usaeatt2

Cool! This should be a pretty easy conversion! That grease does a great job of preserving the metal, but it has a distinct, lingering smell. Kinda like 90 weight gear oil...

Hi Joe! Welcome to the fun! +1 on Andy's power cylinders. Worth the wait. Marv or Gino tracks? I added a post about bending tracks to my build thread a couple nights ago. It's a satisfying feature to add to your Sterling. I'm curious about the deactivation on your Sterling...how was it done? I've seen a few different ways, but none are immediately obvious in your pictures. Aaron

Thanks, Sly11!

Honestly Tim, I thought that's where Steve was going too, but as it turns out, I think he was trying to help me with the law...but you took up the slack! RPF and Astromech are expensive playgrounds! In just a month, I ended up with a Salzo V4 studio scale X-wing with armature and about 1/4 of the parts for an aluminum R2 build... LOL, I told my wife these things will keep me busy and youthful when I retire in about 15 years...

Everything ends up being a tradeoff. If you leave out the hole that leads from the mag housing into the main receiver, that helps it meet federal regulations, but you could still load individual rounds through the ejection port...and you can't use a regular magazine. The magazine projects into the receiver, so you would have to shave off the business end of the magazine until it fits. I'm almost convinced there's no way to meet federal requirements without terribly defacing some portion of the gun...

Derrek, You're welcome for the help with parts and measurements. My steel blaster will likely never leave the house and I built in mostly for reference. It's a pleasure to share. I think the curved groove in the bottom of the T-track makes up for the rounded barrel, but making the jig from a pipe definitely sounds like a good idea - certainly worth a try! Especially if you have a few extra lengths of pipe! The steel strap was just a convenient piece of scrap for experimentation. Rare that an experiment turns into the final solution! Aaron

Fun stuff! Interested to see how this turns out with a PVC receiver. Looks great so far!

