E-11 Stormtrooper Blaster METAL

[Jonny B]

I've been a Trooper' for a long time, and oh how I envied those other guys who had real de-milled Sterling's or those super expensive replicas. A lot of you have probably looked at them as I did and then just relented, due to cost, and got a plastic one from Toy's R Us, or maybe went the extra bit and built a PVC version.
Well, as with most of the Props my Father and I do, one of us said "I'll bet we could make that..." and so began our quest to build a metal version replica of the E-11 Stromtrooper Blaster.
Now, hundreds of research hours, trips to historical weapons displays and the purchase of several REAL L2A3 / Mk.4 demilitarized Sterling's later...

...we're making them.

Here's a first look.

Painted in corect military Black.

Barrel & Piston instered.

Yes...these will be for sale in the Junkyard very soon in several "Kit" forms and as "Ready to Display/Troop with" versions.

 

[boshwan527]

Cool stuff! I'll be keeping an eye on this

 

[OdiWan72]

Great start!

The vent holes seem to be a tad to small and the cocking slot stops too far near the end of the receiver tube. Keep in mind that you still have to add the endcap...

Markus

 

[madmax]

Have a look at the Blaster builders club(bbc)palns,i'vemade a few e11's over the years and own 2 sterlings,so i can say the plans are good.As odiwan said the the vent holes are too small and theslot is too far back.
Good luck

 

[exoray]

In addition to what has been said about the hole size and cocking slot, the holes are also shifted too far back overall by about 1/4"

And last but not least make sure you invest and have a solid plan that involves welding and other internal steps to make the receiver inoperable...

 

[Jonny B]

Have a look at the Blaster builders club(bbc)palns,i'vemade a few e11's over the years and own 2 sterlings,so i can say the plans are good.As odiwan said the the vent holes are too small and theslot is too far back.
Good luck

The End Caps aren't on it yet, throws the size off to the eye

Not ours but here's what i mean:

The only changes we made from our real ones was not cutting the trigger group access hole to the bolt as well as the opening for the Mag Well.
That's one of the reasons we can make and sell these, having next-door neihbors who are licensed gunsmiths & dealers helps even more :lol

If you'd like to see our other "Blasters" that go *RATATATATAT!!* not *pew pew!*, we'll be here: Machine Gun Shoot

 

[exoray]

The End Caps aren't on it yet, throws the size off to the eye

Not ours but here's what i mean:

That cam lock collar for the end cap is soldered/brazed to the last 3/4" or so of the tube and the end cap slides over and twist onto it, that entire 3/4" section of tube that the end cap slides over is void on your tube... If you append the endcap to your tube, you will be adding about 1" extra length to the build...

And a friendly word of advice, contact the BATF about you plans vs consulting with friends and gunsmiths or anyone else in regards to what is proper and what is not... Only the BATF is in the proper position to answer your question with a legally supported answer that can be used in court if the $%@$# hit the fan... And it's part of the BATF's job to answer such questions on rebuilds into non-guns... All you need to do is document all your proposed steps in detail, write it all out and send it to the BATF and confirm that they will still consider it a non-gun if you rebuilt it based on your plans... Then you have proper documentation that you did it right, not only to protect you but your customers...

On that note you will need to do more than you propose, IMO, to make it a non gun... Not cutting the trigger group holes on the Sterlilng design does squat in regards to it's function and ability to shoot, ask the gun in the 80s that tried that with Stens the Sterling (like the Sten) design will shoot just fine with or without a trigger group... And not cutting the mag well access again does nothing to destroy it's ability to shoot, it just takes away it's ability to autoload the next round... You need to take additional steps in regards to destroying the actual functionality of the design at the core of it's ability to shot even a single bullet, that would include steps like destroying the face of the bolt and making the bolt permanent and not swappable, as well as welding in a dummy barrel that again is permanent and not swappable...

Be safe and smart about rebuilding these especially if you plan to sell them, it's not worth the legal issues or time behind bars, because you didn't take the proper precautions and steps...

