ZeroRoom

Don't worry Locitus we're on it! Playfulwolfcub is just doing some final dimension checks with digital calipers to ensure the best accuracy we can and I'll upload the finished product in a brand new post. We've been trying to get the most accurate measurements we can while still making sure the templates can actually be built by the average trooper. I think we've come up with the solution now. Andy has been a machine making minor corrections - its all on me now to get the artwork rolling faster. Stay tuned!

Keep logging in here at the forum page. The whitearmor main page is undergoing some construction at the moment. As to it not accepting your user name but accepting your email - I'll look into it for you

Don't start me guys - I've gone over and over in my head every possible way I could get that M-19 engraved in place but I just don't think it can be done. No way I'm risking trying to make my handwriting look like a perfect stamp and mess the whole thing up! Some small progress in some spare ten minute slots yesterday and today. Dabbing some latex over the undercoat to provide the weathering effect later: The trick here was just to let the latex graze the most prominent edges (ie the edges most likely to scratch and weather) rather than try "painting" it on and risk over doing. Then a quick light coat with satin black which will be the look for the screw on metal bits at both ends. I peeled the latex off once the paint was touch dry so it would take a little paint with it. I'm pretty happy with the way that turned out: It's hard to see in a photograph but I also gave the larger lens end a quick but very light twist in some sandpaper to simulate that machined metal look: Once that's all dry - either today or tomorrow - I'll finish off the body with some hammered look black to simulate the heavey cast copper body. Stay tuned!

In theory you could but it would depend on the accuracy level you were trying to achieve. at 0.068" that stuff is much thinner than a real folding stock and has a very sharp profile. the real folding stocks are slightly rounded. But it would do the job IF you can bend the arms out of the back of it. (never worked with PVC so I don't know how heat bendable it is)

there's loads of return edge on that bicep - trim it back and it will feel looser

You're definitely wasting time at Bunnings John. For E-6000 (keep araldite away from plastic) you'll need a jewelry store or hobby shop. Humbrol is also only available at hobby shops. Of course both are freely available online if you're ok with the wait for delivery...

Great idea using the fray stopper on the elastic!

ccatkins posted this link earlier and these boots are pretty much spot on:--------

The EIB component of the CRL for blasters says the D-Ring must be "mounted" to the end cap. Does this mean the moulded D-Ring on a resin end cap must be sanded down and replaced with a functional one?

PM sent sir! (covering a few topics )

It's not as much work as it probably seems when you take this many photos of it! Really, once the scoring is done it's no more time consuming than some very basic origami. The whole process probably takes 10-15 minutes per track... As to molding and casting - as I said stay tuned for #2! However I will say that each has it's benefits and problems. Firstly this method produces metal T-Track which is stronger and easier to bend to curve into the holes. Molding and casting means you need a liquid plastic that will pour fine enough to fill the mold smooth but that can be reheated later for bending the ends. That renders most casting materials useless for the task, but I do have the right liquid plastic on the way via mail so rest assured it will be tested...

Of late I've been mulling over various ways to make the ever elusive accurate T-track and have come up with several different methods worth trying. I've decided to try them all and thought I'd share them here one by one as I go. So here's method number one - aluminum T-track that anyone can make at home with nothing but a book and a ruler! Now I'll pre-empt this by saying all my following experiments will be based on the assumption that the screen accurate dims for T-Track are as follows: Now, I don't claim any expert knowledge here or solid evidence. The dimensions and shape have come from research here and on the RPF and they are, to the best of my knowledge, correct but don't hold me to it - we know the T-Track is a slippery beast, and while I don't purport to have caught one this info comes from some pretty experienced fishermen... Start by getting a roll of aluminum flashing from your local hardware store: It comes in various thicknesses - I've chosen .3mm for the balance between ease of bending and strength. Cut of a strip to size. I suggest going a little longer than you'll need for the finished length. I worked at about 190mm long by 38mm wide. Next you will want to score your aluminum to make the various folds easier to manipulate and sharper in the finished job. After a lot of fiddling and paper patterning I made this diagram to show the distances between the score lines that will result in the correct finished shape: Use a ruler and a stanley blade to score your lines according to these measurements: This bit can be tricky and I had a lot of fails along the way. If you score too lightly the metal will not bend sharply or will bend in places other than the intended fold. If you score too heavily it will simply snap when you try to fold it. This was simply a matter of testing and practice. I ran the blade several times over each score and found that once the sliding started to feel "rough" I had about the correct amount. I also found that it helped a lot to graduate from heavy scoring in the inner most lines outwards to lighter scoring. This is because of the order in which we want the folds to be made, and it helps the metal go naturally in that order. Here is a diagram where black represents the heaviest scoring getting lighter: At this point my aluminum strip looked like this: Next, I measured and marked the exact centre of the strip: Grab an old hardcover book. The non spine edge has a nice approximation of the shape and size of the centre rail of the T-Track right down to the inverted U shape. In this case I'm using the same out of date diary I'm using as a cutting board: Using the centre marking as a guide I bent the aluminum over the edge of the book cover. Lining this up straight was a right PITA but if you get it wrong (and I did a few times) you end up with horribly lopsided T-Track: I simply pressed and pressed along the fold until I got it very flat. It should be almost so tight it's stuck to the book. I also found this process was made easier by holding a metal ruler on each side of the aluminum strip and clamping with pliers. Do not apply the pliers directly to the aluminum or your T-track will end up looking like Pruneface's head... Once that was done, I slid a ruler under the lip of the aluminum strip to keep it flat and bent it upwards. If the scoring is good the metal will naturally start to fold at the innermost score line: I did this on both sides and then removed the strip from the book cover. I found it helps to bend this first bend too far as it will naturally bend back down as you fold the other parts down: Then it was a matter of some simple origami to fold each section one by one to shape: When the score lines were good this was easy - when they were bad it was a nightmare... I lost a few efforts at this point. However once I got the hang of it I was on to mass production! Once shaped the track is surprisingly strong. Remember - the arch is one of the strongest shapes in engineering! The good thing about using the aluminum is that with some care and strength you can use pliers to get a nice bend on the end that slips into the vent holes without heating it: Sure - the ends are messy but they won't be visible so it doesn't matter a bit. I'm pretty happy with the results, but this is a method that requires care and the sharp aluminum edges did my manicure no favors. It's definitely worth trying but it won't stop me continuing to experiment with other methods. So stay tuned for method number two - here's a sneak preview:

