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TK 109 Guru
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Joined: 11 May 2007 Posts: 712 Location: Galena, Ohio
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2007 8:11 pm Post subject: E-11 kenner/hasbro conversion "skin kit" on EBAY |
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well, i found this resin kit on ebay, and i have a few questions.
first, what are the qualities of this resin after it is cured? can you tell? how hard is it? its tan, correct? (duh!) is it shiny? is it as hard as wood, or harder? what epoxy should i use to bond the resin to the plastic blaster? the ad recomends filler, should i use bondo? is resin overall safe to work with when cured? if this kit arrives damaged, can i repaire the resin parts with epoxy? if so, what kind? what are the chances of this resin breaking on my during shipment? (bubble wraped, ect, see ad...)
oh! here's the ad:
http://cgi.ebay.com/STORMTROOPER-E-11-HASBRO-BLASTER-CONVERSION-SKIN-KIT_W0QQitemZ300147093202QQihZ020QQcategoryZ60361QQtcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
ok,
some more info. i found several reviews on a british stormtrooper 501st forum for this EXACT kit, and they seem to agree it is satisfactory. they have some impressive finshes on the new blaster.
more questions:
what kind of black paint should i use? i looked at lowe's and they had some interesting variations:
satin black: accurated to the movies, but reather plain. i could dry brush some weathering on, but i tend to over-do weathering....
hammered black: a bit shiny, but gives a realistic "factory look". the shine might actually be really cool, and the texture.
metallic black: this is a shiny black, with some silvery sparkles. the silver touch MAY give it a good look, but i dunno, may end up being corny.
what do you think? me and my family took a vote, and said satin should be it. but i think it's too plain. the hammerd look would probably be REALLY cool. i've seen the hammerd black paint on jim's dummy sterling e-11, and it looked too shiny....
final question. should i buy? i think so, mainly because it's a good way to make an impressive e-11 replica, complete with electronics! it'll give my armor that touch it needs. something made out of PVC pipe and wood would be more expensive than this kit, plus it would have no lights or sounds.
overall, i think it's worth it. i was just going to check if anyone had any reviews, if not, tell me what you think of this kit.
THANK YOU!! ![Very Happy](images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif) _________________ -Alex
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crashmann Guru
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Joined: 27 Sep 2005 Posts: 501
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Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 11:13 pm Post subject: |
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Looks like a pretty good deal to really spruce up your Hasbro toy blaster, especially for only $43.00.
The hard yellow resin is very durable and strong. However, it is also heavy and can be brittle. You do not want to drop it. There may be tiny pinholes that will need to be filled in with glazing putty or flashing that will need to be cleaned up. Many folks have recommended Devcon Plastic Welder (found at Walmart) for gluing plastic and resin together.
For painting the finished gun, I have seen both the satin black and hammered finish. I believe the movies had the smooth satin, and some light dry brushing with silver paint on the corners to simulate wear will make for some nice highlights to break up the monochromatic finish. Check out TK-1536's real deactivated sterling to see how light weathering makes the details pop:
http://tk1536.com/armor.html (7/8's of the way down the page under "British Sterling/E-11 Blasters" )
If the hammered finish is too shiny, you could top it with a clear satin or scuff it with a ScotchBrite pad.
If I didn't already have a HyperFirm E11, I would buy this add on kit.
Charlie |
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TK 109 Guru
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Joined: 11 May 2007 Posts: 712 Location: Galena, Ohio
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 6:20 pm Post subject: |
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superior! (is all i have to say)
good info, thanks!
i've been to that website before, good stuff.
what i think i'll do is that hammered finish, then a VERY thin satin to coat, and dry brushing. (possibly followed by a second coat of clear satin, just to make sure nothing chips off?)
i happen to have some spot putty, so i will use that.
so it sounds like:
1. hammered black spray paint
2. clear satin enamel spray paint
3. plastic welder epoxy
that should do it! i'm trying to figure out a holster, and now i'm thinking its NOT worth it...
gotta be careful with weathering, i tend to overdo it....
thank you! ![Very Happy](images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif) _________________ -Alex
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jegner Site Admin
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Joined: 30 May 2003 Posts: 2144 Location: Texas, USA
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 2:26 pm Post subject: |
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Sounds good to me. I don't have first hand knowledge of the kit. My technique for blaster painting is to paint with a good primer, then top coat with Krylon Semi-Flat Black, a couple of coats. The weathering consisted of aluminum Testors paint applied with a brush using the 'dry brush' techniques. Scopes are usually gold Testors dry-brushed, and grips are painted with a glossy black.
Jim |
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TK 109 Guru
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Joined: 11 May 2007 Posts: 712 Location: Galena, Ohio
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Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 1:29 pm Post subject: |
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cool!
thanks for that!
yeah, i'll go ahead and order this kit, possibly this weekend, paint it, and weather, and post some pics!
gold dry brushing for the scope, eh? so that's how you do that..... COOL !!
thanks! ![Very Happy](images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif) _________________ -Alex
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TK 109 Guru
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Joined: 11 May 2007 Posts: 712 Location: Galena, Ohio
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2007 4:07 pm Post subject: |
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gonna buy that kit here soon, may be a while for shipping (?) (from UK).
goin to post some progress pics and final pics of the whole process, and review! i like this kit!! ![Very Happy](images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif) _________________ -Alex
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TK 109 Guru
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Joined: 11 May 2007 Posts: 712 Location: Galena, Ohio
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 1:30 pm Post subject: |
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ok guys, here's my step one in this little tutorial....
#1
BEFORE:
the hasbro "clone trooper" electronic blaster. measurements from a book about guns i happen to have at my house suggest that this weapon is SMALLER than a real sterling SMG.
we will compare before and after pictures after this thing is done.
