kalbs
Master sergeant
Posts: 1,142
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Post by kalbs on Aug 23, 2008 6:03:28 GMT -5
I am just completing my model of the Ma Deuce from cut parts for about $200 (NIC ACM MP40 donor and tri-pod). It's quite easy if you have good modeling skills and some knowledge of how an AEG works. This is not a kit but designed and built from scratch. I didn't have any drawings except reciver plate drawings so I had to do a bit of estimating on some parts. The 1919a4's I also had cut will be right on since I own a real parts kit. The parts were all made from 1/4"x 8'x4' PVC black sheet and UPVC Gray tubing. I drew all the flat parts up on ACAD and sent the file to a sign company and had the sheet CNC cut. The $200 also includes enough parts for (2) 1919a4's receiver parts too (which I will assemble some day later). Parts were glued with several types of epoxies (putty and liquid) and PVC cement and re-enforced with pins cut from coat hanger. The M2 is a big gun but using these material it weighs about the same as a typical AEG. I still need to make the Ammo can (auto feeder) to fit the tray, install the trigger, add a few details and do some weathering on the M2. I designed it so the front barrel assembly can be unscrewed for easy transport... because it is indeed big (4'-9"). A fun build and easier than I thought. Using this method there are so many possibilities for other model guns.
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biged
Master sergeant
Posts: 468
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Post by biged on Aug 23, 2008 6:45:58 GMT -5
Great work! Plastic is a great medium for building a lightweight replica.
///ed///
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Cpl. Hicks
Sergeant
Unofficial Flaggrantly Wrong Weapons Policeman
Posts: 1,425
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Post by Cpl. Hicks on Aug 23, 2008 10:15:49 GMT -5
Very impressive!
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Medic
Sergeant
I'm 12 not 25!
Posts: 1,539
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Post by Medic on Aug 23, 2008 10:47:52 GMT -5
Great Job!
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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 Aug 23, 2008 12:30:03 GMT -5
That is very nice. Looks great for $200 and even if it were more, my opinion wouldn't change. Let us see it when you finish it.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Aug 23, 2008 18:26:09 GMT -5
Very impressive. Naturally at this point it is merely a nice prop but once you plumb and set it up with guts and a good box feed mechanism you'll have a great airsoft weapon system. Before everyone gets too jazzed about what you've done provide them with an estimate on your labor time and add in the costs of the internals for the airsoft mecanicals and box feeder and you quickly find out it is well over a $200.00 project!
The results certainly are impressive. Great job! It will be great seeing your final finished airsoft gun and get a total cost of production and time.
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YankeeDiv26
Staff Sgt.
Frustrated Mac Owner
BDM<33
Posts: 2,462
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Post by YankeeDiv26 on Aug 23, 2008 19:42:40 GMT -5
Great work!
approx $200 for an .30 or .50 cal. Dayum! With that price you could put killbucket out of business.
<YD>
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kalbs
Master sergeant
Posts: 1,142
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Post by kalbs on Aug 23, 2008 19:55:55 GMT -5
2nd Batt,
Great questions and a good points. Build time so far took about 8 full days. The barrel alone took 3 days. There is lots of hand trimming and I found that my Dremel tool got quite a work out. Some other parts besides nuts and bolts were sheet styrene for the front sight and around the sides of the feed cover. The gear box is supported by a piece of aluminum 3mm thick angle. Rivet heads were made from the tops cut from plastic push pins. Wood grips came from 3 chinese made cheap pots. All exposed edges of the PVC sheet need to be puttied and sanded. There were no other real costs for me beyond that. The MP40 I already had (I have several) and I already have 2 auto feed boxes from a Star M249 that I will pirate for parts. But you make a valid point in that there are indeed other costs.
The challenges I have is that in Hong Kong we don't have Lowe's or Home Depot so I can't find things like castle bolts, they all had to be hand made.. Working from my apartment is a challenge too. I miss my garage and tools (sitting in storage in Florida). Like I stated in my first post, modeling skills are needed for sure.
What took the longest was drawing everything up in autocad. This took weeks to do because mentally you have to figure out how it will go together as you draw it and finding actual dimensions is impossible. I did tons of research and collected pictures from all over the web. Still, there are some things that I would have changed in the design now that it's built. I have never worked using PVC before so that took a bit of time to figure out what works best.
Tools I found invaluable were Modeling clamps, Dremel tool, Drill, 260 & 600 W&D sand paper, various modeling files and a good utility knife. Adhesives used were PVC cement, 2 part Epoxy putty (3 tubes), 5 minute epoxy, super glue, Squadron Green putty and liquid model cement. Paint so far is Tamiya German Panzer gray and #2 Olive green (two spray cans each).
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kalbs
Master sergeant
Posts: 1,142
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Post by kalbs on Aug 23, 2008 20:10:36 GMT -5
Great work! approx $200 for an .30 or .50 cal. Dayum! With that price you could put killbucket out of business. <YD> I hope nobody thinks that's my intention, I'm not planning to sell any M2's or 1919's. As a matter of fact killbucket's kits would make a great base for adding detail. It is just cost prohibitive for me to buy his Airsharp model and have it shipped to HK. I'm both a model builder and airsofter so I wanted to just try and blend the two hobbies together. Being an architect sure helped with my ACAD skills as well. Detailed and weathered below
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Post by nieb15 on Aug 24, 2008 15:43:20 GMT -5
Very nice.