Hello all! It's been quite awhile since I've posted anything! Someone introduced me to the RPF and Astromech sites...need I say more? I've still got posts to make about finishing details; I've been lured back to the dark side...ehhh, FISD, by several members asking questions offline. I left off with bending the T-tracks. I have to admit, I was a little intimidated by this step. Mostly because I paid $80 for an envelope of plastic Gino tracks. NO spares. ONE chance. To start, I only wanted the T-track to extend into each hole by 1/4 to 3/8". This avoids interference with the barrel or inner pipe. Knowing I was going to make a MINIMUM of 12 bends (maybe more for future blasters), I decided to make a jig. I found a piece of scrap steel strap and drilled a 1/2" hole to accomodate the full width and height of the Gino T-track. (I would modify the track to fit the receiver later). Next, I heated about the last 1/2" of the track with a heat gun. Keep the heat MOVING - DO NOT hold the heat in one place - the plastic WILL bubble up if you don't move. I kept my fingers close, so I could feel the amount of heat being added without burning myself. I was also spinning the track using my fingers to heat it from all sides. I directed the heat towards the cut end - I didn't want to take any chance on warping the long straight area that would rest against the receiver tube. It didn't take long to reach a decent level of heat - maybe 30 seconds each. When it's ready, quickly push the T-track through the hole. The unmodified Gino track is a tight squeeze through a 1/2" hole. Keep in mind, however much is extending through the hole past the bend is likely going to get trimmed off, so don't cut yourself short on the other end. Bend the warm plastic to a 90 degree angle. Don't force it. If it won't bend easily, pull it out and add more heat. Alternatively, you could add heat while the track is in the jig - I think I tried both ways, but found it easier to control WHERE I was putting heat by pulling it back out. There's A LOT more than you initially think happening here, so take your time and plan each move. The plastic is hot and will pretty much move any way you pull it. You want a 90 degree bend and just a little vertical pull to bend the "wings" into a slight "V" shape (you'll see that in the next few pictures). Sorry for the crappy picture, but I did this in August and didn't want to go back and re-stage any pictures... See the little "V" shape forming near the top of the jig hole? You see the same thing on the screen used blasters. Make 6 bends. Here's the completed bend: Next, I decided to modify the ends so they would actually fit through the 7/16" hole in the receiver. I could have waited until both ends of all the pieces were bent, but I wanted to do some fitting to make sure these were as snug as possible. I used a Dremel tool with a fiber cutting wheel to lightly taper the edges. Remember, you're only taking about 1/32" off each side at a slight angle (this way, the track gets tighter as it pushes further into the hole). Here's a finished/cleaned up end: Next comes what I thought was the tough part (after getting past my initial fear of heating and bending). You have to measure for the length of each piece to determine where to put the bends on the other end. I took several measurements and realized I would be bending the tracks in 3 different sizes. I decided to start at the bottom and work my way up, that way, if I screwed something up, it wouldn't be totally obvious, sitting on the top of the receiver. I measured the length between the holes that would take the T-track, NOT center to center, but outside end to outside end. I wanted the T-track to fill as much of each hole as possible and leave very little gap at each end. Here's what I ended up with for measurements from my receiver - starting with the row above the bayonet lug and working around: 1) 6 - 9/16" (row above bayonet lug) 2) 5 - 15/16" 3) 5 - 15/16" (top row) 4) 5 - 29/32" 5) 5 - 29/32" 6) 5 - 29/32" THEN, I took 1/4" off each end to accomodate the height of the track. That means 1/2" total, off each piece. So, I ended up with these measurements: 1) 6 - 1/16" (row above bayonet lug) 2) 5 - 7/16" 3) 5 - 7/16" (top row) 4) 5 - 13/32" 5) 5 - 13/32" 6) 5 - 13/32" I drilled a few more steel straps with holes spaced per the last set of measurements. When I was done with that, I cut one of the holes, on each strap, in half. This leaves a hole to hook the pre-bent end and a half hole to bend the other end through. Alternatively, you can just measure them off and use the original jig. I tried it both ways. If you're only doing this for one blaster, it's probably not worth it to make 3 more jigs...I was just aiming for consistency. Heat and bend, just as you did before. When you're done bending, trim off the excess, taper the ends and do your fitting. Final thoughts: When I was all done with the 6 tracks, I re-heated and bent each end slightly past 90 degrees. This helps to "clamp" the track into place with sort of a compression or tension fit. I found you can "set" the bend by blowing on the hot plastic - heat, insert into the jig, bend, blow, remove from jig. Go slow with your tapering. Do lots of test fitting. Keep things tight. If you trim too much, the fit will be loose. I'd REALLY like to safety wire these into place just like the rifle (sorry, I'm too much of a noob to know the name), but I know that's not accurate. In place of safety wire, I placed a few small dots of black 3M weatherstrip adhesive (I think it's just black rubber cement) on the underside of each T-track. I hope this post helps someone! I was really scared to do this when I started, but it turned into a really fun and relaxing project! The result is extremely satisfying too! Thoughts or suggestions? Thanks for watching! Aaron

I fully agree with this comment and the posting of the Federal Regulation above. From now on, I'm going full resin or composite. Besides, the completed prop weighed almost 15 pounds. Who wants to lug that around?

The individual parts are electrobrazed or attached to the receiver with silver solder at the factory. Carefully heat your parts with an acetylene torch and the excess steel will fall off once the silver solder liquifies. All welding was done with a TIG welder. Stick welding would likely burn right through the receiver. I blasted parts with aluminum oxide because that's what the directions call for with KG Gunkote.

OK, I was gone, but I'm back too. The 'golden' rounds seen in the movie are likely actual rounds of ammunition. The "rounds" seen in an EMPTY magazine are the two offset roller bearings of the magazine follower assembly. Most magazine followers are just stamped sheet metal. The Sterling design is unique and thought to improve reliability.

I'll second the RPF. The 1:1 Millenium Falcon Cockpit Sith Lord mentioned above is a sight to behold. Those guys are taking it to the extremes with screen accurate details too... I downloaded around 6GB of closeup detail pictures from original ILM models a few nights ago. I'm pretty sure some of the RPF guys could provide blueprints and lots of advice.

