My "Budget" ESB DL-44

[Sym-Cha]

That looks great ... indeed. Curious the MR fx replica parts actually fit yours ... they are most of the times larger in size. I have a similar Heiland here still to be converted with real MPP spare parts. I see you need a D-ring too. I have several of those left if you're interested What's with that additional screw on the side? Roy and I are discussing creating accurate MPP replica shroud parts ... but it's still early if that will happen any time soon.

Chaim

 

[Farrellk08]

The only thing I needed to do to the clamp to get it to fit was to put some double sided adhesive tape under it, as it was just slightly too large. My Heiland hood is not 100% accurate to the MPP hood, which is why the screw is on the side and there is no spot for a d-ring.

 

[Pedro]

Just FYI, the fellow who makes the 3D printed flash suppressor is a member here, he has a thread where you can see photos of the printed parts.
http://www.therpf.com/f79/my-dl44s-airsoft-3d-printed-parts-227245/

Great looking blaster! I love budget builds.

 

[Farrellk08]

The flash hider arrived today!



I was so happy, I went straight to work prepping and painting it, I don't even have a wip picture.

 

[Farrellk08]

Here it is, the finished DL-44 blaster, as it stands today. I'll probably weather the flash hider a bit, and I have some aluminum model paint if I choose to weather the body. But, for now I'm super happy to finally have something resembling the Han Solo blaster.



The one thing I don't know what to do with at all is if I can somehow make the scope sights look... scope-y. Meaning not just solid black.

Anyway, thanks for the advice and support. See you next build!



P.S. Since it's the title of this thread, my budget build came to a total cost of $174. More than I wanted to spend, due to the Denix, but I'm happy with the result.

 

[thd9791]

excellent blaster! That's a REALLY nice flash hider too..hmmm *intrigued*

 

[Farrellk08]

Yeah, Shapeways is a bit more expensive if you're trying to penny-pinch like I was, but I'm super happy with the result. It came to $32, I think, and came in about 2 weeks. It required only a minimal amount of sanding to get it to fit the barrel, and it fits so snug that I didn't have to use anything whatsoever to keep it in place, which is nice.

 

[Farrellk08]

Re: My "Budget" ESB DL-44

Hi all

It's been a while, but I thought I'd update you all on a few updates to my blaster. After having to look at my blaster for the last few months, the imperfections that I left started to really bug me, so I finally got around to a few modifications.

First, the scope, which was kinda rough when I bough it, should have been sanded down more before paint, so it left it a bit wonky, plus there were bubbles left on the bottom. I left it at the time because it was sort of unnoticeable from a distance, but I really wanted it to look as close to perfect as I can with my skill level.


Here it is after my initial paint job


And here is after a little clean up, quite a bit smoother and far less noticeable bubbles.

Next I did what I hope is a subtle "scuff up" on the scope mount, trigger and side greeblie with silver Rub 'n Buff.



Tomorrow I'm going on a run to Hobby Lobby to grab some bronze Rub 'n Buff to weather the scope itself. I'll update with my final result.

 

[cayman shen]

Nice upgrades!

 

[Farrellk08]

Nice upgrades!

Thanks!

 

[Farrellk08]

Ok, here is the scope after a little "Antique Gold" Rub 'n Buff.



I think now all I want to improve upon is the flash hider. I may try to just sand it down a little finer to get the next coat of silver Rub 'n Buff to give it a better sheen, like on my Deckard blaster butt plate.

 

[Farrellk08]

So I did go back and sand down the flash hider and re-buff it, and here are the results:


Before & After

Not a massive difference, but worth the few minutes to get a more metallic shine to it.

 

[Farrellk08]

So,I think I've finished with my improvements (for now). I''m pretty happy with the blaster now, now I gotta figure if I wanna start saving up for a nice holster...

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

Looks good. You should brush on and then wipe off some black paint on your flash hinder. It's too new looking compared the rest of the blaster, plus the black will help the details pop.

 

[Farrellk08]

Looks good. You should brush on and then wipe off some black paint on your flash hinder. It's too new looking compared the rest of the blaster, plus the black will help the details pop.

That's a good idea. I'll probably do that.

Now that I'm thinking of it, I should ask if anyone has any ideas of how to make the scope view look like something other than just blank black resin. That's the only thing that bugs me, and I don't know what I would do to fix it. Aside from magically finding some glass that just happens to fit the the scope exactly.

 

[Farrellk08]

Re: My "Budget" ESB DL-44

Since I'm on the topic of bothering everybody for advice, anybody have any help with painting on the scope lettering? Mine was a resin cast, and most of the pictures I see of original scopes have the rear lettering painted in white:



I never really thought about painting it on mine because the letters are so small, I wouldn't even have a paint brush small enough for me to be comfortable attempting it. Plus the letters aren't super indented on my cast versus an original.



So, I guess what I'm asking is... anyone got any miracles up their sleeves? :lol

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

I would recommend painting the scope brass (gold will work too). Get a couple of good base coats. Then top of with a good coat of black... I think semi gloss or satin black is the best for this scope. When dry, wet sand with automotive sandpaper. Look at real scoops for weathering inspiration. Hit the edges in particular, screws, and the blocky part bases of the scope. Hit the main body too if you want a hint of the brass to come through.

Here is an example of the technique I used on a hyper firm cast.

Some may suggest doing black first, then dry brushing the brass but I have better luck the other way and I feel it looks more natural.... Or maybe I just don't have the right touch.

If you are interested in some more images of the results of this technique, you can see some of my recent work here: http://www.therpf.com/f79/projects-...l-18-gk-droid-blaster-e-11-dh-17-more-210211/

I've tried the white lettering by brushing on white paint to the lettering area then wiping off the surface. The sharper the text detail the better luck you have. You may need to touch up the surrounding area with black. The results are so-so.

 

[Farrellk08]

I would recommend painting the scope brass (gold will work too). Get a couple of good base coats. Then top of with a good coat of black... I think semi gloss or satin black is the best for this scope. When dry, wet sand with automotive sandpaper. Look at real scoops for weathering inspiration. Hit the edges in particular, screws, and the blocky part bases of the scope. Hit the main body too if you want a hint of the brass to come through.

Well, there goes me being finished and satisfied :lol

Here ya go:

 

[Farrellk08]

Its funny, the painters tape I wrapped it in while I was painting the different sections did the job of taking off some of the paint and "ageing" it. I actually had to go back and give it a light coat afterwards as it looked too beat up. I admit, now I'm a little hesitant to try to paint the lettering in white, as I don't want to mess up the paint.

Anyway, now I definitely need to weather the flash hider, so that'll be next.

 

[Farrellk08]

So, for the sake of my sanity, here is what I hope is the last of the "finished" photos of my ESB DL-44: