simorph Posted May 30, 2019 Report Share Posted May 30, 2019 So I'm getting ready for app on my TK (https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/46398-simes-anh-tk-build/) And now it's time to start my build. I've got a Doopy Doos kit and one of Tino's finishing kit full of tiny screws and many goodies. I decided to make a start on the receiver and stock (convinced that at some point, I'll accidentally snap one of those stock arms off en route) Got it this far - currently filing out the little section under the stock that contains the inner latch (my plan to completely clear it out and then put the latch back in) Since I have a 3D printer, I modelled the little block that goes between the arms and printed it out in PLA (I'll upload any bits that I make to Thingiverse for other folks to use/adapt once I'm done) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Jay[TK] Posted May 30, 2019 Report Share Posted May 30, 2019 Ah, he finally did it. Great to see your build thread here, Simon. That is some serious progress right at the start. Hollowing the inside of the folding stock is not an easy task. Well done! And the first 3 aluminum pieces are installed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simorph Posted May 31, 2019 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2019 Folding stock screws Keyhole filed out Latch added in - gave it a go with Milliput, then gave up and instead 3D modelled something based off what I could see in the Sterling reference Super-easy to glue in with a bit of superglue (as I said earlier, I'll share up all these little greeblies on Thingiverse when I'm done) So, I need to do more digging out of the front stock, fill in the pipe behind the keyhole and put in a bolt to stand in for the latch, tidy up the fake bolts And then, I think, it's onto the Ejection Port and the Clearing Strip...and more dust! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CableGuy[Admin] Posted May 31, 2019 Report Share Posted May 31, 2019 Nice progress. :-)I do like s good DD/Completion kit E-11 build. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simorph Posted June 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2019 Another update: Finished off the front of the stock: Modded the ejection port: Bayonet lug + new screws: And scratchbuilt all the parts I fear might snap off using small pieces of aluminium: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Jay[TK] Posted June 4, 2019 Report Share Posted June 4, 2019 2 hours ago, simorph said: (...) And scratchbuilt all the parts I fear might snap off using small pieces of aluminium: WOW! This must have taken a while and some serious efforts to bring these up. Very nice. That selector lever and the front sight pin are stunning. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simorph Posted June 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2019 Thanks! Actually, it wasn't that hard - maybe 2 hours, tops! (And I've never done this before, but all the work I've done with wood and plastic helped me a great deal) For the trigger, I bought a small chunk of aluminium the thickness of the trigger, traced around it and made efficient cuts with a hacksaw to slice the metal away from the shape. Then I went in with a rough and smooth file (both with curved/flat sides) to finish off the shaping, and then went over it with some fine emery paper. For the trigger guard - that was a strip of aluminium that I bent in my vice - I laid the strip on the resin trigger guard and then drew a line where the aluminium strip deviated from the guard - I then put the aluminium strip in the vice, bent it a little, laid it back on top of the resin guard and then bent it more, or drew a new line where the aluminium and resin didn't line up - I did take this extra-careful because I knew I'd never be able to bend anything back on itself if I went too far. For the selector switch, I traced the resin one, cut it with a hacksaw and rounded off the ends with files - for the knurling, I put the end in my vice between two course files and tightened the vice until I couldn't tighten it any more = boom! real knurling! For the body of the selector switch - that's a piece of aluminium tubing I cut to the right height and then cut a 2mm slot in to slide the switch lever in, then I glued a washer to the bottom and packed out the rest of everything with plumbers resin (one of those two-part resin putties that has aluminium in it) For the sight - I just took the offcuts from the stock screws in your kit, and just filed them following the blueprints in the document you guys put together - the pair of digital calipers I use for my 3D printing came in super-handy! Thanks again though - I hated metalwork as a kid...but then again, they never let me build Star Wars blasters or nothing... ;) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simorph Posted June 7, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2019 And now, the trigger, trigger guard and selector switch are locked in. Used some nice two-part epoxy that's reinforced with aluminium, and modelled in some remaining details with green stuff. Decided to make everything static in the end - ultimately this is more about being a robust trooping blaster for me than having the functionality (if I wanted that, I think I might have done a Hasbro conversion.) And installed the pegs for ultimately attaching to the receiver... That's the grip kinda sorted (although if I find a dome nut, I'll swap that in beside the selector switch) Time to ponder which component to tackle next over the weekend. