SlyFox's ANH Airsoft Conversion w/ Real Parts

[SlyFox740[TK]]

Introduction:
When I first became interested in having a Stormtrooper costume years ago, I quickly found out that most troopers use resin blasters. There's nothing wrong with that at all, some troopers have made their resin blasters look incredibly realistic. However I just always wanted a blaster made from steel like the real thing. I know some people will say using a real Sterling to troop with is way too heavy and just plain impractical, and they may be right especially here in Canada. We have some pretty strict gun laws up here north of the border, Sterlings are on the prohibited firearms list but It's perfectly legal to own a deactivated one if you have about $2,500 to spare . Then there are massive legal issues around carrying and concealing, displaying and especially pointing it in public, you can be arrested for threatening the public among other charges, no joke! And if it were to be used in a crime it is treated like any other violent firearm offence, same goes for airsoft guns, paintball guns or anything else made to appear like a real gun. Having said that it's all about common sense, being in a proper setting at an organized event with other troopers in the 501st is fine, I recently seen many E11s downtown Toronto at comicon 2016 and there were no issues whatsoever, mind you these are replicas of a fictional weapon from a popular sci-fi movie franchise. However realistic firearm "replicas" are completely illegal to sell, buy or make in Canada unless they were owned before 1998 or are replicas of antique firearms dated prior to 1898 I believe, so no Sterling replicas available for us canucks.
Another problem I have with a real deactivated Sterling is that the magazine and bolt are welded in place meaning the bolt can't be cocked and the magazine can't be removed, In some cases the trigger is even disabled. There are also serious laws against altering deactivated firearms like cutting the magazine down for instance as it could be seen as an attempt to re-activate it. "Chopped up" Sterlings are much cheaper than deactivated Sterlings and the magazine and bolt do not have to be welded in place, also the magazine can be cut down like any other parts. The only problem with using all original steel parts and a steel pipe is that it tends to be too heavy for trooping, also in Canada this may be legally considered a replica or re-activation which could mean trouble.
I do want my blaster to be as functional and realistic as possible; I want to be able to pull the charging handle on the bolt, Yes I want the folding stock to function, I want to be able to pull the trigger, I want to be able to move the selector switch position, I want to be able to remove the magazine using the proper mag release button and put it back again, I want to be able to look through a real magnified scope, and I want to be able to push a functional reset button on the counter. So basically no static parts whatsoever, I want all moving parts to actually function. The only function I don't want is the ability to fire any projectiles.
With all these laws and things considered I decided to use an airsoft gun or at least parts of an airsoft gun as the base for my blaster build, I believe it will be a great balance between functionality and realism. Some parts are much more inaccurate than others but I plan to correct those first and foremost. It's definitely not the easiest way of going about this but I like a bit of a challenge and I see troopers trying all kinds of different types of blaster builds now. So I figured I would try and use this Airsoft Sterling to build an ANH E-11 to 501st standards.
I like this Airsoft gun because it is steel which I really wanted however it is made from slightly thinner steel than a real Sterling sub-machine gun needs to be made from. This is actually a really good thing for my purposes because it will greatly help save on weight for trooping while still being made of steel. I'm not the first person to do an E-11 conversion with an airsoft gun, other members of this forum and the RPF have done it before. However most of them did it to keep the airsoft functionality, that is not my intention here as my blaster wont fire any projectiles. My goal with this blaster build is to make it as screen accurate to ANH as possible.

(UPDATE: These Airsoft Sterlings were actually used by the prop department in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, so I bought a second airsoft gun and I will be converting that one to a R1 E-11 Blaster)

Here is all of the things I've collected since Christmas, Santa was very good to me. I managed to get the Beta Project Sterling AEG on a boxing day sale for a good price! There's also some other packages I received since then, your typical ANH E-11 parts; real M38 Scope, real Hengstler 400 Counter, accurate T-track, accurate parts for my Power Cylinders, also some real parts from a chopped up Sterling SMG MK4 L2A3.

Genuine Parts for ANH E-11; Real 1942 M38 Telescope from Felix with brand new replacement lenses from Twnbrother, T-Track from Marv, Real Hengstler 400 Counters (small eagle and big eagle), Completion Set from T-Jay, Various parts for Power Cylinder build.

