The base is a G36V (or E, depending on your tastes), which I got in a non-working condition second hand. It's most likely a JG, but it's hard to be sure. The previous owner(s) had made some interesting stylistic choices, such as wrapping the handguard in camo tape and engraving "DarkAngel" (yes, seriously) on all the larger assemblies.
The gun came with the gearbox assembled, but it would not shoot. The first thing that caught my eye was definitely the DIY selector plate. In a way I applaud this kind of entrepreneurship, but then again...
Digging into the gearbox, I found it to have been upgraded with a rather interesting selection of parts. The stock motor and gears had been swapped for an Element torque motor and helical gears, but the piston, cylinder, cylinder head and nozzle were either stock or otherwise of rather interesting quality. To top it all off, the bushings were the original plastic ones.
Shimming of the gears was also pretty wildly off, which I think is the reason the gun would not fire. Also, for whatever reason the handyman who had worked on this thing before apparently had some form of grease aversion, as the insides of the gearbox were bone dry. These otherwise nice gears have been chewed up to a point where I'm not sure if they're serviceable any more.
Other parts, such as the delayer chip, had also faced some form of violence.
As a final, added bonus, here's a pic of the midcaps that came with the gun. The attaching nubs and slots have been removed. Apparently with an axe or some other tool made for fine work.
So there we have it, a somewhat challenging starting point. The to-do list for the project right now looks like this:
- Replace internals (I already have a new spring and some leftover torque gears [21.6:1] as well as a full cylinder, a new piston and head, o-ring nozzle and steel bushings)
- Wire to the rear, install MOSFET and deans (I have a G36 collapsing stock that will house the large battery)
- Fix the hop-up (the current one is pretty dicey, I'm planning on installing R-hop for range)
- Pretty up the externals (I intend to get rid of the engravings somehow, tips welcome)
- Acquire battery (3600mAh 7.4V LiPo on order)
- Acquire bipod (standard G36 bipod on order)
- Acquire magazine (an electronically run G36 C-mag would be ideal, tips on brand welcome)
- Rewire magazine so it feeds when the gun fires and runs off the gun's own battery
Looks like a fairly long list, but I think I'll manage nicely. The biggest issue regarding the build will definitely be the magazine at this point. It needs to feed reliably and be replaceable as quickly as any other magazine, so it can't have any connecting wires. I'm thinking of something similar to the trigger contacts on the bottom of the gearbox and top of the magazine.
That's all for now, let's see how this thing develops!
