Solo’s ANH Droid Caller..

Here are some pics of this finished scope on the HOTH blaster..

I changed out the reticle (haven't epoxy'd anything just yet) as I prefer this one more..



And always.. #BeYourOwnScoundrel [emoji106]




•Back to BUILD THREAD index..

The reason for subbing out the DEC bull barrel is simple. It's not built for a denix.

For what ever reason they still make it for an MGC Mauser (or a real c96). It still needs to be modified to fit an MGC but everything lines up (as pictured below).. But finding an MGC is nearly impossible these days and if you do? Well just be ready to pay a lot for the Mauser as they are long out of production..

Though it fits like a glove on an MGC the denix is whole other story. Not so much. Here is some pictures with two denix Mauser sporting the DEC bull barrel along the bull barrel I will be using..

EDIT: As I’m always trying to improve, here is my latest update on the bull barrel. These details bring it that much closer. This way it lines up directly with the Mauser with this mod to the denix. The taper has been updated as well..

Very nice. Most of us who use the DEC bull barrel just file down our Denix to accept it.

cjchiu said:

Very nice. Most of us who use the DEC bull barrel just file down our Denix to accept it.

Click to expand...

Very true but until recently we didn't have much choice either. But it can be done. It can be made to fit with a little determination and a bit of elbow grease [emoji482]

I'm going to be doing something a little different though..

With that I'll jump right into the antenna greeblie part of this build. These parts can be found at "Reade Models" and to quote them directly they sell "The ORIGINAL Star Wars Blaster Cylinder Kits".

What I am planning on doing is building two separate interchangeable bull barrels for display purposes. One with antenna greeblies intact and the other with them weathered as they were at the end of filming. [emoji106]


First I like to cut down the bed part of the greeblies a bit as I personally find them a little to long..


Next up is weathering the one that will used for such display..

Add epoxy..




Now I cut off the tail of the weathered greeblie but only a tad of the unweathered ones..


Next I epoxy them into place on each bull barrel. I find it best to first attach the bull barrels to the a Mauser itself with the flash hider in place as well. This way everything is where it needs to be (bull barrels at this stage have already been finished and painted FYI)..

With these builds the first thing I like to accomplish is getting all the parts attached onto the Mauser itself. First I make room for the bull barrel to slide on by cutting off 1.850in of the barrel itself..

Then I tap the hole on the bull barrel itself..

Slide the bull barrel into place, screw in the screw as tight as possible so it leaves a mark..

With a circle punch I find the center for drilling..

Then drill it out by starting with a small drill bit working up to one that is just a bit bigger than the bull barrel screw itself. I won't be tapping this hole as it only needs to keep the barrel from sliding around or coming off..

...

EDIT/UPDATE: I’ve since reworked my heat sink grilles to be even more film accurate in design. This picture below breaks it down for you. https://youtu.be/fW5eBxT7vPA



Now to build the front "Heat Sink Grille" [emoji106]


Three individual "Avron model kit cylinders" is what I will be starting with. Again "Reade Models" is where you can find them..


It was these cylinders that were apparently used to create the film accurate grille that was used back in '77. Back then these parts were probably put together without to much thought, but fast forward 40 plus years and it's still a bit of a mystery of how they did it.

I did ask for some advice on how to go about cutting and shaping these cylinders. "We just use a band saw to cut the pieces to the correct size, and various files and sandpaper to clean it up. Hope this helps." This is true but again still leaves a lot to the imagination.

So with that and a lot of trial and error..

"Many cylinders died to bring us this information"

To create this grille you will only need the bottom part on each cylinder. This following diagram shows the transformation that I would like to achieve..

EDIT/UPDATE: Below is the old traditional way of building the grille. I do believe that the actual grille is more inline with how I have it pictured above and though..

These are the tools that I will be using..

Two will be cut 6 rings up from the bottom while the 3rd will be cut 7..

The first of the three cylinders I will work on will be the bottom part of the grille. This part of the grille requires the 7 rings up from the bottom.

The thickets ring will eventually be cut off but it should be facing down for this part of the build. First I need to mark off where my next cuts will be (0.805in worked for me) so it fits onto the Mauser..


Before taking this part off (pictured below)..

It's best snip it in down even further. If you don't you risk it breaking..


The bottom front has a bit of a rise so you need to again mark the proper spacing (0.805in [emoji106]). This is where you need to make sure you are cutting into the thickest of the 7 rings..
Then snip it and twist them each off gently..

