Jump to content

Toothdoc

Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    107

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Toothdoc

  1. Hellhounds Props E-11 review/experience

    in ANH BlasTech E11

    Posted

    I feel so lucky to have received mine. I so hate that this has happened to more people than I ever realized. This is just ridiculous! So sorry to all of those who have held up to their end of honesty and integrity, just wanting to make fair trade. As far as Hellhounds Props, LLC, I don’t have any patience or respect for people who operate this way. This is no way to treat people! I think it’s time we officially regard him as a high risk vendor and recommend for our group to seek business elsewhere.

    What say the leadership?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    • Like 1

  2. Armor Master v4.5 Helmet, what comes in the box, my very first build

    in Assembly, Mods, and Painting

    Posted

    It's an older thread, but it struck a cord for me. I've put on quite a bit of weight over the past few years, and my old ATA suit doesn't really fit like it once did. I picked up an AM kit and plan to use it for motivation... rather than sitting around moping that my suit doesn't fit, I'll build something that does and get out and troop more

    Any progress lately?

    Well, yes and no. It’s slow going, and I’m working on it, also working on a Scout which will probably get finished first.

    I’m still motivated…


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  9. WHY BE HARD ON NEWBIES (ARMOR)

    in Getting Started - Read this First!

    Posted

    I am a new guy who started this journey last year about this time. At first, it DOES seem a little daunting and intimidating as to how to really get into this hobby. Things seem a little secretive and somewhat mysterious as to how to “join the family”, if you will. I get that!

    HOWEVER, there are numerous resources online and throughout social media that are readily available to DO ONES RESEARCH and learn for yourself what to do and how to do it “properly”. There’s no question that, “you get out of it what you put into it”, as it should be. I’ve learned a lot from the guys here at FISD and all have been friendly, receptive and very helpful! They clearly want me to succeed and their actions and attitudes to that end are obvious.

    I, too have an AM armor kit that I work on slowly but surely ,as well as a Studio Creations Imperial Scout costume. I’ve learned some new skills and have come a long way and will be completing both for submission soon.

    My advice is to stick with it, put in the research time, ask a lot of questions, start a build thread with lots of photos and take any criticisms constructively. You’ll have a very nice set of armor that you will be proud of!

    Welcome to the Empire!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    • Like 1

  10. Hellhounds Props E-11 review/experience

    in ANH BlasTech E11

    Posted

    Dan, what a great and honest review!  Nice work, my friend.  I think you were more than fair in revealing your story and laying it all out there.  I'm sorry you had such a long wait, but your blaster is VERY nice and should serve the Empire well.  One thing I've noticed since I've seen several photo layouts of the Hellhounds E-11, is that each one is pretty unique.  They are, after all, a sculpt, a paint, a weather job and a work of art.  They aren't massed produced and every one the same.  The two I have are very similar to yours, (and I see some recent improvements) but different as I would expect.  And not at all in a BAD way!  Your E-11 appears to have more gold weathering on the scope than mine for one comparative example.  I still need to try and get him to send me a Magazine release mechanism for one of mine that didn't come with one, then I'll be happy with both of mine.

     

    Thanks for sharing your experiences!  I truly hope Hellhounds Props LLC improves some things with customer communication.  Except with a similar experience to yours, I'm a happy trooper (wanna be).   

    • Like 2

  12. Different end-to-end magnetic calf closure system

    in Hard Armor (General Discussion)

    Posted


    Now that’s a clean method! My guess is that the walls at the contact point would need to be even thinner, but it’s hard to gauge the scale just from looking at the photo. Are you printing in ABS?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    No, these are just PLA. I’m a beginner and it’s all I’ve played with so far. I suppose ABS would offer better strength and material compatibility. I envision just gluing these on with E6000.

    I’d propose we get a team together and get this idea developed, tested and perfected. Offer the .STL files on forum here for anyone to use for free.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  15. E-11 ANH blaster from Hellhounds

    in Boots, Soft Parts, and other Accessories

    Posted

    How long did it take to get your blasters? Also did you need to specify what blaster you needed?

