activation email

[Vraeden]

While waiting for the glue on my snaps to dry, I started working on my BlasTech A280 rifle.

I bought this kit from a guy over on the Rebel Legion forums.  He supplies the add-ons; you provide an M-16/M-4/AR-15 airsoft gun and some PVC pipes.

Life Lesson of the Day:

I thought I'd be smart and buy a cheap airsoft gun off eBay (it was probably made in a sweatshop in China).  I paid next to nothing for it, and it was not the right size to fit the rest of the parts.  So I ordered another airsoft M-16, this time from the vendor recommended by the guy who sold me the blaster kit.

To recap:  Don't go cheap on the base for your blaster.  It's worth it.  Just like you shouldn't go cheap on tires, toilet paper or condoms.  You'll regret it later.

So I disassembled the M-16 I got through Amazon.  This is what it looks like with the handle, the stock and the barrel removed.  Following the tutorial video the guy has on YouTube, I added the PVC pipes to be the inner barrel, the outer barrel and cut a length to be the top barrel.  This is my airsoft gun and the blaster kit.



I did not remove the firing mechanism because I didn't want to open up the airsoft gun, and I wanted to preserve the trigger action.  I did however, pour glue into the feed mechanism so it can't be loaded, and I put a dowel rod in the inner barrel to plug it up.

After assembly, the A280 looks like this.



I've still got to cut the rear scope/sight from the M-16 barrel and attach on the top of the weapon above the trigger.

The weather here is supposed to be nice this weekend (clear and in the upper 50s, which constitutes a heat wave for us), so I'm going t disassemble the gun, glue down all the parts I don't want moving and then give it a paint job.

The objective is to look like this.

[Zohar Nef]

That looks pretty good.

[Echo Darklighter]

Very nice, vod!  Looks spot on, for the most part.

[Niabi]

Thats looking awesome vod  8)

[Bazii Malric]

Nice job!  I used the same kit and basically the same airsoft guns from amazon on the blasters I am building for my clan's charity raffle in May.  I actually opened up my guns and removed the goodies on the inside.  It wasn't hard and I dremeled out some plastic pieces to allow the PVC to go all the way to the back of the receiver area for stability.  I personally found leaving the airsoft bits in there to be too wobbly so that's why I took it all out.  As for the trigger, it was just a matter of not removing the spring assembly to preserve the trigger pull.  The safety and magazine release both even still work.  Only took me a couple hours to put together all four kits that I got.  One I further modded for my own to keep though.   

Here's a link to my thread if you want to see what I did. 

http://mandalorianmercs.org/forum/index.php?topic=73264.0

[Vraeden]

The internal supports are kind of wobly. I may pop it open and lengthen the inner barrel so it's more stable.

I should be able to work on that this weekend, if I can dump some kid & spouse aggro.

[Vraeden]

I took Bazii's advice and gutted the firing mechanism.  I saved the trigger spring, but unfortunately, I can't get the magazine that the guy sent me to stay in the gun.  So I glued some metal washers to the inside of gun and then screwed some neodymium magnets to the magazine.  It's actually very strong.

After opening up the gun, I Dremeled out the inside and screwed the inner barrel into the receiver. I also glued a dowel rod inside the inner barrel, so whatever I screw into the inner barrel has something extra to grab on to.

So I assembled the rest of the blaster, gave it a coat of primer, a coat of metallic paint, and then a coat of black.  I went back with the metallic paint and gave it a light dusting to give it a slightly used/broken-in look.

Here's what my blaster looks like now:



I still need to  get a sling.

[Kel Toi]

That looks brill, really nice!

[Vraeden]

Thanks for the comments!

Just a couple of additional notes about making this blaster:

1.  The airsoft gun that I ended up using was the one recommended by the guy selling the kits.  It was about $27 after shipping (not eligible for Amazon Prime).  You may be able to get a better deal if you shop around.  Do not go cheap on this part, though.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F782Y4/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

2.  I ordered my kit from a guy on the Rebel Legion forums.  He was very fast in shipping and great to deal with.  I do, however, recommend that you confirm in advance that he has a kit in stock before ordering.  The kit is $85 shipped to the US.  Add in the airsoft gun above, the kit, PVC and paint, and I've probably got $130 in the blaster, plus a couple hours of my afternoon.

http://www.rebellegion.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40662

3.  The plastic used in the kit is very brittle.  Drill as large a pilot hole as you possibly can for the parts that are secured with screws, and make sure you absolutely do not over-tighten the screws or you'll crack the plastic and ruin the kit.

The assembly tutorial videos are here:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

[Dudesir]

Excellent looking rifle.

[Epyon Ca'tra]

Beautiful work, can't wait to get mine. Question: In the videos, I think he second one, when he pinned down the top barrel, it seemed to still wobble a bit (maybe from being top heavy). Did you experience any of this?

[Vraeden]

It does wobble a little bit because the top barrel is of a smaller diameter than the outer main barrel, and it's hard to hold steady if you're the only one working on it.

Another problem you may run in to is that after drilling a pilot hole through the barrel, your screw may not go in straight from the pilot hole in the top to the pilot hole in the bottom.

I put a dowel rod in both the top barrel and the inner main barrel.  That way, when I ran my screws through the pilot holes, they went straight, because the screw will follow the path of least resistance instead of just going off in whatever direction it wants once the threads grab on to the PVC.

I pre-drilled everything and as I recall, the demo only used two screws to attach the top barrel to the main barrel.

For my blaster, I used three screws, the third being one of the screws holding the rail for the sight down.  You'll have to use a longer screw than the one that's provided in the kit.  I think I had to use a 2" screw instead of the 1½" screw that he sends out.

The blaster is front-heavy when you lift it; the pump, secondary magazine and the sight assembly are all in the front third of the blaster.  And since the sight assembly is mounted very high, it gives the whole thing a wonky center of gravity.

If you want to cut down on that a little, when you put it together, I'd leave the rail, front sight and the rear sight off when mounting the top barrel.  That will cut down on the weight.

[Epyon Ca'tra]

Yeah, by looking at it I could only imagine it being front-end heavy. I may move the electronic scope back a bit, but I was also going to add the back of the buttstock, and maybe the extra girth there would help to even it out. Appreciate the heads up vod.

[Vraeden]

My airsoft gun came with a metal slug that sits in the grip, but it's still really front-heavy.  If you take out the firing plunger and spring, you could also add some kind of weighted filler inside the upper receiver to give the blaster a more balanced feel,  but I'd be wary of adding too much or it would be hell to lug around a con all day.

[Dynas]

Who is the guy on the rebel legion forum? I cannot find him and have been searching for a half hour.

[Bazii Malric]

Who is the guy on the rebel legion forum? I cannot find him and have been searching for a half hour.

Darthhair is his name.

[Avidem]

Well I've found the blaster for my kit.