Got a huge box of awesomeness from Matsuo this week. I now have all the major components of my Hero M41a. So, Instead of making a new thread, I've decided to make this my build thread. It'll probably take me quite a while to actually get this built, as I'm lazy , but I'll post updates here. In the mean time, here's what I've got:

1. Cybergun Thompson M1A1
2. Tokyo Marui 190 magazine
3. Real Steel SPAS12 vent & pump (thanks to Armourer)
4. Matsucorp Real Steel deact Remington 870 shotgun (very heavy, but very cool)
5. Matsucorp Aluminum powder/resin shrouds
6. Matsucorp resin grip
7. Matsucorp Metal Stock
8. Matsucorp Metal barrel vent and barrel support
9. SD Studios Hero GL Front Block (thanks to SD Studios and Xhiwar)
10. Tommin Thompson GL adapter (thanks to Tommin)

Here's how it looks hastily thrown together just to see:


First step will be to cut the SPAS cage. I also haven't decided on what electronics package I want to put in yet. I'm leaning towards a simple one. I don't want lights and sound, so that simplifies greatly. I pretty much only want the counter to show 95 when you insert the mag and then count down when you pull the trigger. I really like the ReplicantFX solution because it would allow me to expand in the future if I change my mind, plus it has the small form factor, unfortunately, they are not currently taking orders. The Hyperdyne unit fits my needs, but is a bit costly for a simple counter.

PS, just to avoid any confusion, this post originally asked if I was missing any parts, so that is what the responses below were pertaining to.

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An Mnoble sling

Depends what you're using it for, chap.

AFAIK, the term 'Hero' refers to a fully working PR, made from real/De-Activated weapons (depending on your local laws (damn Americans!!)).

I'm building a similar thing myself, with the aim of it being a 'Drill Purpose' style, with full FX.
Basically the same as you have listed, but with a Maruzen M870 shotgun to cycle grenades.

I don't need it for Airsofting, so I'm using real Thompson magazines instead. They're cheaper


And yes, a sling is a must!!!
They're just too cool not to

Well, my understanding of a "Hero" version prop is one that would be used for closeups on screen, thus very detailed, as opposed to a "stunt" version which would usually be less detailed, no moving part and usually made from rubber or resin.

Anyway, I'm basically building a detailed Pulse Rifle. I am going the Airsoft route because the Airsoft Thompson are easier and cheaper to obtain. I like the idea of putting a deactivated 870 in and my do that in the future, but for now, the resin one is cheaper and fits the bill nicely.

Real Thompson mags are not an option here. I live in California and anything that holds over 10 rounds is strictly verboten, and even if it weren't, it would be too expensive.

I have a PM in to Noble about the sling.

As for electronics, I think I have decided on the Replicant FX setup, however, their shop is currently closed due to military service, so that will have to wait. I may pick up a Spat one in the meantime just to fill the void.

Anything else I'm missing for the build?

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It's not Screen Accurate (that we can tell, anyway) but you can get a rubber butt-plate. It's basically a strip of rubbery plasticky stuff with horizontal ribs down the length.

I like them as they help keep the stock in your shoulder and add detail to an otherwise plain, square stock.

Oh - DATA does a mechanism to release/lock the sliding stock in position.
I believe it only works with certain stocks though - Mine is a Matsucorp one, which it will work with.
Or you can build your own - I believe Rook has a tutorial on his website.

You need a barrel as well. The stock Cybergun barrel is too short.

For the grip make sure you specify the airsoft grip. Matt has two grips, one solid for a resin reciever and one hollow for the airsoft gun. Matts stuff is top notch and so is his service!

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viewtopic.php?f=4&t=12917

I've already been in contact with Matt about the grip and such. As for the barrel, I believe the tommin adapter comes with one.

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Yessir. That they do.

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Tom

New info and a pic added to the first post.

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[envy]





[/envy]



Gorgeous! (drool)


Kevin

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I told you I'd shoot, but you didn't believe me! WHY DIDN'T YOU BELIEVE ME!?!

