usaeatt2

I'd pin it and epoxy it. Don't forget to loosen up the holes in the stock arms - gazmosis did a really nice demonstrating this procedure in his folding stock build. I used his process and my folding stock doesn't bind anywhere. If the epoxy fails, pull out the pins, drill and tap "blind" holes for 4-40 screws in the stock pivot, then screw it to the receiver from the inside...won't be easy, but the holes are close enough to the back of the tube that you should be able to insert them with long needle nose and tighten them down with an allen wrench or 90 degree offset screwdriver through the charging handle slot.

EXCELLENT. Nice clean pictures too!

Nice work. You can use the exact same method to separate the rest of the parts from a Sterling parts set. Magazine well is the most difficult to do without hurting the part. Not sure why there's no locating pin...maybe an older version?

I'm well aware of the Bapty, especially since you sold me the original scope from Lee's Bapty, but I'm saying the replacement parts don't look correct. If somebody on the FISD made this, people would be critiquing it to bits! And how do we know this wasn't a reject that didn't make the grade for the film and somebody threw it in a closet, er, "deep in storage"? My blaster? On your E-11 website? That's an unexpected honor!

NUTS!!! "Buried deep in storage at the original armorer, Bapty & Co."? How is that even POSSIBLE after 37 years? Saving it for retirement? "When discovered, all of the weapons (does this mean there are more?) were sadly missing their external components. The blasters were carefully restored to the way they looked on screen by adding replacements for the M38 scope, the scope rail, the barrel ribs, the cylinders and the Hengstler counter box." This is a replica with an original base and some documentation (I question if it's even possible to authenticate as screen-used?). Cylinders look wrong (no notches in the sides of an 'E' shape / not weathered / no nuts and bolts), counter looks wrong (4-digits) and there's no D-ring. Wouldn't even pass EIB! I'd take any replica blaster built here before paying that kind of money for something with a questionable history and poorly chosen replacement parts.

Beautiful modifications, Brian! Never boring...loving the trigger mod, especially the way it's reinforced at the pivot. Here's more gee-whiz gun knowledge (I only offer what I've learned to help further general understanding): The "round head button-like thingy" is the trigger group retaining pin. Basically, when the weapon is in service, the screw should be turned so the slot lines up with the LOCK position. This prevents the pin from falling out. When the slot is lined up with the FREE position, the pin can easily be pushed out (from the ball end), and this allows the trigger group/mechanism to be separated from the weapon (don't want your trigger falling out during battle, so LOCK 'EM!!!). The selector switch in the "S" position prevents trigger action and accidental discharge. I believe the selector switch letters stand for the following: S = Safe, R = Repeating (single-shot/semi-automatic), A = Automatic. I might be wrong on the 'R' - somebody please correct me or verify this... The solder didn't stick because you would have to get the wires hot enough to melt the solder. Getting the wires hot enough would have melted the resin. I applaud your efforts. No easy task, even on metal cylinders. I assembled and soldered the rear resistors completely separate from the cylinders, then made two final solder connections to the central capacitors to attach the assembly. After I was done soldering, I super glued all my braided sleeves to prevent fraying. You've done a great justice to the Doopy cylinders. With primer and paint, I think they'll look excellent. I've had a resin selector switch mod in mind for several months, so I'm particularly looking forward to your next update. Get some sleep, sir!!! Aaron

I'm going to play all sides of the fence here... My "display only" Sterling conversion is equipped with Gino track. Gino's T-track is an excellent product and easy to work. That said, there's no way I'm dropping another $80 for plastic T-track on subsequent builds. I might do it for anodized aluminum, but not plastic. As for accuracy, I WON'T be getting involved in that debate... Both Gino and Roy appear to have done their homework and I don't care to dig any further than that. Without a micrometer, I know I couldn't distinguish a 0.1mm height difference OR a 0.5mm width difference, up close, let alone from across a room. Both are very convincing in their approach, so until there's some kind of provenance, we have options. Marv T-track was amongst my first FISD purchases. Great price, nice product and fast shipping. I've had good dealings with Gino and felt I was getting the most accurate product available. Roy was kind enough to modify his product based on member input, reduce his price and offers website ordering and payment. I started this thread to offer information and options to builders of all abilities and means. The goal is to get accurate blasters and advanced building skills within reach of as many troopers as possible!

Glad to help, Francesco. Are you developing a video game with your 3D model or just for fun? I have a friend who worked on EA Sports Hockey - his face was digitally scanned and he's one of the hockey players in the game. Let me know if you need other detail pictures that you can't find in the gallery or eslewhere. Your quick sketch helped understand exactly what you wanted.

