Justinian

I'm sure there is a thread on molding somewhere. I learned everything just by experimenting and doing it over and over until it worked well. the 3D print is a good place to start, but prints are not usually the most durable final products. I make the molds out of a silicone rubber, and make copies out of urethane resin. The urethane resin is very durable and easy to work with. Once you have the molds, you can make copies relatively fast and can sell kits to recover cost.

Here is my finished blaster. I used a real flashlight, and real sling mounts. I'll have a listing up for kits soon.

I finally have a kit ready. And custom cut decals for it as well. Pics of a finished one coming soon.

Thanks! Bit of an update. I could only find the screw for the grip in a bare metal look, so I had to powder coat them in a matte black finish. Next was to cut all of the steel rods for the butt stock. This should get me through a few kits. I also did some brainstorming on the best method to get them black. Paint would work, but would scratch off over time, and powder coating these would be a pain. Then I had the idea to gun blue them. I opted to go with the heat and oil method. So I fired up my flamethrower propane torch, and heated the rod up until it was almost red hot. It was very bright outside, so it was hard to see the flame, but it was hot. Looking back, I probably should have been wearing gloves. Once it was hot enough, I dunked it in some old motor oil from my car. The smell was fantastic. lol When it came out it was all black. It seems to be quite durable, and it should protect the surface from rust. And if it does ever start to wear off, it will have a very natural worn out gun part look. More updates very soon with my finished blaster....

Here is the first casting. It came out very clean. Just a bit more testing this weekend, and kits should be available.

All molds are complete! Test casting today.

Thanks guys. Here is the last part to be molded. All of the clay work is done, and it is ready for rubber.

Molding has begun!

More parts ready to be molded.

More parts ready to be molded.

Update time. I was able to get several parts cleaned up perfectly and a gloss clear coat applied. Once these dry I can start making molds for them.

I started to do some basic assembly, and put some of the parts in primer. These parts are almost ready to be molded.

For my next project, I will be working on the Death Trooper E-11D blaster from Rogue One. I had some amazing help from DDay in getting the ball rolling and printing it out. All of the parts have been sent to me to be cleaned up, assembled and molded. This is an SLA print, and it is very clean and super detailed. But as with any print, it is never 100% perfect. Here are all of the printed parts layed out. Several parts needed duplicates, so I will have to make some quick temporary molds for those. And here is a rough assembly of most of the parts. There are several places that need to be filled in and tweaked before this can be molded. Trying to figure out where each part went was quite a bit of work. Many of the smaller parts will be combined together, to make molding fewer parts, and to make final assembly much easier. I'm hoping this project will come together fairly quick.

I heard back from JJ today. He has been out of the country with a family emergency for the past week. We will work on getting everything resolved right away.

To be completely honest, I have no clue where he is. He just disappeared last week. I have been trying to contact him every day since then. The week leading up to the movie release, we were both swamped, trying to get these out. Then he was contracted by some theater to be suited up, and was gone for a week. While he was gone, he didn't have a phone. That was his earlier absence. I don't know what the deal is now. I am a bit frustrated as well. I was only in charge of sending out the raw kits. I sent all of them out to you guys who ordered them, and gave JJ tracking numbers to pass along to you. He was in charge of doing the finished ones. If it was a raw kit, I can probably sort through messages to find tracking info. I did forget to include the end caps with the first few blasters that included the buttstock. I thought I had sent all of those out, but I could be wrong. Other than that, I am not aware of any other parts missing. Did you have a raw kit? what part are you missing? To everyone else who may have concerns. I will make sure that everything gets sorted out. Just have some patience. I was not aware of how much you guys were left in the dark. I will be in control of the next run, so communication will be much better.

Awesome work on this helmet. Research definitely pays off. I might have to get one of these one day.

I have a small portable tool box that I keep stocked just for troops. Various glues, tapes, scissors, pliers, batteries, sharpies (you never know when you will need to touch up the paint on something) and a glue gun. I keep it with my gear, and if I have a handler, that has some sort of backpack, I have them carry super glue and tape. That way if something breaks during a parade or something, I can do a quick fix. Also, a hot glue stick and a lighter can work in a pinch.

Wanted to give everyone an update. I am Justin, from Stony Props. I have been doing all of the molding and casting for this project. All of the casting for the first run is finished, and I have sent off all raw kits to the people who ordered them, and the last 8 or so to JJ to be painted and then sent off. Last I heard, JJ had sent all finished blasters off last week. I have been trying to reach JJ for the past week, but I am sure he is just very busy with holiday stuff. Rest assured, there will be another run. If for some reason JJ is not up for doing it, I will. Just be patient, and another run will be started after the first of the year.