Starship Troopers Morita Kit Illustrated Instructions

[RShanko]

STARSHIP TROOPERS MORITA
KIT ILLUSTRATED INSTRUCTIONS



Hello,
Thank you for your purchase of the officially licensed Morita replica prop kit. You’ll enjoy owning one of these exciting Sci-Fi rifles for years to come, so take your time and have fun building your kit.


History
First let’s start off with the origin and a little background on these rifles used in the 1997 movie Starship Troopers.
Before production began, the Weapons Coordinator Rock Galotti was retained by the studio and was put in charge of the whole design and weapons production for the new movie. The studio needed an army of Starship Troopers to be outfitted with real guns that could kill giant, dangerous, monster bugs that ripped people apart and the studio needed the best in the business.
Rock’s new design incorporated an over/ under rifle and shotgun incased in a sleek futuristic design.


At the time Rock wanted injection molded rifles to be produced. This would yield a strong lightweight rifle capable of mounting both the automatic rifle and pump shotgun inside. The studio sent the job out to a fiberglass company that produced each rifle by hand laying the glass in the molds.


Rock’s new gun was named the Morita, named after the (then) president of Sony Pictures who was producing the movie. Rock had to hand fit each gun into the fiberglass shells individually because each set of shells varied somewhat by being handmade.
No rifle was the same. Each one was hand fit. Hand finished.


The Moritas turned out fantastic and fit the part of the young trooper’s facing giant, menacing and dangerous bugs perfectly.



Kit Specifications
Your Morita kit was produced in the same methods used originally, of laying the fiberglass in the molds in 2 layers of glass for shells having real service strength, so these shells can be modified and used for mounting parts inside.
Your Morita has the same outlines as the originals.

_________________
Rome wasn't built in a day.

[RShanko]

2 Building Safely


Building Safety and Unpacking
Check your parts carefully leaving the rubber bands in place. The rubber bands help with assembly and keep the parts straight and ready for gluing together. Store unbuilt Morita parts rubber banded gently together and in a cool place.


Direct sun or heat can warp fiberglass, so if your not building your Morita right away keep it safely stored flat and banded together.
Check your parts with the list on the next page.


Plan your Morita build
Decide how you are going to build your Morita.
Will you build it quickly by gluing it together and painting it? This will make an accurate replica of the dummy props used in the movie, and you can play with it and use it for display as a prop.
Or do you want to build a more complex replica by screwing the two Morita halves together, drilling the vent holes and possibly adding working internal parts inside? We will cover both ways of construction in these instructions.

Safety warning about working with fiberglass and epoxy glue;
Warning; Do not breath polyester fiberglass dust. Use a good, well fitted dust mask when sanding or drilling fiberglass.


Think ahead about containing your dust. Use large sheets of newspaper under your work area so the dust is kept contained to be disposed of in the trash.
We are going to be using epoxy glue.
Epoxy glue is toxic. Do not get epoxy on your skin, do not breath epoxy dust. It is better to carve away excess glue while it is still soft than to sand it later. I use 5 minute epoxy in the double syringe and mix it good.
Handle it carefully, especially avoiding any contact with unmixed part A or part B.
Keep kids and pets away from your work area and keep the epoxy contained so that if it is not on your Morita, it is in the trash.
Have paper towels handy when using epoxy.




3 Building the Morita


Check your parts with this list. You should have;
Kit parts:
Fiberglass Left side Rifle
Fiberglass Right side Rifle
Fiberglass Left side simulated Magazine
Fiberglass Right side simulated Magazine
Metal simulated Shotgun tube with cap
Metal simulated Shotgun Barrel
Fiberglass simulated Shotgun sliding grip
Fiberglass 2 triggers
Fiberglass Shotgun front brace triangle
Fiberglass tip
Metal charging handle for receiver
Fiberglass simulated Ruger AC-556 receiver
Instructions

To begin building you should have clear work space with the aforementioned newspaper spread under the work area.
Some 80 grit sandpaper and a sanding block for trimming the shell edges.
A dust mask and rubber gloves
Tape and rubber bands
3 packages of 5 minute epoxy in the double syringe
If your drilling your vents, you need to get out your drill and 1/16”, 1/8” and ¼” bits.
If you are screwing your Morita together you need to get 10 small screws each 2½” long with nuts. These you will grind off to the exact length needed later. Drill the 10 holes with a 1/8” bit.
Primer
Paint. I used “Italian Olive Satin” by Krylon
Sling if desired. I used a “Winchester Super Rifle Sling Adjustable” from sporting goods.
Use my build up pictures online as reference for assembly
Take your time fitting parts before mixing glue.
Remember Rock doing the same thing for the movie guns he built.
These kits build fast, so plan ahead by fitting all parts first.




