Upgrading with metal parts Jake's ZF-1 kit
- Thread starter eethan
- Start date
thanks Ben! really appreciate it!
for those that haven't been following the run thread itself, things are moving forward nicelly
I have been working a bit on the blue color tests today but am still confused about the results. I now have a much bluer blue, but I'm staying convinced the Dykem is probably what they used and reacts so weirdly to lights and photos that it might actually be the right color. We can see a lot of purple hue in some photos of the original, and I don't have that with the new blue, it's just... blue
I'll keep working on that!
I took a lot of photos today and didn't get a single hint of purple from the dykem part today... it's so weird. Between the Dykem part and the flash light is the new blue, with a permanent marker.
for those that haven't been following the run thread itself, things are moving forward nicelly
I have been working a bit on the blue color tests today but am still confused about the results. I now have a much bluer blue, but I'm staying convinced the Dykem is probably what they used and reacts so weirdly to lights and photos that it might actually be the right color. We can see a lot of purple hue in some photos of the original, and I don't have that with the new blue, it's just... blue
I'll keep working on that!
I took a lot of photos today and didn't get a single hint of purple from the dykem part today... it's so weird. Between the Dykem part and the flash light is the new blue, with a permanent marker.
Holy cow that is a lot of work! Parts are looking great Matt!
Generalurko
Sr Member
Have you thought about transparent airbrush paints? I'm guessing they'd need some kind of clearcoat over them once you get the weathering how you want it. But that's what I was thinking of doing for the colored aluminum pieces. Haven't tried it yet, of course.
You mentioned the Blue Dykem... have you tried doing any of the yellow parts yet? Maybe those will go better than the blue. There actually seems to be more yellow-aluminum parts on the ZF1 then there are blue ones. And the flamer looks even more different, like an orange-yellow. So that's really 3 colors needed.
You mentioned the Blue Dykem... have you tried doing any of the yellow parts yet? Maybe those will go better than the blue. There actually seems to be more yellow-aluminum parts on the ZF1 then there are blue ones. And the flamer looks even more different, like an orange-yellow. So that's really 3 colors needed.
yes there are three colors to figure out! not easy!
I'm focusing on the blue as I wanted to offer the parts colored for the run. However, I don't think I'll touch the yellow parts as there are several of them on the gun and I'm offering only the large disks. I think people will need to do that color themselves as they will get the parts from several sources, including the small disks attaching the side arm that will probably be resin on most kits.
for the blue, I'll try to dilute a tiny bit the Dykem as I'm thinking maybe the fact that it's very dark and covering also doesn't help with the purple hue. then, after that, try to add some alcool tints to the mix and see if that helps as well. I'm not super convinced by the marker solution so far as it's too blue, and not as wear resistant as the Dykem sadly. It's too bad because it's a very easy solution and also something that people could buy easily to match other parts if necessary or to do touch ups over time if they need.
cheers
I'm focusing on the blue as I wanted to offer the parts colored for the run. However, I don't think I'll touch the yellow parts as there are several of them on the gun and I'm offering only the large disks. I think people will need to do that color themselves as they will get the parts from several sources, including the small disks attaching the side arm that will probably be resin on most kits.
for the blue, I'll try to dilute a tiny bit the Dykem as I'm thinking maybe the fact that it's very dark and covering also doesn't help with the purple hue. then, after that, try to add some alcool tints to the mix and see if that helps as well. I'm not super convinced by the marker solution so far as it's too blue, and not as wear resistant as the Dykem sadly. It's too bad because it's a very easy solution and also something that people could buy easily to match other parts if necessary or to do touch ups over time if they need.
cheers
Hey guys,
here is another small upgrade that is not part of the run and allows me to update here a bit too
well, this started as something I thought would be a very quick and easy upgrade and it turned out extremely complicated sadly!
