Field Marshall are these scopes solid brass or do they have layers? When I sanded the rear body something silver started to show through!
Star Wars Scope Repair & Restoration
- Thread starter thd9791
- Start date
The silver looks to be solder. Brass, if I recall, should take to soldering pretty well, if you want to go that route. You'd have to strip the scope and remove the innards (remembering to put it back correctly), but you would be able to flux the bottom of both pieces and just add a bit of solder to both.
I mean, at this point, if it were me, I'd just slap some epoxy on it and call it a night. Once you paint it again, it would look like a seam.
I mean, at this point, if it were me, I'd just slap some epoxy on it and call it a night. Once you paint it again, it would look like a seam.
Mouse Vader
Sr Member
Looks like solder to me too. Test it with a scriber or similar. It looks like someone infilled a transverse hole. Good work by the way.
post a pic
FM - check the last picture on the previous page!
Thank you guys, it looks like the foot may have solder underneath it, even though it has the same seam line as the rest of the cast...
Posting pics soon - i slapped JB Qwick cold weld on it and secured it for 24 hours
Thank you guys, it looks like the foot may have solder underneath it, even though it has the same seam line as the rest of the cast...
Posting pics soon - i slapped JB Qwick cold weld on it and secured it for 24 hours
It appears I have more lettering to clean out
I wanted to ask folks that understand JB Weld more... I prepped the surface with acetone after sanding it a bunch, and bonded them. Some excess squirted out to the black painted surface and I was able to pop it off rather easily. Does this mean the rest of the JB weld will pop off as easily?
Here it is after a day
I wanted to ask folks that understand JB Weld more... I prepped the surface with acetone after sanding it a bunch, and bonded them. Some excess squirted out to the black painted surface and I was able to pop it off rather easily. Does this mean the rest of the JB weld will pop off as easily?
Here it is after a day
I still have to paint and letter this guy, Im waiting on some glue to add or fill-in some of the foot gaps, just to be extra safe
I'm going to use this thread to continue to hunt down scopes for my star wars projects that are throw-aways because they are damaged. I have another one on the way.
I'd heard rumors that WW2 scopes were repurposed in the 50s and 60s and there was a microscope kit that included M38s. Haven't seen those yet, but recently I've seen 2 different "microscopes" painted, cut up with upgraded optics and decided to pick one up. It will be a project. For example, I cleaned a wrinkle coated M38 but acetone wouldn't take the paint off, I had to sand it basically and the wrinkle paint just darkened enough for me. Maybe I was doing it wrong
Anyway, this will need some machined replacement parts I believe, but not the freaking foot!
I'm going to use this thread to continue to hunt down scopes for my star wars projects that are throw-aways because they are damaged. I have another one on the way.
I'd heard rumors that WW2 scopes were repurposed in the 50s and 60s and there was a microscope kit that included M38s. Haven't seen those yet, but recently I've seen 2 different "microscopes" painted, cut up with upgraded optics and decided to pick one up. It will be a project. For example, I cleaned a wrinkle coated M38 but acetone wouldn't take the paint off, I had to sand it basically and the wrinkle paint just darkened enough for me. Maybe I was doing it wrong
Anyway, this will need some machined replacement parts I believe, but not the freaking foot!
Alright folks, redbutton and the SO helped me.
So i finally got it in the mail, and whoever did this (edmund scientific or similar shop) thankfully didnt cut the feet off. They did discard the center lenses, and i had thought the rear lenses too. I mean look at this, i can see the generic lens and DIY retaining rings right away.
They also sliced the light port off to make it fit in the cradle. There was a plug, painted over, in the hole. Well i grabbed it with pliers and it SQUISHED. Its a rubber stopper. Unfortunately they bored out the light port too.
Now, the rest up front looks untouched. There is some sort of filter blocking the front lenses and you cant see through them. Thinking about tackling that...
Oh yea and the gray paint. But its not even fully cured, and acetone may work on this one. the stand was wrinkle coated like the M38 i had, feels like it was freaking baked on.
Anyway, the rear lens fitting wouldnt come off. Glue, whatever it was was stuck. So we dipped in a kettle of boiling water because the tube was plastic. It took some time but this heavy hunk of a lens setup fell out. Yay! Scope is empty and that IS the scopes internals. Looks like they wanted more focal length - there is one more lens and the made up retaining rings in there. Cant seem to find the rest of the scopes lenses. Oh well.
Now, we were excited until the boiling water dip seemed to expand the metal and let water into the lens. Cooled, sealed it in. Wonderful. We pan fried the lens, gently, using droplets of water in the pan to gauge the temperature, and we dialed it down and held it a little over boiling until the glass heated up.
The water drained out and droplets boiled away inside. We left it in the pan to cool so there were no temperature shocks.
It fits, and i think i want a light port cast and either a resin cast port or a hand made brass one by me.
So i finally got it in the mail, and whoever did this (edmund scientific or similar shop) thankfully didnt cut the feet off. They did discard the center lenses, and i had thought the rear lenses too. I mean look at this, i can see the generic lens and DIY retaining rings right away.
They also sliced the light port off to make it fit in the cradle. There was a plug, painted over, in the hole. Well i grabbed it with pliers and it SQUISHED. Its a rubber stopper. Unfortunately they bored out the light port too.
