Dark PWF[Staff] Posted March 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 I promised Day 15 pics, so here they come. Picking up where I left off last time, this is the next picture from Day 15. Just a look at the bottom of the blaster and the upside down bayonet lug (:/). Here, I've got the inner barrel ready for insertion, because I've got to be able to figure out where to cut it, and how to make sure that it goes in with the screw hole lined up for the pistol grip. What I've done here, is take the ruler and set it right down the center of the barrel, andd use the exacto knife to put a corresponding mark at the center of the bottom of the barrel so that I can see the center as I'm putting it into the upper receiver. Of course, I did a lot of work on the bayonet lug on Day 15, too. I took sanding files to the base of it to stop it from looking quite so boxy - because it does come that way in the kit. Another look at it, after some sanding on the base. Of course the camera is focusing on the barrel not the bayonet lug, so you can see the basics of the shaping that I've done to it. Other angle, same scope of work. Moving on to the front sight assembly... The aperture comes with a curve in the bottom of it that is not quite "tight" enough. It is a little bit shallow, and needs a bit of sanding to the proper shape. To make that easier to get to, I took sandpaper and wrapped it around the barrel where the assembly will be glued. I then placed the assembly on the sandpaper and used the barrel itself as a perfectly shaped sanding block, to get the front sight assembly sanded to the right shape. I put the coat hanger through the hole in the pistol grip, the barrel, and the inner barrel. This way, I can mark the center in the stock lock hole in the front of the barrel. I'm doing this because I'm going to have to cut the inner barrel and put it into the blaster before I put the trigger guard on. This will allow me to ensure that the half-barrel is aligned properly to begin with. A quick dab of red nail polish to mark the center. Once I have cut the barrel and put it into place, I'll be able to make sure that the screw hole is properly lined up with the pistol grip by using this mark. More gluing about to take place. Preparing to put the magazine well onto the upper receiver. Glue on both parts, note that I put the rubber bands onto the blaster before gluing anything, making sure that I will be able to quickly get the rubber bands in place. Magazine well emplaced... Applying manual pressure for three minutes to ensure that the epoxy sets properly. Make that SERIOUS manual pressure for three minutes. I said it was serious pressure. I'm like Darth Toht up in here... You could make a perfect cast of the end of my magazine out of my hand. You could even read the word OFF and the arrow in it - but you couldn't read the writing on the other side. :/ Somehow, I missed taking pictures as I prepped and glued the front sight assembly. Rubber bands in place, dry epoxy, dry. Here, you can see the nail polish on the right hand side of the barrel, and the "ring" around the screw hole. I did that by inserting the coat hanger in the hole, and turning the inner barrel while the hanger was pressed against it. Once it snagged on the hole, I pushed it through to keep it in place before making the nail polish mark. Feeling a bit lazy as I begin to start this bit, so I'm going to be using my Exacto knife to do the crosshatching, instead of the rotary tool. Here, you can see how it turned out. Epoxy applied to both parts. End cap in place with the freshly glued D-ring visible to the right (and the upside down bayonet lug to the left. sigh) It may be difficult to make out, but looking down the sights, you can see the light hitting the T-Track which leads directly to the front sight post. It's lined up pretty nearly perfectly. So that's the assembly as it has been completed so far. Please leave comments, observations, concerns, etc right here for sharing with the group! Thank you for reading along! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark PWF[Staff] Posted March 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 (edited) One other exciting bit of news to share on Day 16: My monocular (about $6.00 on the bay of E) arrived from China today. It says so right on the box. Monocular. And, here it is! Should be a pretty good fit! Here, too! Anyway, I've got the inner barrel ready to cut, so I'm going to cut it using my trusty rotary tool. I'd advise anyone doing something similar to use a saw. LoL. Because of the shape/size of the rotary tool (I guess you could use the "pen extension" for the rotary tool also) it was quite difficult to cut this clean through. Preparing to put a mark on the wooden dowel that might become the bolt. The mark will be 3.75" from the end of the dowel. The mark is made - now to wrap it around the whole dowel. To do that, I placed the inner barrel in the blaster, and put the dowel in behind it/against it. I then put the pencil into the charging handle channel and turned the dowel until it had been marked all the way around. Finished marking. The reason that I said that this may become the bolt is because I'm still debating between using the dowel and another piece of the PVC "inner barrel." A look at the blaster as it appears right now, with the inner barrel and spring in it, and the end cap on it. Another view... Yet another view... And one final look at it. I intend to pick up some primer and paint this weekend. I'm pretty much at the point that I don't have much left to do besides paint it, before the actual blaster can be fully assembled. Of