I wanted to change the small printed grey tube under the handle by an aluminium tube. I expected this would be an easy swap.
after watching Jake's videos on that part, I started removing the whole bottom of the gun which wasn't that hard in the end. however, I discovered upon doing that, that my gun, being an early assembled version wasn't built the same way as the new kits and mine has just a printed base and tube all in one piece, and no threaded rod inside the handle. this is obviously not as strong and I actually even broke the printed tube when removing it from the handle.
ok, I said in the run thread that I would show the current condition of my kit as it was pretty much stripped at the moment, here it is:
no front weapons, no vent rings, no lateral rails, no darts, no bottom, no shell! still pretty fun though!
ok, so here we go, started to replace the bottom part with all aluminium,
I decided to do my aluminium tube longer than the printed one to try to add some strength to the handle as it was stressing me a bit. however, the handle was printed with a hole just deep enough for the current piece, so I had to drill it deeper. but it worked.
after several steps of adjusting and almost messing up the whole handle, I finally got it to work together with the new parts!
putting the bottom shell back on:
and the lining:
there ya go! funny that this was half a day of work and that we can't really see the difference with the printed part on the last photo
cheers guys
here is another small upgrade that is not part of the run and allows me to update here a bit too
well, this started as something I thought would be a very quick and easy upgrade and it turned out extremely complicated sadly!
I wanted to change the small printed grey tube under the handle by an aluminium tube. I expected this would be an easy swap.
after watching Jake's videos on that part, I started removing the whole bottom of the gun which wasn't that hard in the end. however, I discovered upon doing that, that my gun, being an early assembled version wasn't built the same way as the new kits and mine has just a printed base and tube all in one piece, and no threaded rod inside the handle. this is obviously not as strong and I actually even broke the printed tube when removing it from the handle.
ok, I said in the run thread that I would show the current condition of my kit as it was pretty much stripped at the moment, here it is:
no front weapons, no vent rings, no lateral rails, no darts, no bottom, no shell! still pretty fun though!
ok, so here we go, started to replace the bottom part with all aluminium,
I decided to do my aluminium tube longer than the printed one to try to add some strength to the handle as it was stressing me a bit. however, the handle was printed with a hole just deep enough for the current piece, so I had to drill it deeper. but it worked.
after several steps of adjusting and almost messing up the whole handle, I finally got it to work together with the new parts!
putting the bottom shell back on:
and the lining:
there ya go! funny that this was half a day of work and that we can't really see the difference with the printed part on the last photo
cheers guys
I don't know why I have so much trouble with my online orders...
last year, I ordered a 2 1/4 inch tube from the UK for the back part of the barrel because I could not find anything in France close to that specific size. I never received the first package. The seller sent another that I finally received today and it's not even close to what I ordered!
sorry for the rant! I'm loosing so much time with online orders that always have problems... I need to contact my Mill suppler today as well, it's been a month and a half, damn!
last year, I ordered a 2 1/4 inch tube from the UK for the back part of the barrel because I could not find anything in France close to that specific size. I never received the first package. The seller sent another that I finally received today and it's not even close to what I ordered!
sorry for the rant! I'm loosing so much time with online orders that always have problems... I need to contact my Mill suppler today as well, it's been a month and a half, damn!
well I don't know if the machine seller had his ears rigging but they sent the Milling machine this afternoon! hopefully now I'll receive that without any issues in the next few days and manage to install it as it's more than a 100kg and my back is basically useless but it's going to be fine!
but it's going to be fine!
Good luck!!
ahah, yes either that or me resting in my bed with my back blocked again, or the machine on the floor bellow the workshopNow that's a heavy piece of machinery right there
ok, hey guys!
so, today, I worked on attaching a real red button to the ZF-1. and that wasn't easy!
first of all, I found different kind of real red buttons. I found 3 NOS buttons that came with the red lenses already attached, they are from another brand that the one that was used on the real gun, but they are exactly similar from the outside. The only issue is that the ones I got have a shorter threading on the back and it is not long enough to accomodate for the aluminium bezel and the 3mm frame.
because of that, I did my most complicated and technical part on the lathe so far
here we go, first turning the inside of the tube to the proper diameter to accomodate the inside threading:
Threading the inside of the tube (on a 9mm length only) so the red button can thread directly on the bezel:
and then, threading the ouside so that it fit into the frame hole and can be held by the actual nut of the red button. Basically, the aluminium bezel is just extending the length of the button threads
I say "basically", but this was far from basic... this part requires so many different opperations, 2 different threadings, I have to open the lathe for the gears between each OP and the outside threadings have to be done "theorically" without being able to test the nut on it since the threadings are the middle of the material.