Now, the rest up front looks untouched. There is some sort of filter blocking the front lenses and you cant see through them. Thinking about tackling that...
Oh yea and the gray paint. But its not even fully cured, and acetone may work on this one. the stand was wrinkle coated like the M38 i had, feels like it was freaking baked on.
Anyway, the rear lens fitting wouldnt come off. Glue, whatever it was was stuck. So we dipped in a kettle of boiling water because the tube was plastic. It took some time but this heavy hunk of a lens setup fell out. Yay! Scope is empty and that IS the scopes internals. Looks like they wanted more focal length - there is one more lens and the made up retaining rings in there. Cant seem to find the rest of the scopes lenses. Oh well.
Now, we were excited until the boiling water dip seemed to expand the metal and let water into the lens. Cooled, sealed it in. Wonderful. We pan fried the lens, gently, using droplets of water in the pan to gauge the temperature, and we dialed it down and held it a little over boiling until the glass heated up.
The water drained out and droplets boiled away inside. We left it in the pan to cool so there were no temperature shocks.
It fits, and i think i want a light port cast and either a resin cast port or a hand made brass one by me.
The lengths we go to...
Thank you folks. I DID tackle this after dinner, I was just staring at it. WHY WAS THE LENS COMPLETELY DARK? the freaking thing was empty... something was wrong up front.
Unfortunately, without tools, I marred up the little front lens retaining ring, I do this to every scope, NEED to get some tools for this. Anyway, I stopped and cleaned under the ring (the glass) with acetone, wd-40, etc. and screwed it back down... still black. So it's not the front lens.
It was the prisms. I bit the bullet, and dug out the screws, I was restoring this anyway and can cover them up again if need be. 3 screws took the front panel off and one single screw holds the prism thing in place.
With them all out (and keeping every single spring washer) I discovered the prisms were in backwards. There was an impression of the prism serial number on the inside of the front panel, next to the front panel's serial number, but the serial number on the prisms were facing the inside of the scope. Okay... but it's symmetrical.
Yea, the prism set-up is really two of the same thing back-to-back. A 2-angle prism is held to the machined frame by a spring plate. On the other side... same thing, and they feed into each other. 2 angle because the spring plate blocks reflection and directs it down to the other prism.
So I said, screw it, and tried to nudge them because they were out of alignment. Nothing. So I took them a part.... cleaned a whole bunch of brown **** off them and put them back together. They're aligned and clean now! Without the center lenses or any other lens, nothing is in focus, there's no reticle, etc. but at least there's light in there.
Also, they DID NOT drill out the light port. Looking at Field Marshall's blog, that is how they're made, and it's where the light port lets light into the body cavity.
Screwed the main section back in, this (I think) M32 is in nice shape. The paint should come off easily enough.. right?
Unfortunately, without tools, I marred up the little front lens retaining ring, I do this to every scope, NEED to get some tools for this. Anyway, I stopped and cleaned under the ring (the glass) with acetone, wd-40, etc. and screwed it back down... still black. So it's not the front lens.
It was the prisms. I bit the bullet, and dug out the screws, I was restoring this anyway and can cover them up again if need be. 3 screws took the front panel off and one single screw holds the prism thing in place.
With them all out (and keeping every single spring washer) I discovered the prisms were in backwards. There was an impression of the prism serial number on the inside of the front panel, next to the front panel's serial number, but the serial number on the prisms were facing the inside of the scope. Okay... but it's symmetrical.
Yea, the prism set-up is really two of the same thing back-to-back. A 2-angle prism is held to the machined frame by a spring plate. On the other side... same thing, and they feed into each other. 2 angle because the spring plate blocks reflection and directs it down to the other prism.
So I said, screw it, and tried to nudge them because they were out of alignment. Nothing. So I took them a part.... cleaned a whole bunch of brown **** off them and put them back together. They're aligned and clean now! Without the center lenses or any other lens, nothing is in focus, there's no reticle, etc. but at least there's light in there.
Also, they DID NOT drill out the light port. Looking at Field Marshall's blog, that is how they're made, and it's where the light port lets light into the body cavity.
Screwed the main section back in, this (I think) M32 is in nice shape. The paint should come off easily enough.. right?
Mouse Vader
Sr Member
I don't need to actual prices but is this a significantly cheaper item ?
The scope, no. M32s and m19s ... people ask well over 500 for. Im not sure if its just scarcity because they still seem to be around, so thats the reason I only have one complete M19 with everything intact. (Even that one has a repair on it)
This microscope, yes. It was a fluke, unrecognized by people that inflate prices, and it is lacking on condition. The gray coated scopes in general seem to go for less especially because they are not immediately recognizable and need work.
Here's where I stand now. I think it needs some black paint dabbed on the body.
Looks like what I'm missing is the whole center assembly, so nothing is in focus but it's there!
I also scratched some acetone-wet letters with a sewing pin and found the original white stuff in them
Looks like what I'm missing is the whole center assembly, so nothing is in focus but it's there!
I also scratched some acetone-wet letters with a sewing pin and found the original white stuff in them
AnubisGuard
Master Member
Yes, this does look good! So if I understand this correctly, they did saw off the outer light port protrusion, but they haven't bored it out?
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