T-Jay

Very sorry to hear about the broken parts in your BBB. There must have been some real rough treatment to that box during shipping process. Keeping fingers crossed for the replacements from RS now. For the gloves you could contact @justjoseph63 and check out his hand plates... Good progress on your blaster build. Already loving your trigger group with the aluminum inlays. Regarding the LOCK/FREE-screw in the grip: the screw in the completion set has the correct shape and size. The original screws are a bit smaller than the opening in the grip. Here is a link to the Blaster Reference. In the first posting you can find the "PDF Photo Compendium" full of reference pictures to refer to. Hope this helps.

A nice and slim stand. Good job Mark. That plaque really adds something to it.

Aah, it's been a while since somebody did the mod with the metal inlays in the trigger group. Very well done. And I am really curious to see you building that counter. It remindes me of something... BBB-day today? Keeping fingers crossed for you. Happy Easter!

Here you go Adam: Loads of inspiration waiting for you...

Hi Kevin, looks like you've got everything you need to entertain us here on FISD. - including a very cool work space. Ha, that wallpaper on your laptop is on my desktop, too. Off to a great start. Following... Ouh, that black screw in the bottom of your grip was meant to go into the front muzzle. There is one silver screw without the crosshatch pattern which is for the grip.

Not an easy task - specifically electronic devices (like the mobile phone) should avoid direct body contact over hours. Did anyone ever install a smart-phone in a drop box?

3.5 kilos? Wow, was this blaster built for trooping or as a display?

Good job Kenny! I really like your power cylinders. I am not very familiar with the S&T airsoft sterling, but would you mind letting us know, how much this beauty weights?

Congratulations on finishing this excellent blaster, Mark. You have included a maximum of available modifications from top to toe and went extra deep into the rabbit hole of painting and weathering. From my point of view, it all paid off and you ended up with a superb blaster. That thing will not only be good for trooping, it will also look stunning on a display at home... Looking forward to see your outdoor pictures - but be aware to not scare somebody outside.

Looking good so far, Ben. Onto your questions: That happens quite often. The easiest way to get that screw straight would be using your rotary tool inside the inner tube to correct this. No, that is totally up to you. Sounds more than enough to me but I only have little experience here. Maybe somebody else can chime in and help with this.

Super-glue (Sekundenkleber) is best for resin to resin bonds but the E6000 will surely be good, too. You can fit your rail into the rear sight and use 1 screw to mount it there and that same screw to mount the rear sight onto the receiver tube.

...and not a bad one. Years ago I also wondered, if it wouldn't make sense to have a thread in the "Getting Started" or "Tech Support" section, that works like a user manual for our FISD. You know, something to explain not only the simple options like Edit, Quote and Multiquote. But also to demonstrate how to correctly mention a member in a text, so that this person is being notified. To inform, that a simple reply to somebody's text, is not a guarantee the person will ever read it (unless using the quote option or the person is already following). And more difficult things like how to quote postings from various threads and reply to that in a different one. How to compress or hide definded rows in a text, that only expand when clicking that area. And what Dan suggested could also be included into this thread. As well as the listing, of how the name above the avatar picture changes, depending on the amount of posts or achievements. And I am sure there would be more things to incorporate, which I haven't thought of right now. Any user should be aware of all the technical options when using this board. Just an idea...

Hi Ben, glad you are starting a build thread here. Looks like you have done your homework and preparation work, so this will surely become a good blaster. Onto your questions: 1. Black Paint - There was an interesting discussion recently in Suspend's build. Maybe this helps. For me, it sounded complicated as I never had any issues with standard spray cans from the DIY stores. Maybe I just had luck... 2. Rechargeable 9 volt battery - if you search online, you will find plenty of these from 170mAh to 800mAh... Don't worry about that. Just mix a little bit of the blue and yellow stripe until it turns dark green. Make sure to keep your finger tips and tools wet - otherwise it will stick on there. Then you have all the time you need, as the green stuff takes about 24 hours to fully cure (depending on its thickness). If fully hardened, you can sand it like resin. If something goes wrong during your build, green stuff will be your friend. Good luck Ben. Following...

Exactly what Dan said. Screen used counters fell off, as they were only hot glued. Scope rails with L-brackets are much better for our purposes. And the mounting, you got it absolutely right. About only running one screw into the counter: working with only one screw here, allows to align the counter with the rest of your build. Once done, you can feel free to add a second screw to make sure, it stays in that position.

Hey Dan, congrats (again ) on finishing this superb blaster. That replacement magazine adds so much more realism to it. I wish the guys from DoopyDoo's would spend some time over here at FISD, to see what people do with their kits and recognize the need to finally make a better mould for this resin part. Who knows, maybe someday... Oh, and the "Master Replica E-11 Stand" looks good, too. Don't you fear to damage your paintjob with the blaster sitting straight on the support arms?

Just partially add black paint on the screw heads. Avoid the area close to the slot. That will make it look like paint chips from using a screwdriver. For Expert Infantry and Centurion the FISD focusses on your armor mainly. The only important thing on the blaster is the ring on the end cap.

Hey Jesse, great to see you and "Emmet the master builder" are back again. Awesome update, man. You went the extra mile on the magazine. While reading through your text, I wondered about the gun laws in your country. Because over here I can buy an original magazine for just 25 Euros and cut it. You must have spent hours into this crazy mod! Wow. Yes, I was about mentioning the same but Mark was faster.

The result of your wrinkle paint looks absolutely correct, Mark. You have exactly followed the instructions and got the same surface and glossy finish, that I once had. You can reduce this by adding a very thin layer of black paint.

Looks good. Don't forget to weather these screws. Otherwise they will be too shiny. If you want, you can place the two inner screws on the scope front a bit deeper, like on real scopes.

Thanks, Jose. The armor recently got approved to Centurion level. As you are aiming for that same level, you can always send me a PM in case of questions. Good luck with your build and great work on your black helmet interior.

How to proceed with that logo, if we should get another trilogy (episodes X-XII) with again different stormtrooper designs?!

Hats off to all the work done already. I am fine with almost everything so far and whatever will be chosen at the end, will surely look superb. The only thing that I am worrying about, is the design of the shown imperial cog: Not sure how to explain, the web is full of imperial cogs with many variations but there is only one correct design. The width of the six "inner spokes" and the six "outer slots" seem wrong to me. This affects every graphic, where this cog has been copied into. Sorry to mention that, it is not meant in any negative way. As you can see in my avatar picture, I just really love that thing and feel connected to it. Oh, talking about changing graphics on FISD: some of our smilies are still outlined with white pixels (from when we had the white background). Maybe this can get fixed someday...

Hey Mark, maybe try some ultra fine sand paper on that black paint of your test pieces. This could highlight the texture again and might lead to a satisfying result... If that does not work, I keep my fingers crossed for your test with the Tamiya paint. I found their type of spray cans to have different atomizers than other spray cans. Meaning, it provides a much finer "spray fog" than all other cans I ever used. This could help to get a very thin layer of black onto your textured surface.

Yep, the more layers you add, the less remains from the texture underneath it. That is another reason to skip the clear coat, Mark. My wrinkle paint turned out far to glossy and I had to dull it down with a layer of black. So I just added a very very thin coat to get this effect and safe as much as possible from the wrinkle texture.

A very nice magazine - and a cool way to safely carry your blaster. The longer magazine sticks out deeper into your transport case, meaning the risk to break it off is higher as with the shorter one from DoopyDoo's. But it looks like there is enough room inside your box and if not, you still have the 5 magnets to make a removable magazine.