Build: Greedo Killer: "Accurized" Denix

Every time I come back to this project it empowers me to complete mine! You keep mentioning Field Marshall's and his upcoming part runs. I've tried finding where these project runs are but to no avail... Would you mind sharing who this person is and what site they're on?
 
Every time I come back to this project it empowers me to complete mine! You keep mentioning Field Marshall's and his upcoming part runs. I've tried finding where these project runs are but to no avail... Would you mind sharing who this person is and what site they're on?

SpeedRacer ... Thanks for the kind words, and for following along! I'll have to check out your build as well. Field Marshall only has 1 thread where he posts updates for all of his current runs. He currently has a lot going on, with multiple blaster scope replicas, E-11 parts, and more recently some complete DL-44 kits.

Here's a link to that thread: M19 telescope mhr 1942 build

And a link to his store, where he sells his parts: Mandalorian - War Machine Paintball

And his eBay store: vmusicstore on eBay

Could you share the name of the ebay seller who sold the mineral glass? Thanks!

I can do you one better:

For the smaller lens (Select a diameter of 19.3mm) : https://www.ebay.com/itm/15-mm-26-4...Glass-Watch-Crystal-8-mm-Thick-/112587600130?

For the larger lens (Select a diameter of 31.4mm) : Dome Watch Crystal Mineral Glass 1.2 Millimeters Thick w/ Diameter 24.1 - 32.0mm | eBay

Hope that helps!

EDIT: Field Marshall has tweaked his design and these lenses will no longer fit. Don't buy them!
 
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Hey Folks,

With all of this extra time during the lockdown, I've realized that I never updated this thread after having "completed" this build. It's been near-finished for years now, with the exception of some minor details (see below). Here's an updated photo of the assembled blaster with the new (soon to be old) Field Marshall scope replica, which I've weathered since my last update.

Weathered.jpeg


As for those "minor details", I've finally purchased one of Field Marshall's raw aluminum heat sinks ((EDIT: I ended up selling the FM and going with one of Solo's Hold's replica grills). That will replace the Corellian Exports anodized black grill that I've had mounted on this blaster since day 1, which will go up on the Junkyard soon, if anyone is interested in picking up an affordable, metal heat sink for their GK or custom build. I'll paint the new one satin black and mount it once it arrives (should be any day now).

Lastly, I want to update my scope setup yet again. After a discussion I had with Field Marshall a few years back, he has changed the design of the saddle on his GK scope replica to more properly match the screen used Compac Scope. The older version of his scope (like most other GK scope replicas out there) has a saddle that was modeled after another, almost identical version of the Compac scope. That being said, I'll likely soon be selling my current assembled/weathered FM scope (pictured above) on the Junkyard, so I can purchase/re-build one of his newer kits.

Stay tuned for these final updates! I'll be knocking the heat sink out this coming week, and taking a third pass at the scope once/if I'm able to sell my current one.
 
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So after some thought, I ended up ordering one of Solo's Hold's GK grills to compare to the Field Marshall grill that arrived this past week. After looking at them side by side with my old Corellian Exports 12-fin, they all have their merits but I've decided to go with the Solo's Hold grill. Here are some comparison shots of the three replicas. The other two will be up in the junkyard soon, if anyone's interested ...

0412201325a_HDR.jpg


0412201329_HDR.jpg


0412201350a.jpg


I gave the grill some satin black. Once it's dry I'll weather/mount it according to the promo photos, as I've attempted to do so far. I plan to use epoxy to mount it, as I don't think the provided bolt would get much of a bite on the Denix (hence the lack of paint on the backside). It seems likely the screw was used to mount the heat sink on the actual prop, but my particular Denix just doesn't seem to line up that way. Anyone have input here?

0412201359_HDR.jpg


0412201627_HDR.jpg


Stay tuned for another update this week, as I have a part update arriving.
 
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Yeah, I've got the Field Marshall grill on my Greedo Killer grill on my Denix. It definitely needs to be epoxied on. The little screw does nothing.

Agreed! I gave the front of the Denix a couple strokes with a file and a bit of epoxy, and it's mounted! I set the grill's screw with a dab of epoxy as well, as the hole was already too big to be tapped for it:

SH Grill Painted-Mounted_1.jpg


SH Grill Painted-Mounted_2.jpg


Stay tuned for more scope updates coming soon. Once that's sorted, unless I can one day afford to swap these parts out onto an MGC, this thing will finally be done.
 
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So after some thought, I ended up ordering one of Solo's Hold's GK grills to compare to the Field Marshall grill that arrived this past week. After looking at them side by side with my old Corellian Exports 12-fin, they all have their merits but I've decided to go with the Solo's Hold grill. Here are some comparison shots of the three replicas. The other two will be up in the junkyard soon, if anyone's interested ...

View attachment 1286097

View attachment 1286096

View attachment 1286101

I gave the grill some satin black. Once it's dry I'll weather/mount it according to the promo photos, as I've attempted to do so far. I plan to use epoxy to mount it, as I don't think the provided bolt would get much of a bite on the Denix (hence the lack of paint on the backside). It seems likely the screw was used to mount the heat sink on the actual prop, but my particular Denix just doesn't seem to line up that way. Anyone have input here?

