Painting the E-11

The final step in finishing the E-11 is applying the paint. Some people choose to do silver undercoats for weathering. I decided to simply do a flat black paint job. The paint I used is Valspar Plastic Paint. It bonds to plastics and casting resin so it was perfect for my needs. Here’s a pic of the spray can:

I used a hangar to hang the blaster outside while I painted. Pic of the gun before paint:

Apply the paint with wide, even strokes. Give 5-10 minutes between coats, and avoid handling the gun for 24 hours. Pic after the first coat:

Pic of the right side after second coat:

Second coat, left side:

Overall it took about 3 coats, with extra attention to the little nooks and crannies all over the gun. Remember, when painting, less is more. You don’t want the paint to pool up and drip. Any drips you see may show up after the paint is dry. Here’s a pic of the finished blaster:

Hasbro Kit Assembly

My kit from Doopydoos arrived last night. I must say I am very impressed with the quality and detail of this kit. Assembling it onto the Hasbro blaster was quite simple. Here’s how I did it (click for big pics):

Kit out of the box with Hasbro blaster:

Now we want to dremel out the upper bar piece on the rear of the gun:

Upper piece after cut:

Next file the cut to smooth and square the edges:

After filing (still a little rough):

If you are going to use the barrel end that comes with the kit (I’ve seen some people prefer to leave the orange cap), cut the tip off and file the end so the barrel piece glues flush with the barrel. Barrel after cut (still needs filing):

The glue I use for all the parts on this build is called “Loctite Stick ‘N Seal Ultra”. It’s sets in about 5 minutes with full strength being after 24 hours You should be able to find it at Wal-Mart or Lowes. Here’s a pic of the tube:

Next glue and clap on the rear stock assembly. I lined up the bolts on the kit piece with the bolts on the blaster. Make sure to glue on both the rear part where the screws are and the front where it touches the bottom of the barrel:

Another view of the rear stock piece glued and clamped:

Next glue and clamp the forward stock assembly (Because I lined up the bolts on the rear stock with the bolts on the blaster, the notch for the forward screw on the blaster didn’t line up correctly. Instead of cutting a wider hole in the forward stock piece I just took the screw off the blaster completely):

Forward stock piece glued and clamped:

Another view of the forward stock glued and clamped:

Finished stock:

After the stock is finished, glue the magazine piece onto the magazine housing. I used some blue painter’s tape to hold the pieces together while the glue set. Magazine and housing glued and taped:

Finished magazine. Notice the markings, very nice touch. :

After the magazine piece and housing are dry, glue the whole thing to the blaster. Use plenty of glue here as there isn’t much surface area where the two pieces meet. I didn’t use tape or clamps to hold this piece down while drying, just gravity and my hand pressing down for the first few minutes. :

Next glue and clamp the rear stock attachment piece to the very back of the gun. This piece should line up with the existing square piece and stop right where the end cap starts to bevel. Stock attachment piece glued and clamped:

Another pic of the stock attachment piece glued and clamped:

Pic of finished stock attachment piece:

Another pic of the finished stock attachment piece:

The next piece is the rear D-Ring. The piece that comes with the kit doesn’t have a ring or anywhere to attach one so if you want one you’ll have to make it. To do this drill a small shallow hole at each end (just enough to hold the “ring” in place). Then cut a small piece off a metal hanger and use some pliers to bend the ends so they fit into the drilled holes. Pic of finished piece:

D-ring piece and cut hanger:

After the ring is made glue the piece horizontally onto the end of the gun. I used the blue painter’s tape to hold it on while the paint dries. D-ring piece glued and taped:

Finished D-Ring:

After the D-ring I attached the Hengstler piece. This is one of the easier pieces, just apply glue to the backside and line it up. It should extend over the top of the blaster as the piece is molded to do. I didn’t use clamps or tape on this piece. Again, just gravity and my hand pressing down. Pic of the Hengstler piece:

Next I glued on the magazine cylinders. This piece is very helpful in securing the entire magazine housing as it glues to the top of the magazine housing and the side can be glued to the blaster body for added support. Pic of the magazine cylinders:

The final piece is the barrel end. Glue it on horizontally (With the “bolts” on the left and right sides of the barrel.) The pics that I saw on other people’s build sites have the high part on the left side, so that is  how I put it on. I also cut the light off in order to make the end piece fit on more flush. The lights and sounds haven’t worked for years so no worries. Pic of the barrel end piece:

Another pic of the barrel end piece:

The last thing to do before paint is to fill in the screw holes on the right side of the blaster. To do this I used some nail hole spackling. Here’s a pic of the tube:

I found that a chopstick with a flat end (the kind you get from takeout places which you pull apart) is a great tool for smoothing out the spackling on the screw holes:

Pic of all the holes filled. Remember to sand the spackling down to make the filler sit flush with the body of the blaster. (Mine still needs sanding in this pic):

And here’s a pic of the finished blaster:

Only thing left to do is paint. I’ll be painting it tomorrow and I’ll post pics of the process and the finished blaster once I’m done.

Hasbro Mod Kit

I just purchased a Hasbro Mod Kit from ebay. The seller’s name is “DOOPYDOOS” and he has great customer feedback. Unfortunately the kit is from the UK and will probably take about 2 weeks to get here. At any rate, here are the pics of the kit from Doopydoos’ ebay store.

E-11 Blaster

As I wait for my armor (should be here this weekend) I scrounged around my room and found my old Hasbro E-11 blaster. When I say old, I mean OLD. I used to play with this thing when I was like 7. The white plastic has turned yellow, the screws are all rusted, one of the fins is broken, and the blaster sounds no longer work as I have left it outside many times over my younger years. Nevertheless I will attempt to salvage what I can from this old blaster. Here are some pics.