Bulldog44

Spectacular job on this blaster. So many details to take in and some impressive mods. The scope is truly amazing. Your efforts to get it functional is even more amazing. <br> Keep up the super job on this. Looking forward to more posts and progress!

Thanks Chris. I wish I had more photos to show instead of all that text. Its hard to keep words to a minimum when trying to explain things in detail. Glad you are enjoying the project and hope the next few updates will keep things interesting. Another half day for the silicone to cure and then I should have my next test mold ready to start casting again.

Definitely post your how to when you get it ready. With all the costs involved to upgrade things any dollar saved doing it yourself is a good thing. I recently made a quick helmet fan bracket like Echo sells out of cheap plastic sheeting from the dollar store. Worked perfect and costed me just a few dollars to buy the plastic and some Velcro. Hope to buy his product someday but for now I need to save where I can.

No way Jim, your casting looks great! Love that sterling grip. And the hovi tips look flawless. Very impressed!

Sorry no photos today just an update on the project. Discovery 1: Solved a silicone disaster mystery. Small setback in materials but now I know that the white silicone I use for the scope cannot be paired with the clear silicone I use for the small parts. I tried using the latter silicone to make the other half of a mold and found it didn't cure where the two surfaces meet. At first I thought it was the silicone barrier liquid I used to keep the two halves from sticking together. Did a small test and found out that vaseline and the silicone barrier stuff were both fine. But found out whenever the clear silicone came in contact with the white silicone, it left a slimy mess. Lesson learned, move on! Discovery 2: I had a chance to open and examine my M19 scope and found that the prism cell on both scopes are identical in serial number and size. One less part to mold if I make M19 scope kits! Discovery 3: Not sure if it was the previous owner or not but someone did take the M19 scope apart at one point and managed to unscrew the larger lens assembly, making it easy to take out the 2 glass lenses inside. There was some obvious scratches/damage to the part but the payoff is now I have a large lens assembly that I can cast without the lenses in place. Even better this part is the same diameter as the one in the M38 so it can be used for both scopes. It is shorter in tube length, has wider threading band but since this will be an internal part I think it will be a nice addition. If I can find a lens that matches the originals, then it will be a simply installation. Might need to either glue the lens in place or make some retainer ring to hold the lens in place. I already made one half of the mold and tonight I should be able to pour the other half that captures the inner chamber. Fingers crossed! Upcoming Developments: Second 1942 M38 scope mold almost finished. (Another M38 scope with white text centered on the top not side) Originally wanted to make a backup mold of the first scope but thought it might be better to cast some diversity. This scope has some green oxidized surface issues on one side that may affect casting but thought it might be nice to capture the patina rather than strip it all down and made clean casts. The casts can always be sanded to a smooth finish. One more little bucket of silicone ordered and with that I can try making a mold of the M19. There is a small light socket on the side of the scope that may cause air to get trapped so I am considered 2 ways to approach making the mold. That is all for now! Photos to come soon when I get time to document. Thanks for stopping by!

Jim, Good idea about getting some scopes to fellow members for a review. Your wooden stands story speaks a lot and maybe I am being too critical of what I have made already. It would certainly help to see what others think if they had one of the scope kits in hand to give feedback. One scope review may pop up in the near future and when it does I will post the link. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and ideas.

Thanks Jim for your interest. I hope I can start offering them in the very near future. Each time I think I am ready to start a sales thread I find that some things are not exactly that nice to sell. The way I cast some small parts, lots of air gets trapped on the back sides and leaves big open pockets. The back areas will never be seen but I still feel like I can do better to reduce these imperfections. I am not using any venting lines out of the molds so this is why I can't get rid of the air. Plus the ring parts do not screw on to the main scope as expected . Some do but most are just too loose or too tight to screw on. Very odd results. I guess the builder can just glue the parts in place when everything is set up with the lenses. Keep checking back here for sure. I will start an interest list soon to get a scope ( no pun indented!) on how many people would want to buy these, b grades and all.

Bryn, thanks for finding that post and linking it here. Very helpful. I am now trying to find the mounting screws for M19 scopes too. This scope project has really stretched beyond what I thought it could. Hopefully all the hardware for the scopes can still be purchased.Thanks again.

Those look very much like the prisms almost identical. If I get some extra cash I will try to buy some and see if they would fit. Thanks for finding these. Very cool to see something for a reasonable price.

Thanks for looking into this. Lost of different options to look at for this. thanks. Glad you like the scope. Hope to work out some pricing and packaging details very soon. It takes a bit of time to cast each scope so I don't have a lot ready yet. Quality is also an issue as I had casted a few with one or two tiny air bubble holes in noticeable areas. I literally have to sit the and spin the mold by hand for 15 minutes to ensure the bubbles are kept at bay. Trying to make some device to just spin them for me but time , money and space are a problem at the moment. Yes, cheap indeed compared to some sites I found. Looks like a good option.

Thanks Vern. I am glad you like the project. I had read in a few older posts about how these scopes were actually used and how you need to look through them. Thank you all for clarifying that. I will need to re-edit my parts label sheet as I have the larger lens marked as the objective lens. That should be the ocular lens according to what you all posted. Let me know if I am getting this all wrong.

Thanks Tino for your kind words. I am still debating if I should make the larger lens assembly piece a solid cast or a hollowed center cast. The hollowed one is tricky to make but makes installing the lens easier. I tried this with the smaller one but had mixed results. I need a new method. Thanks for posting the prisms from your kit. Too big but its good to know if they might have fit or not. Still I think there is some way to use them in the scope but not using the prism cell I casted. Just a a modified prism cell should work. Cheers!

