bishopdonmiguel

Probably not as well but I didn’t try those. I don’t think the foam would carry much material. Possible it might react to the solvent in the rubber. I’d test first if you want to try those.

I didn’t think the dip was runny really. I’m mean if you put it on heavily, sure. STIR the can with a paint stick thoroughly. It’s liquid at the top and thicker near the bottom. STIPPLE the product on using a 1-1/2” disposable brush... but not the really crummy ones or you’ll get bristles in the stuff. Seal the can with some tape around the lid. Wait an hour or two then apply another coat. 2 is all I needed. After another hour or two, tilt the helmet on its side and point a fan at it. This will get rid of those nasty fumes everyone mentions. Wearable within 24 hours.

Yes. Worked great for me.

I had this same issue with 2 different email addresses on different domains. Neither worked. But then I tried a GMail address and it went right through. Might try that.

Just finished adding Plastidip to my bucket. LOVE IT! Whomever thought of this was a genius.

Glad to hear you’ll be joining the TK ranks. Welcome home and I’m looking forward to seeing your build.

I respect the opinions presented here but I will offer an alternative view. What is your budget? Paying more for something better is good advice if you can afford it, but if you can’t then this kit is a viable budget option. What is your skill level? Even higher price/quality kits will be challenging builds, this one more so due to some of its shortcomings. If you are confident in your abilities, this kit is a viable budget option but it will require more work. That’s the trade off... cheaper kit, more work. Some comments about this stunt kit compared to an Anovos, the only other kit I’ve seen... Seller... helpful and supportive. If something is missing, you get replacements. If you mess up a part, he often ships another at no cost. Instructions... None. Wild, Wild West although there is a support page on FB with people who will help. Material... very tough 2mm ABS. Anovos feels lighter and softer. I personally like this material better. Color... cool white vs. Anovos warm white. Personally, I prefer the cool white as I think it looks more like what my eyes see on-screen vs. the creamy off-white of Anovos. But there are a lot more warm white kits out there and you’ll look a tad different unless you paint it. Helmet... 3 piece vs. 2 piece (or pre-assembled). You’ll need to fill the gap and sand it smooth. Not difficult but definitely time consuming to get right. Overall, I think the helmet looks quite good when assembled correctly. It’s asymmetrical and a bit wonky like the originals. Limbs... solid but there is a lot of excess material and this causes the assembled shapes to be oval vs. round. Be prepared to heat shape these parts to get a good fit. Ab Plate... buttons are cast in vs. separate glued on plates. Clean look but technically not accurate. Belt... supplied canvas is okay, not great, but connection system to ABS is not accurate and poorly designed. You’ll need to make some modifications here just to get the ABS reliably connected to canvas. Back Plate... personally, looks a tad undersized to me. Kidney Plate... HUGE. Requires significant modification if you don’t need the extra material. Posterior... HUGE. Without question the worst part of the kit if you don’t need the extra material. Getting this to resemble an accurate piece is very, very difficult. Hope this information helps with your decision. Bottom line, if you can afford a more accurate kit, that’s probably a good route. But if your reality is a cheaper kit or nothing, then this is an option if your skills are up to the task. Good luck and I hope to see you in the TK ranks soon.

Sounds promising. Count me in and thanks for the explanation.

Curious. Aside that it looks really cool, what is the practical reason for doing this?

What E-11 build would be complete without an operating test. The neighborhood dogs were not impressed. https://bionicmoonlabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/BlasTechE11Test.mp4

Build is complete. Many steps were skipped in the making of this thread but you get the idea. Coming up are some shots taken outside so hopefully the subtlety of the various blacks, undercoats and sheens show.

Thank you. It's a labor of love, especially since this will be my troop blaster and I know it will get beat up. I wish Doopy would use tinted black resin but any scuffs and dings will just add to the character of this.

One last detail I want to add is bare wires from the Hengstler to the part on the magazine receiver. I'd seen a few pics with wires and thought they looked cool and add a sense of purpose to that part. I applied a bit of solder to a short piece of wire split into a "Y." This holds it together and keeps the wire from fraying. Too much and the wire would not be bendable. A smearing of black paint completes the look. After drilling shallow 1/8" holes in the magazine part, I used a small section from rivet heads to create a place for the wire to epoxy in. This also serves as a "pressure fit" component to allow the wires to be removed from the part should the scope rail need to be disassembled later. A 1/8" hole in the Hengstler provides a permanent connection for the wire. As with the trigger assembly, I used tinted epoxy.

Thanks for taking a look and your nice comment. Lots of inspiring builds here. Be sure to check those out.

Carve out gun body as necessary to accept the aluminum guard and trigger. Test fit. Prime and paint parts (mask of small areas for epoxy to adhere to). I tinted the epoxy black to help hide the unpainted metal and fill in the void. I'll probably cover this with a brush on of the body paint to complete the look.

Shape the trigger guard in a vice and compare to resin. Apply a line in black Sharpie to use as an alignment point. Rinse-and-repeat until they match. Carve out ends with a Dremel to fit into gun body recesses. Sand with increasingly higher grit paper gives a smooth finish. Buff with steel wool before priming and painting.

I decided the resin trigger and guard would be prone to breaking so I created aluminum replacements. I didn't have thick aluminum on hand for the trigger so I epoxied two halves together to achieve the proper thickness.

Hengstler Counter with fasteners and painted details. To finish the window detail, I cut a piece of black styrene and applied vinyl dividers and numbers (my TK number). This plaque is affixed to the bottom of the window void with epoxy and then filled with clear resin to approximate a piece of glass or plastic.

I found a suitably sized spring at Ace Hardware. A piece of PVC pipe and small wood stub to hold the spring serve as the bolt. A bit of painting here to match the detail on the body helps communicate the function of this piece.

I don't know what this part is called but I know there has been extensive research on their origin. While I have no plans to make this more accurate, it is a cool looking part and I think it deserves an interesting paint job. I think the originals were partially constructed from aluminum but I wanted to add some copper accents. I painted the little thingys in the center silver to help them stand out a bit. I'll be modifying these a bit during final assembly.

An effective way to make something look more realistic is to use different colors. As this prop is essentially all black, using different shades of black works well. Adding different sheens with clear topcoats is another useful method to help draw the eye to different pieces and details. For the magazine and release button, using the same base of flat black would result in these parts simply becoming an extension of the gun body. A rub of graphite powder over these parts and then a thin topcoat of clear semi-gloss lacquer to "lock in" the graphite gives these some extra sheen and a metallic flair. This is a great subtle contrast to the gun body and these parts look like they are made of a different material.