Han Solo ANH Hero DL-44 Heavy Blaster ***COMPLETED PICS ON PG. 4***

[FakeBritishAccent]

Re: Han Solo ANH Hero DL-44 Heavy Blaster from a Denix Mauser

@The Night: No problem, friend...and thanks for the kind words!

More boring updates = No new pics

I spent an hour or so shaving down the inside lip of my wood grips. I was wondering why they fit kinda loose and wonky and was considering buying a larger screw to fasten the grips tighter together. Turns out, all I needed was my Dremel and a little bit of time and now it fits perfectly! Tomorrow's work will probably be pretty boring too...just some cosmetic finessing of the the grips' edges and shaving down a bit of the Denix's frame so it's nice and flush with the grips. I can't wait until I receive my package from Markus/Odiwan...after that, it's the home stretch.

G'night y'all!

-Jonaas

 

[AMP]

Re: Han Solo ANH Hero DL-44 Heavy Blaster from a Denix Mauser

Awesome work so far!

 

[FakeBritishAccent]

Re: Han Solo ANH Hero DL-44 Heavy Blaster from a Denix Mauser

Thanks, AMP!

 

[Godsmulligan]

Great work! Thanks for sharing the whole build.
Can you blue cast metal, or does it need painting?

I've done it before but it takes a LOT of coats, and it doesn't always turn out right.

Nice build. I'll be watching to see how the paint turns out.

 

[FakeBritishAccent]

Re: Han Solo ANH Hero DL-44 Heavy Blaster from a Denix Mauser

Nice build. I'll be watching to see how the paint turns out.

Thanks, dude! As for the paint, here's another boring, no pics update. I spent the morning shaping the wood grips and the frame of the Denix to fit to my exact specifications. After realizing that there's really nothing left for me to modify on the blaster for now (I'm still awaiting a check nut to modify for the center of the crossbar and my flash hider and scope are still making their way to California) I decided to get started on paint.

Using Goo Gone spray, I stripped the body and the bull barrel of all Krylon Flat Black. The paint and primer on my scope mount remains as the gray primer I used helped hide tiny imperfections in my sculpt that I was too damn lazy to smooth out.

On the downside, the hair dryer I used to clean out all the metal shavings and paint particles from the inside of the lower receiver softened up the JB Weld I used to affix the right crossbar bolt so I have to reattach it. I'll probably stick with the JB Weld because I can't find any Loctite Strong, which is an adhesive that Lichtbringer uses on his blasters.

After drying the gun, I cut down the original Denix barrel to it's final length. I still have just enough leeway to allow me to mount the bull barrel in a nice and sturdy manner. If I decide to affix the bull barrel to the Denix tonight, I'll stop by Walmart to pick up a couple of cans of Krylon Flat and Satin Black and lay down a few coats.

Okay, time to sleep for 19 hours.

-Jonaas

 

[FakeBritishAccent]

Re: Han Solo ANH Hero DL-44 Heavy Blaster from a Denix Mauser

Okay, so there I was just about to doze off when the doorbell rang. I ran to the door and found the delivery man bringing me my last check nut from Grainger. I immediately ran to my workshop, reattached the crossbar bolt that had come loose and twisted on the new nut.

And then, it hit me! I decided to scrap my current blaster project and create THIS:

The DL-44 Snub Nose!

All kidding aside, I just wanted to put everything together so far, just so I could see how it all looked. After that, I stripped the gun of most of its placeholder components just so I could see if I was doing this right (when I say "MOST", it's because I'm still on the fence about the Blast-Tech grill. My other options are to wait for deadbolt and kpax's grill or modify the plumbing nipple I posted a pic of in my earlier posts). Tonight I'll modify the middle check nut (and hopefully not take out an eye).

Before I hit the hay (for real this time) I just wanted to put up some bonus pics of my Droid Caller.

The resin kit I got from eBay required very little clean-up. Just a few moments with an Xacto and some 220 grit and I had THIS.

After the Droid Caller was all smooth, I hit it with some black acrylic and silver enamel. I also made a few modifications that, while not SA, make me pretty happy (at least for right now, that is).