    Initial PayPal sent November 12th for Original order (ESB E-11). At the time, He said, “about four weeks”

    I had inquired SIX different times

    Then I hear February 4th he sends me a note via Facebook Messenger saying that he’s made a mistake and made an ANH version E-11 instead. I ask him about selling in me that one for the $300 I paid for the ESB one and asked if he would make another ESB at a discount. He suggested half off his fee of $300 , so $150. I agreed and he said it would be soon. Feb 12th, And I just sent him the money for the ESB variant place. Still no original delivery. Finally Feb 16 comes around and I get delivery of his original E-11 (ANH)!!!

    Didn’t get my other ESB E-11 until March 9th with additional inquiries and a threat to demand refund and report him to the FISD.com guys.

    Then another few weeks for the D-rings to come in that he left off by mistake.

    ***Hope that clarifies and answers your questions.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    • Like 2

  16. E-11 ANH blaster from Hellhounds

    in Boots, Soft Parts, and other Accessories

    Posted


    i ordered over Facebook messenger and sent money vis PayPal. Looking back, probably not the smartest thing to do. You’re better off ordering on Etsy so you have some recourse if things don’t work out. If you end up using PayPal, pay the extra fee to classify the transaction as a sale of goods. 

    I did just that AND went ahead and paid his 3% fee. I told him I did this (goodwill) but it still took a looooong time and 1001 excuses before I got mine. I really doubt that Etsy orders will get you a blaster any faster, but probably just better buyers protection.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  19. Hellhounds Props, E-11 ANH and ESB Variants, a sort of review and Photo Comparison.

    in ANH BlasTech E11

    Posted

    12 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

    A very in depth and honest review, well done.

     

    I find it is a common problem with so many prop suppliers in regard to poor communication which is a shame especially when their products are so good. My response to those with poor communication is, "I would rather receive bad news in a communication rather than no communication at all, at least I know you will still be fulfilling the order, although now somewhat delayed"

    Thank you, Glen.  And he and I discussed just this point at some length.  Ultimately, say what you'll do, then do what you say.  If it goes astray from that, let your customer know right away.  I think most reasonable people would be willing to play by those rules.

  21. Hellhounds Props, E-11 ANH and ESB Variants, a sort of review and Photo Comparison.

    in ANH BlasTech E11

    Posted

    9f568f96f579912481eb69a9d3743524.jpg

    f952e7fd87f2750a7805978c12a7d034.jpg

    0a1d9a41e75a76863ed029a7282fb3cb.jpg

    af1463449ef8beeb8a98081453ac8209.jpg

    1b3d96b75027c55cb407e70278553c1e.jpg

    814bbb36fc7c420674e4673d2495bbc9.jpg

    ec18504a4dbb65f15e42e22a0d85afcf.jpg

    These are real and actual magazines from two other weapons I own. I decided to show these as an example of just how accurate the patina is compared to the prop E-11 blaster. VERY CLOSE to used and worn metal. The colors and characteristics of weathering is excellent. (Being a dentist, one of the hardest things I do is taking a dissimilar material and making it look like something else, i.e. composite resin or porcelain and making it look like tooth enamel. This is rubber, that looks like parkerized metal. Superb!)

    eb28a25ccd2470f6b5102c3a2f577324.jpg

    591672cc184cf26b80e261d6b18f0bb3.jpg


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  22. Hellhounds Props, E-11 ANH and ESB Variants, a sort of review and Photo Comparison.

    in ANH BlasTech E11

    Posted · Edited by Toothdoc

    This is a Darman's Props (ETSY) 8oz leather holster.  Its actually for the ESB variant, but since I had the ANH version first, I conditioned the leather and set it to hold the ANH version in hopes that it would fit just as nice.  It did!  Its a VERY nice holster and the two props are right on the same scale and fit each other perfectly.  Highly recommended holster for either of these E-11 Blasters.  Of course, Darman's makes ANH type.

     

    5152999dfd4ce3cf1347e2fda575a61e.jpg

     

    The photo below shows the enhanced front end that eliminates the casting seam line and cleans up the business end.  Nice upgrade!


    900b284e8422df9257d4d2caa56b9fbf.jpg

     

    Another small detail and upgrade is the piece on the bolt on the photo below.  I believe it is there to cause the bolt mechanism to rotate closed.


    0452a654190f201c9be7a5dd7f25034d.jpg

    3c98330eca128ccbd600966f5b320e3d.jpg

     

    These are two pieces here that are upgrades.  One is the magazine release that is immediately above where you can se MAG on the magazine below.  The other (I don't know what it is) is the part with the hex set screw and has an 8 stamped on it.  I'm sure someone knows what it is.

