Bulldog44

To push this project further I am working on making the scope easier to assemble by adding the prism cell (cylindrical part where the prisms sit). This means I need to make a new mold of the scope that incorporates prism cell opening. I will attempt to cast the prism cell this week in its original shape but since its such a complex part, I might have to re-think this. Fingers crossed! Further inside the scope behind the prism cell are screw holes. If I can capture the internal cavity of the scope from the smaller lens end, all the parts will line up exactly as the original by just using the visible screw holes as a guide. Sorry no photos of the real scope internal cavity but here is a quick sheet showing how the prism cell can be taken apart. The prism cell is identical on both sides except for the imprinted numbers.

Thanks guys for your kind words. Keeps me motivated to make these better each time. I had a productive weekend casting a few more of the scopes using black pigment. They are starting to look the part. Getting the black color consistent for all the pieces is difficult but these can be painted so I guess just having a dark base color should be sufficient. Photos to come.

That's a mother load of great updates to this build. Still drooling.

Awesome to hear that Christian. Feedback fuels the fire to try and make these the best resin scopes possible.

Cool. I would like to perhaps offer a limited run when I think they are up to par for the community.

Thanks a million Tino. Still more work to be done but I do hope these turn out to be a one of kind scope. Of course they still need those finishing details that are included in your kits! Cheers!

Update March 2018- For anyone still interested in any progress on these scopes,etc. please go to my Facebook Bulldog Props Page. Due to the photobucket fiasco, I haven’t found a reliable way to post pics so I am using the Facebook page for now. https://www.facebook.com/BulldogPropsJapan/ When first I started my E-11 build I really wanted to make the Doopy resin scope look as real as possible. I thought buying a real scope at the time was expensive and better suited for a Sterling conversion which is not possible to own in Japan. So I studied all the great mods members here on the FISD did to make their resin scopes better than just a solid cast replica. I quickly decided that I wanted my resin scope to have clear lenses and be hollow to allow light to pass through, meaning I had to drill out the center. With only a simple hand drill and some wood drill bits I did my best to bore a hole through the scope without putting one through my hand. Luckily no trip to the hospital was needed. The next step was to try and find a proper sized lens to fit on both ends. Installing them is not always a easy and clean procedure either. It was a challenge to mod the scope but I think it was one of favorite parts to work on.<br> That experience led me to wanting a real scope so I managed to buy one ......... then I bought a few more. Having some real scopes in hand, I thought it would be fun to try and cast a scope that wasn't solid but hollow. I wanted to make this part of the E-11 build easier to work with without having to do major surgery and allow for easier ways to add lenses and screws, etc. Casting the whole scope from one end to the other limited access to install the lenses so I thought it would be better to cast all the parts separately. There are very thin walled parts and delicate details to capture making it a bit difficult to do but after some trial mold making and casting I was able to get decent enough results to post. I have had a lots of great advice & feedback from some super FISD members so any success in this project is thanks to them- you know who you all are! Thanks guys! In the photos you will notice the scope parts are all mixed up shades of grays. Partly because I was experimenting with adding black pigment into the resin and also so its easy to see that all the parts are separate pieces. The resin I am using is from a Japanese model making company and is ideal for casting small parts. It actually has some flexibility to so its not as brittle as other resins I have seen. Again, this project is still in development and more materials and procedures need to be tested. The scope's main body is slush casted so getting even walled castings each time is a skill I haven't mastered yet. A rotational casting machine would be great but money, space, and skills to build one are not in cards at the moment. I am literally making these scopes on the floor in a space no bigger than a square meter or so. Parts seen in photos are from my third mold making trial. Little bit of seam cleanup on the main scope body and random flashing on some smaller parts. Just to clarify the scopes are not 100% hollow after casting. The center of the scope needs to be punched out or drilled depending on the thickness, not difficult at all. The end where the smaller lens unit is attached needs to be drilled or opened. The walls of the scope in general are sufficient and sturdy enough, nothing cracked when I applied some minor pressure. I can't say how resistant they are to added pressure or being struck. I think they are somewhat fragile but certainly stronger than my drilled out Doopy scope. There is threading on the casted retainer rings and inside the scope so the parts can actually be screwed on much like the real scopes. Its not always a perfect fit but this should make it easy to install lenses and then screw on the retainer rings to keep it in place. Painting the parts might make the parts fit a bit tighter but that is far from being tested at this point. The smaller lens unit still has all the holes where hardware should go, an easy 1,2,3 to drill them out and install real screws. The scope feet still have visible mounting screw holes as well. In the photos (bottom page-second from the left) you can see the ring part that houses the lenses on both ends. I have to cast these parts with the lenses to avoid damaging the real parts. It is a partial casting as well since it might be difficult to fit the whole part if casted as it actually is. You really only need the front ring section, the opaque lenses need to be removed and clear optics can be mounted behind the ring. This may make it easier to install slightly different sized lenses, nothing needs to be exact to ring hole opening (just slightly bigger than the opening of course!)- the outer rim of the lens will be hidden by the ring. <br><br> One problem I found out was that not all the M38 scopes are perfect copies of one another. I have casted the large and small retainer rings from another M38 scope but they fit rather loose. And strange enough the lens rings are a bit oversized. Perhaps there is some distortion when casted. After a few more tests I should be able to determine if all the casted parts for one particular scope will fit together without any issues. The last part to cast is still in the works but I will leave that for another post in the future if it works out as I hope.<br><br><img src="http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn37/Bulldog44USA/Bulldog%20Props%20Hall-ow%20M38%20Scope%20Test%20Phase/Bulldog%20Props%201942%20M38%20Hollow%20Core%20Scope/IMG_0245_zpsmxq23bpy.jpg"alt="IMG_0245_zpsmxq23bpy.jpg"><br><br> Sorry for the long story about these scopes but hope you get a better idea of whats involved in this project. Its been a year of reading up, months of planning (mostly me staring at an M38 in the midnight hours losing sleep) and a month of silicone & resin tests. Thanks for reading and stopping by!

