting bits. I'll get my money's worth, easy. Next I'll find a bead to use on the magazine and get some sand paper to round out the edges. I will also sand down the flat side of the magazine to eliminate the wood-like texture. Stay tuned...

From what I hear, trying to put a silver coat underneath the black and rubbing it down doesn't work well with resin casts. Apparently, the paint has a tendency to chip or show all the way down to the base material. I haven't tried myself, so I don't know first hand. However, I've done a little weathering on my build by dry brushing silver over the satin black and it looks really good. Also, I agree with you about weathering the t-tracks. I know it's not screen accurate, but I think it looks better. Still deciding if I will do the same to mine...

Was your scope also attached? Did you use a drill press?

Thank you everynone for the kind words! No, it's the E-11 stand Doopydoo's also sells. It doesn't quite sit right. though. The gun is resting on the folding stock and grip with no actual contact with the rear barrel. I plan to fix that in the future with some thin felt or something. Daniel, you are correct. I thought about modifications like this when I started, but was afraid I'd mess it up. Now that I'm almost finished, I'm wishing I'd gone ahead and done them. Maybe there's still time, as I've only done some light weathering on parts far away from the folding stock and magazine. If I do any more mods, I'll go all out. Drill the holes in the folding stock, cut out the thingy in the side of the folding stock near the bayonet lug, round the edges of the magazine, and add the bead. Anyone have any tips for drilling out the holes in the folding stock... after the stock is attached to the gun?