Here are all the genuine parts I acquired from a real chopped up Sterling; Polymer Grip, Steel Grip Base cut from Sterling receiver, Trigger Group and Retaining Pin complete with Trigger, Original Guard, and Selector Switch, Rear End Cap complete with D-Ring, and an original main Recoil Spring.

Rather than taking pictures of the Airsoft gun as it comes out of the box myself I figured I'd just use these studio shots from a professional photographer instead, They all look the same out of the box anyways and to be completely honest I didn't even bother to take a single picture of the gun before I started disassembling it. This will do it more justice and give you a better idea of it's factory state anyways, so here is the Beta Project Sterling AEG, it's actually a pretty close representation of a real Sterling MK4 L2A3 however it does have it's inaccuracies which we will discuss in detail.

This is probably the most inaccurate part of the entire gun, the dreaded grip. What can I say, It looks really fake. Especially when compared next to the real thing, the shape of the airsoft grip is just all wrong. It's big, wide and square due to the motor housed inside of it, the real Sterling grip is smaller, slimmer, rounded and very ergonomically correct. Also the markings on the grip are somewhat inaccurate and the knurling pattern isn't quite right either. The trigger group on the airsoft or rather the "gearbox" is much taller, wider and bull nosed in the front at the top where as the real trigger group is angled, smaller and slimmer, this size difference is due to the gears housed inside the gearbox. The selector switch size is wrong and the engravings are in the wrong order, also the trigger group retaining pin or "retaining screw" in the case of the airsoft is inaccurate. Fixing all of this will be one of my first modifications to the gun.

The next most inaccurate part is probably the rear end cap, not as fake as the grip but again considerably inaccurate.
The airsoft version is pretty big and bulky where as the the real thing is slim and tapered towards the front of the gun with rounded back corners at the bottom. This airsoft end cap also sits too far back in the wrong position. The D-ring meets Centurion approval however it is actually slightly smaller than the real thing. My next modification will be replacing the airsoft End Cap & D-ring with the real thing.

The muzzle cap is fairly close to the real thing however the center hole is too small, it does not have a rolled edge and it does not have the diamond cross-hatch knurling pattern on the hex bolts. I will also correct these inaccuracies.

There are other small inaccuracies such as the bayonet lug and sight guard which I will discuss and correct later, however these here are the main ones that are most noticeable.

 

When I got this gun home it wasn't long before I started disassembling it, I'm an avid paintball player and I don't play airsoft so I had no problems ripping this thing apart and gutting it almost immediately. Having said that this type of mod is not exactly for the faint of heart or those with a small budget, this airsoft gun isn't exactly cheap. But I don't even play airsoft nor do I ever plan on it, this thing has never fired a single airsoft BB and it never will after I'm done with it. No projectiles of any kind whatsoever, this is strictly going to be a prop replica for display and costuming purposes. Below is a detailed exploded view shown on the back of the included instructions that I used to disassemble the gun.

Here's a complete disassembly of everything. I bought this gun during a Boxing Day sale and I have also sold all the airsoft parts that I don't need for about half of what I paid for the gun, this makes the project much more affordable. Once the gun is taken apart it quickly becomes apparent that most of the gun's heavy weight comes from the motor and gearbox inside the grip and the main firing piston above it which is actually pretty small but heavy. Without all these components this blaster will be significantly lighter than any functional Airsoft conversion.

Receiver Tube gutted of all airsoft internals, Star Wars Battlefront poster in the background. The steel pipe this is made from is not quite as thick as a real Sterling sub-machine gun so it will weigh less, this is a good thing and important for the purpose of trooping.

Here is a comparison of the Real Sterling grip (left) and the Airsoft Grip (right). Notice the size difference, notice how jagged and square the airsoft grip is compared to the real thing which more smooth and rounded. notice the markings and even the knurling pattern.

Here are comparison photos of the grips mounted on the guns. Airsoft (Top), Real Sterling (Bottom)

And the other side. Airsoft (Top), Real Sterling (Bottom)

And here's a comparison of the real Sterling Trigger Group (left) and the Airsoft Gearbox (right). Notice how much taller and "bull-nosed" the airsoft gearbox is compared to the Sterling trigger group, notice the difference in the selector switch also the engravings are in the wrong order. The Sterling trigger group is real steel where as the Airsoft gearbox is die-cast metal, however the rest of the Airsoft gun is made of steel. The Airsoft gearbox weighs much more than the real Sterling trigger group so this will help keep the weight down.