Love that rotocast machine. Thinking of making one like yours. Thanks for posting this.

Holy spring loaded stock! Locking mechanism! I have run out of words to say how amazing this is coming along.

Liking those balloon lights. Hadn't seen those before. Thanks for sharing the info. Your blaster looks awesome.

Tino, really crazy surgical work going on there with the stock, taking it to the next level as always. I think the stock I bought from Derrek came in two parts (or could have been from the DVH V1 kit I bought), is that one whole casted stock like the doopy stock? Having the front handle separate from the stock rail cuts out the need for all the deep carving but then I guess you would miss all the fun. Adding that ABs plastic part to replicate the inner stock mechanism is brilliant. <br><br> The wait for each update is well worth it with a build like this! Epic blaster build.

Awesome! Looks amazing. I use Tamiya paints with my airbrush too. Results are always very pleasing, goes down evenly.

Super! That extra cover plate over the bolts is a great idea. Just a thought, I saw some cheap dual LED light board kits that give off an adjustable fade in fade out flash (the red LEDs can be switched out for white or blues). The board can be decorated to look more or less like a part of the inner chamber, perhaps using the part already there but having the LED bulbs mounted behind them. Might be an extra detail worth adding. In Japan at the dollar stores they sell these bicycle tire tube caps that have tiny domed LED lights on them, operating on 3 small watch batteries. They are trigger by movement. Another cheap idea if you are interested. I use them in my daughter's Jawa ion blasters.

I left at least 5 mm return edge on the chest plate on the sides. i left a bit more on the bottom for the strapping brackets. Around the neck area I found a crack on the return edge and had to trim that almost even with the front of the chest plate. 5 mm on the sides should be fine.<br> Double check the reference photos but I remember the return edges being about that length.

Great start! Trimming is sometimes the hardest part but you are already on your way to the next phase.

Nice! That inner barrel is going look sweet. And the DVH power cylinders are better suited for your blaster as Tino mentioned. <br> Matte black looks good. Maybe you can just spray the tracks with semi gloss clear coat and see how that looks. Planning on that myself for my doopy blaster. Never quite finished the paint job on that.

Congrats Mike! Can't wait to see how it all comes out in the end. Enjoy the build.

Just partially disassembled my M38 scope and yes there are two prisms in there. Same as Ian's scope internals. I cannot yet remove the central inner chamber lens because I don't have any tool that can safely remove them without scratching things up. <br> I am in the process of casting small scope parts and will see if I can cast the part that houses the prisms. It is quite thin in some areas and may be too complex to get aclean cast of it but worth a try. If that works, then it might be possible to buy some simiart size prisms and install them.

Extremely sad to hear this news. She was very talented making the themed pillow covers and bed spreads. <br> Rest in peace Jenny. My prayers are with her family.

thanks Delta1, no worries. I had to pull the trigger and make the purchase. Thanks again for posting.

I think once you get it all painted, add the lenses, maybe some real screws and weathering, it will look nice. I think it is already cool that it is hollow to start with. As you said, just add some epoxy to beef up the walls. I am working on making a hollow scope now but not sure what kind of results I will have. Keep up the great work. Love to see more progress when you post it.

Oops. Thanks Brian for pointing that out. Just about to place an order and quickly posted this without looking. Apologies all!

Anyone willing to pass on a discount code ?

Anyone willing to pass along an Anovos discount code aSaP? <br> PM me if so! <br><br> Cheers!

Good job moving the scope foot.