Astyanax

I'm going to D23 on Sunday. In case there's an Anovos booth (I think there is), what is the most burning question I should ask? What is the most crucial photo I should take?

Thanks for the idea on the vise! I need one now!

Awesome, well done, Congrats!

Okay, let me take a stab at this. I do not have any armor yet, but I have been doing tons and tons of reading and research. It looks really good to me, nice even coverage. I would have maybe two ridiculously small suggestions: 1. The belt could stand to be maybe a half-inch or so higher in front, so that it almost begins to cover the button panel on the ab plate. 2. The thighs could maybe be lowered a half-inch, so that the coverage above them and below them is a little more even. They're almost touching the cod, yet the left knee diamond isn't overlappting them at all. A half-inch lower seems to spread out the difference just a touch. Real armor guys, please keep me honest. I could be way wrong, but I think that's correct. These are very, very minor comments; I'm just looking for something to point out and to test my own education! Otherwise, looks like a really nice fitting! Bill

So sorry for spamming the thread, but I'm just continuing the thought here... Maybe your counter will be best without any recesses, because I just realized I can use Forstner bits to cut my own recesses in whatever you make, thus accommodating any magnets I happen to have. Nope, I think we might all be best off if you can come up with something that simply fits nice and flush, and then we can do our own magnet thing. Thank you! Bill

Sorry, correction to my post above. I just realized that if you glue magnets to the outside of the battery cover, the recesses in the new counter would have to be DOUBLE DEPTH (4mm), so that the magnets on the battery cover could protrude into the new counter and marry with the magnets in the counter that are extra deep. Otherwise the counter will not be flush with the blaster. Hope that made sense. I can diagram it if you don't follow. Bill

David, per Scott's build ideas, I would say anything you can come up with that accommodates rare earth magnets (say 12mm x 2mm rounds), so that the counter could be removed to access the battery panel and/or switch firing modes, is what I would call ideal. I could imagine gluing a couple magnets on the outside of the blaster's existing battery cover (in the positions in the pic below), and then imagine similar circular recesses (maybe 14mm x 2mm deep) in the new counter in matching positions, into which similar magnets could be glued, thus allowing me to marry the two parts almost flush. To keep the counter from twisting, you would need to have two magnets on each side, so going with a smallish size of magnet (12mm x 2mm rounds are very common and cheap on eBay) could make for a nice matchup, in my opinion. Not sure if everyone else concurs but Scott's magnet idea is inspired. If you make such a part I WILL BUY IT (already got one of your barrel tips) Bill

Awesome! I would say this part is the "big tamale" of the whole build, and a nicely designed cover that still allows battery access will be amazing!

Following this topic very closely, as I have a new Doopy's as well, and I like your approach! Bill

Can't wait to see!

Thanks very much. My build will be taking a whole heckuva lot of inspiration from yours, but there is no way I'll be doing as much with mine as far as accuracy. Just the existing blaster and the Doopy Hasbro kit. And maybe one or two of CFP214's new Shapeways add-ons. How about "Doofy"? You know, like Goofy?

Hey Drew: The kit I recommend comes with all the tips I used for this project. I was, however, so happy with the dremel that I bought a bunch more later! The kit comes with a few grinding tips (tan-colored stones) and cutting discs. Here's what they look like: The cylindrical one in the center I used to cut the barrel holes in the blaster itself. It's 3/8" in diameter, which matches the Rubie's barrel hole indentations perfectly. The flat-topped tip makes sure I make a nice even cut as I carefully, slowly, evenly push through. The conical one on the left is what I used to cut the main hole in the side of the PVC pipe (although a drill bit could do the job too--PVC is soft). Once the hole was in, I pulled the running dremel sideways toward the end of the pipe, carving the notch as I moved. I could also have used one of the dremel's large cutting discs (rightmost picture, also supplied in the kit) to cut the straight parts of the notch, like a saw. There are also sanding tips for smoothing, which I only used very sparingly for the barrel holes. It's very easy to over-sand! If you happen to be good at lining things up perfectly, a 1/4" or 3/8" hole drilled all the way through the PVC pipe would be fine. I'm not so good, so I needed the notch so that I could slide the PVC pipe forward and backward as needed prior to gluing, to ensure that all the barrel holes were covered completely. Bill

