So I recently decided to sell my Solo's Hold Greedo Killer Scope and purchase one of Field Marshall's new replicas. Both are great replicas and have their strengths, but the main feature that sold me on Field Marshall's was that it includes the step up in diameter for the front bell (circled below in red) which to me is one of the defining features of this scope:
EDIT: Field Marshall has since tweaked the design of his scope replica, so some of these build details don't hold true anymore. I've made note below when this is the case ...
FM's replica comes with flat acrylic lenses. After some searching, I was able to find domed glass watch crystals on eBay that fit both ends perfectly:
EDIT: Field Marshall has since tweaked his design and these lenses wouldn't fit the new one, so don't buy them! I've also realized that if you go with a thicker "single dome" watch crystal you can get a magnifying effect. It won't focus, but the blurred effect adds to the illusion of a working scope.
Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the replica while it was in pieces, but this scope comes in six pieces (not including the lenses), as opposed to four like Solo's Hold's. The windage box assembles just like Solo's Hold's replica, with both knobs threading directly through the box and into the body of the scope. FM's replica has two additional machined pieces that hold the lenses in place, and are then affixed to the ends of the scope. FM's method makes for a bit more difficult of an assembly, but the end result looks really nice.
Each of these retaining pieces have machined steps on the inside that hold their lens in place, but they are made so that the lenses needs to be inserted from the back. This means that you have to put some thought into the order in which you assemble/paint the pieces of this scope ... the lenses have to be affixed to these retainer pieces (I used a few dabs of epoxy) before the retainers are attached to the scope. That being said, if you want to be able to run a wire through the main body of the scope to help hold it while you paint it, you have to do that before you affix the end pieces. So, here is the method that I went with:
First, I strung a wire through the inside of just the scope body, and hit that with a few coats of Krylon satin black. I was careful not to spray any paint into the inside of the smaller end of the scope yet, as I didn't want to gum up the threads that are there for inserting the smaller lens retainer later. I did, however spray some paint into the inside of the larger end, as I didn't want this to appear silver when looking through the scope.
I then glued the smaller lens into its retainer, and masked the outside of that glass lens with putty (the blue kind that is used for hanging posters). I used a small flat screwdriver to press it snugly into all crevices, being careful to cover all glass, but leave all metal exposed. I then threaded that retainer piece into the smaller end of the scope. To look most accurate, this piece needs to be threaded all the way in, until the retainer is recessed into the tube about a half an inch or so. This was tough, because as it sank deeper into the tube, I didn't have anything to grip onto to twist the piece. The putty actually helps here, as it provides some grip. *Be careful not to push too hard on the lens while doing this, or you can break the epoxy and pop it back out of place! You do have to apply some pressure, however, to help thread the piece. I used a straightened coat hanger with a Q-Tip taped to one end to apply upward pressure on the lens from inside the tube while pushing down and twisting, to be able to better manage the amount of pressure. It's tricky. Once it was as deep as it would go, I hit the whole piece with another coat of satin black. I used the coat hanger/Q-Tip rig to hold the tube for this painting session. End result:
Removing the putty was a bit of a PITA, but a Q-tip with some alcohol helped to remove the little bit of residue that was left:
EDIT: Field Marshall has since tweaked his design and the smaller front element is no longer threaded, doing away with the need for masking the lens. It now works just like the larger bell.
The larger front bell on FM's replica also comes as a separate piece, but this piece isn't threaded, and has to be pressure fit (I'll come back to this in a bit). The machined step in this piece also demands that the lens be pushed in from the back, so this one was also tricky. First, I painted this retainer piece on its own (all surfaces). Once dry, I epoxied in the larger lens:
Once that dried, I attempted to press fit the piece into the scope with just my hands and a rubber mallet. After many attempts, I only managed to get the piece in there about halfway, crooked and stuck. I went to the hardware store and for $40 I got a heavy duty bar clamp that made very fast work of the job:
Edit: Field Marshall has since tweaked his design and the lens elements have a smaller outer diameter, so they no longer need to be pressure fit. They simply drop right in, allowing you to affix them with epoxy etc.
I was a bit worried that being two separate pieces, the seam may not look accurate once fit, but I think it looks pretty spot on!
In all my man-handling of the scope while attempting to hammer in the front bell, I definitely put some scuffs on it. I think I'll hit it with one more coat (doing some masking of course) before weathering it. I'll report back with photos once I've weathered the scope. From there, this thing is on the shelf until Field Marshall's new 11-fin grill comes out in 2018! That being said ... Here's a teaser for my next real-parts build!
Build thread here:
Build: Luke Macrobinoculars (ANH Hero)