 

[Jonny B]

Be safe and smart about rebuilding these especially if you plan to sell them, it's not worth the legal issues or time behind bars, because you didn't take the proper precautions and steps...

...UGH...you wouldn't believe the time, paperwork and shear frustration in trying to explain "We're building non-functioning replicas, NOT demilitarized REAL guns." to them. When all was finally understood on both sides, what we were told (and I had them send it in writing) was as long as there were no parts what so ever (not even a plastic hand grip) used from a real SMG, DEMIL or not, and could not be, quote "...easily converted to accept live ammunition."eq. They consider it....a toy. I wasn't about to argue the "its a replica" point after 4 days of phone calls and more please hold time then it took for us to put a man on the Moon.

Yes, ours "looks" exactly like a real Sterling, and that's it. As an example; The end cap (and how it attaches) you described is perfectly correct, for a real Sterling. Ours looks exactly like it, but that's where it ends. The piece is cast with a extended lip 1/4" so it fits inside the end and is held by a set screw. Heck, the Bolt is cast too and its hollow, the barrel is even solid. No, anyone thinking they'll convert this is going to be seriously disapointed.



However....if anyone would like a DEMIL real-deal Sterling, with paperwork (perfectly legal), I'd sell one or two of the ones we purchased for use as templates, $750 incds S&H Sorry, USA only. (I'd planed on putting them on eBay anyways but if someone here wants them?)

 

[exoray]

You are aware the tube itself is the gun on the Sterling? You need to physically modify the tube so it can't be used for a real gun, that involves making changes to the tube itself that will render it not functional... That is why the end cap should be welded in place and the barrel welded in place as to not allow and insides to swapped out for functional parts...

In regards to a Sterling tube, the difference between a section of legal muffler pipe and an illegal machine gun receiver is the amount and location of the cut outs in the tube... From all acounts the tube you have pictured is dangerously close IMO to what the BATF would consider a convertible receiver unless you do some internal modifications to it that would prevent a real barrel and bolt from fitting in...

Everything you stated about using real gun parts is honestly irrelevant and makes no difference, the tube itself is the issue and what is done to the tube to render in incapable of being used as a receiver is what will make it a gun or non-gun...

 

[MoviefanAZ]

Legalities aside I cannot wait to see the finished product!

 

[chad951]

Very cool stuff. I will be following this topic closely.

 

[Jonny B]

You are aware the tube itself is the gun on the Sterling? You need to physically modify the tube so it can't be used for a real gun, that involves making changes to the tube itself that will render it not functional...

Yes, well aware. We take our real 9mm ones to the ranges and shoot them often and I'm the one breaking them down to clean them afterwards.

You've said you have one, then you know how the magazine feed and hand grip are attached, ours is *attached* the same way (hint hint). Now, without giving to much away, as I'm making these to sell and in all honesty don't want a dozen "copy cats" stealing my design, let me end your concern by saying; we're in full compliance with the law.

If someone wants to buy 10-20 of them after repeated failed attempts to make it work, by all means do so. I could use the sales :lol

Some small production tweeks needed to be done so I'll post more pictures this comming week.

 

[exoray]

If someone wants to buy 10-20 of them after repeated failed attempts to make it work, by all means do so. I could use the sales :lol

When you can purchase fully functional semi-auto versions for $400, or a bonded tube for $35 and even 80% tubes for about $55, I doubt anyone with that end goal will bother, but that isn't the point...

 

[Lichtbringer]

You've said you have one, then you know how the magazine feed and hand grip are attached, ours is *attached* the same way (hint hint). Now, without giving to much away, as I'm making these to sell and in all honesty don't want a dozen "copy cats" stealing my design,

Well, i own one original, too.

And if i might chime in - it´s such a basic gun/design, everybody with a basic shop can copy the original design, just go in the basement and switch on lathe + mill and start. There is no need to "steal your design".

And local laws may vary wherever your customer comes from. It might be OK where you live, but each customer should better check very carefully with his local laws.