11. SAFETY CAP Since this project was originally intended for kids, I wanted to have an easy way to add or remove an orange cap, in case taking the blaster out in the real world requires it. The cap had to fit snugly so that it doesn't fall off easily, but also not damage the paint after repeated uses. First step, I went around the house trying different caps and lids from different products. I landed on the perfect size with this room freshener: The cap fits ever so slightly loosely, so it will easily fall off. But my strategy was to line the inside of the cap with something soft, thus making it a tighter fit. Silicone! Before applying any silicone or paint, the cap need a good sanding, inside and out. This is VERY important, or else the silicone and paint will not adhere to the cap's smooth finish. I used 80-grit sandpaper very aggressively. Then, nitrile using gloves, I applied a thin layer of silicone to the inside of the cap and let it dry overnight. After this, I found some orange-ish acrylic paint lying around the house and brush painted about 4 coats on the outside. Spray works fine too, but why pay a few extra bucks for such a quick paint job? I went with orange, not fluorescent orange. The cap is supposed to disrupt the "dangerous" look of the blaster, not draw lots of attention. The silicone worked perfectly. The cap goes on really tightly, but the silicone's soft surface protects the paint. Done! I fully believe this is approvable for basic admission to the 501st. Now I think I've learned enough to take some of these skills and modify the new Disney blaster with a DoopyDoos Hasbro kit. I'll post a link to that project in my signature when I'm ready to post something. Thanks for reading! Bill

You are correct sir. I'll post my removable solution later today. Bill

10. DECALS As one does with any decent E-11 mod, one tries to come up with some decals to add to the whole experience. (Those are the full-size JPEGs I made and printed.) The scope reticle image comes from various online sources (I resisted the temptation of the Jar-Jar in crosshairs version). I attempted to whip out some meager Photoshop skills and include a little bit of the metallic ring around the edges, hoping, in the right light and at the right distance, to give the slight effect of depth in the design. The counter decal is based on any other Hengstler counter with the typical "1138" conceit. But I went with Aurebesh numerals in red on black, in keeping with the more "Star Wars Rebels" aspect of this particular blaster, since the show uses Aurebesh numbers everywhere. Also, this once again being intended as a kids' blaster, I wanted to go a little more "science fiction-ish", rather than anything that might be construed as ANH screen accurate. Just having fun! I didn't break out the laminator for these, because I wanted them to lay flat and be flexible for gluing flat. So, after printing them on photo quality stock, I used packing tape as "laminating" effect. The trick is to lay down a large piece of packing tape on the front and back of the printed decal BEFORE cutting it out. Once I had done that and very carefully cut them out, I had these two nice decals, just about the thickness and glossiness of a nice business card. The cutting of the counter was easy with a very sharp x-acto knife. The cutting of the scope decal was more difficult with scissors, but it didn't really have to be perfect. Put those reading glasses on! To glue them onto the blaster I used a VERY THIN coat of E6000. Silicone will work just fine as well. It's hard to choose an adhesive here because of the painted and plasticky surfaces, so a high strength slow-curing glue is in order. Came out pretty well! My next and final post is about child safety, since this is intended as a child's play weapon. First one to guess correctly gets a Mr. Miyagi-style nod of approval from me. Bill

Thanks for the kind words! Gonna try to finish up this post tonight, since the whole blaster is done.

Really nice build! I wish I had gone ahead and cut out the space under my scope rail...I wasn't too sure it would hold up. Looks like it did for you. Bill

9. WEATHERING This is my first time attempting weathering. It came out pretty good, but in truth, I think I overdid it just a little. Classic rookie mistake, from what I understand. It still looks quite nice, but I wish I had gone a little drier with the drybrushing, and stayed away from flat surfaces, sticking to the corners. I wasn't able to find locally a small bottle of bronze color brush paint, so I went with gold for the scope. I think it works perfectly fine. For my next E-11 project, I'll hold out for the bronze. I stayed away from the t-tracks and grip completely. All in all, I'm pleased with the results; the blaster looks and feels ten times better than just slapping flat black on it. Especially from a few feet away, and especially considering that this is my take on an E-11 for kids. Two more small things to do in the next couple days, and then I'll call it done! Bill

Good stuff, thank you!