I talked to Andy quite a bit, refined drawings several times and even investigated having base plates water jetted or laser cut...and I'm still slighty off. Power cylinders are tough because they're so small to start with - at that scale, a half a millimeter mistake ruins the whole thing. I'm right there with you. Just sharing about the gun parts. I didn't know ANYTHING about Sterlings back in May. I didn't even know they existed. Live and learn. I think you're on the right track with the bolt. Toning it down seems like a lot better idea than painting. Keep up the great work!

RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME!!! I read it three four times! I've sanded fingerprints off more than once fabricating tiny parts...they grow back! Excellent work on the power cylinders. They're tougher than they look, to make accurately. I was initially confused about your "firing pin". Took me a minute to figure out you're talking about the "extractor" and "extractor plunger". The extractor grabs the groove on the back of the shell and extracts it from the chamber. The extractor plunger (brass part) constantly applies pressure to the extractor, which causes it to pivot forward to grab the next round. Yours looks like the real deal! In fact, the entire bolt is INCREDIBLE. Almost a shame to paint it...

Hi Francesco, Look in the photo references gallery: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/album/40-sterling-l2a3-mk-4/ PM me if you can't find a specific image and I'll provide one. Aaron

Good luck, Ian! Nice 'n easy...you'll be done before you know it and wonder why you even worried about it. Don't burn down the house! Looking forward to the update!

Congrats! June 19, 2015 @ 6:00 PM.

WOW! VERY NICE. Quite an inspiration. I started an AP hero back in July, but got sidetracked by other work. I'd be happy if I can even come close to the look you've achieved! I made bubbles lenses for my AP Hero... 1.5mm thick, almost no distortion. I'll send a pair if you'd like to try them. I detailed making the lenses about halfway through my first post: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/27936-first-timer-ap-armor-build-thread/?p=353560

Quoting myself... that's a first... I was reading more about carbon fiber and found an answer to my own question: Carbon Fiber Tube Shop says: "After sanding, tubes may be clear coated to return the shine". Makes sense. Now, I wonder with what kind of clarity? I see a "test tube" (HAHA) in my future...

I could be reading into this, but it seems like there's confusion...this is Ian's thread. Ian's build here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/29089-dvh-pipe-build-with-extras/?p=369629 Aaron's steel pipe build here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/26960-e-11-steel-pipe-build/?p=341555 Aaron's carbon fiber build here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/29140-carbon-fiber-e-11-build/?p=370306 Epoxy for bonding. Carbon fiber tube shop sells an epoxy called "Loctite Hysol 9430" which they use to splice carbon fiber tubes together to make camera booms. I figure if it will hold tubes together with an expensive camera on the end, at high speed, it should be able to hold resin blaster parts...

I could be reading into this, but it seems like there's confusion...this is Ian's thread. Ian's build here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/29089-dvh-pipe-build-with-extras/?p=369629 Aaron's steel pipe build here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/26960-e-11-steel-pipe-build/?p=341555 Aaron's carbon fiber build here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/29140-carbon-fiber-e-11-build/?p=370306

Absolutely agreed. Thanks for the inspiration! Awesome! I'll be in touch. Thanks for the option!

Thanks for your compliments, Germain! Good point about the bayonet lug area. For the rear lock, I was thinking of adding a ring of PVC or styrene sheet cut and rolled to the correct shape. The ridge definitely won't break off by hand. And shaving it off with a blade would probably work, but I'm not very enthusiastic about doing that on 75 holes... Since I had all my pilot holes drilled, I just powered through each row of holes with the step bit (pretty quickly). It's probably my mistake for not letting the bit cool between drilling holes. I do not have a DVH kit yet, but I will likely order one if/when the need arises - it has always been part of the plan. If for no other reason, then just so I could own one and be familiar with all the DVH parts. I like the black resin. For me, the problem with the DVH end cap and inner bolt is the size...it works great for a PVC pipe, but this isn't PVC. The pipe I'm using is the same size as a real Sterling (38mm OD with a 1.5mm wall). It's exactly the same size as my steel pipe build. I would just use a real bolt and cap if I wasn't trying to save weight. To build up the area for the locking notches, I'm going to have to get creative. They make telescoping carbon fiber tubes, so it's possible I could find a tube with a 1.5" (38mm) INNER diameter. I'll have to look around or use PVC/styrene. In any case, I'll still have to carve out the notches...

