DL-44 ESB Blaster Discussion - Greeblies POST 208

[Dann]

Still messing around with the drawn-on knurling.

This time I used blue painter's tape, painted with the same color as the rest of the hider.

 

[JLinNY]

It really does! It's just so hard to tell for sure.

It's also such a bummer that it's the only part that ended up on Luke's gun, whether other parts fell off or not!

I'm doing a Luke blaster, and I am leaning towards putting the two parts on there instead of the one that can be seen. I'm going with the theory that there were two parts on there and one fell off. The Hoth and ESB stunts both have two; why not the Luke and even the Han Bespin blasters originally?

 

[Dann]

I agree, I think that's totally possible, if not probable.

I went ahead and put two on my Luke version, as well!

 

[JLinNY]

Still messing around with the drawn-on knurling.

This time I used blue painter's tape, painted with the same color as the rest of the hider.

View attachment 538788View attachment 538789

That looks good Dann!! I agree with you; odiwan's drawn on hider looks great.

 

[Dann]

I even went so far as to glue pistons on my Luke, then pop them back off, so it'd look like they were there, and during shooting fell off.

And thanks, sir!

 

[JLinNY]

I agree, I think that's totally possible, if not probable.

I went ahead and put two on my Luke version, as well!

Good choice haha :thumbsup At least they were making some kind of attempt at consistency

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I even went so far as to glue pistons on my Luke, then pop them back off, so it'd look like they were there, and during shooting fell off.View attachment 538792View attachment 538793

And thanks, sir!

That looks great!! How did you do the hider weathering?

 

[Dann]

I think I just used paint. It was over a year ago, now, so I can't remember.

I may have used some matte clear as well.

 

[Halliwax]

Still messing around with the drawn-on knurling.

This time I used blue painter's tape, painted with the same color as the rest of the hider.

View attachment 538788View attachment 538789

man thats got to be pain stacking... came out great though!

 

[Dann]

Thanks! It's really not that bad, I just stuck the tape to my cutting mat after painting, then used a straight edge and a thin sharpie to draw the lines.

I tried to make the lines uneven, but I couldn't bring myself to make it look quite as bad as the real one looks!

 

[Dann]

Have the day off work today, so I made yet another flash hider last night.

I think I finally got the taper of the cone correct, though it may be a hair short.

My knurling lines look to be spaced too far apart this time, but I'm really liking the technique I'm using to apply them. Whether they drew them on or not, it's really looking the part to me.

The overall diameter of the flash hider may be a touch too big, still. Sometimes I compare it to the reference and it looks right, other times it doesn't. I think so many of the replica flash hiders I've had over the years looked so undersized and anemic, that I could be overcompensating subconsciously, thereby making all mine too big! Heh, that was a kinda dirty sentence. [emoji12]

All that aside, it sure is fun making them!



Edit: Just compared with the photos again. It looks like my knurled section may be a hair too long, as well. I might chuck it back up on the lathe and shorten that a little bit.

 

[Dann]

Here are a few comparison shots, newest flash hider on top in all photos.

I added some more lines to the "knurling", as well.

 

[kurtyboy]

Yeah! Loving in!!!

 

[Dann]

Thanks, sir!

 

[OdiWan72]

Looks spot on to what I see on the prop.
Since you used black material to machine the muzzle from, did you also try to scratch the lines into the silver paint instead of painting it on? Curious to see, if you could get the same effect by this OR if the paint would simply chip away

 

[HyBRiD]

Where can i buy a luke esb???

Sent from my SM-G901F using Tapatalk

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

Very nice effort. However I am in the opinion that the lines are simply black paint/weathering that has settled randomly in between soft detailed raised knurling based on what is seen on the better resolution images.

 

[Dann]

Thanks.

You could be right, MJF.

As far as scratching the paint, I could try, but the paint I'm using likes to chip off. I'll give it a shot on one of my previous hiders.

 

[Lichtbringer]

No knurling on it for me - but what do i know about conventional machining.

Dann, i´ve send you the requested dimensions for your private use (only).

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

No knurling on it for me - but what do i know about conventional machining.

Not sure if that was in response to me. However if it was i would like to explain further. Although I believe there is knurling, I do not believe it is as crisp as what we come to know when we create out replicas (or as you might describe as conventional). I believe some theories about the muzzle thrown around is that it is cast and painted or machined from unknown material and painted. IMHO, the process of either casting and painting or even just painting has caused the knurling to lack crispness, detail, and depth. So the knurling is not as prominent as what we would come to expect. I think it is still there just hard to see in low resolution but it is prominent enough that the paint/weathering still settles into grooves between the raised knurling.

 

[Dann]

That's certainly a possibility, and I wouldn't be terribly surprised if that were the case, but I feel the same way about the drawn-on knurls.

Like the Greedo blaster, I wish we had better photos!