Sent yesterday. I'll try again...
kpax said:
I received a few pics from Kurtyboy and they do show some interesting - NEW details I think.
I will post later some enhanced versions.
Thanks again Kurtyboy!
just some cleaned up comps of the blaster from all side,
...they meet again at last
I think we have cracked the front sight antenna greeby toggle thing a ma bob.
I think this will be another new discovery for this thread!
After you review, please let us know what you think.
Thanks to everyone who has read and commented and helped push this project forward with your interest.
I know a lot of you on the RPF have been here and following this for a while now and know a lot more about the history of the parts and SW in general than I do.
I will start by presenting some background to get everyone on the same page.
There are a few issues with the front sight antenna greeby area.
1) No clear sharp photos have come to light.
2) Multiple conditions of the prop, from pre- production to post and film
the prop has been damaged and altered along the way.
below illustrates a few conditions:
Antenna/Toggle and T Track
In addition to the Antenna/Toggle and T Track , the tilted FH causes a lot of problems when trying to image this area.
It causes optical illusions about the size an placement of the antenna.
Note how the antenna looks much bigger and higher on the top image with the tilted FH. When corrected (below) you can see that the antenna sit about where it does on the Merr Sonn, just slightly above the FH. ** (more on this later)
The only good image we have of the FH centered on the barrel is the pre-production which does not have the sight, and the Merr Sonn cast which has the antenna and T track visible. The problem to take into consideration is that the barrel is longer on the Merr Sonn so the antenna/Toggle/T track (ATT) will need to sit back farther on the barrel. Since it is a tapered barrel the ATT will ride a bit higher in relation to the FH.
In the new LEFT side HERO (thanks Marcus) we can see the FH and antenna area much better. In that shot, the FH is crooked and tilted.
In the image below, I removed the scope for better visibility, and overlaid it on the publicity still photo where you can see the antenna looks very big. The angle is a bit off but you get the idea, so these shots were taken at around the same time / condition of the prop.
In the image below, I used my model with the NEW ATT sight in place and took a few pics at roughly the same angle as the publicity shots.
The shot on the left is as the model is, with centered FH, on the right is a simulated look at how it would appear if the FH was tilted the same as the center shot.
(note: I can not tilt my FH because the barrel/booster I made is one piece and keeps the FH centered)
Note how much bigger and higher the antenna SEEMS to be.
In the image below, I made the ATT sight to the general size and shape of the Merr Sonn and Hero scaled pics.
This is a rough -mock up model and not machined parts so pardon the messy uneven look of the parts.
What you will notice is that the antenna and T Track sits correctly on the barrel.
In this model, I made the T track longer like the Merr Sonn so I could compare the position.
Remember that the Merr Sonn Barrel is longer and my parts are not completely straight and even, but I think it looks exactly like the Merr Sonn set up.
I took the photo from about the same angle as the Merr Sonn HERO, slightly from the underside.
Again, please note that the sizing and shape need to be cleaned up and adjusted, but the look is the same IMO.
You are a machine, Pat!
I hope Lonepigeon can pop in with his views...
There has always been the question of what we are seeing. Are we looking at the Antenna?, or the broken T Track? Or both?
In making this mock up (which I should have done long ago) I was able to work out where and why... but still not what these parts were.
In this next image, You can see the comparison between the drawing by Lonepigeon (left) and the new image (right)
It has been long accepted that the antenna sit on top of the T track, just like the MR props, but I had suggested a while back that the track was cut or ground to allow the antenna to sit on the barrel because you just can not see a hint of the T track base edge in the Merr Sonn Hero close up under the antenna... and as my model proves this is true!
kurtyboy said:
You are a machine, Pat!
I hope Lonepigeon can pop in with his views...
Me too! I would love to hear his thoughts.
Just wait... it gets better.
In this image, I tried to show the HERO that seems to show the ATT with the rod either cut off or cropped out.
It shows the FH tilted.
I took some pics with my model at generally the same angle with my ATT set up, both straight FH and a simulated tilt FH to compare.
I think it is very close and proves that in the LEFT HERO shot, the left antenna and T track is broken off and missing as well as the right antenna rod.
...but if the antenna was glued to the top of the T track, and the T track broke off, how could the right antenna still be there????
Any guesses...
okay, it's because I was wrong!
The antenna do not sit on top of the T track, nor was the T track ground... (necessarily but still may have been trimmed)
...the antenna sit on the barrel NEXT TO the T track!
And I'll show you how and why it must be.. but this is what it looked like.
Did you incorporate the t-track dimensions that I gave you (from Gino's stuff)?
kpax said:
okay, it's because I was wrong!