Here's a comparison of the real Sterling Rear End Cap (left) and the Airsoft Rear End Cap (right). Notice the shape at the bottom and the size of the D-ring. Look the profile shots and you'll see the real end cap is tapered towards the front of the gun where as the airsoft one is not, the taper on the back of the cap is there however it is much too large. Also the bottom back corners near the folding stock notches should be rounded but the airsoft is not. Again the Airsoft end cap actually weights more than the real Sterling end cap so this will help keep the weight down. This weight difference is due to the bulkiness of the Airsoft version, also inside the Airsoft end cap there is a built-in spring with a big retaining bolt and washer so these extra parts that add to the weight as well. A real Sterling uses the main recoil spring inside the receiver to hold the rear end cap in position and lock the folding stock when extended.

Notice the taper towards the front on top, and the rounded bottom back corners.

Here's a comparison photo of the Rear End Caps mounted on the guns. Airsoft (Top), Real Sterling (Bottom)

Here's a comparison of a Real Sterling Muzzle cast (left) and the Airsoft Muzzle Cap (right). Once the inner barrel and barrel sleeve were removed the muzzle cap's center hole is now the correct size so that was easy enough to fix, however the outer edge still needs to be rolled, and the hex bolts need to be replaced with the correct diamond cross-hatch knurling pattern.

Here are comparison photos of the Muzzle Caps mounted on the guns. Airsoft (Top), Real Sterling (Bottom)

 

 

Here is a comparison of a real Sterling Folding Stock (top) and the Airsoft Folding Stock (bottom). A fairly close copy of the original however there are a few inaccuracies. First the shape of the arches bend outwards on the real Sterling where as the arches bend inwards on the Airsoft, I'm not sure how they missed this one to be honest because it just doesn't look right to me at all. Second a real Sterling Folding Stock has a small block with rounded corners at the base of the "Y" on the end of the rod. This block is completely absent on the Airsoft Folding Stock. Also the bolts that mount the folding stock to the receiver on a real Sterling are smooth dome head carriage bolts, the Airsoft stock uses slotted head mounting bolts. I will be correcting all these inaccuracies. The Airsoft folding stock weighs less than a real Sterling folding stock due to the thickness of the steel it's made from, this will help keep weight down.

 

First thing's first; Let's cut down this magazine to kick this off and actually get this build started.
To remove the magazine internals just push the retaining pin out and everything slides right out. I will be discarding all internals to make room for electronic components, most likely a battery in this case. There are Instructional videos online from others who wanted to cut this magazine down and keep the airsoft functionality.

Using the FSID E-11 Blaster Reference I first drew a line and taped it off, then I cut the magazine down using a hand saw.

The steel these magazines are made from is slightly thinner than the real thing so it's lighter and we removed the internals so this will also help reduce weight.

Using a small file and needle nose pliers I shaped the new open end into two side tabs for the magazine end cap to slide back onto.

Here is a comparison photo of a real Sterling magazine (top) and my Airsoft magazine (bottom).
I still need to put the little round button in the magazine end cap but it has the accurate engraving of the word "OFF" with an arrow pointing forward. This Airsoft magazine even has the correct model, caliber, and patent number engravings on the back side so it looks pretty accurate.

And that concludes the introduction to this Airsoft Conversion I hope you enjoyed it so far, please stay tuned for future chapter updates to my blaster build and feel free to comment or critique my work. First I plan on making this gun as accurate to a real Sterling as possible using the FSID E-11 Blaster Reference, then I will be adding the items required to convert it to an E-11, then I will be repainting it, then finally I will be adding electronics for light and sound. My Blaster Build chapters or "Episodes" will be updated in the following order;

 

Episode I - The Fake Grip Menace
Removing the Airsoft grip and gear box and replacing it with the real Sterling grip section, trigger group, and polymer grip.

