Tyranus

The original boots WERE black. They were spray-painted white . . . which is fine for filming for a few weeks/months, but for trooping year in and year out CABOOTS is the way to go. Ross had his Sandtrooper boots modded to have a better sole: Great work, Ross!

1265 stepped off the lift, pushing the floating repulsor sled. He walked through the blast doors, out of the storage room and between the rows of bunks. Giving the sled a shove, he turned away as it floated across the floor and bumped to a stop against the frame of the opening that led to the command center. Pulling off his helmet and tossing it on his bunk, he squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed the short hair on the top of his head vigorously. The lifeless Radar eye and holoprojectors of the burned out astromech ‘droid beside Deckard’s bunk stared coldly back at him as he gathered some supplies and stocked his utility belt. He withdrew two E-11 energy clips from his gear bag and slipped them into the ammo pouch mounted on his belt, shooting the ‘droid one last look as he grabbed his bucket and rifle. It was relatively cool on the streets as he slipped out the front door with the sled. He secured the base and walked off toward the spaceport. * * * “Whatever you do, don’t let go” said Ddraig, looking at me. He repositioned his boot to get a better footing on Danz’ chest as he gripped the right hand and forearm. I looked over to him as I firmly held Danz’ right bicep in my left hand and had my other hand free, “I won’t. You sure you know what you’re doing?” Danz turned toward him, “Yeah, you sure you know what you’re doing?” Ddraig nodded, “I had to do this for one of my fellow Zero-G trainees. If I can do it in one of THOSE suits, I can do it in this gear. Just close your eyes and relax Danz, so you don’t know when it’s coming.” He looked up at me and mouthed ON THREE as Danz shut his eyes tight. ONE – TWO – THREE! As he said three, he jerked the displaced right arm away from Danz’ body, firmly pressing down with his foot on Danz’ chest. I felt Danz tighten up, but the arm pulled out away from the socket and I slammed the tightened fist of my free hand into the upper arm, feeling it pop back into place. I released my hold on his arm and fell back to the ground. Ddraig also let go as Danz howled and rolled over in pain. Ddraig pulled the handheld comm off his belt and keyed it on, “He’s back in one piece. Sore, but back in one piece”. Rogue’s voice crackled back through the tiny speaker, “That’s good news. 1265 is on his way with the sled, we’ll let you know when he gets here. Felth, where’ve you been? We were looking for . . .” and the comm went silent again. Ddraig snapped off his comm and sat down on the stone floor, leaning back against the column. The little Jawa, who was now painfully close to Ddraig, quietly moved further behind the massive stone. I pulled a tranquilizer gun out of the medi-pack and unwrapped it. I placed the tip of the gun against the black bodysuit at Danz’ hip and fired. The needle deployed, injected the medication and retracted. As Danz settled a bit, I pulled out the spent tranq cartridge and placed the gun back in the medi-pack. I slid over and leaned my back against the broken column, trying to get comfortable. “So what’s your story Deckard? Tell me about yourself, how you ended up here.” I began relaying the story of my youth to him, about working in the shipyards, but my mind was elsewhere. The old man we had narrowly missed apprehending in Mos Eisley had been a Jedi, of that I was certain. What was a farmboy doing with a Jedi Knight on Tatooine? I had hunted a few Jedi early in my career. When those that survived the initial wave of the Great Purge had fled, running away into hiding, it took us years to flush them out and exterminate them. Vader had even trained several small units of the 501st to carry lightsabers for engaging the Jedi refugees. Mine had been put away for a very long time, and I was under the impression that all the Jedi had been killed . . . that our own Lord Vader was the last remnant of that ancient Order. If General Obi-Wan Kenobi had lived on Tatooine for the past 20 years, he had to have lived somewhere and possibly left behind clues as to where he had gone. I would make it my business to find General Kenobi’s home, and I would be questioning Nadon about it first. * * *

TD2187 is hereby requesting Deployment in the MEPD. Here are my pics, both bucket on and off,and a small, full-length one to prove that I have converted my ab and knee plates (as they can't be seen in the other two pics) I have: Flat Lenses LOTS of Dirt Orange GT Deluxe Pauldron GT Spacepack Ab Plate Knee Plate No drop boxes No O2 canister Shoulder ammo pouch Belt pouches A BFG Please let me know if you need anything else!

I have one of Dale's deluxe pauldrons in Orange, but am not a Pauldron expert by any means.

