Documenting My Journey to Becoming Boba Fett
Time to work on the hand guard area…
The metal hand guard on the screen used blaster goes further into the bottom of the grip. So, I’m going to simulate that by trimming that area down to match the piece that fits into the square hole…
Looks like it needs to have about 1/16 of an inch removed.
I used my dremel to grind the area down to match the other piece.
The screen used blaster had a screw holding the metal piece to the bottom of the grip. So, I drilled a hole…
Then found a slotted screw that was about the correct size, and super glued it in place.
Hand guard, masked and ready for primer..
During my research on the EC-17, I saw many complaints about the blaster not staying in the boot holster while walking. I am going to attempt to remedy that issue…
I bought some extremely powerful rare earth magnets.
I then drilled a hole in the side of the grip (what is supposed to be the pressure trigger)…
Placed a magnet into the hole…
And super glued it in place.
Then, I used my soldering iron and some filament to cover the magnet, embedding it in the grip.
The magnet is now hidden under a very thin layer of plastic, which will hopefully stay in contact with another magnet that I will place into the inside of the blaster holster.
While the 3D print file is really nice, there are a few things that need to be done in order to make it more screen accurate…
First thing is, the barrel on the screen used blaster, had no hole. So, this will need to be filled.
On the scope, the dials will need some work. In fact, it will need to have a third protrusion added opposite the main two…
The rear of the scope should be closed off…
As well as the front of the scope.
To do most of the modding, I’ll be using Bondo.
Bondo mixed and applied to the barrel tip…
And, the front of the scope.
Once the Bondo was at the “leathery” stage, I used a utility knife to slice it down almost flush with the barrel tip. This saves a lot of sanding time.
Rough-shaped the Bondo while in the “leathery” stage, with a utility knife.
When the Bondo was fully cured, I fine shaped the end of the scope with medium grit sandpaper.
Since I had black filament loaded in my 3D printer, I wanted to try printing one of the small detail pieces (greebles) that is part of the Upper Arm Armor…
The 3D print files I’ll be using for my armor were obtained from thingiverse. They were created by MrPoopie: https://www.thingiverse.com/MrPoopie/about
Upper Arm Greeble completed, on the build plate.
Upper Arm Greeble removed from the build plate. The current printer settings just didn’t work for this piece. It will need to be reprinted, later…
Still printing blaster parts…
Beginning the rear part of the blaster scope…
Rear part of blaster scope completed.
Beginning to print the front part of the blaster scope…
Front of the blaster scope completed, on the build plate.
Grip being printed.
Completed grip, on the build plate.
PET-G is printing well, so let’s keep going…
Beginning the main body of the blaster…
Main body completed.
Beginning to print the cylinder piece that goes on the back area of the blaster.
Upon closer examination, the main body part has some print issues. Most likely due to the way the piece was situated from printing. Rather than taking up a lot of time fixing the sagging, it will probably just be more efficient to re-print it.
Rear cylinder piece, completed, on the build plate.
Beginning printing of the scope bracket.
Scope bracket completed, on the build plate.
Completed scope bracket removed from the build plate.
Bottom hand guard completed, on the build plate.
Finished assembly pins.
It was a very difficult decision to put Boba Fett on hold, but since I have a 3D printer, I wanted to try a new costume, and test out using a different type of filament. I will be transitioning from PLA to PET-G. PET-G is supposed to be just as easy as PLA to print, but is much stronger and can withstand higher temperatures. I have located some very promising 3D print files for Return of the Jedi Scout Trooper Helmet, Armor, and Blaster. The Scout Trooper has always been one of my favorite soldiers of the Empire. So, I figured, why not give this one a shot…
The EC-17 Blaster 3D print files I’ll be using were obtained from thingiverse. The exact file is: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:42811
After several days of re-calibrating and testing with my 3D printer, I now have it printing PET-G pretty well. I decided to start printing with the EC-17 Blaster…
First part to get printed was the tip of the barrel.
The next parts to get printed were the three pieces that go on the back area of the blaster.
Three blaster rings on the build plate.
Three blaster rings removed from the build plate.