course, I've still got to modify the counter, and scope, and build the mounting hardware and the bolt. That's all for now. I'm pretty certain that the next few photos I post will be sculpting, followed by sanding, or cutting, followed by re-gluing. That decision remains to be made, but I just had another thought, instead of cutting it at the base (it IS pinned, afterall) I could just cut the head off of it and re-glue that with much less concern. Hmmmmmmm... One last time today, looking forward to your comments, questions, and observations, and thank you for reading along!! Edited March 6, 2014 by Dark CMF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazmosis[501st] Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 You seem WAY too stressed! Just send the whole thing to me as it is along with the remaining parts and rid yourself of this torment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark PWF[Staff] Posted March 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 You're probably right. I'll get right on that. Oh, wait... The box is all jacked up. I guess I can't do that after all. LoL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazmosis[501st] Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Well played!!!!!!!! LOL!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millenium1 Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Brilliant work Tim! The monocular didn't take as long as you thought it could do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark PWF[Staff] Posted March 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 The monocular didn't take as long as you thought it could do. Thanks, Ricky! Getting down to the nitty-gritty work and the scary paint stuff. LoL The monocular was one month to the day from the day that I ordered it - granted it was February, so it was not quite a "standard" month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usaeatt2 Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 (edited) I'm running out of ways to express how much I'm enjoying this build. The monocular is genius. Lenses look perfect and might result in a functional piece (I guess that depends on focal lengths once the lenses are mounted). For the bayonet lug, I like the idea of cutting off the top and reversing it - joint will be more or less hidden and you can shim to make up for the 1/16" or so height difference from the saw/dremel cut. Or maybe you will cover the top with a glob of putty/bondo and sculpt to the correct shape. OR you could just mount a bayonet on it and nobody will know... If the postal service would hurry up, I'd GIVE you my resin bayonet lug, but you would STILL have to cut yours off and deal with the pin buried in the resin. Looking forward to the next installment! Edited March 5, 2014 by usaeatt2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Looking amazing, loving the details Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark PWF[Staff] Posted March 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 (edited) Thanks Aaron, thank you Glen!For the record, the monocular's genius belongs to SIMpixels - I borrowed that idea from him 100%. I even sought out one that looked like his on the bay of E. Looks to be a very good, cheap investment that should add quite a bit to the build in the end. Of course, I've just been hit with a deadline for the E-11 to be completed. It must be done by the end of April because my armor kit will be done sometime in May!!! I'm more excited than a ninth grader that has been asked to the twelfth grade dance right now. My neck seal (last soft part) shipped today, and my armor kit is about two months away!OMG!!!!! YAY!!!! LoL. Edited March 5, 2014 by Dark CMF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millenium1 Posted March 6, 2014 Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 Happy days, really looking forward to seeing some paint and weathering on that masterpiece Armour on the way soon, that is a build i relish!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I'm Batman[501st] Posted March 6, 2014 Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 Coming along great Tim! If a backward bayonet lug is your worst mistake, you'll be doing pretty good. Of course, I've just been hit with a deadline for the E-11 to be completed. It must be done by the end of April because my armor kit will be done sometime in May!!! What armor have you got coming your way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark PWF[Staff] Posted March 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 Ian, my kit is coming from RT-Mod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark PWF[Staff] Posted March 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 (edited) A little bit of work done on the blaster this afternoon - more coming later though - A bit of a teaser as to what you can expect in the next installment: Another part glued in place. The gluing of that particular piece led me down the rabbit hole of another modification - Inspired by Steve's current project. (I said I wasn't going to grind out the inside of my receiver to get the bolt to fit flush, and I'm not - but I have undertaken the same modification that Steve did to the resin cast bolt, and I had a mini-epiphany that led to a slight, further modification of the same original project.) The "un-doing" of that hideous mistake that Germain was astute enough to catch and bring to my attention. A video - yes, a video. A bunch of work done with sandpaper. I haven't gotten to it yet, but there will be fabrication! Oh yes, there will be fabrication. Oh, and there was some shopping done