AEG M1A1 Carbine (Pic Heavy)

[allenpilk]

I started with an AK gearbox and hop up. This build is still in progress but here are some wip pics.

[shiftysgarand]

Nice work, especially for scratch building!

[insterburger]

With a little more sculpting I can easily see that doing the trick, especially from a distance.

I'm wondering if you could build an AK gearbox into the externals from one of the Cyma M2 Carbines. As it happens I have one that I cannibalized for parts, might be an interesting summer project to give a shot to (between 98k builds!).

[allenpilk]

Yeah, it helps to have a box of random parts lying around lol. I worked on it a little this evening, and threw some paint on before the next bondo/resin layer.

[insterburger]

I'll tell ya, you've really inspired me! I've just been looking through pics of genuine paratrooper carbines, and not only do they underline what a nice build you're doing, but they're telling me that using Cyma M2 externals might actually work. As it happens, the stock I have is broken at the buttstock, but the action, outer barrel, etc. are all intact. There are a zillion technical issues that would have to be ironed out (magazines being not the least of them), but it seems doable.

If it weren't for your post, it would have never occurred to me, now it seems obvious. So you have my thanks (but definitely not that of my wife!).

Anyway, keep up the work and make sure you post pics of the completed build!

[allenpilk]

Well the magazine issue that I had was whether I wanted it to run off the same type of mags as my garand or if I wanted to mate a real steel mag with a 30 rd shotgun shell. I'll probably end up buying some heavily used RS mags, and gluing them to the bottoms of the garand mags.

[allenpilk]

the hardest part was actually finding a place for a battery. Thankfully you can hide a 7.4 slim lipo under the handguard.

[allenpilk]

[shiftysgarand]

Nice! Once you put a rear sight on it, it will really look the part! How much did it cost overall?

[allenpilk]

A buddy gave me an Ak that I took the gb from, I had to buy an ak hop up and barrel along with foam display board, bondo, fiberglass resin, steel for the stock and other random pieces. If you were to buy everything, I think it would be in the 75-125 dollar range.

[2nd Bat]

This is a nice effort and shows that stand in weapons for little mony when combined with a little creativity are possible. Obviously some additional detail work and a few more actual parts (like an actual upper handguard and proper stand in rear site) would add a lot. Parts from the cyma springers might marry up well with this project but I am not sure how well the scales will align. I suspect that side by side this conversion is quite a bit bigger then the actual carbine. It will alao be good to see what feed system magazine solutions you come up with. Thank you for sharing.

[allenpilk]

This is really just to hold me until the King arms version comes out. It looks great from a distance, but the stock is a bit long, still need to sand, and add the rear sight. I'm happy with how its turning out.

[stuka]

looks pretty good to me. Obviously not perfect but does the job especially since no major company wants to make an aeg one.

[2nd Bat]

A power sander is a God send for such projects. Sanding resin paste can be a real grind (no pun intended). A good sander can make quick work of the finish needed and while you will step through some expensive pads in the effort, it is well worth it. When using a sander on resin paste be sure to wear a protective mask to keep the dust out of your lungs. I am not home but when I return I will look at marrying a springer carbine with an AK gear box. I suspect the stock will be far too small however the take off elements such as the upper handguard, sites,tr igger housing, stock hardware,charging handle and bolt etc should be able to provide some nice details at a low low cost. The wire stock is clever and a little additional detail there could make for a nice look.

The magazine is still something of a puzzlement for me as well.

[Sgt_Tom]

Yeah definitely get a belt sander for a project like this. You can probably find one cheap on craigslist if not at a hardware store.