Okay. Unconsciousness in 10...9...8...7laa;sldfk ;akakkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkklkasj f;kldjas;l'a'''''''''';a lasdkf';akafsdkoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[FakeBritishAccent]

Re: Han Solo ANH Hero DL-44 Heavy Blaster from a Denix Mauser

Fresh out of 14-hour nap. I got myself a Big Mac, some Bud Ice, and then got to work:

I spent the last 2 and a half hours turning this:

Into this:

Because I'd chosen a 5/16 bolt to secure my scope mount cross bar, the choices I had for check nuts were limited. I'd settled on check nuts that were 1'4" smaller in diameter than I needed.

The problem was the center bolt I'd used was the same diameter as the side bolts...and I knew that the center nut on the Hero was visibly smaller than the side nuts. I'd studied Lichtbringer's thread when he encountered the same problem. He was able to take the nut he had on hand and chop them down to spec. I wanted to do the same thing, but using only my Dremel, a c-clamp, and some sandpaper.

I threw the check nut into my c-clamp. Since I hadn't altered the knurled edge just yet, it was nice and secure.

After a single pass with my Dremel, I had the initial recess carved in...but I had to further work it so the cavity wasn't rounded off.

The lip of the check nut was ground down with a rasp and some sandpaper to further distinguish it from its two brothers. The knurled edge was taken off with a Dremel and a sanding drum. This took some time.

Success! The middle check nut is now smaller and cosmetically different than the other two. I'm toying with the idea of permanently affixing this check nut to the scope mount...but that would hamper the idea of replacing the scope mount in the future if something better came up.

A parting shot. As I mentioned earlier, I'm waiting on my flash hider and scope to be delivered. Perhaps I'll get impatient and finish up the salt shaker/PVC flash hider I started earlier?

Thanks for looking, everyone!

-Jonaas

 

[Lichtbringer]

Re: Han Solo ANH Hero DL-44 Heavy Blaster from a Denix Mauser

For gods sake, son - why don´t you say anything before torturing yourself? :eek

I have 1 or 2 of my center nuts in my parts-box, and could easily turn them into the needed shape.

 

[FakeBritishAccent]

Re: Han Solo ANH Hero DL-44 Heavy Blaster from a Denix Mauser

For gods sake, son - why don´t you say anything before torturing yourself? :eek

I have 1 or 2 of my center nuts in my parts-box, and could easily turn them into the needed shape.

I was thinking of asking you first, but then I wasn't sure if your nuts would fit my bolts because you're using Metric. Thanks for offer though, sir!

 

[DOGFOX2109]

Re: Han Solo ANH Hero DL-44 Heavy Blaster from a Denix Mauser

Its dangerous reading threads like this because it makes you want to start building yourself. Great thread looks like im building a blaster next!

 

[Lichtbringer]

Re: Han Solo ANH Hero DL-44 Heavy Blaster from a Denix Mauser

I was thinking of asking you first, but then I wasn't sure if your nuts would fit my bolts because you're using Metric. Thanks for offer though, sir!

Good point - but i could have a alu M8-thread fixed with Loctite to it, before turning on the lathe a blank rod of your needed dia - so you could buy a cheap tap and die set from your local homedepot and thread it yourself.

There are some basic tools i would suggest to you for making such stuff:

a digital caliper with inch/cm - a cheap chinese one from the home depot is good enough, should be availaber around 10-15$

a tap and die set - i have a cheap one (next to the more expensive stuff) from M3 to M12 for 15€, there should be some equivalents in imperial found cheap at your location, too.

 

[FakeBritishAccent]

Re: Han Solo ANH Hero DL-44 Heavy Blaster from a Denix Mauser

a tap and die set - i have a cheap one (next to the more expensive stuff) from M3 to M12 for 15€, there should be some equivalents in imperial found cheap at your location, too.

I think a tap and die set is what I was missing the most during this build. Since I didn't have one, all of my bolts are simply JB Welded on. For my second build (hopefully after I've tracked down an MGC), I'll be more properly equipped.

