Thrawn's guard

I will shorlty be finishing off the counter housing that I have been working on however I seem to recall reading on one of the threads that the underside of the Doopydoos counter housing shouldn't be flat but should in fact have some detailing. Unfortunately I can't however remember where I read this. Could anyone point me in the right direction ? Ian (Sith Lord) I don't suppose you have a photograph of the underside of this counter do you ?

The new completion set sounds very exciting and I can confirm that the lenses from these monoculars are fantastic. I think that you also get an anti reflection coating which adds that little extra bit of realism.

Taking on-board Mike and Ian’s advice with regard to the length of the ejector slot I set about correcting my mistake. I carefully used a mixture of Dremel bits and files to open up the slot from the ejector to underneath the receiver so that the rectangular metal detail could be partially fitted under the wall of the receiver (and to be honest I also slightly shortened this metal section to make the job easier). I then also slightly shortened the cylindrical metal detail with a Dremel sanding bit to make it the correct length to suit the slot. Then once again green stuff came to my rescue I filled in the curved end of the ejector with some green stuff and then pushed the shank of a 5mm diameter drill bit in to the green stuff making sure that the new curved ‘end’ of the ejector was at the correct location. Note – Applying water to the drill bit prevented the green stuff sticking to it. I then left it overnight before carefully sanding off the excess green stiff so that it was flush with the surrounding resin. Lastly I test fit the two metal parts to double check that all fit ok.

Mike/Ian - I see what you mean now so thanks for spotting this and letting me know, Sometimes you can get a little too close to your own projects to notice details such as this. It's better to catch it now than once painted so I will make the necessary alterations.

Hey Mike thanks for the feedback. I am not however sure what you mean is too long.

My next task was to identify a suitably thin sheet of metal which could ‘easily’ be cut and shaped. After trying a couple of tings that proved too stiff to bend to shape a friend at work, (Yes that’s you Gavin), suggested one of these. I cut a section of wall with some inexpensive tin snipers and marked out a strip 6mm wide using a steel ruler and a sharp knife to etch the cut line. I then checked to ensure the width was correct once cut. I had previously marked out where the clearing strip was to be located on the ejector and made a paper template. This template was then used to cut the 6mm wide strip to shape. I placed the 2 metal details in to the strip in the ejector and test fitted the clearing strip. For some added realism I rubbed the clearing strip on some fine sandpaper in the direction that the strip travels within the receiver to give a hint of wear which you may be able to just about make out in the photograph. The thin was also pushed under the lip I made around the perimeter of the ejector to add a little more realism. Lastly I repeated the above process to add a section of clearing strip to the inner bolt. More updates to hopefully follow later.

Moving on to the ejector I carefully marked out in pencil the positions of the visible details after referring to various reference pictures. The slot in the ejector port is 5mm wide therefore I look at 5mm wood drill bit and formed the curved end to the slot. The remainder of the slot was then opened up using a Dremel with various engraving and grinding bits. I wanted to replicate as close as I could the 2 metal details within the slot. The first is a metallic cylinder approximately 5mm diameter. I actually used the central axle that I removed from the counter as shown on the first page of this thread. I marked out the required length and then cut it to size using a cutting disk on the Dremel. Next I moved on to the second detail within the slot. There are 2 versions that I have seen for this detail the more common rectangular steel detail and the version with the slot in it. Though the slotted detail iss much rarer on Sterlings I decided that I preferred its appearance so set my sights on replicating this type. Below are my very rough sketches of how I was thinking of making it. Basically it boiled down to cutting two 11mm x 4.5mm rectangles of metal, cutting a slot in one of them and then sticking the slotted one on top of the other. The leftovers of the ruler I used to make my scoep rails was used for this however the aluminium strip in Tino's Completion set would work equally well.