4 Fitting together your Morita
All main Morita parts are in halves.
I trimmed all the fiberglass shells close to their lines but they need final fitting to each other‘s half so they fit as perfect as possible.


A light coat of primer will allow you to see the exact mold lines on the edge of each part to use the mold line as a guide while fitting. The parts were molded straight and flat so the mold line is the correct line for the edges of the parts.
Begin fitting parts by keeping your parts rubber banded gently together and check the fit of all the parts by looking for areas along the seams that can be sanded to allow the two halves to fit together with a minimum of gaps. To do this I align the halves and mark the material to be removed with a sharpie pen.


Taking the rubber bands off, and going outside to grind off the marked edges works best for me. Repeat until fit is pretty good. The original Moritas had some seam gaps so don’t fret over tiny gaps. Pay particular attention to flattening out the trigger area so the shells lay flat next to each other.
If you have gaps that are wide and need filling, use masking tape applied flat along the shell edge to hold epoxy until it sets up.
Building up shell edge in one area:


For large gaps after fitting, add epoxy onto the tape to fill the area:


Putty in built up fixed areas:


Mix small amounts and extend the shell edges where needed.
_________________
Rome wasn't built in a day.

[RShanko]

Next do your drilling starting with the small bits working up in size to the correct holes. I file the holes smooth then paint all the edges.


If you are screwing your Morita together paint all the edges of the rifle including around the triggers so once the halves are screwed together it will look like one gun.


Final paint will come later.
Open up the receiver hole in the right side of the stock, and the barrel holes in the front of the Morita’s rifle barrel and for the shotgun barrel.
Sand smooth the holes and test fit the barrels. Again, paint all of the edges unless it is where you are going to glue something.
Now you have everything fitting good and all drilling done, edges painted.


5 Final Assembly


Get out the glue.
Start with the magazine in two halves resting on your work area with the edges up, and a few rubber bands ready by your side.


Mix about a teaspoon of the epoxy with a flat screwdriver and carefully apply a small amount to the seam, just enough to glue it together, and rubber band the two halves together aligned. I find that gluing fiberglass is strongest when I rub the epoxy onto the seam so that the fuzzy fiberglass edge is wet on both parts.
Working quickly, I can set that part aside and begin mixing another smaller amount for the M60 flash hider tip. I recommend gluing the tip together before drilling it out to give it strength.


If you are gluing the Morita rifle shells together instead of using the 10 screws, you can move on to fitting the magazine in place onto the left side of the rifle, same with the receiver, checking with the right side to check placement and glue in place.


I used scrap plastic to box around my magazine and glued it all solidly together. Make sure everything is straight.
Glue in the barrels and cut and fit the triggers as required.


Gluing the rifle halves together will be done differently. The Morita is too large to apply the glue then rubber band it together.


This time we start with the rubber bands holding it together and by mixing small amounts of epoxy and applying the epoxy to the seams with the screwdriver, pushing it into the seams a little at a time, we glue the rifle halves together. Work your way around, then once the epoxy sets up, it is glued together.


Remove the rubber bands and glue those areas under where the rubber bands were. Scrape off the excess glue before it get too hard and you will have a very easy time finishing the seam. I think it is easier to just use the 10 screws to hold it together.


Glue on the shotgun tube on the center line after sanding the top of the tube for the glue to stick and fit and glue in place the pump grip about 1 inch back from the end cap you glued on the end of the tube.
_________________
Rome wasn't built in a day.