Sorry so late replying to this thread. I will check the base screw size. Not sure how accurate of a size i can make but I will post that once I get home.

Just my opinion but I secind that thought of saving the scope for the pipe build. I know people have used real scopes on resin blasters but think the weight may lead to cracking,etc. it will feel extra top heavy too making it uncomfortable to troop with.

Wow! They look awesome! Nice work on these. Cool to see you making them like they came off the production line. Looking forward to seeing a sales thread for these someday!

Both are nice in their own way. Hyperfirm great look with the weathering and tough for trooping.<br> Etsy one looks sharper in detail, needs some more details added but is a nice base blaster for doing some cool mods.<br><br> My conclusion if I had those in hand:<br> Keep em both!<br> Hyperfirm for trooping<br> Etsy blaster for a cool wall display or on a desktop.

Quick Update- Custom fitting a lens in the objective lens assembly piece will require some resin removal and a few good ideas on how to approach this. Casting the entire part with the lens still inside resulted in a thick opaque lens to clear away. To make things easier I test casted the same part with simple solution. I inserted a piece of PVC tubing into the mold about the same in diameter as a the tubing directly standing on where the lens is. Once the resin cured I was able to remove the tube and there was no opaque resin lens to drill out. Its not a perfect method but it reduces a little but of work to get a lens mounted. My next goal is to design a new insert tube that displaces a slightly larger area directly behind the outer ring. This will make it even easier to accommodate a lens. More research!!

Scope Parts Labeling- These are some labels I have selected for each scope part in the full assembly. I am no expert so the names either were my best guess and some lifted from telescope diagrams on the web. If you have any other suggestions or feel something is not labeled correctly please feel free to chime in.

Thanks mate! Had to ask my dog for his permission to use his photo. He was easily bribed with a biscuit.

Prism Measurements- I measured as best as I could. I don't have any digital measuring tools so these numbers may be slightly off a touch. Sean, Tino & Chris, thanks for discussing and exploring the possibilities of adding prisms. I think this is very possible. The only part of the scope that may hinder a fully working prism set up is the central glass/lens. I am not sure what role it plays in the magnification or if its only a central glass piece used as a barrier. My resin scopes preserve the location and shape of that lens but of course its opaque resin and needs to be removed. Its possible to install a new lens there with some careful work. I also looked into buying prisms but found them to be very expensive. If the monocular prisms from Tino's completion sets fit well enough, that would be a perfect solution. Let me know if prisms of the size I posted above can be made/purchased for a relatively cheap price. Upgrades to the scope ultimately would include: working prisms with brackets & screws to mount the prisms to the prism cell unit micro slotted screws (seen on the side of the scope and under the small lens unit) 3 cheesehead slotted screws seen on the outside wall of the smaller lens unit 2 slotted screws set slightly deeper into the small lens unit long thin screws to mount the small lens unit to the prism cell and main scope body lenses for both ends crosshair discs micro LED lights powered by watch batteries Hoping to find supplies for these in the next few weeks. If there is enough interest from the community I would like to offer scope kits in small runs. Hoping to achieve a higher level of casting quality before I take that step.

Check out my recent post of the case I just bought. Its big and can fit a backpack and all the other gear too I am sure. I plan on using it to hold my future TD armor and pack. Price is expensive though, $250 US .

Recently I purchased an SKB travel case to transport all my trooping goodies. I probably should have gone one size down but think this will best hold everything without any constraints. No photos yet of my armor in it but I i know it fits everything including my DLT-19, helmet and blaster toolbox case. It is free standing as well which is a plus here in Japan with limited floor space to store things. Cost on Amazon.com is about $250.00. I was lucky to find a supplier locally and got one for roughly $300.00 Some US based company estimated it would cost $250.00 to ship to Japan. That was just the shipping fee not including custom fees! Good grief! Interior dimensions are: 50 x 20 x 13 ■外寸：129.5W×55.5D×36.8Hcm Outer dimensions ■内寸：126.3W×50.8D×34.9Hcm(蓋17.1cm/ベース17.7cm）Inside dimensions ■重量：10.6kg Product Info : http://www.skbcases.com/sports/sku.php?cat=16&pid=73 This case is too big to travel on some airlines and my wife has warned me the train company here might charge me extra to board the train with it. I will report back if they do force me to pay extra public transportation fees. But other than that, it is a great sturdy case that will accommodate all your trooping equipment. Hope this helps.

Project Update: The prism cell part was my second biggest worry to cast (after the main scope body) due to its irregular shape. So far I am able to cast fairly clean ones with some minor imperfections on the surface, just a little clean up here and there. Screw holes need to be opened and then it will be easy to get the part perfectly line up with the scope inner cavity screw holes. I didn't cast the actual prisms in place, this leaves some flexibility for someone to maybe install their own prism set up. Version 4 Scope- I wasn't happy with the seam line that could be seen along the top and the bottom of the scope so I had another go at preparing a new mold that only leaves a seam line on the scope's belly. Another new feature on this version was hinted at in the photos above showing the prism cell installed. I was able to mold the inside of the scope on both ends. Only a circular wall of resin in the center needs to be removed to make the scope hollow 100%. I am still experimenting with adding black pigment to the resin so the scope exterior results in mixed finishes of matte to semi-gloss black. That is all for now. Thanks for dropping by!

Sorry I don't have any advice to add but wanted to say that is a very nice DLT kit. Are these still available for purchase?

Art, your work on this is amazing. These 3D images are beautiful and think they will look even better when they are printed. Can't wait to see when one of your batons gets printed and out into action. Outstanding work!!!!!