here is the final part with the real red button and its original nut:
It was a LOT of work but that is a beautifull part and I'm proud that I managed to do it.
well, I did two more after that and it actually took me the whole day...
ok, so this is all well and fun, but after that, I realized there was another issue, the hole on the ZF-1 frame was not planned to accomodate for a real button. the real buttons need a 22.5mm hole and the hole on the frame is a bit more than 25mm.
so... well, I did a small washer in aluminium quickly but I'll need to figure out something again for the run, and also for the other kind of red buttons that I bought (the actual ones used in the movie) and that are also too short to accept the additional thickness of a washer.
anyways, here it is installed
well, I mean I also have to figure out how to light it up but appart from that, it's looking awesome
so much trouble for such a little part again!
cheers guys
Hey there,
not exactly ZF-1 related but i'm so excited about this!
after years of research, I finally got really lucky and managed to find a weirdly listed accurate 10turn potentiometer!
I guess a mandalore grenade is in my future, when I somehow find the time
that is seriously so cool, I couldn't believe it when I found it!
also, the seller wasn't sending to France on his listing but he agreed after a short conversation cheers guys
not exactly ZF-1 related but i'm so excited about this!
after years of research, I finally got really lucky and managed to find a weirdly listed accurate 10turn potentiometer!
I guess a mandalore grenade is in my future, when I somehow find the time
that is seriously so cool, I couldn't believe it when I found it!
also, the seller wasn't sending to France on his listing but he agreed after a short conversation
cheers guys
Hey guys,
ok, that was a long and tiring day but I managed to build the future mill workbench, just a bit of sanding and rounding corners left to do.
quick 3D plan:
started by cutting all the wood necessary for it. all reclaimed except for the wood top:
assembling the drawers side:
preparing the top structure:
triangulating the back for rigidity:
making sure the top is flat with rasp, plane and sanding board:
and finally installing the top plank!
sorry for the picture quality, did all those quickly with my phone.
I'm pretty happy with the result, it doesn't look too bad and it is very sturdy! I'll round the front corners to avoid any future injury and sand a bit overall but it's pretty much ready to accept the mill when it arrives, hopefully very soon now!
cheers
ok, that was a long and tiring day but I managed to build the future mill workbench, just a bit of sanding and rounding corners left to do.
quick 3D plan:
started by cutting all the wood necessary for it. all reclaimed except for the wood top:
assembling the drawers side:
preparing the top structure:
triangulating the back for rigidity:
making sure the top is flat with rasp, plane and sanding board:
and finally installing the top plank!
sorry for the picture quality, did all those quickly with my phone.
I'm pretty happy with the result, it doesn't look too bad and it is very sturdy! I'll round the front corners to avoid any future injury and sand a bit overall but it's pretty much ready to accept the mill when it arrives, hopefully very soon now!
cheers
Hey there,
not exactly ZF-1 related but i'm so excited about this!
after years of research, I finally got really lucky and managed to find a weirdly listed accurate 10turn potentiometer!
I guess a mandalore grenade is in my future, when I somehow find the time
View attachment 1547781
that is seriously so cool, I couldn't believe it when I found it!
also, the seller wasn't sending to France on his listing but he agreed after a short conversation
Pretty sure those knobs were used on the ZF props on the pod as well as the grenades. (im still hording a pile of them.
) I remember IDing them when i was screenshoting this when Mars and i did our run. Also pretty sure the red "buttons" were not actually the switches but the red indicators. I have some of them and the are shorter and fit with the AK74 magazine installed. Ill try to snap a picture of them when i get back home tomorrow. I really need to dig out my parts and finish my ZF.
hey,Pretty sure those knobs were used on the ZF props on the pod as well as the grenades. (im still hording a pile of them.
I have heard of the potentiometers being used on the ZF-1 as well but never saw where, I would be curious indeed to see a pic of one on a ZF-1
If I understand what you mean correctly, I know that the red buttons are the indicators and not the switches. however, the indicator are not produced anymore and the switches are still stocked by RS components. so that's why I took a few of those on top of the NOS ones from another brand.
cheers
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