View attachment 1286106

View attachment 1286107

Stay tuned for another update this week, as I have a part update arriving.
So, which one is which in these pics?
 
So if you can believe it, I've decided to go in yet ANOTHER direction for my third pass at this scope ...
WARNING: This will be a text-heavy post, but may be helpful to anyone looking to take their replica scope to the next level.

First off, I printed up one of chubsANDdoggers new Compac scope saddle replicas. It's designed to mount on to his printable full Compac scope kit, but I've decided to mod it to fit onto my metal Field Marshall scope. I've never handled a real Compac, but this seems to be the most accurate attempt at the saddle yet. It's the correct model (2 1/2X) and features the logo engraving on top (though unfortunately not the serial number on the side).

DL-44Blaster vs FMv2.jpg


It mounts using the same logic as Field Marshall's saddle, so all I had to do was widen the holes for Field Marshall's windage knobs and it fit right on there! I also managed to find some of the proper brass screws. I've been told that these screws are brass on the real deal. Can anyone confirm?

Windage Knob Hole Mod.jpg


Mounted Saddle.jpg


Since finishing my last FM scope, I also found that a thicker, SINGLE dome (not double dome) lens will create a subtle magnifying effect, aiding in the illusion of a real scope. I found a few of these in the right size for this scope and am currently waiting for them to arrive ...

Thick Single Dome Effect.jpg


I did purchase a second Field Marshall scope, as I wanted to start from scratch with these updates, but when it arrived I realized that since his design change, it's now far easier to assemble, but it doesn't have the threaded detailing where the small lens mounts. So, after some thought, I decided to set this new scope aside and dismantle my first Field Marshall scope to reassemble with my printed saddle and updated lenses.

Step one was to remove the lenses. I carefully punched the smaller one out with the butt end of a screwdriver, and the epoxy gave a clean break. The larger lens was more complicated, as its retainer is a separate, pressure-fit piece. The fit was much tighter on these older versions of his replica (I had to pressure-fit this one with a bar clamp) and after trying to pull it out with vice grips, I managed to chew up the retainer ring pretty badly (as well as a bit of the main scope body), but it came out. The lens retainer is toast (good thing I have another one from the new scope) but I was able to repair the gouging on the scope body with a bit of JB weld and some careful sanding.

1st Retainer.jpg


JB Weld Repair.jpg


To strip the paint, I decided to try "Citristrip" after hearing some positive reviews here on the RPF. It's citrus-based (allegedly) and supposed to be less toxic, but it worked great to strip the Krylon from the scope. I got it in a rattle can, which is pretty convenient for application. Would recommend! Once the paint was stripped, the smaller threaded lens retainer screwed out effortlessly.

Then, it came time to approach darkening the interior of the scope. I hate looking through the scope to see light bouncing around due to the bright aluminum. On my first 2 scope builds, I played it safe and opted not to attempt to paint all the way through, for fear of the paint accumulating and dripping. I could always notice the aluminum when looking through it, which majorly broke the illusion of a working scope for me. So, this time I decided to try aluminum black to darken the inside. To make a long story short, with careful prep, it worked beautifully, but didn't last long.

Masked for Interior Bluing.jpg


Interior Post-Bluing_2.jpg


After a few hours it started to rust, and the inside lost practically all of its darkness (I didn't get a photo of this). Typically I'd use oil or somthing to prevent this from happening, but I didn't like the idea of anything oil-based inside the tube once it's sealed up. So, having tried that, I've decided to go for flat black paint in a rattle can. I've had some luck experimenting with different processes for this, but this is what has worked best so far:

To prep the inside for paint, I first masked off a 5mm strip at the opening of the wider end so that I'm not putting epoxy on paint when it comes time to mount the retainer. I also masked off the threads at the smaller end so that they wouldn't get gummed up with paint. To prep the surface, I use a rolled-up Scotchbrite pad to buff the inside of the scope. I then mask the outside of the scope to minimize unwanted spray there, and paint the inside using a series of short blasts. I've yet to achieve full internal coverage without getting some drips around the inner rims (see below) ...

Interior Post-Paint.jpg


Once this dried though, I buffed it more with the scotchbrite pad and was able to get rid of those drips:

Interior Post-Paint_Post-Brushing.jpg


From here on out, I'll use the same method to finish the outside that I detailed in post #60 of this thread for my first pass at this scope (give that a read if you'd like a thorough explanation of the order in which to best tackle this kit). Another mod I've made (not pictured) was to trim down the length of the windage knob bolts, so that they don't intrude into the scope. The holes are still very noticeable when looking through (I wish that these were blind-tapped ... a detail that I miss from Solo's Hold's replica) but I can't think of a method to fill them that's worth the effort.

Stay tuned for exterior painting and weathering!
 