The antenna do not sit on top of the T track, nor was the T track ground... (necessarily but still may have been trimmed)
...the antenna sit on the barrel NEXT TO the T track!
And I'll show you how and why it must be.. but this is what it looked like.
The image below demonstrates and compares the difference.
All the images were taken at generally the same angle. (you can see the flat bottom of the barrels)
The top image is the Merr Sonn HERO. Note how the antenna sits on the barrel. You see no evidence of the T track edge under it.
The center image shows my model with the antenna sitting on the barrel NEXT TO the track as I described.
The bottom image show the antenna sitting on to of the t track base (like the MR)
Note the difference in height! The general look.
If the Merr Sonn antenna WAS sitting on the T track, it would look like that and be very noticeable. ( and my base thickness is only 1/16 inch)
(By the way, you don't see the T track now because I cut it to a front sight wedge shape in these pics but the entire track is there and the right side antenna.)
Last edited by kpax; Nov 22, 2011 at 12:52 PM.
kurtyboy said:
The T track size was derived from a combo of things but I did compare to Gino's, Thanks again!
I think the T track height will be finalized when Carson gets a 3d and can rotate the image. The width seems to be about 3/8 inch? Hard to tell, but comparing that great top pic you provided it seems correct.
At least when the entire part is assembled, the angled photos line up so I think it is close.
The MR image just always threw me because it looked so big...
Excellent work, Pat!!
Although I have also begun to reconsider the t-track theory for the DL-44, and the antenna beside the track sounds very likely for the Merr Sonn, I'm not fully confident if it's quite the same setup for both. And I'm not really sure if the track was ever fully missing from the DL-44 either, it's really tough to tell what was cropped and what wasn't in the new left side photo.
My thought is that it seems possible for the t-track to be rotated off center to where the edge of the track's base is roughly center on the Barrel. May be possible for the center strip to be modified causing the odd look from the side, and likely allot of glue around like you suggest. From the top view this way seems very similar. And if the track mods can be figured, the look from the side may be fixed as well.
I haven't modified the track here just yet, just rough trimmed. But notice the antenna height from the side seems to match pretty decent as well.
Also, the current t-track here seems pretty close scaled at a 10mm base width.
-Carson
Here are a bunch of photos of the receiver with the ATT both full and part broken to compare.
Remember that the size is a little off (prob too big) but close enough to tell. The mock up is just clay and cardboard so don't mind the sloppy appearance.
It looks odd and different but it is the only way it works.
Looks good Carson,
But why would they center all the Merr Sonn sights and not the Solo Hero?
I could see if the FH was twisted, that's entirely possible but the sight blade should still be in the center of the barrel, they weren't that sloppy.
In this image if you look close, you can see the glue line from the top image and the Promo side shot. They match up.
My thought is that in these shots the Track was missing and only the glue lines remain.
IF the T track was there you would be able to see it in this image:
I took photos from the same angle after removing only the left antenna.
Based on the Merr Sonn T track, and the shadow across the vertical blade, my guess is that the blade tapered about half way up the blade and had rounded edges on top. (see cross section)
This is the way I see the front sight build as it would have been if Capt. Solo wasn't such a butter fingers and dropped his blaster so much!
Well.. that's all I got. Holding this thing and turning it over and over and looking ate the available photos, it matches.
but, I could be wrong...
let the discussion commence!
I agree, that's the main problem I see with my crooked t-track idea. Why would they glue it that way!
What does everyone else think?
-Carson
Gino's t-track tapers from the bottm all the way up. I've re-sent you the email with dimensions.
Thanks Marcus, Got your dimensions. Thanks! close. His are a bit bigger maybe. all in the ball park though.
The drawing you made and Gino's could well be the way it is. Very small part after-all.
This is why I though what I thought:
From the pics I've seen, the MR track sight is twice as wide which always made me uncomfortable. If it were that big, it could never work.
There are a lot of posts here. Frankly, I think you're working hard to prove something that's already been done.
My drawing is much more correct than yours. Your part proportions are way off which is skewing your ideas/findings. There's no room for the antenna to sit next to the track (your mockup track is too skinny).
One antenna sitting on top of a piece of T-track. That's it.
The track's center ridge is broken or purposely cut.
The reason you don't see the antenna's stem in some pics is because it angles inward and gets obscured (or the pic you're looking at is very low quality).
The reason I don't come to this thread very much is because I've been over all this before with MR. They matched their 3D model to higher res pics and the T-track/antenna combo always matched. As far as I'm concerned there's nothing to figure out except the identity of the parts.
I am very interested in the new barrel being worked up and I'm looking forward to new parts being produced.
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