Now I need to snip off this bottom thick ring on both sides. But only the thick ring itself while leaving the spacer between the rings in place..

It's still not finished as you need now to continue sniping the front. ONLY one more ring up..

Now u can sand this bottom part of the cylinder smooth. Make sure to sand the inside flat so it's flush with the Mauser. Not the front obviously but the sides where it will rest..

With the middle cylinder I used the previous one to line it up and make my marks. This will be one of the 6 ring cylinder and the thickest ring will again be at the bottom. But it remains intact this time..

Then attach it to the Mauser to figure out where the next cuts should be. This part of the cylinder has a circular shape to it when finished allowing room for the "mystery disk". Then snip it carefully, allowing for a rough shape to be sanding in next..

This is also where I shape it so it's rounded on the sides. The Dremel works perfect for this. Again to have it sit flush up against the Mauser I need to make sure I sand the inside back walls flat..

Now onto the final part of this build. There should be one remaining 6 ring cylinder left BUT this time make sure the thickest ring is on the top!

Again I will use the previous part I just finished to mark off where I will need to make my cuts so it lines up..

Then make the cuts and sand..

Now all three cylinders should be transformed into the correct parts for this grille..

As you can see. One thick ring should be at the top. One at the bottom on the middle cylinder and no thick ring on the actually bottom part of this Heat Sink Grille..

At this point I just use some tape to keep everything together..


It's not ready to be attached permanently to the Mauser but I do want to see everything in place to make sure it's lining up where it should be..



•Back to BUILD THREAD index..

"This is where the fun begins.."

What I like to do next is modify my base denix mausers as much as possible. If you noticed the markings on the Mauser in the previous pictures it's because I've already started that process. [emoji106]

So let me backtrack a bit to show just how I go about these mods. First thing I do is take everything apart in preparation for said modifications..

Below are just some of the details I will be adding (or in some parts removing)..

[emoji106] The barrel of the Denix modified to fit the FH
[emoji106] Removed the Denix branding
[emoji106] Greeblies
[emoji106] Reversing the Sight
[emoji106] Removing the Bolt on Butt
[emoji106] MGC extraction marking added to Denix
[emoji106] Film Accurate Grip Screws
[emoji106] Reshapping the Trigger
[emoji106] Cleaning up the soft casting
[emoji106] Reshaping the Hammer


This process is pretty much the same for all my blaster builds..

•So if you'e already read my previous DENIX mod thread (EMPIRE build) you can skip ahead..

Or.. continue reading [emoji106]

Absolutely stellar work! Never seen someone document the grill - I'll have to bookmark this page so I can do it myself!

EDIT: I’ve since made my life a lot easier by redesigning this part. It’s two parts so when tracing out the mag plate everything lines up. Takes out all the guessing work [emoji106]

There is no particular order to go about modifying your denix so for this build I've decided to start with the base. This part was modeled directly after an MGC Mauser. Using this tool along with a Dremel the effect comes out really nice..

For the mag release itself use what ever you can find to get things lined up properly. Here I've used a circle template as well as the center punch..

For actually drilling out the holes it's always best to start with the smallest drill bit. Find the center punch hole then work backwards..

I did use one more smaller sized bit (to make the hole a "bit" bigger) in between jumping to this one below..



Now moving on to using a Dremel and saw to get everything moving towards the end goal which is the MGC..

Starting with the saw I cut the Denix to allow for the film accurate style grip screws to be attached..

Next I move on to sanding down the denix and again moving closer towards what is more in line with an actual MGC..

I use these two sanding grit bands. I generally start with the 60 grit for all the big parts and then do a finishing touch to smooth everything out with the 240 grit before ending with actual sandpaper (320). For the removal of the Denix logo I only use the 240 grit and then finish with the 320 sand paper..

Then drill in this little detail as well..

Finally as I mentioned I go over everything with "320" sandpaper to finish it off, including where the motor/coil greeblie will go..

Moving on it's time to reattach the sight, epoxy on the MGC extraction mark as well as fill in all the Denix pin holes. First I start by cutting down the sight pin so it fits accordingly..

Dremel off the sharp edges and make it a little more round..

Next I reattach the sight adjuster (??) and reverse it from its original direction (should be facing "right" NOT left - looking from behind). The Denix originally and incorrectly has it facing left..