Here, I just posted a video of myself shooting the one I have from Disney: https://youtu.be/RMeAZHiioMc I have to say, for a toy, the sound effects are very, VERY good. If I were to nitpick a little, I would say that the "blast" sound effect has a little too much "crash" sound at the end of each shot, and that the "stun" blasts are a little too slow-motion. They need to play back a little more quickly. But that's very minor; these really sound like Star Wars and are worthy of being part of any blaster upgrade. Bill

I noticed you don't have the d-ring and d-ring holder on Shapeways (yet). Will those be coming too? Great work! Bill

8. POWER CYLINDERS So today I got distracted by Kawnr's very nice Rubie's blaster conversion, and decided I should really put some power cylinders on the magazine. I had some craft foam on hand and some AAA batteries, and figured I would use these to make this happen in as simple a process as possible. After some trial and error, I cut a piece of thin (2mm) craft foam into the following shape: After cutting the foam, I lightly scored it with my x-acto knife so it could be folded, and then hot glued the AAA batteries directly to the foam after inserting them through the holes. Then, I sealed off the foam with a heat gun (this can also be done with a couple coats of white glue), and then sprayed the whole thing with two coats of the flat primer, followed by two coats of the black satin finish. I did also spray the underside with one coat of primer, just to make sure the whole thing would be black. Once it had dried, I glued the whole assembly to the blaster using E6000. Silicone would also have worked just fine. I wanted to make sure there was a solid, lasting bond to the blaster, but also be allowed a few minutes to align it just right. E6000 was the best option. At this point I don't think I will go with wires between the power cylinders and hengstler counter. I like the cleaner look. The next step is definitely weathering! Bill

It had been dry for about 2-3 hours.

7. BOLT I decided to devote a little bit extra effort on the exposed bolt on the right side, since people will be seeing that side much more than the magazine/hengstler side. I started by masking off the exposed bolt area carefully (it was kind of tricky), and then brush painting it with Tamiya brand acrylic paint in gunmetal. By the way, gunmetal is a quite a bit darker than silver, not as bright as these photos show. In retrospect, I'm very glad I did the research and went with gunmetal over silver. It's far more believable. It took 2 light coats, about 10 minutes apart. After another 10-15 minutes to dry, I peeled off the tape. Not bad for starters. But I wanted to give the exposed bolt more definition, so I masked off the top and bottom of the bolt, exposing the "stripe" that goes down the middle, and then took a pencil eraser (fairly aggressively) to the exposed area. This had the effect of darkening the exposed area just a little, giving me a nice striped effect. And the last part, AFTER REAPPLYING THE MASKING TAPE around the stripe (I never should have removed it in the first place), was to take a Black Sharpie marker and very carefully trace down the bottom edge of the stripe, and a Silver Sharpie marker and trace down the top edge. The tape has the effect of cutting my line in half and making it nice and sharp. Once I peeled off the tape, it looked like this: From a couple feet away, there's some nice shadowed and highlighted definition there. Mission accomplished! I am definitely using this technique on the Disney conversion later. Next up, it's time to approach the dreaded weathering technique, something I've never done before. Maybe first I'll practice on my son's sprayed-black Rubie's DL-44 blaster. Bill

6. FINISHING (part 3) Yesterday I was able to exploit a gap in the rain and a brief drop in humidity to spray the hammered finish. I sprayed two light coats on each side, 10 minutes apart, using a piece of parchment as a base so that one side would not overly stick to the ground while I sprayed the other side. After about 20 minutes or so, I pulled off the tape (always do this before paint fully dries), and voila! You can really see the difference in the finishes right at the bolt opening on the right side, where I masked it off. It did not completely obscure all my seams, but it did come very close, to the point where no seam is noticeable at all unless you're looking for it. I couldn't be happier about the paint job so far. The hammered metal effect is a really beautiful finish, and I can't recommend it enough for any blaster project. I'm definitely going to use it on my Disney conversion later (I'll add a link to my signature when I start it). Tomorrow I hope to find some time to re-mask and paint the bolt opening in gunmetal. Bill