Episode II - Attack of the Caps
Removing the Airsoft rear end cap and replacing it with the real Sterling rear end cap, and correcting inaccuracies with muzzle cap.

Episode III - Revenge of the Sights, & Stock
Correcting inaccuracies with front sight guard, rear sight guard, and folding stock.

Episode IV - A New Scope, & Counter
Installing real 1942 M.H.R. Co. M38 Telescope, and real Hengstler 400 series Counter w/ correct vintage Eagle logo & correct vintage Metal socket cover.

Episode V - The Empire Strikes T-Track
Installing T-Track along the receiver holes and correcting inaccurate bayonet lug. Building & installing all metal Power Cylinders with real vintage capacitors and resistors.

Episode VI - Return of the Paint Job
Painting the accurate "wrinkle" finish on the gun receiver, and flat black on the Hengstler Counter and Power Cylinders.

Episode VII - The Blastercore Awakens
Installing a Blastercore 5.0 circuit board to enhance functionality. (and possibly other electronics)

 

 

to be continued...

Edited January 7, 2018 by SlyFox740

[Artshot]

Looking forward to seeing how this comes out

[Novak Dimon[TK]]

Interesting build! <br>

You have a new follower.

[C0bra_M3nace[TK]]

Very intriguing.

[allan1313[TK]]

Looking good!

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[T-Jay[TK]]

An awesome start, Henry. Something in your first posting made me click the follow-button. Not sure what it was

[SlyFox740[TK]]

Looking forward to seeing how this comes out

 Thanks Art, I'm looking forward to it myself.

 

Interesting build! <br>

You have a new follower.

 Thanks Christian, and I've been reading your blaster build as well.

 

Very intriguing.

I appreciate that Allan, thank you.

 

An awesome start, Henry. Something in your first posting made me click the follow-button. Not sure what it was

Thanks Tino, Your Completion kit is going to work perfect for my blaster build.

[SlyFox740[TK]]

Episode I - The Fake Grip Menace

 

The biggest inaccuracy with this Sterling replica is the one I will correct first.

Here is the initial design drawing I drew up for my idea to replace the fake looking grip with the real thing. After disassembling the airsoft gun there is a rectangular hole in the bottom of the receiver where the grip was, there is also a small hole for a tiny countersunk hex screw right in front of that rectangular hole for the grip. The mounting holes for the folding stock can also be reached from inside the receiver, I will utilize this to mount the real Sterling grip to the airsoft receiver.

 

I don't have any photos of the actual welding process happening but I will show everything that's been done in detail.

Here are some pictures of the initial fitting process taken at the shop. That little hex bolt used in the pictures is temporary, this will be replaced with a countersunk hex screw for final assembly.

After cutting and filing the Sterling grip section to size it seems to be a really good fit. The scale of this airsoft gun is very accurate.

I will be filling in those seams along the grip base welds with bondo or something similar, then sanding and painting.

Although this will not be done until after the electronics are done in Episode VII.

Preliminary paint test, this is not the final finish I will be using!

Fitting with the polymer grip in place.

Here is a real Sterling, notice the grip placement and the small gap between the folding stock mount.

 

Here you can see the modification that has been done to the Sterling grip base section. The original mag well actually had to be removed from this piece to cut and grind it to the correct size in order to fit the opening in the bottom of the airsoft receiver. The new custom grip mounts are both in the front and the rear of the grip which makes it nice and strong. Again the screws seen here are temporary, I'll be using a small countersunk screw in the front like the one the airsoft gun originally had in that hole, and I will be replacing the folding stock mounting bolts with the correct smooth dome head carriage bolts in Episode III. The folding stock mounting bolts are now also the grip mounting bolts so they kind of hold everything in place and it feels really solid.

Grip base with the trigger group

Grip base, trigger group, & polymer grip

Grip base, trigger group, poylmer grip, trigger group retaining pin & grip bottom hex bolt.

Thanks to the Sterling's design the folding stock naturally hides the seam lines along the grip when folded up. Once I fill these in and sand and paint them they will be truly invisible seams. Since I have removed the entire Airsoft grip containing the motor & gearbox as well as the other internals the gun is now MUCH lighter! The real Sterling grip section still weighs less than the Airsoft grip when fully assembled with the trigger group and polymer grip. This will help keep the weight down significantly!

