Intro, and an ESB DL-44 build...

[Solos blaster]

Most people epoxy or wrap part of the barrel in electrical tape to create enough friction to stay put yet stay completely covered by the flash hider, or depending on the inner diameter of the flash hider, you just have to sand off enough material from the barrel to get the friction fit for the look you want.

User preference but most wont use a grub screw or such unless it was used on the actual prop like the ROTJ DL-44, and I think the bull barrel ANH(sorry I haven’t built one yet and it’s hard to keep up with All of them sometimes).

 

[RodanAZ]

I was planning on epoxy, but was interesting in hearing what others had done.

The ANH blaster uses a standard allen (hex head) screw that sticks out. A 'grub' screw is usually headless, so it wouldn't protrude but would require a small hole on the underside, which I was trying to avoid anyway, so I'll stick with glue.

 

[RodanAZ]

Did some light weathering on the blaster, and laid down some texture and base color for the scope...

Hope to finish this up this weekend.

 

[RodanAZ]

Well, it's 98% there...

I'm a little disappointed in the lack of consistency in the rustoleum paint I was using, and I'm still tinkering with the weathering. I also need to affix the left side greeblie, but I want to wait until I'm satisfied with the weathering. I'm also going to do some work on the grips to weather them a bit.

All that said, I'm happy with the result, for my first 'real' blaster build.

BTW, kudos to you guys who do real studio quality photography with your builds... getting good finished pics is almost the hardest part of the build!

 

[Dann]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

We'll we're off and running on the DL-44 project.

First step was disassembling the Denix. There are a few videos on YouTube that go through the disassembly, which I found helpful, and probably saved me some time trying to guess it out.

I've learned with other projects that bagging all the parts, and tagging those that aren't immediately identifiable will save vast amounts of time when you finally get around to putting it back together!

View attachment 965244

I couldn't figure out how to remove the bolt from the upper receiver, and couldn't find any reference online. None of the videos I found included removing the bolt. It appears the "firing pin" is pressed/soldered/threaded into the bolt and then ground flush, and without removing that, the locking block on the side cannot be removed. If anyone has successfully removed the bolt from a Denix, please chime in...

I was also missing the screw under the barrel that holds the upper and lower receiver together. From experimentation with my metric die set, it appears to be a 3mm with a .6 thread pitch, which is much less common than the 3mm/.5. I'll have to search one of those out before reassembly time.

My paint stripper didn't even touch the finish on the barrel... It's pretty old, so I'll pick up a new can and try again. In the meantime, I sanded the front part of the barrel (the part that will be hidden by the flash hider when mounted) so I can experiment with finishes. After reading other threads here, I'll probably go with BC Super Blue, but I want to see how it works on a smaller area first. The 'as cast' finish on the Denix is pretty bad... took a bit of work to get it smooth. I started with 220 and worked up to 1500 grit paper.

View attachment 965245

I'm going to try that and see if it gives the desired look. If not, more polishing may be required.

I also hit the inside of the flash hider with aluminum black. Gives a good 'carbon scoring' look...

View attachment 965246

View attachment 965247

Weathering on the flash hider will be interesting to get it right...

BTW, if you're getting older like me, sometimes reading glasses don't really cut it when working on small stuff. I have one of those big lighted ring magnifiers on one of my workbenches, but I picked up one of these and really like it:

View attachment 965248

Much better than the old machinist's hoods, and ~$15 on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Lighted-Magnifying-Magnifier-Headband-Electronics/dp/B06XWVJVKN/ref=sr_1_5_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1544909911&sr=8-5&keywords=magnifying+headset+with+led+light&th=1

That's it for today.

Thanks for the link to those magnifier glasses!!

I've been looking for something like that, I've got ones that have little loupes (is that what they're called?) but they magnify WAY too much!

These look much more reasonable, I'm excited!

 

[Axlotl]

Well, the attempt at bluing was an utter failure...

Yah, the Denix is just cheap pot metal - it doesn't blue.
I wish I'd seen this thread earlier, I would have warned you before you wasted all that time and money.
I'm actually surprised no one else chimed in to warn you.

Gun looks BEAUTIFUL, btw.

 

[Dann]

Use Aluminum Black on the Denix.

 

[RodanAZ]

I was taking some pics today, so I drug out Luke's DL-44, Saber and belt for a pic...

 

[eethan]

very nice pic!

 

[KramStaar]

The Denix does blue as Dann mentioned its not necessarily the most robust finish but it presents well.

This is a sensational build and a great way to break into DL-44 madness. May I suggest you change your grips to some from Dark Energy Creations With a little finishing you will end up with some of the best Denix grips available.

 

[RodanAZ]

Thanks guys!

The grips are one item that still needs finishing. I need to pick up some stain and get to work on them.

 

[RodanAZ]

I finally finished the grips on this one. And though it was originally built as a "Luke" blaster, it's going to stand in as Han's for Haloween this year, since the wife decided we're going to be ESB Han and Leia...

Just finished putting together the ANH greeblies for Han's belt. I guess I should have taken the pic with the ANH Hero blaster instead...

I am going to order the correct ESB greeblies... I had these on hand so I finished them first.

 

[GermanRedrum]

This morning, I dropped the upper back on the lower temporarily so I could get the scope mount aligned. Once it was aligned, I used some tape to mark the angle, and then set it up to drill the holes in the lower receiver for the guide pins. Fortunately Field Marshall uses a pretty common 1/4-20 thread for the scope mount, and digging through my stuff I was able to find a small, plastic 1/4-20 screw that wouldn't occlude the guide pin holes while drilling...

View attachment 976897

Next was a matter of drilling the holes, and trimming the 'pins' to length.

View attachment 976898
View attachment 976899

Then, it was time to strip the finish off the frame to prep for paint...

View attachment 976900

Speaking of paint, that's where I ended up with the upper as well... Rustoleum satin black...

View attachment 976901

It won't be 100% accurate to the live fire props, but I think it will look much better than the cold blue process turned out...

Here's the upper with the weathered sight and 'flash hider' attached. The upper itself still needs weathering, but I won't do that until the lower is done.

View attachment 976902
View attachment 976903

I'm not sure I'm finished with the flash hider weathering... gonna give that some thought over the next few days. I don't want to paint the lower until our rain/snow moves out, so I've got some time to ponder it...

What did you use to strip the original black off? Sanding? Brake cleaner?

 

[RodanAZ]

I tried paint stripper, which didn't work very well. I ended up using fine wire brushes on a dremel.

 

[Cad110]

Well, it's 98% there...

I'm a little disappointed in the lack of consistency in the rustoleum paint I was using, and I'm still tinkering with the weathering. I also need to affix the left side greeblie, but I want to wait until I'm satisfied with the weathering. I'm also going to do some work on the grips to weather them a bit.

All that said, I'm happy with the result, for my first 'real' blaster build.

View attachment 982943
View attachment 982944
View attachment 982945
View attachment 982946

BTW, kudos to you guys who do real studio quality photography with your builds... getting good finished pics is almost the hardest part of the build!

A fantastic build! Hope you don’t mind but I’m using your photos as reference on a 3D printed attempt. Usually produce lightsabers but fancied a new challenge!

 

[RodanAZ]

A fantastic build! Hope you don’t mind but I’m using your photos as reference on a 3D printed attempt. Usually produce lightsabers but fancied a new challenge!

Well, they're Field Marshal's parts, so that's who you should be asking....