His stock will turn over from time to time, but we know that he has them on his site, so it's a good place to keep bookmarked or to email with him about one. If he knows you're looking, and he has a guaranteed sale when it's found, he'll be WAY more motivated to put feelers out for that part. Also, if he knows he has an audience like us that is trying to find them, he may beef up his inventory. Mine came and turned out to be really fantastic! You can see pics of it here, down about the middle of the page: http://www.mepd.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=28728#28728

I applied the stripper last night and the gummy, parkerized finish was bubbling after about 5 minutes. I let it sit for 10 and then wiped it clean with a paper towel. Check it out:

I had made it to the bottom of the dark shaft, and was now with Ddraig assessing Danz’ injuries. I was no med ‘droid, that’s for certain, but his arm looked pretty painful. On the bridge overhead, Rogue switched his helmet’s comm switch with his chin and walked into the darkness of the corridor leading back to the Jedi training area. Using the head’s up display on his left lens, he selected TD1265 and initiated the communication. Far across the sands of Tatooine, in our barracks building, 1265 slid one last crate onto the lift before acknowledging the inbound communication, “1265 here”. Rogue responded, “1265, are you still at base?” An affirmative reply sounded in Rogue’s earpiece. “Yes, sir. I finished going through the records from the Port Authority for the Millennium Falcon and the Outrider, and have been moving our supplies to the lower level since completion.” “Excellent” replied Rogue. “There’s been an accident. I need you to gather up the repulsor sled, load it into the drop ship and bring it out to us. I’m transmitting the coordinates of our location to the base holonet terminal. You’ll find the drop ship in spaceport bay 88”. “I’ll be on my way shortly, sir. 1265 out.” Danz was coming around as we finished cleaning the blood off his face. There were scrapes on his face and two fairly deep gashes on his forehead and scalp. Ddraig pulled two small pouches of Bacta from the medi-pack and threw one toward me as he opened his. Danz was disoriented and asking something about where the Jawa was. We shot a glance at each other as we tried to keep him still, “I didn’t see any Jawa . . . did you Ddraig?” He shook his head, “No, I didn’t see any Jawa. Danz, your shoulder is dislocated, try to lie still. There doesn’t appear to be any fractures, but we’re going to have to put the arm back in the socket.” I worked some of the bacta into the two deeper cuts as Danz lay his head back down on the stone floor, sweat rolling off his forehead. He laughed slightly, “That oughta be fun.” * * *

Thanks Tony! I'm getting very excited about it now. I'm thinking I will use the same chemical stripper I used on the gun itself to remove the remnants of the original parkerized finish from the scope and strip it down to the brass - nice and clean for the final painting.

No, there were no bolts included, but luckily, the threads are intact on mine and no broken off bolts. I'll be heading to Lowe's today to hopefully find some knurled thumbscrews that will fit under the scope rail for mounting. One glitch is the tiny screw that attaches the spring clip on the front of the scope - the screw sticks down lower than the mounting base! I think this may be solved by the insertion of the Hengstler mounting rail under the scope mounts (on top of the mounting rail) as it will act as an extra spacer. The Hengstler mount is an L-shape that will attach to the rail via the front and rear scope bolts and then come out from the front bolt, angling down to the Hengstler and 2 sheet metal screws screwed into two pre-drilled holes through the black plastic and into the composite metal underneath. Once this is screwed down snug to the counter, the bracket will never be removed again, and by attaching it here on the counter, it would allow me to unscrew the two tiny brass screws on the shroud (the other end) for removal and re-setting of the counter digits inside if I so desire in the future. For real authenticity, I may run a small bead of hot glue along the lower, barrel-facing edge of the counter just to steady it down low, as it will be tightly secured on top. If I decide against this, I had thought of using the little clear silicone pads that you put on the corners of glass used in tabletops to keep it from rattling against the barrel.

The scope was waiting for me yesterday after I got off work. Here are a few pics I snapped of it last night: The knurled brass piece in the front (actually the part you look into) is for fine focusing adjustment. The little clip thingy underneath holds a small bearing in place inside the end of the scope for the threads of the focusing ring to ride on. It is spring loaded so you can pull the focusing ring out quickly without having to unscrew it all the way. Yes, I checked to make sure it's a real M38: Here are a few test pics of it sitting on the scope rail: And a VERY impromptu picture (with terrible lighting) of the basic layout of things. I think the scope will actually end up being mounted back a bit further, so the Hengstler mounting bracket will line up with the front scope mounting bolt. All in all, I am one HAPPY Sandtrooper this morning!

Several of the twisted, black solar panels along the framework of the wing were peeled back and ripped off in fiery streaks as the crippled TIE fighter entered the atmosphere high above the desolate surface of Korriban. This remote planet was known primarily as the indigenous home to the original Sith people. They had been a simple, red-skinned race that were easily dazzled by the God-like Force powers of Dark Jedi castouts . . . Knights that had fled into exile from the Jedi Order during the Hundred Year Darkness. The primitive Sith raised them up and held them in the highest regard, as rulers, or “Lords” of the Sith. Over the years, many Sith Lords were laid to rest here, in tribal burial grounds alongside the ancient Sith dead. As their reign came to a close, elaborate burial temples would be erected to honor them and serve as a final resting place. Interbreeding between the humans and the Sith ultimately resulted in a merging of the races and a spreading of the darkness. Vader’s badly damaged ship slipped past jagged stony mountain spires thrust up from the surface, formed by angry ancient volcanoes and the shifting and colliding of surface plates. He continued on into the hills, seeking out a small cavern just past the Valley of the Dark Lords, in the cliff face on the far side of the mountains. While there had been no official Imperial base established, he had insisted on a presence on Korriban. A presence that sought ancient Sith writings and artifacts . . . a presence that existed to plunder the temples in search of sources for even greater knowledge, understanding and power. He felt the ship lurch as the tractor beam locked on and slowly pulled him into the cave. He would need time to plan his next move. Tarkin was dead, and Palpatine’s toy was gone. The Emperor would surely want Luke dead and the Rebellion crushed for destroying the station. He had to work quickly. Locating, seducing and turning his son must now become his primary objective. He could not fail. * * *

