Weathered CYMA M1A1

[Guinness]

I picked up one of the CYMA Thompsons and got the wood kit at the same time from BoomArms.

The original wood is pretty red, almost like deck furniture.

I 'distressed' the wood with a hammer and the handle of a screwdriver, then I used some black hobby paint and did a wash of all the wood, let it sit for about a minute, then rubbed it off. I did this a couple of times to get the darkness I wanted. The final product is darker in person than the pics show. It's an easy, fun mod to make your M1A1 look like a battle hardened veteran!


Slainte!


-G


Before


Before 2


After


After 2


[Left Stock


Left Foregrip


Right Stock


Right Foregrip

[Guinness]

and a couple with the AGM MP40 ;D

[YankeeDiv26]

WOW. Terrific job on the finish.

[Ersatzjack]

Nice Job!! Doesn't cost much either and really adds to the authenticity.

[sharpshooter]

What type of paint did you use, I just may do the same thing.

[rkrueger]

Very well Done... Might just do the same on mine...

[Tough Ombre]

Well, remeber... he did this to the real wood kit... so dont try doing it to the original plastic Stocks.... they will crack.. and you will be angry haha
-Cary

[fader]

Nice job... What sling is that by the way??

[schmitty]

Excellent, I bought one of the chinese wood kits too, and I agree it is nice quality but wrong colour, This is exactly what it needs. Well done!!

Schmitty

[Guinness]

fader said:

Nice job... What sling is that by the way??

Its just a $10 M1 Carbine sling I had laying around. A Kerr sling is more correct of course.

[YankeeDiv26]

does anybody have the url to a place you can get the wood kit?

[twombly]

www.rsov.com/store/product_info.php?currency=USD&products_id=893&osCsid=d64a0a6f6a0c5ffc54bc2ebb4b82fae5

[Guinness]

Better yet,

www.boomarms.com/sc/showcatalog.asp?CategoryLevel=0

The guys at BoomArms are great, tell them Chris Alvarez sent ya!




-G

[Village]

twombly said:

www.rsov.com/store/product_info.php?currency=USD&products_id=893&osCsid=d64a0a6f6a0c5ffc54bc2ebb4b82fae5

I heard horror stories about RSOV from a couple friends who just ordered from there. The word is that they try to help, but are completely inept at sending things to the US. The items were eventually delivered however, but not before a round trip to another country and finally the correct address.

[2nd Bat]

I've never had a problem from RSOV in fact just received an order on Friday that was ordered last week. I've done a similar "Aging" on my CYMA Thompson using the plastic stock and used a dremel to do the divots and a rat tail file to do the streaking. I used acrylic paints (Burnt Umber and Ebony) applied with a rag and while it certainly doesn't look as good as Guinesses modified real wood it looks quite good. I'll submit pictures

[killbucket]

Nice to see these getting some love.

[2nd Bat]

Here is the end result of simply using a rat tail file and dremel to gouge a few rough spots and create some wood grain to enhance the shiney plastic gun that comes on both the Marui and CYMA thompsons.


The sling is a Khaki sling for a Carbine which is generally more affordable then the actual Thompson sling. Incidently the CYMA barrel reinforcement seems quite robust.



Once you've created the grooves and a few gouges and cleaned it all off. Use a cloth with some acrylic paint and streak it on, wiping it down to the desired shade and effect. It's especially effective if you combine either burnt umber or honey paint shaded with Ebony.



I think it enhances the look considerably without a great deal of expense. The tubes of acrylic paint cost about $4.00 each and provide enough paint to complete about 6 stocks. I've done dozens of my own guns with them and use the technique to match the stocks for my Garand conversions. I have about a dozen colors so I can get a decent and widely varied series of shades. On the Garands I also fill the stock bolts and areas that are needed for the conversion with resin paste prior to the stain.

[fkers]

Hi big G just wanted to know how did you remove the lettering on the gun, and what did you use for the blackening on the stock?

[fkers]

by the way has anyone noticed, that the bushings in the m1a1 are plasic mot metal like advertised. the cyma m1a1.

[2nd Bat]

The lettering is only on the CYMA liscensed guns and absent on the guns brought in by other distributors. G used thinned out model paint (black) to dull and darken his wood. If you alter the finish on a plastic stock I recommend using acrylic paint instead. I suspect rubbing compound and elbow grease would rub off the lettering if you wanted to do so.

The only modification I did to the gun itself once received was to change the Tamiya plugs from the mini size to the larger size and remove the foam plug so I could use a full sized battery. The gun shoots very strong compared to my stock Marui Thompson + 70 FPS! and the hop up seems every bit as good. I am quite pleased with the gun.

[click]

G-
What kind of paint did you use? Enamel or Acrylic?

Click

[Guinness]

Click,

I used acrylic arts and crafts paint-

I am working on a 'how to' article with pics showing how I did the Thompson and my other guns, but I have been waiting on the wood kit for my M14 to complete my 'set'

So I promise all that will be coming soon!

Here is a teaser (I don't think I have shared this yet, apologies if I have )

[TommyGunner]

Very nice trio you have there, I say throw an M1 Garand in and a Springfield and you have yourself an exquisit looking collection.

TommyGunner

[101steasykid]

Outstanding collection Guinness! Man, I wish I had the time and handy work to do all of that. I am loving that thompson!

[Guinness]

tommygunner said:

Very nice trio you have there, I say throw an M1 Garand in and a Springfield and you have yourself an exquisit looking collection.

TommyGunner

;D

Well it's the M1 Garand and the M14 that I'm waiting to finish so I can write the how-to

Also, the Thompson in these last pics is my TM, not the CYMA in the first pics- that gun was done for a friend.