 

[FakeBritishAccent]

Re: Han Solo ANH Hero DL-44 Heavy Blaster from a Denix Mauser

Its dangerous reading threads like this because it makes you want to start building yourself. Great thread looks like im building a blaster next!

Go for it, dude! Really, building this blaster (as frustrating as it can get sometimes) is the most fun I've had propping in a long time. Grab a Denix from eBay and get crackin'!

 

[FakeBritishAccent]

Re: Han Solo ANH Hero DL-44 Heavy Blaster from a Denix Mauser

A lil' Saturday update:

I finished drilling the holes on my temporary flash hider. I'm happy with it, but more than that I'm just itching to get my EE flash hider in the mail (OR Carson and Pat's new machined flash hider). I slapped everything together to get a sense of proportion and I'm damn happy with the results. Everything is just friction fit for now, but once my final parts come in, I'll start securing everything permanently.

Basically, I spent the last two days going over my blaster with a fine-tooth comb, sanding down any wonky angles, smoothing over a few burrs, stuff like that. I received my t-track from Marv/John, but I can't get started on my sight until I get my flash hider and antennas, so that's on hold for now. I MAY add the upper teeth on my scope mount, but since I didn't make a screw to secure it, it would be difficult to pull on and off. Plus, it's kinda unnecessary function-wise because the scope mount is very secure and like I mentioned before, I may end up just JB Welding it to the crossbar anyway. At the very least, I'll sculpt on dummy teeth with Apoxie Sculpt, just so it looks more like the Hero's scope mount.

That's it for now, everyone! Have a great day!

-Jonaas

 

[FakeBritishAccent]

Re: Han Solo ANH Hero DL-44 Heavy Blaster from a Denix Mauser

I'm restless! I know I have a more accurate flash hider coming in the mail, but I decided to finish my scratchbuilt version to keep me occupied.

I took my second chopped-up salt shaker and drilled the holes in with my Dremel. The holes are much more aligned than they were the first time around, but still a bit larger than they should be. I DID make a huge mistake this time, drilling 8 holes in a row instead of 6...but I filled the holes with Apoxie Sculpt, sanded it smooth, and drilled the correct number of holes over the patched over ones.

I JB Welded the trimmed-down cone into a small piece of 3/4" PVC pipe. I slid on a the nail polish remover cap and my original bullet knurled piece of PVC over the pipe and adjusted their spacing to the correct proportions. Once satisfied with their placement, I used JB Weld to fuse the pieces to the PVC pipe and Apoxie Sculpt to fill the gaps.

Preliminary sculpting. Halfway through smoothing the Apoxie Sculpt, I decided to fill in the old bullet knurls, which I'm planning to re-carve to a more accurate shape and depth. The Apoxie Sculpt is much easier to carve than PVC, so I'm hoping the bullet knurls will look better than they did the first time around.

I also spent some time cleaning up the recess under the lower receiver. I realized that I can't remove the mounting point without much more work, so I shaved it down as much as I could with my Dremel and a flat file. Also, the recess was a bit deep (it's supposed to be flush with the flat portion of the bull barrel. Since I didn't have any leeway with the bull barrel, I decided to fill up the lower receiver recess with more Apoxie Sculpt.

So that's it for now. I'm taking a break to let the Apoxie Sculpt cure but after that, I'll head back down to my workshop to finish up the flash hider.

See you in a bit!

-Jonaas

 

[FakeBritishAccent]

Re: Han Solo ANH Hero DL-44 Heavy Blaster from a Denix Mauser

Final paints have begun!

I decided against cold-bluing with Alu-Black because I wanted an even finish and I heard that with the Alu-Black, it was hit or miss. I read that the best way to paint a Han blaster was a coat of Flat Black followed by a coat of Satin Black. I've found that the finish was waaaay too shiny for my liking, so for now I'm sticking with just the Flat Black. Am I doing something something wrong? I do plan on giving it a clear coat of Matte. Maybe I'll run another test before I start weathering the blaster.