[RShanko]

Glue on the shotgun tube on the center line after sanding the top of the tube for the glue to stick and fit and glue in place the pump grip about 1 inch back from the end cap you glued on the end of the tube.


Test fit and glue on the shotgun barrel triangle shaped brace part under the shotgun barrel making sure it is straight. It fits between the shotgun barrel and the end cap, so notch it as required for a good fit.




6 Screwing the Morita halves together


If you are going to build your kit so the Morita halves are held together by the 10 small screws and the rifle comes apart, begin by drilling the holes that are molded in to your halves as dimples with a 1/8 inch bit.


In the original Moritas that had guns inside the 10 screws were allen sockets in a flat head screw recessed into the shells. You can find reference for this online. I used small 3/32 inch countersunk Phillips head screws each 2 ½ inches long going through the right side with nuts on the left side of the gun. These I found at the hardware store.
Since the width of the Morita varies in different locations I keep the screws in order from front to back when I remove them.
Installing the screws for the first time, I threaded on the nuts and once I had all the screws snug, I took pliers and bent them until they snapped off at the correct length for the location on the Morita. I turned the screws a little tighter and took a disc grinder to each screw end until flush with the nuts. The screw heads and nuts were then painted Morita green with a small paint brush. Fitting the triggers so they work took a little time clearing out a section behind the trigger hole. I used brass guides for my trigger to slide in.
To fit parts inside, begin by carefully selecting a good choice to fit inside taking into consideration all aspects of operation, but first make sure it will fit inside the shells and work properly.
Air guns are fun for shooting around home and are a good choice.
The Chinese B2, and B3 will fit in the Morita and are powerful spring air powered either in .177 or .22 caliber and they cock with an under lever. I chose the .22 B3 for 3 reasons to use in my build. #1 it fit with the trigger in the right place, #2 the barrel was the right length to use full length. And #3 the B3 cocking lever works with the shotgun tube and sliding grip attached, and the breech is open for loading pellets with a small rectangle hole cut in the shells under the carry handle.
I made aluminum mounts to hold the gun inside the Morita so it can be un bolted for servicing.



7 Painting the Morita


There are “Camo Green” paints available.


I used “Italian Olive” by Krylon in a satin finish because it looks grayer and has a nice green look to it.


I painted all the edges before spraying the entire rifle.


This blends any mismatched edges and seams which occur because when fiberglass cures the density of the glass affects shrinkage and is naturally a part of the fiberglass production.


So this is an important step, paint all vent holes and edges with a paint brush before painting the entire rifle. I recommend using a spray on primer to lightly cover the Morita first. Make sure the primer and the paint used are compatible.

The shotgun barrel, tube and front of the gun should be flat black.
Paint your receiver gun metal and burnish the aluminum receiver charging handle with black so it looks worn off.
The M-60 flash tip should be natural metal color.
The magazine should look like metal with a green cover on it.

Enjoy your Morita!

Ron Shanko
Rshanko@aol.com
_________________
Rome wasn't built in a day.

[clutch]

So are these for sale? The best color I found was Testors Dark Green. Then give the gun a wash of flat black and seal with Testors Flat.

[RShanko]

Nice carbine,

Thanks for checking it out.

Some kits are out there, and I wanted to provide those guys with illustrated instructions.
(in addition to the booklet that comes in the kits),
.. so I posted these instructions at a couple cool forums so they are available.

A little background on this gun,
Rock asked me to build one for his kid to play with because his kid always wants to play with one of the originals in Rock's collection.
So, I said OK, and built this gun for his kid.

The kits are on ebay.

Have a good day,

Ron Shanko
_________________
Rome wasn't built in a day.

[joberg]

Not bad as a replica, but I've seen better on the RPF...it seems to me that some of the side are warped (maybe the mold or the laying of the fiberglass). I'm sure some others will chime in (Mat, Noeland, etc).

[clutch]

I've never seen repro fiberglass shells offered on the RPF.

[joberg]

True, I didn't say that I saw a fiber-glass one on the RPF ...I just saw better models of the same rifle on the RPF. (I should've phrased my thoughts better )

[RShanko]

Really?

Sounds like total Bull crap.

Show us.
_________________
Rome wasn't built in a day.