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simorph Posted June 8, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2019 Busy Saturday afternoon.... Decided to 3D model and print the sight block (again, I'll post these 3D bits to Thingiverse when I'm done) Installing the sight Magazine installed... Starting to look like something at last... Maybe it's the spring and inner gubbins next... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T K[501st] Posted June 8, 2019 Report Share Posted June 8, 2019 Super! These mods look great! Keep up the great work! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Jay[TK] Posted June 9, 2019 Report Share Posted June 9, 2019 Dovetail mod and knurling pattern on the front sight cage. Together with your front sight pin and the small grub screw, you have taken this section of your blaster to the limit. By the way, your build seems to run smooth and pretty fast. Keep the updates coming... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simorph Posted June 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2019 (edited) So, I had a busy weekend.... Scope screws.... I used a stepper drill bit (much easier to use for controlled drilling of big holes than those massive, scary spade bits!) to drill as deep as I could through the scope and decided not to try and risk drill all the way through But everything's now opened up enough so I can drop in all the lenses from Tino's kit and create a nice illusion of depth End cap.... Scratchbuilt inner bolt which is going to be fun, squeezing back down that interior once it's all painted up Rear sight, plus underside catch - decided to make that non-functioning, but trimmed it all down to fit within the aluminium u-channel Power cylinder bolts (boy, those were sooo fiddly!) Capacitors... So here's everything so far... Big things to do: 1. Cut the scope rail + counter bracket 2. Finish off power cylinders And then it's the puzzle of priming, painting and assembly ...and I just discovered that I'd put the front flash shield on the wrong way around....thankfully I managed to easily unseat it, flip it and reattach. PHEW! Edited June 11, 2019 by simorph 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Jay[TK] Posted June 11, 2019 Report Share Posted June 11, 2019 Honestly, I love following this build. Not only because the updates are coming on an almost regular basis, but also because of the precise way each item is installed. Seems like somebody is eager to indeed use EVERY item from his completion set, he?! That is how it should be. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simorph Posted June 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2019 Pretty much! Thanks. You did all the hard work in sourcing these parts, so I feel it's essential to use them! I think so far, I've just bailed on the selector switch and instead of putting the monocular into the sight, dismantled the monocular for its lenses. Since posting this morning, I've realised that my inner bolt is slightly off - so I've taken the diagonal strip off and I'm going to fashion that onto a second, rectangular block as you've done in your build. Just ordered a bit of 1.5mm aluminium so I can build the power cylinder plate in one, robust unit (using these plans) - seems easier than trying to sand out the original capacitors. Plus, I want to scratch build the missing mag clip too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Jay[TK] Posted June 11, 2019 Report Share Posted June 11, 2019 Sounds like a plan, Simon. Regarding the power cylinders, here is a link to Andy's (PlayfulWolfCub) research thread. He went into this topic like no one else before. Not sure if you knew this PDF. Regarding the monocular, here is a link to 'Update #24' of my Lucky#Eleven build, how to best install the lenses AND the reticle lens. Maybe it is of any help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simorph Posted June 12, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2019 Thank you! So, I realised I could 3D print the bolt insert, so I took measurements from Tino's photos and my blaster and quickly constructed a little block that matched the curve of the inner pipe and section of the ejector port. I decided to make the small angular strip separate and out of the same plastic as the strip in the ejector port so hopefully, with a little fiddling and fudging, I can make it look like an extension of the same part... Awaiting delivery of my aluminum for the power cylinder base and itching to finish these parts off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simorph Posted June 14, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2019 So I did some metal work... A little aluminium latch for the magazine Also, I finally cut the scope rail and created an aluminium plate for the power cylinders, 3D printed some more accurate-looking capacitors than I can hand-model with green stuff and rod. The plate, I found a great little template on the forum (link below), but am eyeballing all the rest of the measurements from the Doopy's resin part, since (having spent days pouring over the various research threads and guides here) I can't find any actual definitive 'agreed' dimensions for the power cylinders. (I know there's no absolute screen accurate dimensions - they're all best guesses, but there's not a thread or guide that I've found that actually states what they are/should be - thankfully the template for the bottom plate matches the Doopy's one, so I'm happy with that.