So, I'm trying to find a way to recreate various parts for the blaster that don't involve using 3D printing. I have nothing at all against the latter, except the cost of getting parts that don't require tons of clean-up work. Also, considering that the gun will be mostly plastic, I don't want to use materials that will add a lot of weight that will create unbalanced stress on the gun when complete. Therefore, I also want to keep metal parts to a minimum, although I do anticipate building a metal support system of some sort into the scope mount.
First up is the scope. I'm still reading through the really long DL-44 thread -- where there are allegedly measurements to be found somewhere (I hope they aren't in an image with a long-dead link), I'm currently working from measurements I took from the Rubies blaster (and in another thread, I found measurements of the scope that suggest the Rubies scope is quite close to the correct size, if not dead-on). A trip to Home Depot didn't turn up much at first; most of the PVC there was Schedule 40, which is thicker than I would like, and most of the thinner pieces were polypropylene, which I want to avoid. On a second trip I found a 3/4-inch "side mount run-off drain tube" for about $5 and change; I believe I can use that for the narrow part of the scope. The drain tube is 63 inches long and is a thinner PVC, so I have several opportunities to screw it up and still come away with a usable part. A flashlight I picked up a year or so back at Tractor Supply should provide the transitional section between the larger and smaller diameters of the scope, because the front portion widens the same way -- and at the same angle -- as the real thing does (I bought it on clearance exactly because I thought it looked like a DL-44 scope). The wider end of the Rubies scope is available to cannibalize, so that is my current "no additional cost" option for that part and probably makes the most sense. I hesitate on that option only because I only get one chance to cut it correctly, or I would have to get another Rubies blaster to try again. If I get all that solved, I can turn my attention to the end pieces of the scope. Not sure how I can pull those off -- I wonder if anyone makes just those parts available as 3D prints.
With regard to recreating the prop versus trying to model a "real" DL-44 ... I already know I cannot do the former using a plastic toy and plumbing parts. I have already decided that I want the flash hider to mount so that it is actually in-line with the barrel, rather than the dropped-down, off-center mount given to the prop gun. Given that, there is another feature on the prop that drives me a little crazy on close inspection -- the model engine cylinder parts used as the heat-sink grille. They look fine on screen, but in close up photos, it is obvious they don't fit very well and leave very visible gaps, especially when viewed from underneath. So, how do you make a heat sink that looks very close to the onscreen appearance but still looks reasonably functional? I like the way the Rubies version handles this, where the ribs look like actual discs submerged cleanly into the housing. My idea is to use flat washers, but there were a couple of possible methods I could use to put them in place. Option one is to make cuts into the front of the housing, into which the washers could slide. That sounds ideal if the cuts are absolutely straight and perfectly horizontal, and if they are cut with exactly the right kerf (a lot of uses of “if” there). With the tools (and skills) I have available, that sounds a little terrifying, to be honest! Option two would be to cut the washers so that they fit snugly around the housing, which allows for me to make as many attempts as necessary to get a sufficient number that work. I do question, however, whether that offers enough surface area at the points of contact to achieve a sufficiently strong bond for epoxy, and if not, if there is a reasonable work-around. It is probably the method I will try first just because, if I determine it won’t work, I can still try option one. Option three, I suppose, would be to get one of the available 3D-printed replica parts and fill the gaps on the bottom that bug me.
What about the bull-barrel? A piece of thin(ish) PVC pipe — with a thicker section added to the inside along the bottom — should work, as would a Schedule 40 piece thinned out some on the upper portion near one end. Either would allow me to add the bevels present on the prop using files and/or a belt sander, as well as letting me flatten the bottom using the belt sander, giving a look similar to the prop. A metal tube of the right diameter and thickness would also work, of course. The choice may well come down to what fits and is available for a reasonable (i.e., dirt-cheap) price.
For the little antenna greeblies that sit on top, just behind the barrel, I feel certain that I have seen little plastic pieces of almost exactly that shape — just have to remember where. I think I could probably make them using aluminum or plastic rod, shaped on the belt sander or disc sander. Using telescoping lengths of tube, it should be possible to make them with a recess for a piece of brass rod to attach to the narrow end. Might take several tries to get a set that closely matches.
I have collected several different knurled discs that closely resemble the knurled thumbscrews that are used to attach the scope mount, and most are aluminum IIRC. I just have to find them … and then see how closely they match the size needed.
On the main housing of the real gun, I note there is a protrusion on the very bottom at the front (easy enough to add), just below the heat sink parts. There is also a angled sort of wedge-shaped feature (it flares out toward the front) at the top of that piece, on both sides, that I would like to add. Will probably just add that with styrene, using Apoxie Sculpt to blend it into the housing.
The rails (I think that is what they are called) that run along the sides, with their milled-out centers — still trying to determine the best method for that. For me, those are an iconic feature of the “real” gun, so I can’t leave them as-is. Just trying to figure out the best method to recreate them. I think they stand out to me because they have always caught my eye. They were even present on the original 1978 Kenner toy, which is the only Star Wars toy I bought 41ish years ago that I know I still have today. That toy (made back when a toy gun could be black out of the box) certainly has lots of inaccuracies, but considering the general level of accuracy in toys during that era, it did a remarkably good job at capturing the spirit of the original prop. It looks way more like Solo’s gun than that elongated monstrosity Hasbro offers now! I painted and weathered mine about a year after I got it, when I was about 11 years old.
I welcome any ideas or comments, especially of those who have already done this and tried any of these things, or used a different approach to achieve any of these effects.
Anyway -- yak yak yak yakety yak ...
SSB