gryphon
Master sergeant 
shchi e kasha, pisha nasha.
Posts: 250
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Post by gryphon on Dec 9, 2007 10:51:08 GMT -5
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Sgt_Tom
Technical Sgt.
Combat!
Posts: 3,580
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Post by Sgt_Tom on Dec 9, 2007 11:04:43 GMT -5
Wow thats really looking good. How exactly do you mold those parts? And where do you buy the stuff to put in the molds?
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Post by chasem on Dec 9, 2007 11:19:23 GMT -5
Very very nice if only I had the talent to do that
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gryphon
Master sergeant
shchi e kasha, pisha nasha.
Posts: 250
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Post by gryphon on Dec 9, 2007 12:21:21 GMT -5
The molds are made from a pourable silicone rubber I buy from Sterling Supply in Minneapolis, but lots of places manufacture and sell moldmaking silicone. I made patterns for the receiver mold, but the drum mag mold was pulled from an actual drum mag. The metal gelcoat is made with powdered aluminium from www.sculpt.com, mixed into a general-purpose layup polyester resin catalysed with clear MEK( Methyl Ethyl Ketone peroxide) and backed with a wet-laid layer or two of ounce-an-a-half fiberglass matte. I usually get my fiberglass supplies from North American Composites, but they only sell by the drum and the 98-lb roll; for small jobs, you can buy resin and matte at any decent-sized auto body supply store or sometimes from a boat repair shop. It's toxic and messy and it stinks, so you need a respirator and disposable gloves and a household-authority-figure-approved space to work, at the very least. The dust produced from the cleanup grinding is pernicious stuff - since it contains fiberglass bits, it sticks to skin and clothing and itches terribly. |
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DeB
Private
AGM MP40 - Marui M733 and G3A4 Revenant
Posts: 179
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Post by DeB on Dec 9, 2007 12:45:20 GMT -5
WONDERFUL JOB!!!!
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Post by Guinness on Dec 9, 2007 12:49:19 GMT -5
WOW!!!
You just earned a sticky my friend! ;D
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TommyGunner
Staff Sgt.
Hackjob Mauro
1st Marine Division, 1942
Posts: 2,265
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Post by TommyGunner on Dec 9, 2007 13:00:57 GMT -5
Yeah now this is the kinda custome built stuff I like to see. Man it looks awsome, reminds me alot of custome building model aircraft parts.
TommyGunner
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Post by schmitty on Dec 9, 2007 13:15:59 GMT -5
Looks incredible!! Super nice mold work and lots of detail in the finished part (front sight etc..) I also realy like the clever way the gearbox fits in the stock.
This is an exciting time to be a part of WWII airsoft.
Schmitty
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Post by Capt. Zak on Dec 9, 2007 13:57:01 GMT -5
SON OF A BITCH! ;D
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YankeeDiv26
Staff Sgt.
Frustrated Mac Owner
BDM<33
Posts: 2,462
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Post by YankeeDiv26 on Dec 9, 2007 14:03:40 GMT -5
HOLY CRAP!! That thing beautiful, I want one.
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Post by slick63 on Dec 9, 2007 14:08:50 GMT -5
Bloody hell!!, that looks awesome, keep us updated  |
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Post by 101steasykid on Dec 9, 2007 14:15:12 GMT -5
Hey Gordak... I think we found our Weapons for that Russian game, haha. Great job Gryphon!
-Michael
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click
Sergeant
Company G, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division
Posts: 1,764
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Post by click on Dec 9, 2007 14:46:49 GMT -5
SWEEEET!!!! I love it! Will you be selling them?
Click
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Post by neoptolemus on Dec 9, 2007 15:49:02 GMT -5
Great looking project!
Keep up the good work!
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gryphon
Master sergeant
shchi e kasha, pisha nasha.
Posts: 250
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Post by gryphon on Dec 9, 2007 19:42:16 GMT -5
Thanks for the kind words. I will be doing four with hard maple stocks in the this first test run, and will post when I'm ready to start taking pre-orders for the next, larger production run. Introductory price per gun for WW2AA folks is estimated to be $495 US plus shipping - this is close to at-cost for me, but hey, it's for the Motherland. The mag well is a vulnerable point on this gun so as of right now, I'm only planning to offer it with a fixed 200-rd hi-cap drum mag - since the original mags took 72 rounds, that should be about right according to the "3-to-1" airsoft mag-capacity rule of thumb. More soon....
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TommyGunner
Staff Sgt.