      
    3d2c08a69418937571fe07a3e3a4fde5.jpg

     

    My 3D printed selector switch I printed, weathered, drilled and glued into place below.


    246a61fa1a67406532a6d22adc2cf2c3.jpg

     

    All of the stamped markings have superb detail and are quite realistic!


    134ead33b625f556e6daf89b9e94710f.jpg

    4c37bb62f3ea9a9463ceab2bf6ae79b7.jpg

    ead30819eb9cd1308aae11afa3564a4a.jpg


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  25. Hellhounds Props, E-11 ANH and ESB Variants, a sort of review and Photo Comparison.

    in ANH BlasTech E11

    Posted

    Hello Troopers!

    I wanted to post a series of photos of the latest (April 2021) E-11 blasters from Daniel at Hellhounds Props and post some comments about my journey with these.

     

    I’m a beginner in all this costuming and still working on my first armor. I first decided on an ESB troop variant build. I started with just my AM 4.5 helmet, but quickly got hooked so I’m all in!

     

    I had seen some great examples of E-11 blasters throughout the forum pages here on FISD. Easily, the photo reviews of the prop weapons that Daniel at Hellhounds Props makes really interested me. So, I contacted Daniel of Hellhounds Props via FaceBook and inquired about him commission building me a nice ESB variant E-11. We agreed upon the price and all and I patiently began to wait. I remained in contact with Daniel, which he made return contact with me reasonably well. I have to honestly say, it took a several weeks longer for Daniel to get close to finishing and let me know he was ready to ship me my blaster. However, he then told me he had mistakenly made ANH E-11 and would need yet more time to remedy the situation. I asked him to send me the ANH variant and we agreed on another go for the ESB type I had originally asked him to make at a discount. He agreed. A few weeks later, I took delivery of my ANH blaster. I took yet several more weeks to get in my ESB blaster. Finally, I had the pair!

     

    The new ESB variant came with some of his newest details and improvements. The ANH type was missing these details, a mild disappointment, but not a deal breaker as these upgrades are correctable by just acquiring them and installing. Something I haven’t yet been able to pin Daniel down on and get the new parts. Also, both of my blasters were missing the selector switches and D-rings. I reached out to Daniel about them and he agreed to send me the D-rings for me to install myself. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a comment about selector switches from him.

     

    I decided to take actions myself and went through my STL files to hopefully locate a decent selector switch I could print out on my trusty Prusa Mk3S+ 3D printer. I did find one and was able to produce (print) a nice part that after a little of my own paint and weathering looked like it would do nicely. I drilled out a small hole with a standard bit and cordless drill and glued the part into the area near the trigger assembly right where it was supposed to go. It had a little rough spot that looked like a post processing marker and my new selector switch part fit right it. It was glued with some JB Weld Plastic Epoxy, a 15 minute set type glue that cleaned up well and is very strong. I think my efforts came out well, have a look at the photos and see for yourself.

     

    A few days later, the D-rings that Daniel agreed to send me came in and I was surprised to see they were actually metal. The scope rail is also metal and allows for a sturdy and accurate scope mount. I was able to drill out the rear plug with a 5/32 bit where the D-rings go. Just a few twists and turns and the D-rings were installed and looked like they had been there all along.

     

    Overall, I honestly have mixed feeling about my commissioning purchase with Daniel at Hellhounds Props. There is NO DOUBT the product that Daniel produces is very beautiful and simply a work of art! The fact that these are rubber blaster props and are quite stunning is amazing to me. The colors, weathering and level of detail from his casting work is superb! I sent Daniel a lengthy message and told him about my high level of satisfaction with his product. My disappointment with all of this lies simply in a lack of communication and sense of urgency with my build. I also shared my thought with him on these issues as well and received an honest and heartfelt apology. I understand we all have issues come up, things that lead our attention and focus astray as well as commitments to family and other things. I just want to be fair and honest with my report as I think I should be.

     

    I have contacted Daniel about possibly making a DLT-19. He did communicate that it was a project in the works and he would eventually be producing one. Would I do a commission build with Daniel again in the future? Yes, I would indeed. He makes a fantastic prop blaster. But, I would insist that we communicate better and that he had plenty of time for the building process. Or perhaps, maybe just allow him to contact me when he had one ready to go.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

×
×
  • Create New...