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As usual it took a bit longer than expected to finish this up, but the scope is finally done and I'm feeling pretty confident that it's currently as best as I can get it! (save for taking the weathering a bit further, which I plan to do slowly over time). Here are some more photos of the process, picking up from my last post:

This chubsANDdoggers Compac scope saddle print is of super high quality, but I gave it a light wet-sanding with some 600 grit to make it as smooth as can be. You can see the very mild print lines on the left side, compared to post-sanding on the right:

Saddle_Wet-Sanding.jpg


All prepped for paint:

GK Scope Saddle_Wet-Sanded_2.jpg


GK Scope Saddle_Wet-Sanded_1.jpg


After having done a number of these scopes, I decided to make a simple rig to hold the scope for painting. I trimmed down some corks so that the wire wouldn't make contact anywhere inside of the scope, as it's nice and pristinely painted in there (I ended up re-painting the inside since my last post ... it looks much better now).

GK Scope Painting Rig.jpg


I trimmed and weathered some brass 4-40 screws, then set them into the saddle with a bit of epoxy before painting:

GK Scope Screw Weathering.jpg


I used silly putty to mask off the smaller lens once I had it threaded back into the scope body. The silly putty came off very cleanly, as opposed to the poster putty I've used in the past:

Silly Putty Mask.jpg


Finished product, with just the first steps of weathering:

Final GK Scope_1.jpg


Final GK Scope_2.jpg


It's hard to get a proper photo looking through the scope, but my lenses finallly arrived from China after being held up for months (inevitably due the pandemic). Both ends have thick, single-dome lenses that give it a great magnifying effect:

Final GK Scope_3.jpg


Final GK Scope_4.jpg


I think the saddle turned out fantastic ... thanks for offering this piece chubsANDdoggers! I mixed up some yellow enamel with a touch of red to match the color of the Compac's logo, then just brushed it on thick and wiped the surface with an alcohol-soaked cloth:

Final GK Scope Saddle_1.jpg


Final GK Scope Saddle_2.jpg


Other than taking the weathering a bit further on this scope, this build is finally shelved again! o_O

Next up: I'm excited to finally finish up the last bits of my Luke ANH Macros build, before starting an all new build! Stay tuned for updates on both, as well as another post here regarding the different scope rings used on the GK.
 
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After hunting for some time, I think I've acquired the accurate scope rings used both on screen and in the famous post-production photos. Here's the GK in three different configurations:

Screen-Used Configuration - Featuring the taller Weaver scope rings:

Final GK_Screen-Used Rings.jpg


Idealized Configuration - Featuring lower-profile Weaver scope rings:

Final GK_Idealized Rings.jpg


Post-Production Configuration - Featuring mis-matched Tasco/Weaver scope rings:

Final GK_Post-Production Rings.jpg


If you look closely, you can see that the two scope rings used in the post-production photos of the GK are mis-matched. They are of a different shape than those used on screen (common "football" shape), and although they are very similar in design to the Weaver rings, I believe these were made by a Japanese company called "Tasco". The wheels are very close to those of the weaver rings, but there are some notable differences (outlined below) and the Weaver wheels' threading doesn't match these.

GK Post Production Rings_1_Notes.jpg


GK Post Production Rings_2_Notes.jpg


GK Post Production Rings_3_Notes.jpg


I'll be keeping it in the "post-production" configuration for now, as I don't see many GK's sporting these style rings!

Setting this on the shelf for now, on to other builds. Stay tuned!
 
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Looks lovely!, I got myself a Denix mauser from years ago when I was doing some reenactment as a WWI German corporal, i've been tempted to make it into an DL-44 or something the likes. Too bad I don't have a workshop or even tools to do that sadly, let stand experience.
 
Beautiful work

Skilful! :oops::oops: impressive...

Thanks for the kind words, guys!

Looks lovely!, I got myself a Denix mauser from years ago when I was doing some reenactment as a WWI German corporal, i've been tempted to make it into an DL-44 or something the likes. Too bad I don't have a workshop or even tools to do that sadly, let stand experience.

rASPONOV ... you'd be surprised at how much you can handle with just some cheap needle files, a mini hack saw and a hand drill! When I started this GK that's about all I had to work on this project. The real commitment is time, and 90% of that went to accurizing/re-finishing the Denix. One could slap the rest together in a few days of devoted time if content with the Denix as-is. Though I know I'm no example for this (this thread was started 6 years ago yesterday!) Also, I'm sure there are many on here that would take on the commission as well.

So I finally bit the bullet (or laser bolt?) and picked up a copy of "Star Wars Chronicles". Wow, what a beautiful collection of reference material and in-world history:

Star Wars Chronicles.jpg


One thing that did catch my eye was a higher-res version of this familiar post-production photo:

Star Wars Chronicles_Post Production GK_Front Scope Ring Profile.jpg


For me, this confirms that I've got the correct front scope ring for post-production setup I've detailed above. You can see how the profile matches the blue highlight below, as opposed to the more angular profile of the ring on the right:

GK Post Production Rings_2_Notes.jpg


Pretty cool! It's tough to make out the same profile on the back ring, but I'm still confident that that one has the more angular profile, due to the shape of the thumb knob.
 

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