You're both right. But yes, they did ban Megatron. Customs confiscated all shipments as "replica weapons"...

You think your gun laws are unfair? Look what the police in Australia put out as their "officially banned replica firearms" list:

Your weathering job on the E-11 is amazing. It's probably the most authentic looking gun metal I've ever seen. Any chance of posting a "How To" thread?

Have a look for FISD member ABS80 and send him a PM - he's the droid you're looking for.

There's going to have to be a one off honorary Centurion designation for Leo soon! I so can't wait to see the scaled E-11...

Oh cr@p! The links misdirected! The ROTJ special is the NOVEMBER newsletter here: http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=17456

Good question Michael. The polycarbonate glues with plastic weld or E-6000, and paints with plastic primer undercoat. Basically it's identical to acrylic in terms of its properties. If anything it takes paint a little better than acrylic, but it's so smooth a light sanding is important to give a tooth for the paint to prevent easy chipping. It's stronger than PVC (the 1/16" wall thickness is about the same rigidity as the 1/8 PVC) but is more brittle so care must be taken when drilling and cutting. To be fair I've never worked with polycarbonate in tube form but it's sitting there waiting to be drilled so I'll be sure to report back

Reeeaallly? That sounds like an exciting project. Keep us posted when you're ready to do a run...

Well guys I finally did it - I found a ready source (in fact several ready sources) of accurate pipe or tube for Sterling receiver tubes for E-11 builds! The whole problem seems to be that we've been looking for the wrong thing. We've all been using or shopping for PVC tube (possibly as a legacy of the BBC plans) which only comes in a 40mm OD. For those who don't want to use metal pipe, because (like me) they live in a country in which this could cause legal issues or because (like me) they have no metal working skills, having an accurate pipe but in plastic, is a god send. We should have been looking for polycarbonate tube or butyrate tube which comes in, not only a 1.5" (38.1mm) OD but also has the accurate wall thickness of 1/16". This means the outside diameter, inside diameter and wall thickness all match the original sterling receiver tube perfectly! No need for any more inaccurate 40mm pipe builds! Here is a link for the polycarbonate tube: http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=27235&catid=841 And the butyrate tubes: http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=35305&catid=704 And for anyone just looking for a quick order of a small amount willing to pay just a tiny bit more it's even available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OMHJGW/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=1278548962&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000OMHI0E&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1D1CHZ8Z7TY4SBVWS6FB It's slightly tougher to drill or cut than PVC pipe but is also much tougher and crack resistant in the long run. It's also available at many other suppliers - just google it. With this info in hand there's really no reason why we should even need the 40mm templates anymore since it was just a default choice anyway. Having made the tube templates recently I can safely say that this tiny 1.9mm difference in OD does actually make a big difference in accuracy once you spread the receiver details out across the new circumference. So what are you waiting for? Get ordering!