Carbon fiber is tough stuff... It wore the titanium coating off the step bit in about an hour. The edges used to be razor sharp, but now they're smooth and dull. I guess this is a "junker" bit now. Here's the carnage: To clean up the holes, I didn't trust myself with the Dremel, and again, I didn't want to deal with the dust problem. I've seen a few guys (like DarkCMF, Bulldog44 and Sith Lord) do some wicked accurate work with a Dremel tool, but I didn't want to try it. So...I came up with kind of a crazy solution to do it by hand. I wanted to use a 7/16 Dremel grinding stone, but I wanted to use it like a rat-tail file. I chucked the bit into a T-handle tap wrench. This allowed me to plunge it through the holes, rotate and push/pull like a file. Worked like a charm. Like I said, the carbon fibers are very brittle. I could plunge my tool through the hole and when I pulled it back through, a lot of the fibers broke. I cleaned up the rest using a filing motion, then kind of rotated the bit around the underside of the hole. Here's a shot of the tool coming out of the hole and dragging the fibers with it: "Filing" and spinning. See all the fibers falling off? And the result: I have to tell you, the fibers itch like fiberglass. Same concept. Drives me nuts when it gets between my fingers. After I finished all the hand work, I washed my hands about 5 times, till they felt normal again. Thoughts moving forward... There are tiny little ridges around the edges of most of the holes. I'm assuming these were caused by the step bit getting hot against the resin while drilling the holes. I could EASILY knock the ridges down by sanding the outside of the tube. Something like 400 grit should do the trick. BUT, if I do that, I'll lose the glossy "carbon fiber" look and likely obscure most of the fiber pattern. I can't decide whether to do it or not. I'm going to have to cross this bridge sooner or later, but I was hoping it would be much later...like right before paint. I think flat black parts would POP against a glossy carbon fiber tube...just wanted to see it. I guess the holes will be covered by t-tracks, but I'll have to attempt to ignore my OCD until I install the t-tracks...it's gonna bug me. What do you guys think?

LOL, nice one, Vern!!! I got a big laugh out of this when I read it. You're definitely one of the usual suspects!

Seriously? I think it's just the usual suspects... at least that's what I'm telling myself...

We had to "put down" our 17 year old, happy Husky/German Shepherd mix about 2 months ago. He got lymphomas and things went downhill fast. You really find out how much of a "man" you are when you have to put down an old friend... We've always had 'rescue' dogs and this guy showed up at a friend's house about a month ago. He was a stray and kept coming around for food. He was obviously owned by someone at some point because he sits, shakes, lays down, rolls over and generally LOVES everyone he meets. My friend asked around the neighborhood and posted classified ads. Nobody claimed him. We went and got him today. He's a REALLY happy guy and his name is Booth. Here's a crumby cell phone shot of my wife getting ready to spoil him: Bought a few tools this afternoon and literally plunged into carbon fiber. New 32 tpi hack saw blades, diamond cut off wheels and some glass/tile drill bits. Also got some carbide grinding bits. I started by using the hacksaw to cut the pipe to length. I taped over my cut line, re-measured the marks and cut it. Wow. Much easier than I thought. Feels kinda like cutting really dense drywall/gypsum. The carbon fibers are very brittle. I guess sawing is kind of like snapping microscopic glass rods. Here's the pile of fiber filings I swept off my work bench after using the hacksaw. I squared up the edge of the pipe on a belt sander, then I carefully aligned and taped the paper templates. Letting the templates hang down like curtains, I sprayed the back sides with 3M super 77 spray adhesive, then carefully rolled them onto the tube. I did a little research online and read many suggestions about drilling carbon fiber at high speeds. I set my drill press to run at the fastest setting - ready for this? 3100 RPM. I'm not gonna say I liked it, but it worked. For comparison, I drilled my steel receiver at about 300 RPM. I was also very concerned about carbon fiber dust and didn't really like the idea of spraying water on a bit spinning at 3100 RPM. I duct taped a shop vac hose to my drill press vise and turned it on. I started by drilling all the pilot holes with an 1/8" glass/tile bit. All the dust got sucked up while it was being created. I was quite pleased with this simple set up. It kept the template clear so I could see what I was doing, only took a minute to set up and NO DUST. Next, I moved to a step bit. This is the exact same bit I used on my steel pipe build. I marked a stop with a red Sharpie and set a stop on my drill press. It was amazing how fast the bit zipped through the carbon fiber, but I could tell it was getting dull about halfway through the holes... Good news? All the holes are drilled. Bad news? I think my step bit is trashed. It's REALLY shiny though... You can DEFINITELY tell where I started and stopped. The first row of holes (bottom row in the picture) are pretty clean... The last row of holes (row above) need a ton of clean up. You can tell the drill was ripping the fibers instead of cutting them as the bit got dull. I probably could have eliminated A LOT of this problem by "backing up" the holes while drilling, but that would have required finding a scrap of something to fit precisely inside the carbon fiber tube. Maybe just as easy to clean them up. Plus it gives me a chance to inspect and "touch up" each hole. That's where Dremel grinding bits come in... More after dinner... https://i.imgur.com/hlvI6z5.jpg Aaron

SHOULD being the operative word here. I don't know if I can pull it off, but I'll try my best.