 

Here are some Before & After comparison shots of my Airsoft grip modification, the differences are quite obvious!

Before modification on top, After modification on bottom.

And the other side, Before modification on top, After modification on bottom.

 

And finally here are some comparison photos of a real Sterling (top) and my Airsoft with modified grip (bottom).

And the other side, real Sterling on top, Airsoft with modified grip on the bottom.

I hope you enjoyed the first update, I'm definitely much happier with the grip now! Please don't hesitate to comment, I enjoy reading people's thoughts and opinions on the matter. In the next update I will be fixing the accuracy issues with the rear end cap and the muzzle cap.

 

to be continued...

Edited October 17, 2017 by SlyFox740

[cboath]

That's looking really good.

 

I had thought about replacing my grip, too, but when I saw the size of the hole in the airsoft, i figured it was beyond me. I'm fairly honest with myself. I figure they only thing i'm going to accomplish trying to weld anything is burning down my house So, unless someone hear me feels like teaching me - i'm not going to try welding

 

So if i follow that right, you cut and fit a plate to the opening in the airsoft then welded the grip to it and just added the rest of the pieces on it?

[SlyFox740[TK]]

That's looking really good.

So if i follow that right, you cut and fit a plate to the opening in the airsoft then welded the grip to it and just added the rest of the pieces on it?

 

Actually No, I did not weld the grip base to a plate, that "plate" or piece of pipe if you will is part of the original Sterling grip section. I simply cut the Sterling grip section to size and filed the edges until it fit the opening in the Airsoft receiver tube just right.

Edited June 19, 2016 by SlyFox740

[cboath]

I missed that plate on the first photo - must have been the angle.

 

How much cutting/filing was there? Is it just press fit until you finalize it? If i don't have to pull out a torch you're tempting me

[jkno]

This will be a very cool and creative build. Following!

[SlyFox740[TK]]

This will be a very cool and creative build. Following!

Thank you Sergiu, I'm glad you think it's cool. I had to get a bit creative with some of the modifications I'm planning so I hope it turns out as good as some of the other builds I've seen. Very inspiring stuff on here, I will try my best to reach the bar that has been raised so many times.

 

 

I missed that plate on the first photo - must have been the angle.

 

How much cutting/filing was there? Is it just press fit until you finalize it? If i don't have to pull out a torch you're tempting me

Well there was a fair amount of meticulous cutting and grinding. The original mag well actually had to be removed from that piece of the grip section too. Fairly precise work. The most precision required was filing the edges of the original Sterling receiver tube or the "plate" as you refer to it. You need a nice straight tight seam between the edges of the original Sterling grip section and Airsoft receiver tube.

 

There is some detailed welding involved in the mounts on the front and rear of my modified Sterling grip section. This also requires some precision.

Edited May 30, 2016 by SlyFox740

[Daddy Solo]

Looks fantastic so far!!. Keep the pics and posts coming.

[Machinimax]

The airsoft Sterling is great for a blaster build. I love the mods you're making with the grip and other parts.

[cboath]

Thank you Sergiu, I'm glad you think it's cool. I had to get a bit creative with some of the modifications I'm planning so I hope it turns out as good as some of the other builds I've seen. Very inspiring stuff on here, I will try my best to reach the bar that has been raised so many times.

 

 

Well there was a fair amount of meticulous cutting and grinding. The original mag well actually had to be removed from that piece of the grip section too. Fairly precise work. The most precision required was filing the edges of the original Sterling receiver tube or the "plate" as you refer to it. You need a nice straight tight seam between the edges of the original Sterling grip section and Airsoft receiver tube.

 

There is some detailed welding involved in the mounts on the front and rear of my modified Sterling grip section. This also requires some precision.

 

Well, that counts me out i think

 

Too bad they couldn't have made a smaller battery so the grip would match

[SlyFox740[TK]]

Well, that counts me out i think

 

Too bad they couldn't have made a smaller battery so the grip would match

 

Actually it's an electric motor that's inside the grip, the battery goes inside the back of the receiver by removing the rear end cap.

Edited June 19, 2016 by SlyFox740

[SlyFox740[TK]]

The airsoft Sterling is great for a blaster build. I love the mods you're making with the grip and other parts.