Looking good!

I'd go with a different barrel/mount option if you are going with screen accuracy.

Use the Cybergun barrel, and just lengthen it. (you'll need to grind off the sight ring)

Your barrel is way too small.


And don't forget the missing piece on the stock that is missing on all the repros.

Thanks guys! I'm not so much interested in screen accuracy as I am stability of the grenade launcher. I will be investigating other options as I progress with the build.

As for the piece on the stock, well, I never even noticed it until you mentioned it and I looked through a bunch of pictures to see what you were talking about. Now that I see it, I'm gonna have to do it, because it will bug me if I don't.

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Well, I finally got off my butt and started working on my pulse rifle. I am not as talented as most of the members here and have little to no experience with building props, so this is a learning process. You will see the grievous mistakes I make along the way (Like the Thompson receiver I banged up pretty bad because I got the lower receiver jammed on the upper receiver and had to take a hammer to it to get it apart ).

The parts list in the first post is no longer accurate as I have decided to go all real steel. Here is what I'm working with:

1. Real Steel Thompson Lower and parts
2. SD Studios Aluminum upper receiver
3. SD Studios Aluminum barrel
4. Real Steel SPAS12 vent & pump
5. Matsucorp Real Steel deact Remington 870 shotgun
6. Matsucorp Aluminum powder/resin shrouds
7. Matsucorp resin grip
8. Matsucorp Metal Stock
9. Matsucorp Metal barrel vent and barrel support
10. Matsucorp grip
11. SD Studios Hero GL Front Block
12. Lightbenders Counter
13. Screen accurate sling (Noble)

Here's a couple of older shots of the parts before any work:



Anyway, on to what I've done:

Got the SPAS cage cut. Used a dremel and managed to scrape it up pretty good. Overall, the cuts came out decent. I will clean up the dings and stuff and it will all be covered with a coat of paint.






Here is the assembled grenade launcher. Deactivated Remington 870 fits very tight in the SPAS cage, but not so tight that it caused any kind of bulge. If you look closely at the front block attachment screw in the third pic, you will see another of my mistakes. I had the cage marked perfectly, but when I was drilling the hole, the drill slipped and I didn't notice, so the hole was off and I had to open it up in order to get the screw to work. Now I am left with a hole that is not covered by the screw head. Only way I know of to fix this is to weld the hole, sand it down and then redrill. I don't even know if this is a possibility, though as I am not a welder. I will have to talk to a friend who is to find out.




Here is what I've got so far assembled for test fit (Thompson lower is missing as it is with a friend who is trying to fix the afore mentioned bashing it took). So far, everything fits very nicely. I had to dremel out a couple of slots for the heads of the screws I used to attach the grenade launcher to the receiver, as they stuck up pretty high. Shouldn't be a problem as this area of the shrouds is very thick.

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I love hero builds. Nothing quite like them. Keep up the great work.

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-Brian
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"Engineers are merciless men bent on the nullification of art and the worship of functionalism" -Garrison Keilor

Oooooohhh.....me like! Great Thread and some interesting photo angles, keep them coming!

Well, I think I should rename this thread "How Not to Build a Pulse Rifle" as I continue to screw up expensive, hard to find parts. I know that this thread and build pales in comparison to pretty much every other Pulse Rifle ever built, but my hope is that it might encourage other fledgling builders to take the plunge and not be so afraid of screwing up that they never try.

So, today the mess up was the pump grip. I tried to make the cutout for the reinforcement plate where the screws go through to the shotgun pump. I began by using a dremel with a router bit and the router attachment, but this did not work out so well and after chewing up the pump grip pretty bad, I took the router attachment off the dremel and continued by hand. What I ended up with was a very rough cutout that is way too big. So, short of getting a new pump grip and starting over (don't really want to do that as I am using a real SPAS grip), I think I am going to get some JB Weld and glue the plate in place and fill around it. Once it dries I will reshape it and then repaint the grip.



