Friday, August 28, 2009

OT Build - Stormtrooper blaster

Almost finished. Just a few details and the folding stock and I'm going to call this one done...
...for now.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

OT Build - Stormtrooper Blaster

More pics. I evened out the paint on the barrel. With weathering and overcoat, it will blend evenly.











Monday, August 17, 2009

OT Build - Stormtrooper Blaster Progress

Made some progress this weekend on the blaster. I got a scrap piece of trex board from my brother in law. It worked perfectly, no grain on the surface and cut pretty easily. I added two layers of styrene material to create the grips and then smoothed the seams with glazing putty to make it less "clunky" feeling. I had to epoxy the handle to the barrel as the back screw wasn't going in very well and I did not wish to damage the barrel or handle trying to force the issue. I left the screw in the forward area of the handle.
The top of the site rail is painted black, but I did not paint the bottom. I like the look of it "as is", so I'm leaving it that way.
I also started work on the folding stock. I have decided to lock the stock in a closed position. I don't recall ever seeing the stock opened in any of the movies and to me, it looks better closed, not to mention the savings in added cost of material to make is strong enough to open and close without damaging components.
The paint appears "two toned" as I had to tape off the areas of the heat baffling (the holes in the barrel) to protect the metallic inner barrel. I plan on weathering and clear coating the gun when it's done, so it's going to get evened out eventually.
Just a few more components and details to add, maybe another one or two weeks work. I haven't added the hengstler counter. That update may come later on. This will end up becoming a cross between the ANH and ROTJ versions. As with any art piece, it will never really be "finished" as I'm sure to find something to tweak and improve it down the road. Of course, R2 builders know nothing of this... ;-D

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

OT build - Stormtrooper blaster

I was on vacation last week and even with spending time with the family, I found some time to work a little on my Stormtrooper blaster. It won't be 100% accurate as there are so many reference pics and variations listed online. I chose to base my build from the ANH style and modify here and there, such as a red dot scope in place of the m38 style tank spotting scope. So far, aside from the scope (an Ebay find for $4.99...), the parts used have been either scrap pieces or found items that were laying around. Very little has been purchased and I'm hoping to keep my total build cost as low as possible - a challenge to myself to scratch build this and make it look convincing. Here's the latest pics of my progress.