MR Leia Pistol Disassembly

[Clutch]

It has begun. Time to break the Drearian Defense Conglomerate (DDC) Defender. So far, the grips are the only things I can take apart. Anyone ever attempt this? The Graflex coil spins now after a good cracking, but the muzzle brake and heatsink part will not budge.

Here's an interesting video of a real Margolin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KMZTt3TxZE

 

[Jedifyfe]

Hey, I'm Clutch...do de do de do, hey that looks like something I can take apart...


Kidding. I like seeing these things disassembled.

 

[cayman shen]

:lol

You have more guts than I do...I wouldn't dare tinker with my pricey stuff.

 

[Clutch]

Don't worry, I didn't pay anywhere near full price.

 

[nivektunk]

If the muzzle and heat sink are anything like the muzzle on the MR ESB Solo blaster, it is just attached by a small screw that goes from the barrel to the muzzle. When I took apart my Solo blaster, I wrapped the muzzle in a soft cloth and the hit the end of the muzzle with a hammer and it loosened it off enough that I could unscrew the muzzle. I had to use moderate force when striking the muzzle. Hope this helps.
Cheers, Kevin

 

[obiwan2]

lol I'm always worried about disassembling stuff like this too! Very cool though

 

[Clutch]

This one's looking iffy already. The heatsink will now rotate, but the brake will not budge. There are no visible screws.

The problem is going to be the plastic heat sink part and hoping the paint stripper won't melt it. I wish I could just bust it open with a saw and hammer to see what is holding everything together.

 

[Betamin]

Is there a plastic plug or anything inside the barrel? Perhaps covering a screw head?

 

[nivektunk]

Removing the plastic plug does nothing. I encountered this too. The screw goes from the end of the barrel into the muzzle. Try pulling back on the body of the gun as well as the muzzle. I wish I had taken a video or something. The screw securing the muzzle to the barrel is not accessible. You need to keep constant tension while unscrewing the muzzle between the body of the gun and the muzzle. I wish I could be more descriptive

Cheers,
Kevin

 

[Clutch]

Ok, now I'm pissed. The muzzle break has a pin that runs the width of it. I got it knocked halfway through with a hammer and nail and it refuses to go any further. I tried it from both sides too. The muzzle break now turns just a fraction both ways and I can see it hit against the unmoving pin. Ideas anyone?

I hammered on it so hard that the pins in the receiver almost fell out! :lol A couple more taps and they were out. The rear sight is pinned in as well. One pin went right through, but the other one met with some resistance. A few bangs and it was through. I removed the rear sight and the top of the receiver.

Here are the location of the receiver and rear sight pins.

The hammer is held on by a screw. The silver indentation is from the little pin I hammered through to get the rear sight off!

The barrel is held in by one screw:

Now for my first f-up. The barrel wouldn't budge, so I forced it up. This broke the plastic bracket holding it in. One touch and it snapped off. What I should have done was pull the barrel back and lift it up from the rear because it has a plastic bracket that fits up under the one in the receiver!

The trigger just falls out through the top of the receiver now. Unfortunately, there is no room for it to travel, so making a working trigger would be a bear.

If I can get that last pin out in one piece, I'll be a happy camper.

 

[OdiWan72]

...and the question remains:

Why the hell do you disassemble this beauty!?

Answer by clutch:

"...because I can!..." :lol

Very interesting thread indeed.
I´ve no guts to take things apart "just because".
Did it with the MR E-11 and the Rebel trooper blaster, but both with the intention of heavily reworking it (E-11) or using the parts on another buildup (DL17).

One suggestion reg. the pin in the muzzle.
Since this stuff is usually be made out of pretty soft metal, it tends to deform easily.
My guess is that by tapping the pin, you created some type of "head" (think of a nail), when the pin reached the bore inside the muzzle.
Now it´s not a "I" anymore, but a "T", making it pretty much impossible to get it out. Your best option would be to get a dremel with a long bit and drill out the bore, hopefully removing the "head" of the deformed pin.
Know what I´m talking about !? :$

Markus

 

[Clutch]

Exactly. The only thing is I will need that pin later when I put the thing back together. BTW, MR's paint is horrific. It is so thick it obscures a lot of detail.

 

[SD Studios]

It is always very rewarding to spend five years of your life designing and developing products so that people can tear them apart.

And then post pictures of it. :lol

I hope it defies your every attempt! Hang in there little blaster!
Be strong!!! Don't give in!!!

"For Hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee..."




FYI: I caught on, a couple of years in, that people were taking these apart and if them messed them up, they would return them for a new one. It started becoming chronic... So I instructed all of the project managers to tell the factories to THREAD LOCK every screw. That'll fix ya's

ps: Yah. I completely ripped my Stormtropper, Rebel, and Han blasters apart and reworked them, so ai am just as guilty as you, I guess. :rolleyes

 

[SD Studios]

Exactly. The only thing is I will need that pin later when I put the thing back together. BTW, MR's paint is horrific. It is so thick it obscures a lot of detail.

Your mom.

:lol

Actually...

You are correct. The paint on the Leia blaster SUCKS.

It is too thick and way too GRAY. It was supposed to be metallic gunmetal. Originally, the plan was to polish and chrome plate the Zamac bodies, and then overspray a clear-black to make them "gun-metally".

I rejected the first few painted samples/attempts and then the PM eventually came to me with this and said "I hope you approve it, because they already sprayed 1500 units this color."

Well. Um. It's awful.

Ok. Great. uh...Approved. Gimme the form so I can sign off.

Yah. Thanks.

 

[Clutch]

Lol! Don't get me wrong, it is good for what it is. I figured the paint was the way it is because it was designed for the average collector and I'm sure durability was a factor.

I'm gonna try to see if I can blue the metal once I strip it. I know it has worked on BR blasters, so it won't hurt to try. If it doesn't work, I'll go the paint route.

 

[Clutch]

Princess Leia blaster, you can SUCK IT!

Say hello to my little friend:

Bought me a 3/32" pin punch and started hammering away. It wouldn't budge. It even bent the pin punch. I sanded the end of the pin and hammered it back in. I then straightened the punch and tried again from the other side and after a couple of taps, the pin fell through!

 

[Jedifyfe]

I don't know which is more fun, watching this or an alien autopsy.

 

[Clutch]

Just wanted to show how the paint reacts to the stripper. This is within seconds of spraying the stuff on. The paint just slides off.

Now for the next hurdle. The barrel and muzzle break are made out of aluminum which means they won't take the gun blue!! :angry

 

[Jedifyfe]

Reminds me of this...

 

[Clutch]

lol:lol