 

[Jonny B]

When you can purchase fully functional semi-auto versions for $400, or a bonded tube for $35 and even 80% tubes for about $55, I doubt anyone with that end goal will bother, but that isn't the point...

Seriously??!!That would help me out a greatly as we spend a lot more then that for our tubes. I want the web site for those or phone number!! I can save some money and cut the cost for the ones we're selling, ALWAYS a good thing. We'd have to change a lot of minor details but we could cold-weld the Bolts and barrels in them and still be compliant.

Thanks again!


EDIT: Also want were the $400 Sterlings are, even semi-auto! They are an absolute ball to play with, even more then our AR's and AK's (cheaper ammo too)...and my lil' Sisters turning 18 this month, she'll love it.

 

[exoray]

Seriously??!!That would help me out a greatly as we spend a lot more then that for our tubes. I want the web site for those so I can save some money and cut the cost for the ones we're selling. We can retro-weld on them and still be compliant.

Thanks again!

Yeah seriously, hit up Google, I have not bought one lately, and they are a little harder to find than they used to be, but I was able to find 'cheaper' tubes on some dusty old sites with just a few Google searches and emails to the site owners... But if you are making your own design and since you need to deviate from the originals to be legal, just get the raw tube should cost you about $4 a tube that way and you can then bump into a slightly larger wall thus reducing the ID just that much, making dropping in the real parts impossible... Making a template to bond to the tube with your own plan deviations is pretty basic, a few jigs to hold the tube and you could knock out the pattern in no time... As Lichtbringer said it's such a basic design anyone with a basic metal shop can make them, heck you could knock them out pretty fast with a poor mans mill, aka a drill press and slide vise (did several PVC ones like this and my first metals ones) if you made the proper jigs to hold them and allow faster repetition...

 

[exoray]

EDIT: Also want were the $400 Sterlings are, even semi-auto! They are an absolute ball to play with, even more then our AR's and AK's (cheaper ammo too)...and my lil' Sisters turning 18 this month, she'll love it.

All over the place, they are on Gunbroker all day for about $450 and if you frequent some gun forums you will have shops run specials on them regularly for $400... I picked mine up locally for $450, just went into the local (one man) gun shop and had him order me one from Century, told him I only wanted to pay going Internet price and he was happy to do that since it was a guaranteed sale...

 

[Jonny B]

All over the place, they are on Gunbroker all day for about $450 and if you frequent some gun forums you will have shops run specials on them regularly for $400... I picked mine up locally for $450, just went into the local (one man) gun shop and had him order me one from Century, told him I only wanted to pay going Internet price and he was happy to do that since it was a guaranteed sale...

Got the "Sterling Sporter", I think she'll be happy with it, and at $439.95 with two 34rd magazines and a carry case, an excellent deal.

I honestly about hit the roof when I saw the add (having paid $6K for mine and my Father $7K for his, thinking we got GREAT deals on WWII era smg's) till I saw it's not a Sterling L2A3 (Mk.4). That 16" barrel just looks so wrong on that poor thing!...and semi-auto? Where's the fun in that?:rolleyes

KIDDING! I'm sure it's a good rifle, I wouldn't have bought one for my lil' sis if I didn't think so. Tell you what, come on out to a full auto shoot in the Spring and I'll let you burn up a few mags on Rock n' Roll....bring ear plugs or go home listening to a carrier wave for a few days :lol

 

[exoray]

That 16" barrel just looks so wrong on that poor thing!...and semi-auto? Where's the fun in that?:rolleyes

Since you appear to live in a NFA friendly state, pay the $200 tax and SBR it...

 

[Jonny B]

Since you appear to live in a NFA friendly state, pay the $200 tax and SBR it...

She wants it short, she can pay for it, I already got her this and pitched in on her car so I'm done!

Did you happen to see this? Star Wars Stormtrooper ST Blaster E11 Steel Tube and Template | eBay

...*points exoray at eBay* sick'em boy!