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Post by Tough Ombre on Aug 24, 2008 18:02:53 GMT -5
Hey man, looks very good! -Cary
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kalbs
Master sergeant
Posts: 1,142
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Post by kalbs on Aug 24, 2008 19:49:50 GMT -5
This is what the parts look like when they came from the sign company. They split the 8x4 sheet into 4 seperate 2x4 sheets for transport. Parts shown are for a 1919a4
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elder90
Private 1st Class
Posts: 643
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Post by elder90 on Aug 24, 2008 22:43:47 GMT -5
what company sorry if it was mentioned above i don't have much time school night
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kalbs
Master sergeant
Posts: 1,142
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Post by kalbs on Aug 24, 2008 23:46:01 GMT -5
what company sorry if it was mentioned above i don't have much time school night Any sign company can do it. You just need the dimension drawings. The material in the USA is called Sintra Board
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YankeeDiv26
Staff Sgt.
Frustrated Mac Owner
BDM<33
Posts: 2,462
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Post by YankeeDiv26 on Aug 24, 2008 23:50:35 GMT -5
what company sorry if it was mentioned above i don't have much time school night Any sign company can do it. You just need the dimension drawings. The material in the USA is called Sintra Board you probably could have read the whole thing in less time than it took to post. <YD>
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Aug 25, 2008 0:06:34 GMT -5
Eight days at $20.00 an hour (Cheap for custom work) is $1280.00 plus the 200.00 in raw expense. Kinda makes Killbuckets offering look like a bargain while emphasizing how much one can save by doing their own work.
Beautiful job but it's important for people to realize that raw materials costs is just a small part of the overall picture. Marvelous work and it appears you will be adding a 30 Cal to your collection. The tripod looks extremely nice as well. Was that home fabricated also?
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kalbs
Master sergeant
Posts: 1,142
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Post by kalbs on Aug 25, 2008 0:50:30 GMT -5
Eight days at $20.00 an hour (Cheap for custom work) is $1280.00 plus the 200.00 in raw expense. Kinda makes Killbuckets offering look like a bargain while emphasizing how much one can save by doing their own work. Beautiful job but it's important for people to realize that raw materials costs is just a small part of the overall picture. Marvelous work and it appears you will be adding a 30 Cal to your collection. The tripod looks extremely nice as well. Was that home fabricated also? The nice thing about living in China is the cheap labor. I had the tripod made a few years ago for my real steel 1919a4. You can get the tripod plans here: www.1919a4.com/reviews/tripoddrawings/ or here browningmgs.com/M2BuildSite/Drawings.htmBeing in the construction industry here also helps with knowing vendors. You are absolulty right that the material costs are a drop in the bucket compaired to my time spent on the project, especially on the drawings. However, the enjoyment doing these projects out weigh any costs.
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biged
Master sergeant
Posts: 468
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Post by biged on Aug 26, 2008 5:15:30 GMT -5
I agree 100% !! It's a labor of love. Especially when you step back and look at your build for the 1st time. 8 days... You kicked my ass in build time! My M2 took a year build.
///ed///
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kalbs
Master sergeant
Posts: 1,142
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Post by kalbs on Aug 26, 2008 19:58:18 GMT -5
I agree 100% !! It's a labor of love. Especially when you step back and look at your build for the 1st time. 8 days... You kicked my ass in build time! My M2 took a year build. ///ed/// The 8 days was only the build time. As you know there is tons of planning and material gathering involved before hand. We were blessed by 2 typhoons here in Hong Kong so this allowed me a few days off work. The wife and maid however were a bit steamed about the mess made in the flat during the build.
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kalbs
Master sergeant
Posts: 1,142
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Post by kalbs on Sept 7, 2008 17:37:31 GMT -5
The next gun from the parts. I spent Saturday night and Sunday getting it to this point.
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kalbs
Master sergeant
Posts: 1,142
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Post by kalbs on Sept 21, 2008 5:09:57 GMT -5
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Post by chasem on Sept 21, 2008 10:46:17 GMT -5
Looks great....
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TommyGunner
Staff Sgt.
Hackjob Mauro
1st Marine Division, 1942
Posts: 2,265
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Post by TommyGunner on Sept 21, 2008 14:09:37 GMT -5
wow!
TommyGunner
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kalbs
Master sergeant
Posts: 1,142
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Post by kalbs on Sept 21, 2008 21:56:59 GMT -5
Thanks guys. The 1917 is the easy part. The 1917 tripod and cradle is the hard part
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kalbs
Master sergeant
Posts: 1,142
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Post by kalbs on Nov 2, 2008 4:55:02 GMT -5
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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 Nov 2, 2008 10:44:56 GMT -5
Kalbs - your work is just excellent. What wonderful talent you have. That is such a cool build. So... when are you starting the 20mm build for my 222 project. PS - these technical boards are not as browser friendly as they used to be but I'm glad I spent the time to look today as I got treated to more of your finished work.
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Post by shadycadence on Nov 2, 2008 11:30:21 GMT -5
I love it! What did you use for a finish? It looks so...steely! So you're not selling the guns, how about the drawings? ;D
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Retrohead
Private
Previously 29thletsgo
Posts: 194
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Post by Retrohead on Nov 2, 2008 12:38:51 GMT -5
Definatly loving your work! the finnish looks great on it to
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Post by CharleyNovember on Nov 2, 2008 14:39:07 GMT -5
I'd keep the Finnish off it no matter how slight they might look they are likely to break it.
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Post by Guinness on Nov 2, 2008 14:49:40 GMT -5
I agree with Sir Charles, Keep the Finnish away by threatening to make them Hungary with Turkey....... ...And of course that is why this thread has become.......wait for it.... Sticky! ;D
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