The other thing I did today worked out much better. I drilled and tapped the holes for the stock keeper screws. Speaking of screws, I have been having the hardest damn time finding the black socket screws in appropriate sizes and lengths and also in quantities less than 100. Home Depot and Lowes are useless when it comes to socket head stuff. I did order some from microfasteners.com which were only about $6 for 100 (too bad I only need 2) Unfortunately, for the stock, I need 1/4-20 x 1/4 and microfasteners don't carry 1/4-20 in socket head. So, I went to my local Fastenal, which is way overpriced, and they only had 1/4-20 x 3/8. I figured they would be close enough. Well, as can be seen in the pictures, they aren't. They are way too long. I finally found boltdepot.com, which not only has the needed sizes, but they sell individually and have no minimum. The only down side is that they only use UPS and shipping was $9. I ordered them anyway.

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Is there a way to keep the thompson barrel?

It would look much better.

Maybe lop off some of the SD receiver and a little of the barrel...

It could be done, but would require extensive modification to the Thompson barrel. The SD receiver would need to have the mounting hole re-drilled and re-tapped, which would probably be the easiest part. The barrel would have to have a full 2 inches cut off of the back and then be re-threaded to screw into the receiver. Then there is the matter of the muzzle being 3/4 inch versus the 1/2 inch of the SD aluminum barrel, so a new barrel ring would have to be made and the barrel vent would have to be re-bent to accommodate the larger barrel and ring. None of this insurmountable to someone with the access to a machine shop and the proper tools, neither of which I have.

This is all ignoring the fact that none of the screen used rifles that I have seen had the tapered Thompson barrel.

ETA: Actually, I stand corrected as a picture posted above in this very thread shows that the Thompson barrel is clearly tapered, however, that portion of the barrel was covered by the shrouds. If I remember correctly, there was an extension added to the barrel as well to get the correct length, so that changed the contour somewhat as well. Adding that would require, first machining the extension, then cutting and threading the barrel to fit it.

Here are some comparison pics of the Thompson barrel and the SD stuff:

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Might be easier to cut down the receiver.


Could be a run in the future of vent and stocks in the correct thickness....

I have a good source in Taiwan.

The problem you run into with cutting down the receiver is that you lose the mounting point for the grenade launcher and then would have to design and build a new mounting point. Then there is the matter of the barrel extension, as a Thompson barrel mounted to an unmodified receiver would end up being too short.

There is also the issue of making sure that the Thompson is not in a configuration that would be considered at Short Barreled Rifle. It is possible that you could run into this situation when dealing with a receiver that does not have the block welded to the front.

Personally, I have no problem with the SD Studios aluminum barrel. I can't tell any real difference between it and any of the pics of the screen used rifles I've seen (that is once the shrouds are on). Plus, this thing is going to be heavy enough without adding another pound or so with the real Thompson barrel.

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Made the spacer for the pump grip today. Used 1/4" bar stock, drilled, cut and then ground it to fit the slot in the SPAS cage. Pretty happy with it. Not as nice as some of the machined ones, but it was done by hand and it won't be seen.

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Threw this together today. Planning on having it printed onto a plaque to mount on my Pelican Case.

The QR code is real and when scanned displays the same info that is on the plate.

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Well, I filled in and reshaped the messed up hole in my pump grip. I think it turned out fairly well. It will look better once it is painted.



Here is a shot of it assembled on the Grenade Launcher


Had a little trouble with the spacer I made for the pump grip. It was too wide, so I had to cut it down, and of course, I cut it down about 1/16 inch too much, so once the grip was screwed on, it was binding. Solved this by placing a couple of small washers underneath it. This gave it the correct height and it works great now. I may try to make a new one so I don't have to use the washers, but it is a lot of work making that thing by hand with only a drill press and dremel. Have to think about it.

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Nice save on that pump grip recess. Remember measure twice, cut once

Thanks. This whole project is a learning process.

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