Thanks Seth! The scope is "OUT FOR DELIVERY" with UPS right now, and I'm dying!! I really want to get a good look at it, snap a few pics, and then spend the evening marking and drilling the mounting holes for it and the Hengstler mounting bracket on the scope rail. Depending on any paint that may be on it, I may strip the scope as well and have everything painted together in the final painting step. I was thinking about NOT painting the black plastic portion of the Hengstler or the part that shows through the window from beneath . . . any thoughts on that ? I guess from an accuracy standpoint I should, I am just worried about the Eagle logo not beaing very clear if I do.

I cut out the window on the Hengstler Counter last night. Here's what it started out looking like (black plastic piece) I cut out the window and shaved down to create the two "T" shapes on either side of the back edge. It had been one solid edge across, now it dips down . Here's what it looks like now:

Exactly. He is very nice and very helpful. I'm sure he'd be all too happy to help you locate what you need.

Burger Chef ROCKED! I loved that place as a kid 'cuz I could take a plain hamburger or cheeseburger and MOUND ON ALL MANNER OF CRAP AND BUILD A MONSTER BURGER at the fixins bar!! Sadly, they closed down a LONG time ago . . . .

First, can we work on a way to clone your wife? That's awesome. My wife hates SW.

what are you looking for? I didn't even run a regular search. When the main page of listed items opened I pressed CTRL-A then CTRL-F and did my own search of the entire page for SCOPE.

I found a great website that I ordered my M38 scope from, and a fellow poster over on the Blaster Builder's forum just PM'd me to say thanks. He bought a M19 scope using the link to: www.checkpointcharlies.com I posted it under my Sterling Conversion thread here: http://www.mepd.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=28649#28649 but thought I would share it in the main forum as well. Check them out !! I have not gone through the entire site, I stopped once I found the scope, but it could be a great source for all kinds of hard to find items.

Somebody who read my post about Checkpoint Charlie's over at the Blaster Builders Forum just picked up a M19 scope and dropped me a thank you PM ! Cool. It's so awesome to have discovered a good source for scopes if not other hard to find parts.

I have not yet attached it. I just made it up, and will attach the scope and Hengstler mount to it before attaching it to the gun. Any ideas are welcomed!! I had thought about possibly having it welded in the front and rear. When the rear sight is folded down to receive it, there is -0- clearance under the part that is folded forward to allow a rivet head or even a flathead bolt. I have thought about possibly bending a hook into the front mount so the front will go into the vent hole, down to the desired (notched) depth with the hooked portion then pulled back and pointing toward the rear of the gun. Then, when the rear is attached snugly (somehow), the front would have no place to go with the hook in place. Alot of this will be answered when I see what kind of mounting screws I will be using for the scope. I would like to use very short hex/thumbscrews so it could be removed once the rail is mounted. If it works out that thumbscrews can be used, I may just go with the welding for strength, as I wouldn't have to worry about ever having to remove the rail to get the scope off. The scope should be here tomorrow!

I measured, bent and cut a scope rail in preparation for receiving the scope hopefully tomorrow. While I know there is nothing particularly entertaining about a scope rail, I still thought I would post it up to document the process.

Awesome! Let us know what it is. VERY COOL.

Thanks Tony. I just stumbled across it while Googling M38. I clicked the link and there it was, right next to an M19 scope with a link to a shopping cart and I was like . . . "Am I Dead!? Could it be that easy?" I emailed with Charlie (Yes his name is Charlie) and he was super nice.

I'm not sure what it is yet, it hasn't arrived. That image is from the website where I found it. I think they had others if anyone wants them. PRICY, but if you consider how much bids on Ebay end up for things like that, it wasn't that bad, and I didn't have to wait for one to pop up for sale. The last bid I was watching for an M19 scope ended up at $170. Check out the site here: www.checkpointcharlies.com I told the guy I would be telling my friends. If you go here: http://www.partsofsw.com/e11guide.htm I am going to do a cross between ANH A2, and ANH C. The only variation from ANH A2 will be that I will probably have a straight mount for the scope, not angled. The straight mount goes straight into the rear sight. Presumably riveted directly to the sight (which is flipped forward to the 200 position). I am choosing this option over the angled mount because the angled mount bends down to the gun body to be directly riveted to the gun. The rear body of my Sterling is plugged with solid steel, and while it could be drilled into, I would rather not deface the body.

Last night I found an authentic M38 Tank Telescope for the conversion process: Now the only thing that won't be real-world accurate is the power cylinders on the top of the mag well, and I will get those as close as possible, if we don't identify them first.