Ziza's First Project: DDC Defender ROTJ

[silentZ94]

So for my first project I decided to try and make Leia's blaster from ROTJ! I decided to make this one instead of the one from ANH because personally, I'm tiny and the barrel might be a bit to long for me.. This thread will be both my work in progress and research thread. I thought it'd be a good idea to get all my ideas and research into one place so it would be easier for me to reference. I'm very new to this though so if anyone has any suggestions, please tell me!



So, to begin the DDC Defender uses a Margolin .22 target pistol. I went searching around for replicas of this pistol and (from the looking around I've done) I can't seem to find one. I did find some real ones but those go anywhere from $600 and above which equals out of my budget. But then thd9791 (the person who got me into this mess lol) suggested using a Denix p38 replica instead!



Since I'm not gunning (ha, gunning) for absolute accuracy, this might be the way to go for me. I mean, they look pretty darn similar shape wise even though there are some obvious differences. I would just have to find a way to extend the barrel of course and add on the little piece below it. I'll also have to find a replica part of the sight(?). I'm not quite sure if that's called that (my gun terminology is pretty minimal) but I know the piece on the end of the Margolin is called the muzzle break? Maybe? If I'm wrong please correct me!

I do know that I'll need 4 squares that are possibly rubber stoppers that you put on the bottom of furniture to stop it from scratching the floor. I'll be able to get exact measurements once I get the replica gun so that can wait a bit. I need to find the replica model pieces for the top of the blaster and I also have to figure out what exactly is on the end of the barrel. It looks like it could just be a piece of metal with ridges but I'll have to look into that a bit more.

This is what I have so far though, I'm going to edit this as I find more information

 

[thd9791]

Welcome to the boards! I'm glad I've given you the bug hahaha

I'm actually really glad you're putting the facts up too, this pistol doesn't have a lot of coverage and other folks looking for reference will be able to come here, keep posting stuff!

For "gun" vocabulary you can use Rear Sight for the back piece. That little V groove on top is literally a place to sight your target from the back of the gun. The thing on front I think is called a compensator...the thing with the dial, but thats usually where front sights are (little fins) so you can call it that if its easier :lol

I also recommend a pipe of correct thickness slid over the Denix barrel with the seam close to the gun - anywhere underneath the two Tomtit Hawker rotary engine parts, put on back to back like on the Merr Sonn..except you'll have one full cylinder and one half.

 

[Lichtbringer]

I made me one with a real one:

While i have a batch of the real parts, mine were machined cause i wanted them to be metal:

I hope these pics will help.


For the ribbed section these parts were used, you will need 2 of them. And the good thing, they are deadcheap :

http://www.reademodels.com/

Your right with the rubber bumpons (i can check the size later, but due to the different basegun it might look better if you size them based on your gun).

The muzzle is a machined part.

 

[Broilermaker]

i have ordered a p38 for conversion to one of these also

 

[E Williams]

Unless you absolutely must have metal, a Rubies DDC is a far better and more accurate base item for conversion than any P38 replica. It's very close in size and detail to an actual Margolin with only a few things that need to be corrected (it's based on the MR replica). Just chop off the ANH barrel, fill it with resin, and it's a great heavy duty base.

Check out this thread for more info and comparisons between the Rubies and the Margolin: http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=241937

Here's one I did based on a Rubies (the bumpers pictured are the wrong size and have since been replaced):

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

I used a resin cast from a real Margolin. Thanks OdiWan72

 

[AnubisGuard]

Here's one I did based on a Rubies (the bumpers pictured are the wrong size and have since been replaced):

At the risk of being all spammy, what model/size of bump-on did you end up using? I've got some of the smaller, less-accurate ones coming from eBay but would love to upgrade if possible.

 

[E Williams]

They came from an eBay seller in the UK - remarkably the same seller still has them listed!

25x Square Rubber Foot Self-Adhesive Black Feet 12.7MM x 6MM RF02S | eBay

• Colour: Black. • Strong Permanent Adhesive. • Supplied on Backing Sheet. • Material: Rubber. • Style: Square.

www.ebay.com

Here's a slightly shorter version, but the taller seems better?:

RF07S Black Square Rubber Feet 12.7 x 12.7 x 3.5MM Self Adhesive Sheet of 25 | eBay

A sheet of 25 self-adhesive rubber sticky feet with strong non-slip properties Colour: Black. Strong permanent adhesive. Supplied on backing sheet. Material: Rubber. Base Length/Width: 12.7 mm.

www.ebay.com

They're positioned a touch low on my build but here's a comparison. They might benefit from a semi-gloss clear coat too but I didn't want to risk it turning tacky:

BTW an original resin stunt is up for auction next week (maybe that's why you are asking - I know I pored over the photos and compared it to my Rubies build):

https://entertainment.ha.com/itm/movie-tv-memorabilia/props/star-wars-episode-vi-return-of-the-jedi-tcf-1983-carrie-fisher-princess-leia-stunt-defender-blaster-x-30/a/7356-89579.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

 

[AnubisGuard]

BTW an original resin stunt is up for auction next week (maybe that's why you are asking - I know I pored over the photos and compared it to my Rubies build):

Thanks for the link! Completely coincidental though – my recent Nerf Scout Trooper conversion got me thinking about other cheap blaster props I could do and this one came to mind.

They might benefit from a semi-gloss clear coat too but I didn't want to risk it turning tacky:

I bet a lick of acrylic floor gloss would get you the result you want without turning it tacky.

Robot or human?

 

[AnubisGuard]

They're positioned a touch low on my build but here's a comparison.

Looking through the reference, I think the reason your bumpers overhang too much at the bottom is that the ones on the screen-used blaster aren't square! From the above screencap, Heritage auction, and supposed 1st-gen casting on YourProps.com. The red lines are the same length, with the green showing the difference:

It's not much, but it adds up over the length of four bump-ons.

In addition, the flatter bump-on looks more correct to me, assuming this image is indeed of a direct casting:

Taking the ebay auction dimensions of 12.7 mm x 3.5 mm (rounded up to 4mm for safety), I treated the long axis as 12.7mm and got 12.3 mm for the shorter axis. I built a quick and dirty 3D model for 3D printing.

Or this all-in-one, with idealized spacing based on the Heritage photos.

Attached here for anyone who wants them.

 

[AnubisGuard]

Wookiepedia had some images I hadn't seen before under "X-30 Lancer," which is apparently the Legends name for this version of the blaster. It shows clearly that the bump-ons are the same height as the triangular sticky-outy-bits at the front of the slide. (I have no idea what those parts are called.) On the Rubies those parts are 6.5 mm tall. So I've updated the files, if anyone needs them.

 

[thd9791]

I suppose it would be appropriate to pop in with some fun tidbits.

When it comes to polyurethane or fiberglass resin casting, there is a higher shrink ratio for larger details than smaller geometry, as well as length vs width. That last one I’m not sure of exactly, but this can be useful for trying to reverse engineer parts or find exact dimensions. I do this in my shop all the time when I make masters, because sometimes comparisons to other known parts yield more accurate results than photoshop calculations. And the more generations of molding can exponentially shrink details. So are those prop casts direct from the ILM/Bapty molds? Or a cast of that cast?

The original Russian margolin is apprantly up for auction right now. The muzzle is newly machined, Matthieu found the original was hand lathed and had uneven plunge cuts. So it wasn’t a stock piece from Bapty, maybe made by them.

This bumper talk might be better suited for a research thread into the prop, so I apologize