Now I prep the Mauser by sanding it smooth for its MGC extraction marking. I've seen people mill this but I don't have that kind of equipment and besides the actually part is a separate piece anyhow. So in a perfect world it would be made up from two separate mods.

But since I don't have the ability to mill and this build is to best represent the film prop.. I designed this extraction mark and it works very well.

For the HERO build specifically I like to sand this part down to all silver before adding the extraction marking..





Depending on the material you use the bottom might have some "bumps" that will need to be lightly sanded smooth. I choose to use "High Definition Acrylate" in black. It's a little on the expensive side in terms of material but it's easy to sand smooth and black all the way through (unlike the "black strong & flexible" which is just dyed black but white underneath)..

Now I add the epoxy but just enough so it doesn't "goo" out on the sides and attach it into place. I will literally hold it down old school style for a few minutes so it dries flat and in place..

Next I epoxy down the sight, otherwise it will continuously (AND annoyingly) flap up and down..

Once it's dried (and then dried some more) I sand it down (320 grad) one last time to get the extraction mark as smooth and close to flat as possible without losing any of the details itself..

Lastly it's time to fill in the Denix pin holes as this is a huge tell between the MGC and a Denix itself. For this I use "Loctite Repair Putty"..

Fill in all the pin holes that need it and then patience young Jedi..

Now it's time to sand (320) off the Loctite putty and cover up with tape where the motor/coil greeblie will be..

thd9791 said:

Absolutely stellar work! Never seen someone document the grill - I'll have to bookmark this page so I can do it myself!

Click to expand...

Thanks thd9791! I'm very happy to share [emoji106]

Now for the "mystery disk"..

And why is it called a mystery disk? [emoji848] Well because this disk is just that.. a mystery. From my understanding no one seems to know why or what purpose this originally served.

Regardless of its origins it still needs to created. So when creating my mystery disk I like to sand down the part of the Mauser it will eventually go (front left side)..

It doesn't have to be completely shiny as the prop itself wasn't. This is completely up to you and your build obviously. There is not right or wrong plus you can always add the wear and tear latter..

For making the mystery disk I use 1" circle labels. They "stick, stay & remove cleanly"..

This is why I build the "Heat Sink Grille" first so I know where to place this mystery disk..

Now since this circle sticker is "one inch", I'll I do is measure in 0.500" to find the center. Mark it and use my center punch..

For drilling out this center hole I use the smallest drill bit I have. Then cover it with some tape so no paint gets through..

I do have a thread of how to rebuild your denix grips to be more film accurate..



•Turn your DENIX GRIPS into something a little more film accurate

**If you want to check this thread out there will be a "link" to bring you right back here when finished [emoji106]


DEC also creates wood grips that can make a builders life a little easier though. The grips are already shaped on the inside to fit a denix once you remove this part..


But first you need to add some wood finish..



After a couple coat and it's dried you can hammer in the nuts [emoji848]..

The screw itself will need to be shortened as it's way to long. I attach everything and then mark where the screw will (approximately) need to be cut. It doesn't have to be exact as I can use your Dremel to clean it up and smooth it out..

Next up is prepping the Mauser and parts for painting.

First I need to make sure all the DEC parts are smoothed out as you can see where they broke it off from the casting process. The Dremel will do the trick but be careful as it's soft metal. To much will ruin the part itself..

With the scope wheel this little dial is a little to long out of the box. So a little snip does the trick. BUT make sure to tape it or mark it in some way as it's SMALL and easy to lose if you don't. Then just epoxy it into place..


I also like to change out the mounts screws for attaching the scope. The DEC ones are to long and awkwardly stick out the bottom if not. You can cut these as well but being so small it easier to just switch them..

So you can see what I mean this is using one of each. It's a now you see me, now you don't..

Now with the Mauser I like to sand down the hammer and then tape it up as well as adding tape to cover up the extraction marking..

Next up is prepping the DEC kits and rest of the parts for painting.

For the mount bar..

I would like to duplicate the film look as much as possible..


I've tried weathering it after painting but I do find it best now to add the "weathering" by blocking off those areas with tape before hand. I will remove the tape before I apply the second coat but by doing this it makes the eventual weathering that much easier and more detailed..

Next is to apply tape and add "Q-tips" to the rest of the parts for painting. Tape is important as you want to protect the areas that will slide into each other (bull barrel/ flash hider, scope ends, scope wheel). If to much paint gets in the way you'll regret it later..

...