Bada Bing Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Hi all It was about a year ago i posed a question, would i be able to build a gbb XM8? Seeing as no manufacterer produced one , i decided to have a go at it myself. First i needed a donor WE G39c. I already had one in my collection but i didnt want to go cutting it to pieces and later finding out that without serious specialist tools/machines it couldnt be done, so i found one from these forums for a tidy price that was fully operational and got to work. Next i was to find a suitable XM8 to start off with, i looked at the SRC aeg's however i really wanted to have the sexy XM8 and Heckler & Koch trades, so i searched for the slightly rare and old GWS kit that came out some years ago. Produced to be converted from a Marui G36c, which includes the pretty markings i wanted and available in 3 different colours. By chance i found a chap selling one brand new, so i wasted no time and snatched it up. < pictured with G36 internals placed in for photo After reading some old reviews on this kit i was fully aware that the plastic body work is completely poo however i vowed that i would reinforce any weak flimsy parts so that it would be a strong as it could to deal with the sharp snappy recoil of the G39 internals. To the carnage... Using a dremel and a hammer (Jeremy Clarksons way of thinking) i cut the whole thing up. And heres what was left of my rather nice cheap G39: (sorry for poor quality) As you can tell i got a little carried away with power tools and since this is the first time I've made anything, i reckon it could have been worse. To get the XM8 upper receiver in place, material from the sides, the top and along where the bolt would be reciprocating all had to be filed away. This took the longest time as the XM8 upper receiver comes apart into 3 parts, left panel, right panel and carry handle. So trying to make sure both sides of the G36 frame were cut evenly so both side panels fit perfectly. While making sure the panels fit the reciever as they should or shall we say god forbidding, i also had to keep in mind that the G39 internal parts/working parts must not be changed at all. So i kept the recoil spring assembly nub slot at the top of the G36 upper. This was paramount to trimming this down just enough not to break, otherwise the whole thing could have been scrapped. As the real rifle houses its recoil spring assembly in the stock, alas i could not do this with the G39's. The spring guide was too short to house within the stock, so i adapted the bridge of the spring assembly to remain at the back of the receiver. Which worked itself out well as it was held in place by the stock pin and where the guides nub met its seat in the G36 upper. Before we get to the complicated area of the lower receiver, i think i'll cover the Z tactical ZISM-V first. If those of you know about the GWS kit, you'll know that the dummy scope is the worst thing since hitler. So since my projects inception, i wanted the replica Insight Technologies red dot scope for my gun (which by the way only fits onto the standard picatinny 20mm rail). There was no point with me trying to rig my own PCAP system present on the real rifle as i have no idea how it works. So instead i decided to kill my G39 handguards for its rail and screw threads. So with some cutting, grinding, shouting, hammering and more cutting i was left with this: Which with more of the above abuse became this: It may not exactly be lining up straight with the barrel, but at first glances with the scope attached its fine and it'll do! Righto, next task would be the carry handle. First thing i did was cut out a T shape into the bridge of the G39 upper, as you might be able to tell from the pictures above. Then all i did was provide the male connection on the carry handle itself. Add some Epoxy glue to the point on the barrel section end also onto where it connects in the T slot and voila! Can ya tell what it is yet? This is the first project I've written out so bear with me if none of it makes sense. To be continued.... Link to post Share on other sites
bankz5152 Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Very interesting dude. I like the way your going about it! same way i do things but better Keep working at it Id like to see how it turns out. Interested on how your going to go about the pistol grip area. Though none the less to see somthing new! Link to post Share on other sites
HJA1512 Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Sweet, thanks for putting this up. *follows* Link to post Share on other sites
WhiteHawksan Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 wathcing your video in the other thread, it might be worth filling out the inside of the GWS kit a little, or further thinning the G39 shell. The blot sleems sluggish, which suggests it's suffering from fritcion against the bcg Link to post Share on other sites