I've intentionally avoided ALL the Episode VII threads. I'd REALLY like to BELIEVE it's possible to enter this new chapter of Star Wars with the same wide-eyed enthusiasm I experienced as a child. That's the idea, anyway. However, it's tough to be a member of a Star Wars fan community and completely avoid it. I've guarded very well on the FISD, but I accidentally caught a glimpse of the purported Episode VII Stormtrooper helmet on the RPF. Looks like a motorcycle helmet to me. I much prefer the curves and design of the original trilogy TK's over this new design. I don't resist it, because it makes sense that all things evolve over time. Much in the same way, I prefer the curves and lines of older cars much more than the all the modern cookie-cutter "ricers", but I appreciate technological evolution that makes my truck go hundreds of thousands of miles without any issues. Yeah, I'll concede there will be a whole new generation of Stormtrooper costumes, but the classics will never go away. In fact, they may become even more popular after the initial hit of new Stormtroopers arrives. When you go to a car show, what draws a bigger crowd, the newest showroom models or the old restored classics?

You're a busy guy, Andrew! I'll be following along on your AP build since I'm at essentially the same point as you with my AP armor. One suggestion - You might want to do just a little more eye trimming. I asked a lot of questions on the eye trimming and was told to keep trimming several times. I ended up with absolutely no return edge in the "eye socket". It appears you still have just the slightest little bit left. It's hard to describe, but this is what I took away from the experience: 1) Remove all of the return edge around the perimeter of the eye socket. 2) Once the edge is completely flush with the eye socket, remove about one thickness of your ABS (about 1 mm) from the rear of the eye socket, making the eye socket more shallow. It's funny how you get to know the "lines" of each helmet after carefully working on them for hours on end...when I started, all helmets looked roughly the same to me, but I think I'm getting pretty good at spotting an AP helmet without hesitation now. Here are a few shots from my AP build:

GREAT job, Andrew! You made it look easy! I really like the minimal weathering - just enough to sell the idea that it's a metal object. I imagine it takes restraint to know when to quit dry brushing... Nice stand as well. I also plan to use some form of cushioning on my stand and I was leaning towards felt. Good to know there's such a thing as peel and stick felt!

Geez, I go on vacation for a couple weeks and when I come back, you're Trooper of the Month. Nice work, Tim. Well deserved!!!

Hi Ian, PM sent. Search for threads by "Felix". I'd try to search it and post a link, but it's past my bed time! Hopefully, just internal condensation. I asked for a picture looking through the lenses before I bought mine. Aaron

Hard to beleive with all this paperwork on file, you still have to store it in an approved gun safe. Thanks for taking the time to post the documents!!!

Nicely done, Chris. They obviously wanted to make SURE it couldn't be reactivated - those are impressive deactivation measures. Glad to see you persisted through all the government red tape. Even with the deactivations, you've still got a REAL Sterling, which is priceless for comparisons and measurements. Thanks for all the pictures! Looking GOOD!!!

Hi Wendy, You'll also want to check out Ericia's AP ANH build. She did an incredible job and made extensive modifications with a similarly sized build! http://www.whitearmo...ild/?hl= aicire

Thanks, Adam! As it turns out, not too late at all - I haven't done this yet and I like your solution. In fact, your entire build side tracked me...I especially like the way you "keyed" the ab and kidney pieces together. Thanks again!

Thanks, Vern! To all, I'm really close to finishing, but we took a two week vacation in the Azores (800 miles off the coast of Portugal). I planned to put on the finishing touches upon our return, but I seem to have contracted some kind of "tropical funk" which really slowed me down. Just now starting to feel better. I think all I have left is to bend and attach Gino's T-track. Hopefully in the next week or two, I'll finish up and post some professional quality photos!

Geez - I just checked out Bill's photobucket link... There's PRICELESS information there! 17 pages of it! Thank you Bill!!!

I suggested a repository to the admins for Billhag and other similar diagrams a few months ago. It would certainly be handy for many of us...but maybe too easy for noobs. You don't earn any "whiskers" by finding everything you need in one place. Half the fun is in the research... Until then, I've been copying or using screen shots software any time I find them. I've been building my own "reference repository" on my hard drive.

STELLAR!!! I wouldn't believe this isn't a real Sterling had I not witnessed the evolution in this build thread. Great build + clean pictures + unbelievable attention to detail + amazing talent = the reference standard for resin builds. Truly an inspiration for my next build. And thanks for all the kudos! Nice work, Tino!!!