 

Thanks Matt! I appreciate that. And yes I agree the Airsoft Sterling is a great base for a blaster build only first I want to make it more accurate to the real thing.

Edited June 3, 2016 by SlyFox740

[SlyFox740[TK]]

Episode II - Attack of the Caps

 

The second most inaccurate part of this Airsoft gun is the Rear End Cap and then the Muzzle Cap. As I explained in the introduction they both have their inaccuracies and I will be correcting all of them in this chapter. I will be replacing the Airsoft Rear End Cap with a real Sterling Rear End Cap, and I will modifying the Airsoft Muzzle Cap to better replicate a real Sterling Muzzle as the real thing doesn't have a "cap". The rolled edge on a real Sterling muzzle is actually part of the receiver so it is not easily removable. I found a cast of a real Sterling muzzle but it's made of plastic, and I want a steel blaster so I will be modifying the Airsoft Muzzle Cap to make it more accurate.

 

This mod took some time and patience, I've actually seen this exact mod attempted on this exact gun but not successfully. The other option is to alter the original Airsoft End Cap to look more realistic but that one sits too far back I feel, plus this option will be more authentic. You can't beat the real thing so why not use real parts whenever possible. Here is the inside of my modified Rear End Cap from a real Sterling MK4 L2A3 Sub-Machine Gun.

Using only the tools below I was able to file out the inside of the Rear End Cap to fit the adapter on the back of the Airsoft Receiver. The Rear End cap nearly fits but the 3 pegs inside are just too tall & wide, so I made them a little shorter and skinnier using some needle files. The edge of the pointed file has one smooth edge and I utilized that to file small detailed edges while preserving adjacent ones. The inside wall of the Rear End Cap has three areas or "rings"; The outermost ring in the front, the middle ring which is where the 3 pegs are located, and the innermost back ring which is the deepest at the bottom of the Rear End Cap. The middle ring between the pegs is actually wide enough to fit around the adapter on the back of the Airsoft receiver, so the 1st outermost ring and the 3rd inner most ring just needed to be filed down with really heavy grain sandpaper until the depth matched that of the middle ring. This took some patience, time and was a little hard on the fingers, I pressed the sandpaper against the inside wall really hard while spinning it. A Dremel or rotary tool with a sanding drum would do the job quicker, I just wanted to go slow to make sure it remained perfectly round.

Here are some different angels of the real Sterling Rear End Cap installed on the Airsoft gun.

Here you can really see how a real Sterling Rear End Cap tapers toward the front of the gun, I'm so much happier with this now.

Here are some profile views of the modified Sterling rear end cap on the Airsoft gun.

 

Here are some Before & After comparison shots of my Airsoft Rear End Cap mod. Before on top, After modification on the bottom.

And here are some comparison shots of a real Sterling MK4 L2A3 (top), and my modified Airsoft with real end cap (bottom)

 

The first thing I corrected on the Muzzle Cap was the size of the center hole which was done by simply removing the internal barrel and barrel sleeve, after doing this the center hole is now much more accurate. The next problem with the Airsoft Muzzle Cap was it's lack of a rolled edge, it wasn't that sharp of an edge before but it wasn't nearly as rounded as it should be. To correct this inaccuracy the Muzzle Cap was put into a lathe and very carefully machined to have a rolled edge, this had to be done without making the diameter any smaller whatsoever. Here are some initial shots taken of the Muzzle Cap after being machined in the lathe. As you can see there is still a small ring of paint left around the outer edge, so the outer diameter is still the same size. It is still bolted to it's backing plate here, this was bolted together while being machined in the lathe just so there was more material to work with.

Profile View, unbolted from backing plate.

To give you a good picture of how it fits here are some photos of the Muzzle Cap installed before paint, this way you can clearly see where the receiver ends and the muzzle cap begins. The front end of the receiver tube comes with a very small taper on it which helps the rolled edge appearance a bit, once I fill this in and sand and paint it you won't see the seam line. The hex bolts in these photos are still the same incorrect ones that came with the gun.

