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E-11 Blaster Cheapest Scratch Build


CElston

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Started a blaster build while waiting to buy my armor.  I'm trying to do this as inexpensive as possible, but I keep buying new tools. :)

Some items are hard to find at a hobby store or a hardware store.  Such things as the PVC Foamboard, so I am improvising. 

 

Here is one modification I was considering for shooting around corners: :)

 

uNTBbGn.jpg

 

A little difficult cutting the PVC with my new Dremel.  Not getting as straight of lines as I would like.  Hopefully filing and sanding will get it to look respectable.  Also, it would have been a lot easier with a drill press, but I used a hand held drill with very bad battery life instead.

 

ZWd3VOr.jpg

 

Got an already cut PVC pipe from Home Depot and am using a PVC plug from Lowe's.  I keep bouncing back and forth between the two stores since they have different items in stock.  Also I'm trying to use their free samples of flooring to see what works.

 

cla5ZgD.jpg

 

The flooring piece didn't work too well.

 

33pvHy8.jpg

 

So I'm using an old butterfly cutting board (don't tell my wife).

 

eESq29y.jpg

 

The cutting board piece worked a lot better since it's made of one material unlike the flooring which had different top and bottom coats and a center.

 

Having fun so far!

 

Chris

 

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I love these types of builds. What are your plans for the grip? Keep going, so far so good!

 

Brian

 

I have seen some scratch builds that get a Doopy grip gifted to them near the end of the project and I've seen some that get an original Sterling grip, but I haven't come across an exact replica built from scratch.  So far I'm planning on using some pine from an old shelf for the center of the grip and following the BBC build use pressboard instead of Styrene (because I can't find any locally) for the outer elements.  

 

I'm working on the the front muzzle now and probably putting a 1/2" PVC pipe inside for the barrel.  

 

After that I'm going to try my hand at bending metal.  Have never done that before, so I bought some really thin aluminum; we'll see how that works.

 

Chris

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I just completed a Hasbro Doopydoos blaster.  Total cost was only around $70....$25 for a brand new Hasbro blaster from the downtown Disney district store, $40 for the Doopydoos kit (shipped and currency converted from Euro to dollars), and only about $5 for spray paint.

 

I just wonder how much you'll save if you do everything from scratch.  But if you're doing for the cool factor of doing it all from scratch....that'll be cool. 

Edited by hon143
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I just completed a Hasbro Doopydoos blaster.  Total cost was only around $70....$25 for a brand new Hasbro blaster from the downtown Disney district store, $40 for the Doopydoos kit (shipped and currency converted from Euro to dollars), and only about $5 for spray paint.

 

I just wonder how much you'll save if you do everything from scratch.

Probably not going to save any money... Just bought a $100 Dremel... :)

 

Personally, I'm just having fun trying to find the parts that will be correct for the build.

 

Chris

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Yeah....that'll be cool then.  Good luck and I can't wait to see when you're done!

 

Thanks!  Maybe instead of labeling this title 'Cheapest' I should have labeled it 'Most Accessible' ... just trying to make a E-11 without special ordering any parts.  And trying to see if I can purchase everything from Lowe's and/or Home Depot.  Although, I think I might need to order some PVC Foamboard because I can't find it locally and it looks really cool to work with.

 

Chris

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Thanks!  Maybe instead of labeling this title 'Cheapest' I should have labeled it 'Most Accessible' ... just trying to make a E-11 without special ordering any parts.  And trying to see if I can purchase everything from Lowe's and/or Home Depot.  Although, I think I might need to order some PVC Foamboard because I can't find it locally and it looks really cool to work with.

 

Chris

 

I have a hunch by 'PVC foam board" you mean Sintra (a brand name)... right?  If that's the case, check with your local sign shops.  I have one close by that supplies me with mine, and even gives me their scraps for free.  Also, I know my local big box hardware home improvement stores carry PVC post and rail covers (used for decks) that are made out of the same material as the sheet products.  I love the idea of building a blaster out of locally sourced parts only, and have thought about doing it myself.  I may just have to start working on one for myself.  

 

Brian 

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Thanks, I'll look for Sintra at a local sign shop.

 

What do we think of this color?  Not canon, I guess.

QmvHnUZ.jpg

I found I could use an allen wrench to put in the bolts into the PVC (cut a big hole for the head and a smaller one for the shaft) instead of cutting the tips off the bolt and glueing.

jk77QNj.jpg

Got the blood and sweat, now waiting for the tears.

rNNS1TP.jpg

Now that I'm looking at this goofy picture, I notice there are some nice long pieces of PVC in the rafters that I could have used for the barrel of the blaster instead of buying a little piece.

a56BAHf.jpg

 

Chris

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This will be great to see!  I think the title makes sense if it means "attempting to build a scratch build as cheaply as possible"--it may not be the cheapest build out of all the options, but maybe cheap for a scratch!  Doing it like this is a cool idea and I'm looking forward to seeing how you deal with all the parts.

