First completed prop - ANH E-11

[Timmythekid]

Yes, one of the most rarely shown and built props, please contain your excitement.:unsure I've wanted one for thirty years, and finally have my first halfway-decent E-11, and incidentally, my very first built prop (this was supposed to be a one-off prop, but since starting I've just kinda picked up a TK lid kit, a Fertility idol, and the base for a GK Dl-44...which I imagine is how it always starts ).
Was going to post pics once I had it on a stand, but the paint on the stand is proving a real pain, and I've grown impatient, so first pics going up! Aside from the stand, the only thing left to do is some weathering.
A note about this build, it's based on the BBC plans, modified whenever I saw something I thought was off. Entirely scratch built from pipe, a steel mailbox, a couple of funnels, random bits of metal , and major chunks of a plastic tub of kitty litter :lol. Bolt works, on a home-made sping; trigger and selector switch do not, although I plan to canabalize the sound circuit from a Rubies' DL-44 for the next built (see later!). There is ONE purchased part, the endcap which is a resin cast off an MKIV, which I intended to use only as a reference for a scratched part, but got impatient, finished, and slapped onto the blaster. The intent here was actually to run through a build in cheap, easy PVC, for my kids to play with, in preparation for a metal build for DADDY to play with. I've seen a number of errors I made as I accumulated better references, and the real reason I'm posting these pics is to invite comments from you guys about what could be improved/changed for the metal build. Anyhoo, on with the pics...

Soooooo....suggestions? Thanks, guys!!!!!!!!

 

[robn1]

Looks good! I'm no expert, but it certainly looks the part.

 

[skiffy]

Pics are a bit dark, but that doesn't detract from this being a great build! I'm almost finished with mine too, and I'm impressed with the level of scratchbuilding in yours, and the attention to detail. Yours has all the little details that I hope to add to mine.

Looks like you've even gone for the quirky 'hammerite' style paint finish the real sterlings had.

Bravo!

 

[Timmythekid]

Thanks, guys! Yeah, pics ended up darker than I thought they were....once I have the stand put together (Tremclad chrome is taking days to cure on the uprights, and I got a weird chemical reaction when I put a 2nd coat of Krylon fusion black over the first on the base, so the whole thing had to be stripped back down again). I'll post some better ones, and some detail areas for closer review. There are a bunch of things which I know now which I didn't at the start - my Hengstler details are wrong, as I built it right before I actually came across detailed plan views of the real thing from the manufacturer, the sculpted part of the top of the left grip is flattened inward instead of curving outward, there maybe an extra "step" in the muzzle...etc, etc, etc. Yeah, I tried to get a parkerized finish, using a hammered Tremclad paint under the final semi-gloss paint - doesn't look like a match exactly, but at least gets the idea across. Anyways, more pics once I can set it up properly.

 

[De Baisch]

It's very clear that you put a lot of effort into this. I think it looks great!

 

[Atlanthia]

Nice piece of Kit, Mate! I just bought a length of 1 1/4 inch plastic pipe for this exact purpose, armed with the templates from a blaster forum. But now I am eyeing the rotary clothes line, as the centre pole is also exactly 1 1/4 inches but is made of aluminium!!!:love The Missus is getting agitated...Which I think is "womanese" for, "LEAVE IT ALONE!" :lol

 

[Timmythekid]

Save your marriage some heartache (I say some, not all, as I'm finding the relentless hunt for bits is annoying my wife a little ) and pickup a couple feet of EMT from your local home building place - Right sized diameter for the sterling, although the BBC plans will need to be scaled a bit narrower. I've already got the template resized and glued to the EMT ready to start drilling as soon as I call this one "done".