 

The accurate hex bolts with the correct diamond cross-hatch knurling pattern are somewhat difficult to find. Tino (T-Jay) provides a completion kit which includes the correct hex bolts and the threads even fit the Airsoft gun, however they are about 4 threads too long and they bottom out in the threaded hole. No problem at all, I just took them into the shop and grinded them down to size. Before (top) After (bottom)

 

Here are some photos I took with the hex bolts after a prelminary paint test, this is NOT the finish I will be using.

Profile Views

 

Here are Before & After comparison photos of my modified Airsoft Muzzle Cap. Before modification on top, After modification on the bottom.

 

 

And finally here are comparison photos of a real Sterling MK4 L2A3 (top), and my modified Airsoft Muzzle Cap (bottom)

 

I hope you enjoyed this chapter of my blaster build, please feel free to leave any comments or critique my work. I always enjoy reading your all of your feedback. In the next update I will correcting the accuracy issues with the folding stock and the front and rear sight guards.

 

to be continued...

Edited October 19, 2017 by SlyFox740

[T-Jay[TK]]

Well done, Henry. These modifications truly help making it look like a real Sterling. Can't wait for your next "Episode"

[SlyFox740[TK]]

Well done, Henry. These modifications truly help making it look like a real Sterling. Can't wait for your next "Episode"

Thank you very much Tino, that means a lot to me coming from you! Your latest build has been very inspiring.

[johnnyfl]

Hi Henry,

 

Sorry I have not replied to your message sooner but things have been really hectic for me work wise but I have finally had a chance to catch up with your thread and your work looks great my friend. I had intended to modify my E11 with some original Sterling parts and tried to pick some up during a visit to the US last year but ran into problems trying to pay with a non-US credit card so that idea had to be shelved. It is actually easier to buy a complete deactivated Sterling in the UK than simple parts like the stock or muzzle which is why I opted to keep mine as a functional airsoft, but what you are doing to make this as screen accurate as possible is really impressive and I like the way you turned the muzzle edge down to make it more curved. I might have to do that to mine  .  I might have missed it but one part I don't think you mentioned was the bayonet holder lug which from my experience is slightly the wrong shape and a bit small compared to the original, but this would be a simple swap with an original part (assuming it was possible to get one!). Keep up the great work. Cheers Johnnyfl

[SlyFox740[TK]]

what you are doing to make this as screen accurate as possible is really impressive and I like the way you turned the muzzle edge down to make it more curved. I might have to do that to mine . I might have missed it but one part I don't think you mentioned was the bayonet holder lug which from my experience is slightly the wrong shape and a bit small compared to the original, but this would be a simple swap with an original part (assuming it was possible to get one!). Keep up the great work. Cheers Johnnyfl

Thanks a lot John, I really appreciate that! Yes I did breifly mention the inaccurate bayonet lug in my chapter titles at the end of the introduction, but I may edit that post to make note of it a little earlier. I will be correcting the inaccuracies on the bayonet lug when I install the T-track in Episode V or possibly maybe even before that. There are also some other minor details here and there that I will be correcting along the way, some are noted in the introduction, and others just weren't really worth mentioning yet, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

Edited June 18, 2016 by SlyFox740

[scottjua]

holy crap! Fantastic job so far. I just saw your pm and came to check it out... Bravo man. So far so awesome. The grip is the one biggest gripe about the airsoft, but you've gone way far above and beyond to make it awesome. 

[SlyFox740[TK]]

holy crap! Fantastic job so far. I just saw your pm and came to check it out... Bravo man. So far so awesome. The grip is the one biggest gripe about the airsoft, but you've gone way far above and beyond to make it awesome. 

 

Thank you so much Scott, I really appreciate the kind words. That means a lot to me coming from you. I have seen many of your prop replicas on YouTube,

some of the most beautiful DL-44s I have ever seen by far. But I have also seen the video of your E-11 Airsoft Conversion you did on commission for a customer. That video along with a few other airsoft conversions actually helped to inspire this build so thank you for posting that, I love how you compare it next to your real Sterling conversion it shows how accurate the overall scale is. You really do make some nice prop replicas Scott, so your comments/critiques are very encouraging. There are still some differences to correct but I'm doing everything possible to make this airsoft gun more accurate to a real Sterling before I even start converting it to an E-11.  I hope you follow along!

Edited June 23, 2016 by SlyFox740