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted June 14, 2019 Report Share Posted June 14, 2019 Did you get a chance to read this, Simon? Quite informative: https://www.dropbox.com/s/s53lnuh9rq5xe7a/E11 Power Cylinders Analysis.pdf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simorph Posted June 14, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2019 Oh, yes. Fascinating stuff and really helpful. But, a little thin on the ground r.e. estimates of dimensions. But thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mupfel Posted June 17, 2019 Report Share Posted June 17, 2019 Great work so far!Happy to see that more blaster builds are coming up with mods ! :-)Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simorph Posted June 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2019 So, I finally put together my power cylinders - pleased with the results - not absolutely super-perfectly accurate, but closer than the Doopy's standard resin kit versions and cleaner and sharper... 3D-printed capacitors - small snips of staple wire glued in place for the connection wires 3D-printed end caps (couldn't find anything in the workshop or online that I could easily adapt to get more accuracy), a bit of aluminium tubing inside the brass tubing for the 'cores' Kept the red wiring super-simple as per Tino's guide - too fiddly to try and make it 1000% accurate Used offcuts of brass tubing for the resistors, filled the ends with super glue and sanded them flat Then it was time to drill and test-fit the scope rail and see how everything lines up: Determined to make sure I stay patient and layer up the paint over the next few days, so here's everything hit with a coat of filler primer. Tomorrow, a coat of grey primer, then wait a day, then it's silver, then two days for that to degass, etc., etc... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mupfel Posted June 19, 2019 Report Share Posted June 19, 2019 Looks brilliant!Now, the best part of the build is coming up :-)...Enjoy...Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simorph Posted June 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2019 So I painted the scope brass... And silver for the receiver and other parts... And I waited a good 48 hours before hitting things with the matt black top coat (Plastikote)... ...which came out GLOSS! The most by-the-book, tested everything with everything, preshaken and warmed the cans paint job...and the Matt Black Paint came out gloss... So I left it a day, hit it with another brand of Matt Black paint on top (Hycote) - which came out matt black... ...but crazed the paint in several random spots! So I waited another day...sanded back the 'orange peel', and hit it again with Hycote Matt Black... ...which fixed it on the receiver. I then got some Rustoleum Matt Clear Spray, hit everything else with that - nothing reacted and the finish went from Gloss to Matt... PHEW! Weird - I've used all these combos of paints on other props, but never had a Matt Black cure as gloss or, had a reaction like that... Maybe, all I can put it down to was maybe a little bit of grease when handling (I use blue gloves the majority of the time, but will have handled the receiver with bare hands at some point. Anyways, after all that faff and rescue work, I got it finished. I've decided to let it wear and weather naturally. Other notes: A bit of fake muck/oil washed onto the eject port to bring the pure silver of the paint down A little white into the lettering on the scope Painted the gloss part of the handle properly gloss black, with several layers of a proper gloss black paint Painted the T tracks with some Plasticote black - that gives them a rubberised feel, although there isn't much of a noticeable difference in reflectivity in photos - but it is noticeable when handling the blaster Here's the pics: # Thanks everyone for all the help! Now to get some app pics sorted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Jay[TK] Posted July 17, 2019 Report Share Posted July 17, 2019 (edited) Congratulations Simon on getting this beautyful blaster done in such a short time. Photos do look great. There is just one little thing to mention: your charging handle seems to be installed front to back. The photos above are taken in an angle, which makes it hard to see, but I noticed that on the side-views in your EIB and Centurion apps. Keeping fingers crossed for an easy fix (hopefully)... And good luck for level 2 and 3. Edited July 17, 2019 by T-Jay 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simorph Posted July 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2019 Dammit! That was a good spot. You know - I know which way around that piece should be. I've studied the ref a gazillion times. I swore it was the correct way round when I read your post on my phone... But it wasn't! For some insane reason, I had indeed glued it totally the wrong way around. Pleased to say I did a great job of fixing it in, making it completely robust. Which meant, that to get it out it snapped into multiple pieces and I had to drill the rest away to get the fixing bolt out. Time to source a new one/scratchbuild a new one from aluminium. Thanks...I think... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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