Help Needed in fixing a dremel screwup on a DL-44 scope!!!!

[darkev2]

Hello Folks

Well a long while ago I purchased a ANH DL-44 Scope in resin in my accumulation of parts for my Blaster Project(s). I got the scope at a major discount since the small end has a major flaw because of a mold leak. Long story short in grinding out the excess with my DremeI did some damage to the end of the piece. Now I think I can fix the issue with a slightly smaller plastic cylinder (to reform the area at the end of the piece that I messed up) some super glue and a whole lot of sanding. However my issue is that I have to fill in some of the jagged side wall (the Dremel shattered the wall so to speak) and I don't have a clue as what to fill it with. The piece is molded in a light tan resin and should I try to get that material (if so where??) or is there something else I could.use??? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You!!!

 

[Darth Lars]

Pictures would help us see what the damage is.

Most of the time, I recommend Milliput. It is a two-part putty / clay based on epoxy. The consistency is like modelling clay and can be smoothened with water. Leave overnight to cure. Then it sands very well, its hardness being closer to that of resin.

 

[darkev2]

Hello

Hopefully these will help show what I am facing;



Thank You!!

 

[TazMan2000]

Is there enough of the other undamaged side of the scope left? If so, you can make a mold of it and cut it into the shape of the damaged section.

TazMan2000

 

[darkev2]

Not really! There is about a 1/2 inch of the wall of the cylinder left with the inscribed panel lined detail on it. I was thinking that if I could somehow recreate the end of cylinder I could re-scribe the circular panel line of the end piece of the scope.

 

[Darth Lars]

Yes, I would build that up with a short piece of tube like that. Either use epoxy (glue) or a few applications of superglue and baking soda to really anchor the piece of tube to the end. Then use Milliput to fill the remainder. Baking soda makes a small drop of superglue pop up to three times the size and crystallize. The downside of superglue is that it is much harder than urethane resin, so it is hard to sand.

Make sure that the plastic tube is made of a plastic that takes glue - Polypropylene and polyethylene do not. Many plastics smear a little if you rub it with a q-tip that has been dipped in acetone - PP and PE don't. PVC, ABS or PET would work.

I wouldn't use a Dremel on the outside - only putty and sandpaper to fix that seam line to fix the cylinder. Maybe hand files for the coarsest work.

I don't think that the "inscribed panel line detail" is really inscribed, but rather a mark from a scope ring. I wouldn't bother trying to keep it.

You would want to make the cylinder really smooth. I would spray primer onto the tube to make the imperfections visible. Then repeat with putty, sandpaper and a layer of primer.
Maybe you should mask off the control knobs before you do that, or you might lose detail - because several layers of primer could get thick and smidge the knurling.

BTW, if you are making a TFA version then you would just paint it black, but if you are doing a ANH version then do check out the thread Han Solo ANH DL-44 SCOPE: All Hensoldts and Variations POST YOURS TOO. There are lots of good images of real scopes in there that would help you know how to paint it.
There are also a few threads around on how to make resin look like blued steel: the trick is to use powdered graphite (ground-up pencil leads).

 

[darkev2]

Some progress. I got the tube in place and now the fun begins. My LHS was out of Milliput so I purchased Apoxie Sculpt instead. So this weekend its going to be filling, drying and SANDING until I'm comfortable with the results. Thanks again for all the comments and suggestions. GREATLY Appreciated!!!!

 

[thd9791]

Apoxie sculpt is great! Make sure both tubs are workable. My hardener tub actually got hard and stale inside so the mixture won't set, gotta buy some more.

Make two balls that are the same size and smush them together for a long time!

 

[darkev2]

Well folks the putty and subsequent sanding work actually turned out rather well. Take a look;



I have to add a bit more putty to the top, a bit more sanding to totally blend everything in and perhaps cut those two notches into the end like the ones on the other end and I am good to go. Thanks for all the suggestions, they were GREATLY Appreciated!!!!

 

[Jedifather]

Looks good. Nice save.
Also, auto body filler is good for filling big gaps/missing sections. It sands easily and adheres nicely to resin. I use it all the time with great results.

 

[darkev2]

Well folks now that the Scope is almost there my mind is turning to the mount. I'm probably going to batch up one of my own out of some PVC pipe and some sort of sheet plastic.(with perhaps a core of either metal or plywood for strength). However, I'm in need of some better drawings or diagrams to flesh things out. Now in my search for such here i found a diagram of the mount for the Greedo Killer version by Darth Lars. Darth Lars if you read this, have you done or ever seen such a diagram for the Non-GK version??? On that note, I was wondering if anyone out there has ever seen or done such a drawing or reference diagram to the scope mount for the Non-GK DL-44??? Thank You!!!

 

[Darth Lars]

No, I haven't.

There are some good side-on pictures of the scope mount in the looong research thread. If I were you, I would get a reference measurement from my Mauser and/or the scope itself and use those to decide how wide the different parts are. Perhaps trace the mount, scale that up and print it to use as a template.
I usually the The Gimp and the Measuring Tool to find the reference distance in pixels, calculate a scale factor in DPI (or pixels/mm) which I then enter into the Scale tool and then I use the Measuring Tool again, set to millimetres - but I think you could do the same thing in Photoshop as well.
I remember the crossbar should be 1/4" thick. The left and right thumbnuts are 1/4-20, which happens to be both UNC and BTW standard, as well as the standard for camera mounts - so, at least in theory, correct thumbnuts should be possible to find.

There are also Wizardofflight's blueprints which I think he might have copied from a Master Replicas LE blaster, but the mount should not be centred.