Hackjob Mauro
1st Marine Division, 1942
Posts: 2,265
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Post by TommyGunner on Dec 9, 2007 19:57:46 GMT -5
Will these be finished guns, or parts kits?
TommyGunner
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Post by Gordak on Dec 9, 2007 20:02:54 GMT -5
Ammazing!!!!!
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Post by wade on Dec 9, 2007 20:05:56 GMT -5
They said it best in "Benchwarmers", "That's amaza-zing!"
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Ersatzjack
Corporal
"That silly Franz... he thinks we are winning."
Posts: 1,093
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Post by Ersatzjack on Dec 9, 2007 20:20:02 GMT -5
Ackkk!!! First it was Thompsons everywhere you looked and now it will be Ppsh-41's spitting bb's endlessly. When do the Germans catch a break?  |
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Post by 101steasykid on Dec 9, 2007 20:27:53 GMT -5
Ersatzjack, don't you guys have like 80.00 MP40's and K98's already, haha? This makes me interested in maybe picking up some Russian gear.
-Michael
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Post by petee99d on Dec 9, 2007 20:35:48 GMT -5
I'm very impressed! Having worked in the fibreglass trade myself, I'm curious as to whether you've made the barrel shroud as a laminated 2 piece or as a casting? If you've got all that detail and shape out of a single mould, I'm extremely impressed! (Not to mention curious as to how you did it!).
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Post by CharleyNovember on Dec 9, 2007 21:40:33 GMT -5
Excellent job Gryphon. Somehow I knew you would be the one to start making Ppsh's for the masses.
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gryphon
Master sergeant
shchi e kasha, pisha nasha.
Posts: 250
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Post by gryphon on Dec 9, 2007 22:43:21 GMT -5
Tommygunner, I'm aiming for $495 for an assembled gun with AGM M14 internals, fiberglass receiver, fixed hi-cap fiberglass drum mag, and oil-stained hardwood stock. Basically, I'm completely eating all my up-front tooling costs to offer these at this price. I used leftover silicone for the mold and so I figure, I was going to do this gun for myself anyway....
peetee99d, I didn't have the guts to attempt the receiver as a one-piece layup - I've done one-piece cylindrical layups on big things like full-size faux tree trunks where you can see and reach up inside to correct the lay of the glass at the seamline, but this was too small and fiddly to contemplate. I laid the receiver up in halves, cleaned the edges on a benchgrinder, cut the side slots with a forsner drillbit and an 1/8" Rototool Sabrecut bit chucked into a dremel, laminated the two halves together with wetted-out strips of matte, cut the top and bottom slots and front sight detailing, filled the seams and sight centers with aluminum powder "gelcoat," and dressed the seams flat.
The receiver is by far the most involved piece on this replica so far (but then, I haven't rigged the BB feed yet.) The layup and filling is no big deal, but I wish I could come up with a quicker way to do the front sight and cooling slots. An injection mold with slots in place would be an expensive bit of tooling work. If there is more interest in an airsoft PPSh-41 replica at this price than can be met with fiberglass, I'm toying with the idea of vacuum-forming the receivers in halves out of 3/16" black ABS, so that the slots could be cut out with passes of a bandsaw.
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Post by 2ndranger on Dec 9, 2007 22:46:40 GMT -5
Aww...crap...
Franz
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Dec 9, 2007 22:53:39 GMT -5
Wonderful that you're offering them so affordably to this audience. Once done and sorted out you should figure out what would make sense commercially in volume as I truly think you could sell a bunch of them. Your workmanship appears truly outstanding and very very clever.
As Schmitty said this is an exciting time to be involved in WW2 airsoft. Great effort!
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Post by jay851 on Dec 10, 2007 1:56:23 GMT -5
that looks amazing, great work.
jay
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Post by Jager.Drü on Dec 10, 2007 2:29:45 GMT -5
Looks very cool.
One question, how does one get to the battery? In you pictures it looks inclosed in the stock. Because I would rather use my Lipo in there. The fixed drum mag is a good idea, IMO.
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Post by Tobbe on Dec 10, 2007 6:14:53 GMT -5
Outstanding work..! Sign me up for one!
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Post by petee99d on Dec 10, 2007 7:00:01 GMT -5
It looks outstanding! You've given me inspiration for how to go about this myself. I have a deactivated PPSH and have been looking for a way to use it without breaking our stupid UK gun laws. I only plan a one off myself, so can use the real sights, etc.
I hope you sell shed loads of them! We all need more Russians to shoot at.
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Post by jd7 on Dec 10, 2007 7:50:02 GMT -5
Looking fantastic - would love one of these babies
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