Market research / Interest Thread: Resin Replica Sterling / E-11 made in Canada.

[ELP]

Hi All.

 

This is simply a very early stage market research poll. So there is no commitment on your part nor is there any product to be sold (at this time). I simply want to gauge interest.

 

I have been able to, with a lot of work, e-mails, etc., get a Sterling Machine Gun (de-activated) in Canada.

 

What I’d like to know is how many, if any, troopers would be interested in a resin* copy of said weapon to use as a base for an E-11, or a resin copy of an E-11. THis would not be a full resin copy of the finished E-11 but an E-11 assembled from the constituent resin parts for a better and cleaner look.

 

And before you ask about quality: The first sale would only happen once I, and others (if this gets off the ground I’ll need volunteers to do test drives and give me feedback) are satisfied that the resin replicas are troopable: both in look, and durability. Granted there is a market for non-troopable / display E-11s, which these would work for, but I’m looking at making something more durable.

 

Thanks for your time and I look forward to your feed back. Feel free to post here or PM me.

 

Matt.

 

PS - I'll check in regularly to answer and questions or concerns if any.

 

* - Please Note: I’m using the term “Resin†for convenience sake. The final product wouldn’t be a simple resin replica as that would be too breakable and heavy, so instead of mentioning different potential components of the construction i've just used the term “resinâ€. If you have ideas for said components please chime in as I’m totally open to suggestions / the voice of experience.

 

[pandatrooper[TK]]

I'd be very interested, especially as seeing as you're in my back yard!

 

I have always wanted a Hyperfirm, but they don't ship internationally. You have to be careful with exporting them though. I have seen people "flagged" within Canada by customs for shipping replicas / airsoft, etc. as in some circles they are still illegal to own and ship.

 

That's a concern too: if you cast them in black, and customs opens them - you're in for a lot of trouble seeing you're shipping out from Canada. That being said, if they are resin colored (grey, beige) maybe that makes it easier to ship? I believe that's why Sci Fire does not ship internationally. I know there's one seller in BC that makes resin blasters and sells them on Ebay.

 

Materials wise, I have always really liked the Sci Fire approach to the E-11 blaster. I got to handle one and see it up close at a cross border troop. A hard rubber outer shell, with a foam filled interior and sometimes a fiberglass or carbon rod running inside for rigidity. They cast them in a black rubber, so that only weathering paint is required. Really light, durable for trooping.

[ELP]

Panda - Great! Thanks for the info.

 

I probably wouldn't be exporting out of Canada as I don't want to start a business more just off set the cost of the initial replica while helping out local troopers. So I'd do my best to keep the costs low/reasonable. Thus one of the reasons for starting this threat: a rough estimate of said price point. Then once my costs were covered I'd probably pack it in ... Unless I got hooked ... But that's a long ways off.

 

Again this is only in the planning stages but you are one of the people I'd approach for input and to take it for a test drive. I've seen your builds and your eye for detail is frankly amazing.

 

Thanks again for the input and for posting.

[pandatrooper[TK]]

No problem, Matt. If you need any help / guidance on silicones, mother molds, prepping, etc. Let me know. I have a good amount of experience with molding and casting. Cost wise, good quality silicone is expensive, but saves you headaches if you intend to do more copies down the road. I live 5 mins from a high quality retailer for casting materials, etc.

 

I'd love to get maybe even 2 or 3, so that I can have some on hand for out of town troopers (saves them from having to pack their blasters and travel with them).

 

You might also want to post this on Badlands, Canadian Garrison, etc.

 

T.

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

I've always been a blaster nut.

 

I'd like to suggest the "cold cast" method of using resin's with powders placed into them

to make the casting the color of metal.

 

brass powder for the end cap, scope and front sight, and aluminum, or gun metal for the body.

 

this would make the castings silver colored and brass colored.

 

simply painting them with black and sanding down would make them instantly looking like a

 

blaster. the hard part, is customs, and laws in your region. I guess making the tip

 

orange, might help in that regard, that and making sure that the barrell is solid.

 

best thing to do is get your customs department, and firearms dept. to give to you instructions

 

on how to properly create star wars related "movie prop" replicas.

 

like panda says, make them white and red.

[TANGO'D FETT]

If you go the route of making them in colours its very easy to add pigments to colour the resin and most suppliers sell it. With cold casting the best results I have seen is when a clear gelcoat is used to get the mettalic effect, when using it in resin you need a high comcentration of metal filler to get the right look otherwise (with aluminium) it will just look grey. Also high metal content in the props might cause customs to pull them too

[ELP]

Guys thanks for the input. After doing a bunch of reading I realized I was in WAY over my head.

 

That and my wife saw a list of my basic costs and future costs and she said "Yea, that's not going to happen."

 

So the dream of a "resin" copy has died before it was ever really alive.

 

Again thanks for the input and Panda I've sent you a PM.

 

If I do make a blaster based on a Sterling I'll post pics, pics and more pics.

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

If you go the route of making them in colours its very easy to add pigments to colour the resin and most suppliers sell it. With cold casting the best results I have seen is when a clear gelcoat is used to get the mettalic effect, when using it in resin you need a high comcentration of metal filler to get the right look otherwise (with aluminium) it will just look grey. Also high metal content in the props might cause customs to pull them too

 

all excellent points to consider!