So I finally got around to working on this scope some more. My intention was simply to add the missing knob on the side (According to the Encyclopedia Of Arms and Armoury the technical military term for this bit is "sticky outy knobby bit"), but, as is always the way, in the gap between working on it I came up with new things I saw needed doing. The first was that I noticed the rear base mount on the M-19 is not square like on the M-38 but an oval shape as seen here: I knew I'd have to fix this on mine or it would drive me crazy in perpetuity so I roughly marked out the smaller oval shape in pencil on the existing base: Then, using the conical grinding bit on the dremel I did my best to shape it like the picture above. I say did my best, because the end result isn't fooling anyone, but I suppose this part will be mounted to the scope rail and barely be visible anyways... Once I had the dremel up and running and figured I had already woken up the neighborhood, I decided I might as well carve out the larger end of the scope with a hollow, with a mind to filling it with resin later to simulate the glass lens. First I just hit it hard with the conical grinding bit again, just to remove as much resin as possible and create a deep pit in the cast. Then I switched over to the cylindrical sanding bit to finish the walls with as straight an edge as possible and avoid harming the lens edges that needed keeping: It worked out pretty well, with a coat of ink black paint and filled with clear resin the depth will be very hard to make out: So... Back to the reason I stumbled out into the workshop in the first place: Adding the sticky outy knobby bit. This whole affair was pretty "make it up as you go" so I kept my iPad handy with plenty of photo references to work from. As mentioned earlier, I already had the knob itself saved from the slicing up of the original scope cast. What I needed to create next was this bit: If i did this first then it would create a nice flat base just to glue the front part of the knob onto. (Sheesh - I haven't used the word "knob" this many times in a row since the last time I rang my ISP complaint line...) To create this sort of "bulge" first I took some 0.03mm aluminium flashing and wrapped it around a piece of curtain rod I had lying around that just happened to be the perfect circumference: With the flashing being so easy to cut it was a simple matter of using regular scissors to shape it into a cuff of sorts that would sit against the underside of the scope in the right way: Being very thin and hollow the cuff would need some surface area to use to fix it to the scope so I filled it with a very random blob of plasti-bond and let it dry: Next I fixed it to the scope underside with a very VERY random blobbing of plasti bond. No pics of the process I'm afraid, for fear of getting the stuff on my phone, or it drying inconveniently while I try to steady my shaky hands for a pic. This is the "after" shot though: I'm not showing this bit just to embarrass myself. I'm showing this bit just in case anyone out there is crazy enough to attempt this tutorial, as I want them to rest assured that, at first, it will look like something the dog left on the carpet. You do not need to do this bit neatly and it is no reflection of your modeling skills. This is the nature of these fillers and as you can see here is quickly and easily righted with some sandpaper work and a little care: This also gives you a chance to sand off any stray Plasti-Bond (and there WILL be stray Plasti-Bond). This is very important because the downside of Plasti-Bond is that the slightest micro dimple or join that isn't perfectly smoothed and everything will look great until you paint it. The paint makes every imperfection stick out like the proverbial sore thumb. If in doubt it's almost worth sanding, painting, checking then sanding and painting again to perfect the blend. On the upside if the blemish is in the right spot it will add to the hammered metal look that these scopes have in the body areas anyway. All that's left now is to glue the knob on and give a slap o' paint yeah? Wrong again! Turns out the knob on the real M-19 isn't a full circle - it has this bit: If I may be so bold as to use another technical term I believe it's called the "slitty bit at the bottom". Easy enough to do - just a quick bit of slicing with a small hand hacksaw and done: OK! NOW we can fix it to the scope. E-6000 to the rescue as always. A clamp and a wait overnight and we end up with this: I gave it a good blast with the brass paint and here we go: I'm going to leave it there for now. I want to let the brass fully cure for a week or so, sand it a tiny bit just to remove the uber shinyness and bring it back to the more realistic dull brass look. Coat it with another blast of brass, let it sit for a week then do the same. I'm hoping this will create a paint bond strong enough that when the black finally goes on any accidental chips or dings will only take off the black layer and just add to the weathered effect. Only time will tell however, so come back in 2 weeks and we'll see the finished product!

:icon_bow: :icon_bow: I love how you can strip out the bolt and spring like that! It's especially cool that they give you the base Sterling "as is" (well, except for the scope and rail) and allow you to build it to your own spec. The folding stock is spectacular!

Wow! These stories are even better than i could have expected. Keep 'em coming guys

Someone of you might have seen DarthAloha's generous post offering free snaps to the first fellow trooper to PM him. For those of you haven't check it out here: http://forum.whitear...showtopic=17411 You might also recall, MattBlack being awarded Trooper Of The Month a few months back for his gregarious gifting of an E-11 to a trooper starting out. These fantastic acts of generosity really exemplify the spirit of the unofficial FISD motto "Troopers Helping Troopers" and it got the staff, led by our detachment founder Paul, to wonder about what other great examples of helpfulness and selflessness must be out there in our community. So we invite every member here to use this thread to share their stories and experiences of something that, for you really exemplifies the Troopers Helping Troopers motto. It might be something you helped someone with, or something someone did for you. If you have a great, inspiring story of a trooper making another troopers TK life better in some way - share it here. Perhaps once we've accumulated a good bunch, we'll have a poll and see which is the community favorite! So get typing and let's here your tales of Troopers Helping Troopers! EDIT by Daetrin: Hi all - this came about with the idea that for the US November is the month of Thanksgiving, and part of Thanksgiving is not only giving thanks for our blessings, but also a time to reflect on the thanks of what the holiday was meant to celebrate: a thanks also of how one group helped out another in a time of need. So this month I felt it was a great time to reflect on the past year and give thanks for those who helped us get where we are today, for those troopers who gave of themselves freely in this regard.