Reboot....

It's been a while since I've posted anything Artoo related. I've been doing works here and there on items. Although it's been too cold outside to paint, I have been painting parts indoors. The booster covers and one shoulder horse shoe are recently completed.

I have also started working on my front logics. My circuit tested fine, but I had a couple wires that had broken on my chain while transporting back and forth from my home to my in laws where I was working. I replaced the wire connections and glued the first pigtail in place. The bezels are from Calvin Thomas (Thanks Calvin!!!). They are a little big for Keith's resin logic surrounds, so I'm eliminating one column of lights and shifting the bezel over slightly to center the installed leds. I'm not drastically off center and eliminating 10 lights leaves me a little more room for error and less draw on the pic flasher.

The picture doesn't do justice for the blue booster cover. The cobalt blue is very deep, but in natural daylight, brightens up considerably. The leg and the shoulder are Satin White. I haven't mounted anything yet and probably will not until after I have the legs attached to the body and tested. I still have to paint the silver edge on the recessed layer of the horse shoe shoulder. The shoulder hubs are in process of being painted, as are the leg struts that fit in the booster.

The leds are extremely bright, but will tone down when all of them are installed on the pic flasher.

Things will probably be slow over the next couple of months with the holidays, and work around the house.

OT build complete!!!

Well, almost.... but close enough that I probably won't update another pic. I have just a few very minor details to put on and paint for the folding stock mount (the tube that's behind the grip...) and it will be as done as it's getting for now. I plan on attempting the M38 style sight, but that will be a project for another time.

So, here's my version of a Blastech E-11 Stormtrooper blaster.



And now, back to our regularly scheduled droid build...

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.

OT Build - Stormtrooper Blaster

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

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

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.

OT Build

So, I needed a break from building R2 as I sit back and think of how I am going to mount the legs to the body. I have painting to do for the resin parts that I received, some of which I have already done. Lots of "busy work" that won't be posted. In the meantime, I found a very inexpensive way to create a BlasTech E11 blaster rifle, or Stormtrooper blaster. This will be pretty much scratch built from parts on hand. The expected cost was around $50, however, I have most of the stuff I need lying around with the exception of paint, so I'm hoping to keep the total run between $20 and $30, and still keep the appearance as convincing as possible. Ahh - the art of scratch building!!!!

So far, I have the outer barrel prepped and painted, the inner barrel painted and test fitted. The end cap is also painted with the exception of the leading edge. The barrel end needs to be sanded and details cut and applied. I'm on the fence about getting a red dot scope as opposed to scratch building a non functional one. That will put my cost around the $30 mark total if I go that route - still not bad!! Stay tuned - I'm looking to have some fun with this one!!!