I couldn't resist anymore and got a MR Solo Blaster. I got kind of fired up about this gun when it appeared that Snowtrooper Commander could also possibly use a similiar type of blaster. This one will be way too heavy to troop with, so I thought I'd try my hand at weathering it somewhat.
The thing I hated right off the bat was the flash supressor. It has been coated with gray paint! I want to see that aluminum! Sanding was proving to be slow going, so I decided to try some Klean-strip stain remover. I've used this stuff on resin kits and it melts paint away.
I tried a small area by spraying some into a paper towel and wiping. The paint melted right off. However, I was careless and got some on the scope and barrel and of course, the paint came off in those areas as well!
This gave me an idea. To get some natural weathering, I put some of this stuff on a toothpick and scrubbed the two areas in blue. The paint came off in seconds.
In hindsight, I should have removed the flash supressor first, but this is what I ended up with for stripping it:
If you use this stuff MAKE SURE you wear eye protection and gloves. My skin started burning where little flecks of the stuff got on my arm from the toothbrush! If foams up, so I scrubbed over the sink and then rinsed with water 2-3 times.
When I was finished, this is what I ended up with. I had already started the weathering process by scraping and sanding edges with a needle file and sandpaper. The gun is made of a metal that is way too shiny, so it will need to be dulled down in areas.
To get the supressor off, I just started drilling through the center cap with bigger and bigger bits until it spun freely and I could pull it out.
Then it was a matter of finding a 5/32 hex key and unscrewing the hex cap screw inside.
I don't know what I'll do next. The tendency is to over-weather and I don't want to do that. I sure wish I could figure out a way to remove the stupid graphic inside the scope.
The thing I hated right off the bat was the flash supressor. It has been coated with gray paint! I want to see that aluminum! Sanding was proving to be slow going, so I decided to try some Klean-strip stain remover. I've used this stuff on resin kits and it melts paint away.
I tried a small area by spraying some into a paper towel and wiping. The paint melted right off. However, I was careless and got some on the scope and barrel and of course, the paint came off in those areas as well!
This gave me an idea. To get some natural weathering, I put some of this stuff on a toothpick and scrubbed the two areas in blue. The paint came off in seconds.
In hindsight, I should have removed the flash supressor first, but this is what I ended up with for stripping it:
If you use this stuff MAKE SURE you wear eye protection and gloves. My skin started burning where little flecks of the stuff got on my arm from the toothbrush! If foams up, so I scrubbed over the sink and then rinsed with water 2-3 times.
When I was finished, this is what I ended up with. I had already started the weathering process by scraping and sanding edges with a needle file and sandpaper. The gun is made of a metal that is way too shiny, so it will need to be dulled down in areas.
To get the supressor off, I just started drilling through the center cap with bigger and bigger bits until it spun freely and I could pull it out.
Then it was a matter of finding a 5/32 hex key and unscrewing the hex cap screw inside.
I don't know what I'll do next. The tendency is to over-weather and I don't want to do that. I sure wish I could figure out a way to remove the stupid graphic inside the scope.
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