I few years ago, I bought a Star Wars E-11 Blaster kit, assembled it, modified a few parts, and spent hours painting it with great detail for a final look as close to the original as possible. Since then, it has been mostly displayed by laying it on top of tables and shelves around my house. I thought it would be nice to build a stand to display it properly.
Parts List:
Dowel Rod – 5/8 inch diameter.
Wood for base.
Pipe Coupler – I found a black 1 1/2 inch diameter coupler at my local store.
Adhesive Weatherstrip Foam – Used to keep the blaster from sliding while it is on display.
Paint – I used silver and black.
Wood Router – Used for making the rounded edge around the stand base.
Sandpaper
First, I found the center of the pipe coupler, used a Dremel to cut it in half, and sanded the edges to make them smooth. I used blue painters’ tape to help guide me with the cutting.
Then, I cut the wood for the base to a desired length. After cutting, I held the blaster above the base in the appropriate location I wanted it to be when finished and marked the locations on the base where the dowels would need to be. I used a paddle bit to make the holes for the dowels. TIP: I drilled all the way through the wood base with the paddle bit. In hindsight, I think this was a mistake and that it would have been better to only drill part way into the base.
I inserted the dowels into the holes, held the blaster parallel to the base and measured the height for the dowels before cutting them. The dowel that is under the front of the blaster is shorter than the other dowel (final measurements below).
With all the cutting done, it was time to assemble and see what it looked like. I drilled a few pilot holes in the top side of the dowels and used a wood screw to fasten a pipe coupler half to each dowel.
Then, I slid the dowels into the base and set the blaster on them to see how the finished stand would look.
Below are the final measurements of my project. These will vary depending on the materials you start with and your cuts. Your mileage may vary.
| Base Length | 1ft 11 1/2inches |
| Base Width | 3 1/2inches |
| Dowel Height Front | 4 1/4inches |
| Dowel Height Back | 5 1/8inches |
| Dowel Hole Front (From Edge) | 5 1/4inches |
| Dowel Hole Back (From Edge) | 3 5/8inches |
I liked the look, but thought it needed a little something more. A few years ago my Grandfather-in-law gave me a wood router. I had never used one before, and frankly was not sure how to use it. I went to the garage, found it, and started playing with it to see what I could do (on a scrap piece of wood). Once I was satisfied with my amateur routing skills, I used the router on the base. Then, I reassembled the stand and glued the dowels in place with wood glue.
Next, it was time for some paint. I primed the base of the stand, sanded, wrapped it in paper and taped it off. I wanted the dowels to stand out from the blaster, so I painted them silver.
Then, I removed the paper and tape from the base, covered the dowels with a sandwich bag and tightly taped around the base of each dowel. I painted the base black, let dry, then removed the tape and sandwich bags. Finally, I lined the inside of the pipe couplers with some adhesive weatherstrip foam (adhesive side to coupler) to keep the blaster secure when on display. To complete the project, I ordered the nameplate from captain-america-tfa on Ebay.
The finished project.
