Speedbird_666

Right-o, some polarising reports there. I think I'll take a punt on a CYMA springer. It's more for curiosity really. If I like playing with a shotgun I'll consider something more elaborate (i.e. TM Breacher) in future.

Thanks - I'll have a look into those. Interesting - I've not heard of that as an issue before.

In the 16-odd years I've been playing airsoft, I've never actually played with a shotgun before. However a site within reasonable travel distance is doing monthly pistol/shotgun evenings and I quite fancy a go. Don't want to spend too much, so was looking at CYMA tri-shot springers (CM.350 et al) as a starting point. Are they any good? Otherwise, what am bestest cheap (sub-£100) shotties?

How do they compare to the likes of SHS/Rocket etc Mr Borg? I see they work out about £5-7 cheaper than UK prices with 10 day shipping. I might take a punt on one.

Result. I would be inclined to reduce the size of your powerbank to drop some weight - it's a bit overkill for two tiny fans pulling ~0.06A each. You would be looking at ~120mAh, which would take even a cheap £2 Poundland 2200mAh Powerbank 16 or so hours to discharge.

Welcome to the forum! Unfortunately you picked a bit of a shit charger - sorry. You won't find anyone recommending a 'dumb' charger such as the A450 on here. A charger with an LCD screen will tell you the cell voltage(s) of your packs and will help you with troubleshooting battery issues. If you can send the charger back - do it. You can buy one of these for a few quid more (assuming you paid ~£30 retail) and it is an excellent bit of kit.

Mk2 Drop stock with integrated buffer tube threads:

Find a magnet and attach it a rod or something with some gaffer tape. Saved me a couple times when a spring or screw dropped into the murky depths of my shed floor. Otherwise, buy a mixed box set of grub screws from Amazon or Ebay. I bet it'll be something like an M2 or M2.5.

When you try too hard to get the 'battleworn' look

This. I have several BCM style grips - I run them all angled-forward.

That's a really good idea! Do you print the threading or tap it after printing? What thread is the buffer tube?

Looks like a Modify GB shell

To answer your questions: - Yes, I like to model the parts myself wherever possible, although you can find a fair bit of stuff on Thingiverse. I use Fusion 360 as my modelling software and Cura for slicing the model for print. If you want to design more 'organic' (such as your skull masks) I know people use software such as Z-brush and blender to produce the models, but I have no experience with these. - That's a difficult question to answer, as there are several main types of printable plastic (PLA, PETG and ABS), and numerous sub-variations with additives and special properties. I'm using PLA+, which is less brittle than normal PLA, but at the cost of some mechanical strength. Normal PLA will catastrophically fail (i.e. snap or shear) , PLA+ is more likely to bend and stretch. In the example of my drop-stock adapter, it's been printed in the least-optimal way for strength (the receiver extension for the buffer tube could potentially fail under enough force) due to the way that a printer lays down plastic layers on top of each other, but it was easiest to print it that way. In reality, the adapter feels more solid that the plastic G&G receiver it's attached to and there is zero flex, but time will tell. I have an idea for the next version to make it a 2-piece design that means that the receiver stub will be printed in a different orientation to the rest of the adapter. Current design print layer direction vs 2-piece design: - I'm using a Creality Ender 3 V2 bought directly from the Creality UK warehouse. It was on sale for £168 with free postage, but I think the price is back up to around £200 now. I'm running it pretty much stock with no upgrades other than a quieter fan for the PSU and yellow bed springs. I plan to add BLtouch (self leveling sensor) and some new bowden tubing at some point soon though.

Now that is a cool (no pun) idea. I didn't realise you could get blowers that small. I could potentially integrate those into the sides of my paintball goggles. My only concern would be fan noise?

Job done. Perfect, tight fit first time (wasn't expecting that, hence the Red filament as I'm running low on black). Will print a black one shortly now I know the tolerances and fitment work.

This. Also, KWA tend to use proprietary parts in their GBs (tappet/nozzle), so upgrading/repairing later might be trickier. I would get a cheap GB for now to play around with - you can still upgrade the tits out of it, but if you fuck up (and you will to start with) it's won't be so painful financially.

I see someone is flogging G&G Drop stock adapters for £25 a pop. Decided to design my own for my son's gun (he wears a paintball mask). Not quite as slick as their design, but an hour or so of CAD work gives me this. Prototype is on the printer now.

A mate needed a thumb-saver reloading thingy for his Hi-Capa mags. 10 minutes in Fusion 360, and 40 minutes on the printer later, it worked out pretty good.

My village PO charged me £16 for a standard-sized RIF box but with a heavy E&L AK plus a bunch of metal mid-cap mags taped to the side (just under 6Kg). She also knocks off another 15% because I have a Rewards4U card from ParcelForce (ask at the counter or apply online - free with no requirements). Total price was a smidge over £14. Last plastic-bodied RIF (<5kg) I sent cost £11 with the 15% discount via PF48. I've checked the pricing on PF website and it hasn't changed since I last sent a RIF in April.

This is the only way my local post-mistress will accept a RIF to send - no additional compensation can be be applied and she reads the rules as £100 cover only, so that's the way I've been sending them. I tell her 'low powered air weapon for sporting use'. I would wager that they would just retort with this part of their policy and politely tell you to jog on. That pretty much sums up every RIF.

£24 postage! - last RIF I sent an month or so ago (a heavy E&L AK with a bunch of mags) cost me £13 via PF48. Nice enough gun otherwise.

Even cheapo £100 JG G36s come with side rails, so it's shocking that gun costing 400 notes doesn't come with them. The gun looks good though.

Mk III fan mount fully finished, working and mounted, Mk I Goggle strap Battery box done (looks bigger in the picture than it actually is). Battery box needs refinement - I forgot to radius the edges. Mk II will be on the printer later today.

Don't forget to pick up some Yellow bed springs (amazon etc.). They make bed-levelling much easier and consistent. I got lucky, my youngest son has been hounding my missus for a 3D printer for the last 6 months (he's obsessed with the idea of making his own table-top games and scenery - he's only 8 bless him), so when they were on offer via the Creality website to coincide with Amazon's prime day, she couldn't really say no.

I think it's a slightly scaled-up Ender 3 Pro, with a couple of upgrades (metal extruder) - I'm new to 3D printing myself, so I can only go on what I researched on YouTube etc. Here's quite a good review: Whilst having the extra build area is probably nice to have, bear in mind 3D printing takes ages. So if you have a print that fully fills the Max, expect 24hr+ prints, especially if it's something intricate. I'm lucky in that my work is shifting to a permanent work from home model, where at most I'll only ever be in the office two days a week, it means that I can set prints off in the morning and keep an eye on them throughout the day. I would be gutted if a 10-15hr print failed halfway through whilst I'm out and I came home to a colossal mess of plastic.