Looking at the inner bolt mechanism after some consideration I have decided to install an inner barrel to the front of the receiver and an independent inner bolt. This is a minor detail but I wanted the separate them so that the front barrel didn’t move when the inner bolt mechanism is operated. Using the plastic pipe with an outside diameter of 20mm provided in Tino’s completion set there is sufficient length provided to achieve this. The other parts I am using for this modification are a chunky marker pen with an outside diameter of 16mm, the steel wire provided in Tino’s Completion set, a 37mm, (almost 1 ½ inch), long 3.9mm diameter mechanical screw and a M16 i.e. 16mm diameter steel bolt (though one of the chunky marking pens would also be an alternative option). You can see in the photo below the spring steel used. This is what I had remaining after I had built the spring). I cut a 120mm, (4 ¾ inch), long section of the plastic pipe and pushed the marker pen inside the pipe so that it projected out of one end by 22mm. Taking the steel wire I wrapped it around the steel bolt and then stretched it to the required length in order to make a spring (My aim was to get 11 visible coils along the charging handle slot). I formed a spring 150mm long (5 ½ inches) and then placed this on the end of the projecting part of the marker. At this stage I would recommend that you do not cut the rest of the wire off until you are happy that the spring is the correct length. The plastic pipe complete with the marker pen and spring can then be pushed in to the rear of the receiver so that the rear of the inner bolt is located as shown in my earlier post. I lightly marked these positions on the receiver in pencil. Once the inner bolt is in the correct position I marked the inner bolt at the end of the slot near the ejector port (with a small amount of nail varnish). This is where the charging handle needs to be installed later. Note that you should leave a small gap say 2mm between the end of the charging slot and the handle as shown in my later pictures). A 3mm diameter hole was then drilled in to the base of the charging handle and the mechanical screw installed using a spot of glue. This both reinforces the charging handle itself but also then allows you to fix the charging handle to the inner bolt. I then removed the interior of the marker pen i.e. ink membrane, don’t do this in the house as it is quite messy, and drilled a 3mm diameter hole through both walls of the plastic pipe starting where I had marked the bolt when it was in position within the receiver. I then test fit the charging handle by screwing it in to the pipe so that it was just flush with he opposite outer wall of the plastic pipe. The assembly as a whole is then installed as follows: - 1) Place the spring on the end of the marker. 2) Push the plastic pipe in to the receiver so that the hole for the charging handle is located at the large opening in the charging handle slot. 3) Screw the charging handle in to the hole checking regularly that the bolt can slide in the receiver. Make sure you get the charging handle facing in the correct direction. 4) Push the inner bolt in to position. I still have to add the cleaning strip and paint the but the mechanism seems to work fine.

Looking at how the folding stock connects to the underside of the front of the receiver I decided to try my hand at replicating this detail. Firstly I connected the receiver to both sides of the bracket connection and then located a flat headed nail with a 3mm diameter shank. The flat head of the nail was then slotted in between the receiver and the inner barrel. To ensure that I drilled the hole in the folding stock in the correct position I applied a little nail varnish to the tip of the nail and rotated the folding stock down on to the top of the nail. The nail varnish then leaves a mark on the folding stock where the hole needs to be drilled. The folding stock was then removed from the receiver and a 3mm diameter hole carefully drilled in the stock. A little glue was placed in to the hole and the nail pushed partly in to the hole. The folding stock was the slid in to position under the receiver and then screwed in to both side of the bracket. Finally the folding stock was pushed up to the underside of the stock.

I managed to get a reasonable;e amount of work done on the internal bolt today so should hopefully be able to post some progress pictures over the weekend. The scope also needs completing (join the front section to the rest of the scope, fill in the gap and paint). I did however have a bit if a nightmare in that I bumped the trigger on the edge of the desk and managed to break it I guess that this presents me with an opportunity to try out an alternative trigger mechanism once I have repaired or replaced the trigger itself so maybe every cloud has a silver lining it's just really annoying.

Thanks Ian that just what I was looking for. it's just nice to double check these things before I did too much work.

Can I check something with the E11 experts out there. I am starting to look at the inner bolts and have located it as shown in the photo below. This seems to tie in with the picture below from the FISD E11 Reference Team thread however I have also seen it in slightly different locations.

Amazing work Matt I really like what you have done here. Great for both displaying and trooping in and best of all you have the satisfaction of knowing that you made it yourself and it is a one of a kind.

It’s just a short update this evening as I have been very busy at work this week (First week back after the holidays). I finally managed to get hold of the transparent over head projector sheets and printed off a set of my preferred cross hairs. I then carefully cut out one of the cross hairs ready to be stuck on to the narrow, rear, end of the scope front lens housing. I was using superglue applied to the narrow end of the front lens housing to glue the circular cross hairs however I noticed that after a few attempt the glue vapour condenses on the transparent sheet leaving unsightly obscure marks (It was a good idea that I opted to print a few copies of the decal). Therefore I decided that because the transparent cross hair decals were so light PVA glue would be easily strong enough and wouldn't produce the glue vapour issue. This is what the cross hairs look like installed on the rear of the front lens housing. This is what the view looks like through the scope. Tomorrow I will finish the scope by gluing to front section on to the rest of the scope, filling that gap with green stuff and painting.

This is s really good idea Scott.<br><br> I'm very interested to see how it comes together:

I'm glad that you like the mods Brian. I'm now starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel....apart from the painting.

Thanks for the link Aaron. I had seen these before but to be honest had forgotten about them. They show dome really great details.

It looks like my Doopydoos folding stock needs some work tidying it up. If anyone is able to post photos of the views shown below on the folding stock it would be much appreciated.