Bada Bing Posted January 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 wathcing your video in the other thread, it might be worth filling out the inside of the GWS kit a little, or further thinning the G39 shell. The blot sleems sluggish, which suggests it's suffering from fritcion against the bcg I'll see but problem is all the parts which touch the bcg are completely unchanged. When it took its first shots it was so sluggish it didn't complete one cycle without jamming. So it's a vast improvement. I'm thinking it's the alignment with the lower that's the problem. I'll get there :-) For the future... Compact and sharpshooter variants Link to post Share on other sites
DarkLite Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 Any movement on this? I've got a GWS XM8 kit in OD and I'm very tempted to follow in your footsteps. Link to post Share on other sites
Bada Bing Posted April 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 Yes, somewhat. Although I've pretty much sorted the alignment in the upper/lower so it fires as well as the G36, i fear that continued use it'll shake side panels off. The GWS kit is lovely, could have been made with better materials. Ah well. One of the main issues your fall into is what to do with the barrel locking nut in regards to the front receiver pin. Another issue is that its an AEG kit lol. Good to hear you have one of these kits, looks wise it wins over the SRC in my opinion, the trades are just so sexy. And if you didnt see the video from the HK thread here you go... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhbgFv5VTK4 Link to post Share on other sites
DarkLite Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 Aye, I'm discovering how cheap the gws plastic is, shocking considering the usual quality that you get from gws and their other work. In all honesty, my old Agm clone was made of better material, was MUCH thicker and had a better system for supporting the barrel assembly. As far as I can tell the gws kit doesn't actually have one at all. Nice work on your xm8 though! I can't wait til I get back to HK, I'll definatly be getting a gbb g36k. Link to post Share on other sites
Jackster802 Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 The ROF sounds really bad. Link to post Share on other sites
Bada Bing Posted April 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 ^This is true. But this video was taken a while ago, it has improved. Honest. Aye, I'm discovering how cheap the gws plastic is, shocking considering the usual quality that you get from gws and their other work. In all honesty, my old Agm clone was made of better material, was MUCH thicker and had a better system for supporting the barrel assembly. As far as I can tell the gws kit doesn't actually have one at all. Nice work on your xm8 though! I can't wait til I get back to HK, I'll definatly be getting a gbb g36k. Why thank you.. I've not seen the AGM clone, anythings better than this cadburys milktray plastic.. Link to post Share on other sites
HJA1512 Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 I have the AGM, SRC and GWS at home and tried a BE at a game and I prefer the SRC externals over the others, at least the Gen 3. If you really want the big XM8 trades on the upper you could keep that and buy a spare SRC Gen 3 lower. For the future... Compact and sharpshooter variants How far away in the future is this? Link to post Share on other sites
Bada Bing Posted April 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2012 How far away, not too far. Its just having the time and patience to do it. I'm going to spend my next weekend off tinkering with it. Link to post Share on other sites
Erka92 Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 Keep up the good work! How's it going? Just found the thread and Will follow it with big excitment. Link to post Share on other sites
Bada Bing Posted June 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 Keep up the good work! How's it going? Just found the thread and Will follow it with big excitment. Thanks :-), sorry for those of you following that I havent done much lately. Mostly hit a wall with it and shelved the project until i came up with some solutions. So I've had to go back to the RS XM8 design to look at how the upper and lower receiver join. I've decided to do away with the original lower front pin assembly, in favour of lug/hook design similar to the real one. Just today I've reopened the project and began making the pieces for the assembly. Another reason why i neglected the rifle is that through test firing, the plastic take down pin holes began to chip and break off! Ooops, the G39's recoil is obviously too strong. Instead of epoxy everything together, I've decided to find some thin metal plates to reinforce points of stress. I should have foreseen this but not to worry. Thinking of creating another upper receiver for longer or shorter barrel setups. Whether i get round to it is another thing. But for now heres a pic for you all. Link to post Share on other sites
Erka92 Posted June 24, 2012 Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 Nice to hear that you're continuing on the Gun. It looks awsome! Keep us fed with pictures meanwhile =) Link to post Share on other sites
god84 Posted September 19, 2012 Report Share Posted September 19, 2012 amazing one of the most awesome rifle given the GBB touch. your local to me, can i come check it out? Link to post Share on other sites
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