MATERIALS:
1. Krylon PLASTIC FUSION gloss blasck spray paint
2. Orange model enamel paint, for the tip of the barrel (BY LAW! if you want to see what happens to a trooper troopering all by himself in his insecure nieghborhood, wih a blasteer, see the "my first trooping experience" thread in the offf topic section....)
3. Bondo GLAZING AND SPOT PUTTY, to fill in air bubbles and minor casting flaws. (hopefully they aren't too bad..... )
4. PLASTIC WELDER epoxy.
5. Hasbro/Kenner Star Wars electronic clone/stormtrooper blaster
you can buy a matt top-coat spray paint if you don't like the gloos black.
this stuff stinks ... a lot ... it gets the jobs i've had it do before REALLY well, though.
alright, all i need now is the actual kit. i'm ordering it this weekend, and it should come next weeekend or earlier (hopefully it should (from UK))
will keep you informed. _________________ -Alex
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TK 109 Guru
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Joined: 11 May 2007 Posts: 712 Location: Galena, Ohio
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Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 1:33 pm Post subject: |
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OK....
i finished the blaster this weekend. i received it about 11 days after i ordered it (on eBay). i e-mailed the guy (doopy-doo), about a tracking number, and the next day i got an email back, and i responded back to him. the next ady, i got my kit!
ok, the kit was packed in a small but tall box and is PACKED very liberally with bubble-wrap. he shipped me TWO of each part, i case something broke, or if i wanted to give it a custom look. i broke the cylinders, so i used the other one. i have a tip: COMPARE EACH PIECE TO ONE ANOTHER, AND USE THE ONE THAT LOOKS BEST AND FITS BEST! i had to do this with the folding stock and the hengstler counter box. the detail and finish on the pieces are SUPERIOR! i found one case of air-bubbles, but was in a VERY minor spot, so i did not worry. overall kit quality is EXCELLENT from the box.
i first glued on the small pieces in the back, and worked my way up the gun, taking my time. with the folding stock, apply the glue to the BLASTER not the actual resin part, as this causes the glue to come in contact with other parts of the blaster, not good! i had to scrape off the glue, and start over.
once i had all the pieces (NOT THE BARREL TIP!) glued in place, i lightly sanded everything down. i prepped the barrel tip for painting first. i used bright orange paint and covered EVERYTHING with a thick layer of it. it dried in 30 minutes or so. i decided to paint the tip orange because this is a TOY GUN, so the barrel NEEDS to be painted this color BY LAW! next, i prepped the blaster for later installation of the barrel tip. i used the dremel tool and the cutting wheel to saw off the existing barrel tip. BE CAREFUL TO NOT DAMAGE THE LED OR THE WIRING! then i taped off the barrel holes (using foam, wrapped with masking tape) so i could keep the lights intact. i taped off the LED at the tip as well.
to paint, i used krylon high-gloss black plastic paint. requires no priming or anything! i just sprayed on a few light coats, and then a heavy one, and in 1 hour it was ready for the other side. i did the same for the other side. i had just enough paint to dover the entire blaster with a thick coat of paint, without any drips or runs. i then left it in the shop for another hour or so, nice and cool. and now, after 2 days the odor on the paint is gone. i used some more glue to glue on the barrel tip. i ran out of epoxy at the last second, so i used hot melt glue. i roughed-up the back of the barrel tip surface, so the glue would adhere well. the blaster surface was still SLIGHTLY tacky, and rough, so i just applied hot melt glue to the back of the barrel tip, and pressed it HARD on the tip of the blaster. the LED fits nicely in the hole, and is now MUCH BRIGHTER now because it is not covered up by an orange tip!
alll the lights and sounds are perfectly intact, and the weapon follows law, so i can troop around safely with it.
now, here are the results:
VERY nice overall finish, i like the hi-gloss finish. i did not weather it, because a shiny, weathered look does not make sense to me...
i may eventually paint the ejection port silver, and also add the curly cables coming from the counter box to the cylinders, too.
overall, i totally recommend this conversion kit, for me the whole porject cost me under $50, mainly because i had the blaster and a few other materials on hand. if you don't have a blaster, add about $35 to my total, as this is how much a clone or stormtrooper blaster costs online.
go for it! i love the results!
![Very Happy](images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif) _________________ -Alex
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TK 109 Guru
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Joined: 11 May 2007 Posts: 712 Location: Galena, Ohio
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Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 1:37 pm Post subject: |
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BEFORE:
AFTER:
![](http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb208/TKstormtrooper/familyandarmorpictures008.jpg) _________________ -Alex
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jegner Site Admin
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Joined: 30 May 2003 Posts: 2144 Location: Texas, USA
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Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 1:49 pm Post subject: |
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Nice!
One question, most of the guys I troop with paint the barrel tip black on their Hasbro conversions. The red light from the barrel is enough to tell the cops they are toys. Oh, and the only time you see them, they are with the costumes. LOL. |
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TK 109 Guru
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Joined: 11 May 2007 Posts: 712 Location: Galena, Ohio
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Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 2:23 pm Post subject: |
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yeah, i thought it would be that easy too, but then i remembered that one time that lady called the cops on me, clearly me in a costume with a toy blaster.... and and orange tip is law to signify it is fake, but it does sort of kill the look though.....
if you want to know more about that cops incident, go to off topic, and look for "the first time i went trooping" or something like that...
anyway, when i join the 501st (in 3 years) i'll paint that tip black, but since for now it's a halloween costume, i'll stick with "safety" orange for the tip.
thanks! _________________ -Alex
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