 

When it comes to the holes, sanding can really achieve wonders.  And there's always Bondo to fix 'em if they're in the wrong place or something.  Looks like you already got that dealt with by the most recent pics anyway.

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This will be great to see!  I think the title makes sense if it means "attempting to build a scratch build as cheaply as possible"--it may not be the cheapest build out of all the options, but maybe cheap for a scratch!  Doing it like this is a cool idea and I'm looking forward to seeing how you deal with all the parts.

 

When it comes to the holes, sanding can really achieve wonders.  And there's always Bondo to fix 'em if they're in the wrong place or something.  Looks like you already got that dealt with by the most recent pics anyway.

 

Got some epoxy,  but I think I might need to get some bondo, too.

 

The holes are pretty good, but the long "cocking channel" isn't as straight as it could be.

 

Chris

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Yeah, I can see the channel is a little wonky.  One thing I did was practice cutting on a bunch of scrap first.  After a while you get a feel for how the dremel shaves the plastic. You might still be able to just shave down the sides of the channel a bit to straighten it out. Or maybe build the edges up with bondo to fill the edges in. Or I suppose if you really don't like it you could just do it again.  One nice thing about starting off with a PVC pipe is that it's cheap and readily available if you make a mistake...it's not like screwing up your facemask or something, where you're out $50 bucks and have to hope you can get another copy from the armorer!  :)

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Yeah, I can see the channel is a little wonky.  One thing I did was practice cutting on a bunch of scrap first.  After a while you get a feel for how the dremel shaves the plastic. You might still be able to just shave down the sides of the channel a bit to straighten it out. Or maybe build the edges up with bondo to fill the edges in. Or I suppose if you really don't like it you could just do it again.  One nice thing about starting off with a PVC pipe is that it's cheap and readily available if you make a mistake...it's not like screwing up your facemask or something, where you're out $50 bucks and have to hope you can get another copy from the armorer!   :)

 

Yes... should have played with a scrap piece first.  I was just trying a bunch of Dremel attachments before I realized what each one was for. :)

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My scratch build Hengstler counter:

 

Didn't have local place to buy PVC Foamboard (Sintra) so I went to Home Depot to get picture frame plexiglass:

fXq2cPi.jpg

 

It's a little thinner that I would have wanted but seems to work.  I used the speed square to line up two pieces at a 90 degree angle for super glueing.  

I really like the Loctite bottle as opposed to the traditional little tubes of super glue.

ahh9edo.jpg

I used this tin can to catch the little pieces of plastic that I cut by pressing down with a razor blade.  Without the can, the little pieces went flying never to be seen again.

WPkCWmG.jpg

Still need to put a few details on and paint, but here is the end result:

NFZFNDB.jpg

 

imQARpn.jpg

 

Chris

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Nice!  That would be a major pain cutting all that tiny plexi.

It was.  I crushed the first box three times trying to make sure the glue was dry.  If you look close it's not really that symmetrical, but I'm assuming that priming and painting it (and viewing it from 50 feet away) will help a lot.

 

Chris

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On 2/7/2015 at 11:49 PM, gazmosis said:

Nice work on the mini plexi glass cutting. Check photo references regarding the size of those screws. They are tiny. You might need to downsize those a bit

Ok... I was being lazy and used the first screws I could find.  After searching through my junk can of screws I found these.... Better?

 

O46oCoF.jpg

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I measured my screws, they look like their heads are about 3/16" across. I'm not sure if I got that measurement from somewhere, and matched it, or if I just eyeballed it based on pictures.

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Hey Chris : Please don't think I am picking on you or singling you out. I just don't want to see you make 4 steps forward just to take 5 back.

When scratch building something as prominent as the blaster, or anything, there are details that "close" is good enough and others that need to be right on. The Hengstler counter is one of those details that needs to be very close. The first thing I suggest to get are a couple good reference photos like these:post-12041-0-37638800-1424015912_thumb.jpgpost-12041-0-78803300-1424015930_thumb.jpg.

This way you can move your eyes quickly between your work and the picture to see if you nailed it or it needs adjusting.

A couple things stick out to me. First, the rear cover, as you have it, is either too small, the screw is way too big or both. You can see on the reference pic that this tiny screw is to the one side but is dead center in the middle of the cover. I measured my screw at just over 3mm so this is tiny. The next thing is the step down in size between the rear cover and the front portion. On the reference pic, you can see this difference us minimal at best. The other thing are the two vertical channels you have on the side of the rear cover. I have no idea what these represent???

Scratch building is an art. Stick with this!!!! You have a great start! But have your reference photos close so you can train your eyes to pic up the small details. Sometimes, those are the most important ones.

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