as well. It's really starting to come together!!! Can't wait to get this next batch of work done and share it with you all. Edited March 8, 2014 by Dark CMF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usaeatt2 Posted March 9, 2014 Report Share Posted March 9, 2014 There should be a rule against your last post ^^^^. You can't say all that and then leave us hanging with no pictures! UNFAIR! LOL, can't wait to see it. Especially the final solution to your bayonet kug woes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usaeatt2 Posted March 10, 2014 Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 Walking Dead is over, so PLEASE post up your pictures....LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrainWreck[501st] Posted March 10, 2014 Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 (edited) Tim thanks again for this detailed build thread! I ordered my kit yesterday and will probably use yours as a master thread (while using others as supplements of course). It's been great "watching" you work. Edited March 10, 2014 by ninusyim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark PWF[Staff] Posted March 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 Walking Dead is over, so PLEASE post up your pictures....LOL! Yes, Aaron it is. LoL. They aren't captioned and moved to photobucket yet unfortunately. Busy weekend. To make up for the delay, I'll include a second video in the next write-up. Tim thanks again for this detailed build thread! I ordered my kit yesterday and will probably use yours as a master thread (while using others as supplements of course). It's been great "watching" you work. Thank you, Brian. As I mentioned above, the next WIP post I do will actually give you a couple of chances to watch me work. LoL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark PWF[Staff] Posted March 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 (edited) Okay, no photo updates tonight, but they ARE captioned and moved to photobucket. That means that the next step for me is to post them here. As I'm all jacked up with the time change though, and have to be up early tomorrow, that will all have to begin tomorrow. So, tomorrow, new photos. Take it to the bank. OH, what the hell, I'll sneak in the first batch of them I guess.... The "goal" when I started day #17 was to simply glue on the final two pieces, the ejector port guard, and the flash guard. I started up front with the flash guard. Close up view of the flash guard glued in place, following three minutes of serious manual pressure . One more look at it. Rubber band in place to make sure it stays put for awhile. I couldn't move to the back of the blaster without my beautiful mistake staring me directly in the face. I had to take care of it. It haunts me!! As promised: A video... The Demise of the Backwards Bayonet Lug Following that happy moment, I filmed THIS video (there you go: Two videos!): In place, manually pressured, and rubber banded in place to keep it in place while the epoxy sets. Much happier now, just a little more work to do on it later. One more look at it before I move along. So, I get to the ejector port. I'm fully prepared to simply glue the guard onto it and be done with the gluing altogether. In the back of my mind however, is Steve's current build thread and the vision of his ejector port with the repositioned bolt channeling strip and the carved out brass extractor won't let me put any more epoxy onto the blaster while the ejection port looks like it does... So... I pick up the rotary tool, affix this grinding bit, and decide that I must complete the same modification to feel good about it later. That's coming later though. Thanks for reading along - comments below please. Edited March 11, 2014 by Dark CMF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazmosis[501st] Posted March 11, 2014 Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usaeatt2 Posted March 11, 2014 Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 SWEEEEET! Nice epoxy instructions. I had never thought about storing an epoxy syringe "tips up". I opened the cabinet and checked - sure enough, big air bubble down near the plunger on mine. Not anymore! Learn something new everyday...check! The videos are a excellent feature too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark PWF[Staff] Posted March 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 (edited) Okay, the last picture I posted yesterday held promise of the bolt channeling strip being removed. I even teased it so far as to post the picture of the grinding bit in front of the strip. Tonight, you get to see the project unfold. Let's get right to it... Here you can see that I started grinding at the top, left edge of the ejection port. Making progress on the strip's removal. Further along... The blaster is actually flipped upside down now, so the "top, left" that you see here was the bottom right in all of the recent photos. Nearly gone now. Okay. That bolt channeling strip is gone! Looks weird, doesn't it? LoL As you could see, it was still a little bit rough looking, so I wanted to get is cleaned up some. I took up the rotary tool's sanding wheel and went to work. Here's how it looked when I got done with the sanding wheel. It is more even, but less smooth, so I need to adjust tactics to get that taken care of. Sandpaper! 