I DID, however, start to weather the scope mount. I initially planned on chipping and scraping at the paint with sandpaper and some small files, but I wanted to give drybrushed silver enamel a try. I was initially happy with it, but changed my mind. I've already stripped off all the paint from the scope mount and crossbar and they're awaiting my purchase of another can of Flat Black.

The blaster itself has already been permanently re-assembled. The bull barrel has been secured with JB Weld, all pegs have been re-fitted and JB Welded into place, and all peg holes have been filled with Apoxie Sculpt and smoothed over. I hit it with another few coats of Flat Black and it's now hanging in my garage to dry. My next update will feature the final painted and weathered blaster (minus the scope, flash hider, and t-track/antenna sight...those are still making their way from Germany).

Thanks for looking, everyone!

-Jonaas

 

[FakeBritishAccent]

Re: Han Solo ANH Hero DL-44 Heavy Blaster from a Denix Mauser

I just received the final parts I needed in the mail (Thanks again, Markus and Michael!). The blaster is almost near completion!

-Jonaas

 

[FakeBritishAccent]

Re: Han Solo ANH Hero DL-44 Heavy Blaster from a Denix Mauser

And here we are...the final stretch.

The "mystery disc" on the left side of the blaster was made by making a circle out of masking tape and spraying on several coats of Satin Black Krylon. This step was particularly unnerving because I knew that once I pulled off that masking tape, repainting and clear coating any unwanted dings or dents was going to be tedious and time-consuming. After pulling off the masking tape, I drilled a small hole right in the middle of the disc with my trusty Dremel.

After receiving my flash hider in the mail, I discovered what I'd feared all along: It was too big for my bull barrel! To remedy this, I started work on a "booster" from a poplar dowel rod. I used my Dremel to sand down a length of dowel to shape.

Numerous holes were drilled into my booster in order to create the cavity that I'd slide the bull barrel into. These tiny holes were drilled out using a Dremel carving bit I purchased specifically for this task.

The booster fitted into my flash hider. It was still a bit loose, but I knew a couple coats of Krylon would ensure a snugger fit.

I affixed the booster to the bull barrel with a copious amount of JB Weld. The flash hider is secured with an knurled M5 screw twisted through a hole drilled into the booster. It's so secure, I can even lift the blaster up by holding flash hider alone!

As I'd been warned before, the Hensoldt scope has small diameter. My scope mount cradle was simply to big to hold the heavy scope in place.

Using the same copper tubing I used to make the bottom of the scope cradle, I beefed up my store-bought scope rings, JB Welding small pieces of tubing to pick up the slack. The gaps between the copper tubing sections and the scope ring were filled with Apoxie Sculpt and sanded smooth.

A few coats of Satin Black Krylon later and the scope rings are now beefy enough to keep my Hensoldt right where it should be. Not only that, but since the same tubing was used on the scope mount cradle, the entire scope mount has a cleaner, more deliberate look to it!

I JB Welded Michael/Lichtbringer's awesome home-machined antennas onto a sanded-down piece of T-track to create the blaster's sight. After that, I hit it with a couple coats of Krylon Satin Black and Flat Clear Coat. It's currently drying right now, but I'm afraid that since the T-track is rubber, the paint won't cure correctly and will always remain tacky. If the tackiness remains, I'll simply strip it down and leave the T-track unpainted. Let's cross our fingers now.

All of the other pieces have already received their final clear coat and are drying in my garage. After much deliberation, I decided that my blaster's finish would only be SLIGHTLY weathered...the product of less than a dozen battles, I suppose.

My next post will feature my 100% completed blaster. I have work for the next two nights, but after that, it'll be all done.

Once again, thanks for following! See you on Sunday!

-Jonaas

 

[Lichtbringer]

Re: Han Solo ANH Hero DL-44 Heavy Blaster from a Denix Mauser

It´s coming together very nicely. cool


Äääh, that are not my antennas.

 

[FakeBritishAccent]

Re: Han Solo ANH Hero DL-44 Heavy Blaster from a Denix Mauser

Äääh, that are not my antennas.

Oh, of course...they're someone else's awesome antennas :rolleyes