Post by 2nd Bat on Dec 29, 2011 1:42:52 GMT -5
The .30 Cal. M1 ammo can from WW2 although similar to the contemporary GI can is quite distinctive. You run into them at flea markets from time to time but they are less and less available and either too beat up to look good or more than I usually want to pay. (As an example on Ebay they typically bring $25.00 to 35.00 and then you have to pay shipping) I use these ammo cans with my .30 Cal. MGs and they work fine when you don't try to attach them to the gun itself and load the gun only once in position. I have been setting them up so both the wiring and the feed system have to be hooked up. It makes for a realistic deployment but greatly hinders the guns effectiveness in a skirmish where airsoft ranges are obviously far more abbreviated than actual combat.
I wanted to set up a 30 Cal with the box mag attached using a hoime made cradle (Actual cradles being quite expensive)
For a vehicle mount or in a cradle on a tripod the actual ammo box is too heavy to work. (I design my box mag housing so it slides right into an ammo box.) After much debate I decided to create some replica ammo boxes. I took a silicon mold of the ammo box side walls and lid. I did the front and back of the box with one mold although there is a very subtle difference between the two. To create these molds I literally brush painted on the silicon latex applying many many coats until it is about 3/8ths of an inch thick. You paint this application onto the surface much like you see death masks placed on a face. Once dry I peeled the rubber mold off and placed it on a sheet of plastic so it holds its shape and lays perfectly flat. I trimmed it into the size of the ammo box sides. (I had painted slightly beyond) I then built a 1/2 inch wall all around the mold creating a very shallow box. I then painted the latex rubber on the inner walls of that box so I had something to pour my polyeurethane plastic into. You pour it in like it was a shallow pond. It hardens in about 30 minutes and you pull it out. It creates a thin veneer of sorts that can be glued to the otherwise flat sides of the box magazine and thus makes the plain box look very much like the ammo can it is replicating (Before you paint your latex rubber on the ammo can you must glue down the thin brackets and fill those areas that would overlap or snag preventing you from pulling off the mold.) I also applied a thin film of mold release wax on the ammo can before painting on the rubber.
Once out of the mold and glued onto each side of the box magazine the only step left is paint. The end result though not perfect looks very, very good and allows me to mount a functioning box mag onto a tray attached to the gun itself which will enhance operation and practicality for the 30 Cals considerably with regard to gameplay.
This was a fun project but not worth the effort for the end result of a WW2 ammo can. It cost more to do than the real ammo can would generally cost to buy but for the .30 CALs. solves the weight challenge (I hope) I haven't built the housing for the gun mounts or tripods and installed any yet!
The Ordnance "BOMB" "US" and M1 30 Cal. AMMUNITION BOX raised lettering came out great as did the lid although the top handle is just cosmetic. This is fine as the lid simply lays partially open allowing the fake bullets to enter the gun and hide the actual airsoft feed system and wiring. I plan to mount the battery inside the "ammo can" freeing up space inside the receiver group and allowing me to use a larger battery.
The 30 Cals are a support weapon and are designed to hurl lots and lots of BBs at long range and provide supporting fire so a bigger battery to go along with the big box mag is a real plus.
I wanted to set up a 30 Cal with the box mag attached using a hoime made cradle (Actual cradles being quite expensive)
For a vehicle mount or in a cradle on a tripod the actual ammo box is too heavy to work. (I design my box mag housing so it slides right into an ammo box.) After much debate I decided to create some replica ammo boxes. I took a silicon mold of the ammo box side walls and lid. I did the front and back of the box with one mold although there is a very subtle difference between the two. To create these molds I literally brush painted on the silicon latex applying many many coats until it is about 3/8ths of an inch thick. You paint this application onto the surface much like you see death masks placed on a face. Once dry I peeled the rubber mold off and placed it on a sheet of plastic so it holds its shape and lays perfectly flat. I trimmed it into the size of the ammo box sides. (I had painted slightly beyond) I then built a 1/2 inch wall all around the mold creating a very shallow box. I then painted the latex rubber on the inner walls of that box so I had something to pour my polyeurethane plastic into. You pour it in like it was a shallow pond. It hardens in about 30 minutes and you pull it out. It creates a thin veneer of sorts that can be glued to the otherwise flat sides of the box magazine and thus makes the plain box look very much like the ammo can it is replicating (Before you paint your latex rubber on the ammo can you must glue down the thin brackets and fill those areas that would overlap or snag preventing you from pulling off the mold.) I also applied a thin film of mold release wax on the ammo can before painting on the rubber.
Once out of the mold and glued onto each side of the box magazine the only step left is paint. The end result though not perfect looks very, very good and allows me to mount a functioning box mag onto a tray attached to the gun itself which will enhance operation and practicality for the 30 Cals considerably with regard to gameplay.
This was a fun project but not worth the effort for the end result of a WW2 ammo can. It cost more to do than the real ammo can would generally cost to buy but for the .30 CALs. solves the weight challenge (I hope) I haven't built the housing for the gun mounts or tripods and installed any yet!
The Ordnance "BOMB" "US" and M1 30 Cal. AMMUNITION BOX raised lettering came out great as did the lid although the top handle is just cosmetic. This is fine as the lid simply lays partially open allowing the fake bullets to enter the gun and hide the actual airsoft feed system and wiring. I plan to mount the battery inside the "ammo can" freeing up space inside the receiver group and allowing me to use a larger battery.
The 30 Cals are a support weapon and are designed to hurl lots and lots of BBs at long range and provide supporting fire so a bigger battery to go along with the big box mag is a real plus.