180 grit, to clean up the surface left behind by the sanding wheel. Definitely coming along and getting smoother by the swipe! It was right about now that I had the mini epiphany that I spoke of earlier. I was looking at this part and thought; When we build these blasters, we spend a bit of work building up the bolt to match the level of the resin-cast ejection port. It would be a lot easier to bring the bolt up if you also brought the ejection port DOWN. The thicker resin around the bolt at the ejection port would help to balance the thickness of the resin in the charging handle channel. As a result, I just kept on sanding it lower and lower into the barrel. Here you can see it. Further into the resin it goes! I jumped around for some reason here... ADHD or something, I don't know why in this particular instance, but I did. Anyway, since I was sanding or something - I just don't know why - I decided to address the bayonet lug's final condition and get it looking more proper. So I took out a handy, dandy sanding file and went to work on it. Work in progress, sanding the lug a bit more. Still sanding - but getting to where I want it to be. Another view, it is still actually a little bit wider than I think it should be, so I may take the sanding file to it again later at some point in time. I also mentioned shopping. LoL. I was just all over the place with the camera on this particular day. I bought a sheet of thin plexiglass - for an experiment that you'll see later, some Krylon plastic primer (Make sure that whatever primer you buy is specifically for plastics or at the very least, does not contain acetone. Acetone+plastics=VERY, very bad), and a 3' strip of 3/4" by 1/8" aluminum for use in cutting/fabricating the scope mounting rail. Here, you can see the modification plan drawn into the ejection port. I'll put the channeling strip lower - and extend it up to the charging handle channel to assist in marking the location on the bolt. I also drew in the brass extractor in the front of the ejection port. The strip is just about 7.5mm wide. The strip is just a shade under 2 inches long. Drawing the basic shape onto the plexiglass. Using the score and snap technique on the plexiglass - score it three times with the exacto knife, and it will snap away in the proper shape. Snapped out cleanly, and looks like it will be a good fit with a few more score and snaps applied. Scored the bottom edge and prepared for snapping. Looking good! Scoring the top in preparation for snapping. Ready to snap. It came away cleanly, just like the rest of the process has so far. Of course, this is plexiglass, so when I tried to curve it to fit to the bolt in the ejection port, this is what happened. Ugh... Plan B. ABS. Sounds great, but this ABS is 3mm thick. It was a real pain in the but to cut it to shape. I recommend using something with some power, as opposed to an exacto knife. Trust me on that one. So, after all of the work required to get the shape cut, here is the piece! The shape looks good to me! The thickness however, is not so good. This needs to be thinned down substantially. I initially tried sandpaper again, but that was going to be painfully slow. Back to the sanding wheel! Much more like it, but not quite what I wanted just yet. Here you can see what I mean. It could stand to be a little bit thinner. I'm sure many of us understand that idea. Back to the sandpaper! I put the piece on the sandpaper, and applied manual pressure while sanding it down even thinner. Since I had the exacto knife sitting there, I scored the area to be glued with the knife. I switched over to the fine-tipped bit to carve out the brass extractor. Starting with the basic lines for the extractor. Really rough cuts completed. Switching to one of the grinding bits to get the "hole" cut at the end of the extractor. Rough cut, with the hole at the end. I switched over to the smaller bit to clean up the lines as they connect to the circle. With the extractor roughed-in, I can glue the channeling strip into place. Manual pressure applied for three minutes as per the norm, and the strip is in place. I put putty in the front bottom edge, and took some sanding files to the strip and the extractor, to clean up the lines a little bit. Sanded the bottom of the strip, to ensure that it is "inside" of the ejection port. And this is how it looks finally before priming and painting. Finally, onto the ejection port guard, the piece that I paused with so long ago in the thread, to pursue this modification. LoL Guard glued in place after the manual pressure was applied. One more look at it from another angle. That's it - Day #17 complete! As always, thank you for stopping by to have a look and leave a comment, question, or suggestion. I'm really excited about where it's getting to. I bought myself an airbrush kit for painting on Amazon. It arrived today, so I'll probably prime the blaster soon, and allow the primer to cure while I practice airbrushing cardboard boxes for technique. Especially since I still have the bolt, the counter, the scope, and my secret project to work on. LoL That's probably it for the work week. I'll probably get more work done on the weekend and get the pictures posted up sometime around Sunday/Monday/Tuesday like usual. Edited March 12, 2014 by Dark CMF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Master Builder Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 Nice! lol now I wish I could of sanded down, before painting Awesome Mods as always LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millenium1 Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 A Masterclass indeed, i wish i could commission one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 Awesome detail Tim, I think you will have to do a pipe build next with some electronics and lights Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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