I decided that I wasn’t overly happy with the selector switch modification. It was one of the first modifications that I had done and I had fixed the selector switch using a screw with the head removed. My concern was that over time the thread in the screw would wear away the inside of the selector switch and in time would come loose and break or fall off therefore I decided to carry out an improved modification. I purchased an inexpensive 2.5mm stereo plug and socket and removed the rear plastic cover (This simply unscrewed from both). I then cut off the connections using a cutting disk on a Dremel as I wanted to make both parts as small as possible and I didn't need the electrical connections anyway. Taking an engraving bit fitted to the Dremel I slowly and carefully opened up the base of the switch so that I could glue in the plug. This took some trial and error but I got there I the end. I then removed the screw from the trigger housing and opened the small hole up using drill bits so that it was as deep and wide as the socket (I carefully measured both the depth and diameter of the socket using a digital calliper). Again this was a time consuming process as I wanted to achieve a tight and neat fit but again I got there in the end. I test fit the socket in to the trigger housing before gluing. This is what I ended up with once it was all put together. I’m pretty pleased with the result and the selector switch works very smoothly.

Looking at the end cap I decided to try to replicate the detail provided in the link above i.e. by recessing the D-ring holder in to the end cap but also providing the recess detail. Firstly I marked out the position of the D ring holder on the end cap. Taking some green stuff I then reinforced the inside of the end cap local to where I was rebating the opposite face. I began by carefully creating a rebate in the end cap with a Dremel for the D-Ring holder to fit in to. Once I had got to the correct depth I test fitted the D-Rind holder with the D-Ring installed to ensure all fit ok. Taking more green stuff I filled in the perimeter of the recess in green stuff before using a plastic lid with an inside diameter the same diameter as that of the holder in order to carve out a circular profile. This then created a neat circular wall to the outside of the recess. The green stuff that was forced inside the plastic cap when it was pushed in to position was then carefully removed. Once the green stuff had partially cured I test fit the holder to ensure that everything still fit correct. I then allowed the green stuff to fully cure before sanding the green stuff flush with the end cap.

Thanks very much Scott this is exactly what I was looking for. Looks like I have my task for tomorrow.

That was my thoughts also Mike........Luckily I have not glued them in to position yet

I will be starting to look at the end cap either later today or tomorrow and just want to check a minor detail before I start cutting and calving. My aim is to recreate something like MOD B shown in Chapter 21 of the FISD E-11 BLASTER REFERENCE i.e. to cut a recess for the ring holder to fit in to the main end cap. As I understand it the ring holder should project very slightly from the end cap rather than being flush. Is this correct and if so how much projection should there be ? Also if anyone has any photos of the end cap from a real Sterling that they could post it would be very helpful.

Tino - I should be able to recreate the sloping tilt switch. The reason that it is currently sits horizontally is because the head of the screw touches the base of the channel. Once I find an alternative screw with a shallower head, which will allow the sloped position, I can push out the pivot pin, take the end cap clip apart and replace the screw. It will be an easy fix but finding the correct screw may take some time unless I get lucky.

As promised in my earlier post here are a few shots of how I created the end cap clip. This was another one of those little jobs that turned out taking longer than expected..............Though one that I have really enjoyed. Firstly I collected together the parts that I intended to use. In order to have a functioning end cap clip I needed to remove the cast resin ‘tilt switch’ from the Doopydoos kit and install it in to the aluminium channel provided in TJ’s completion set. I decided to use some spring steel, as was used on the original Sterlings, to provide the spring action. Therefore I also took one of the springs from the counter shown on the first page of this thread and bent it in to the correct shape (The spring from the counter is shown below). The first task was to remove the resin cast channel which was achieved by use of a cutting disk on a Dremel and also some fine nail files. Once this had been done I marked out the remaining area of the resin that needed to be removed so that I would be left with just the tilt switch. The tilt switch was test fit in the aluminium channel to ensure that it fit correctly. The holes in the 2 walls of the channel which locate the pivot pin were then drilled using a 3.2mm diameter drill bit. I held the channel in a plumbers spanner, (wrench), as I drilled the holes as the channel tends to get hot when the holes are drilled. Once drilled I found a nail that fit tightly in to the holes in the channel walls. This nail was then marked up to be cut to length, (slightly shorter than the overall width of the channel), and would form the actual pivot pin. The spring reshaped in to the correct shape for the clip is shown below. The most difficult part was actually forming a hole in the spring steel for the fixing screw to pass through (I didn’t have a suitably small drill bit for use on metal). However once cut the spring was located in the correct position and used as a template to drill through in to the resin tilt switch. The locating screw had to be cut to length as it was too long. Glue was then applied to the spring and resin tilt switch and the screw installed. Once assembled this is what it looks like. I will add the key on the end of the Tee section of the tilt switch once I have sorted out the end cap to ensure that all is located in the correct position.