Browning M2HB, M2A1, M3 & AN/M2 machine gun 3D printed - Terminator RSB-80?

[TazMan2000]

are you sanding these parts or are they coming out of your printer THAT clean???

No, there is a lot of sanding. I'm trying to make it as a printable kit. When designing there are errors that creep in. Especially with mechanically moving parts. Printing and assembling the parts reveals the problems. I'm trying to minimize them as much as possible.

TazMan2000

 

[TazMan2000]

That looks great! What did you use to achieve the parkerized grey finish?

No parkerized finish yet, that is just the finish of sanded black PLA. I only painted the flash hider flat black. I'm going to go with a Rustoleum paint called Chalked. It is supposed to have a ultra flat finish. Charcoal with be the colour, even though that may be a bit dark. I will undercoat with a silver and sand the Chalked paint to slightly reveal the silver and see if that looks right.
On my old scratch built M2 I painted it flat black and rubbed in graphite powder to give it a metal finish, but it was too metal like of a finish.

TazMan2000

 

[anamorphicWayne]

Kripes Taz!! That's a heck of a lot of work in a short amount of time. Amazing.

 

[TazMan2000]

Kripes Taz!! That's a heck of a lot of work in a short amount of time. Amazing.

Thanks Wayne.

TazMan2000

 

[anamorphicWayne]

Thanks Wayne.

TazMan2000

Too Cool.

 

[TazMan2000]

With a weapon that is over 100 years old, there are going to be a few improvements and variations. Modelling some of the sights now. The basic plate is for the weapons that were mounted inside aircraft such as the P-51 mustang and into the jet age with the F-86 Saber.
I still have to work on the actual sighting mechanism with the graduations and adjustment knob. Initially I was going to make the sight slider move with the adjustment knob, but there is no real point to doing that for a prop.

TazMan2000

 

[joberg]

Wow, one heck of a weapon to print/produce But I like it a lot

 

[TazMan2000]

Thanks joberg.


Thanks for all the likes Riceball .

TazMan2000

 

[TazMan2000]

Still working on the sights. I could not find a font that was the exact same as the one on the sight graduations, so I went as close as I could. Again, this is just a replica designed to fool someone about a metre or more away and not meant to pass close scrutiny.


A real world example.

My design, not complete yet, and not exactly the same sight.

Due to the small details and graduations, the actual sight part will need to be printed on a SLA printer, since it is doubtful that a FDM will be able to show the detail.


TazMan2000

 

[TazMan2000]

Some modifications with size and detail, but the first version of sight finished. Found an easy way to simulate knurling. The knob won't rotate the aperture(?) but it will slide up and down on the triangular guides. It wouldn't take too much to make it work, but there really isn't much more functionality that will add.

TazMan2000

 

[TazMan2000]

About 99% printed out. Started sanding and painting parts, just to see if the paint comes out right. This is the Chalked Charcoal spray paint from Rustoleum. It is darker than a parkerized finish I'm familiar with, but if you look at pictures of M2s in the field, (Army and Navy) the finishes vary from what looks like flat black to a medium grey. The colour perception is also dependent on the exterior lighting and the background. The first photo on the marble surface is from a 2700K and the next is from a fluorescent cool white at 5000K. Both pics had the tablet flash to supplement the lighting. I will have to try a picture in bright sunlight.

TazMan2000

 

[TazMan2000]

Outside lighting. A little different.

TazMan2000

 

[funboy1013xx]

so is this the spray your own "chalkboard" paint? and did you seal it with a flat clear coat? it look's great!

 

[anamorphicWayne]

Looks good Taz.
I used Rustoleum 'Age Grey' Chalked Ultra Matte on my Death Star, to help fill in scratches and level it out. I was quite pleased how it turned out. I just wished it had the same consistency as the Tamiya grey primer, otherwise I would have used for my base color.

 

[TazMan2000]

so is this the spray your own "chalkboard" paint? and did you seal it with a flat clear coat? it look's great!

Thanks. No, its store bought called Rustoleum Chalked. No clear coat, just a single coat. It seems to take a little bit to fully cure. I started sanding the internal ring so as not to scrape off the paint on the barrel when I slide it on, and it lifted on my palm. It had 12 hours to cure, but I guess that is not enough.
I think I will either dry brush the edges with silver, or weather it to make it look a bit less factory fresh.

TazMan2000

 

[TazMan2000]

Looks good Taz.
I used Rustoleum 'Age Grey' Chalked Ultra Matte on my Death Star, to help fill in scratches and level it out. I was quite pleased how it turned out. I just wished it had the same consistency as the Tamiya grey primer, otherwise I would have used for my base color.

Yes, they have quite a few colours. the two other lighter grays are just way to light for this weapon. This paint, was not in the usual place with the rest of the spray paints in Home Depot. For some reason it was in another aisle. Possibly this is meant for spraying on old furniture, like in the picture on the can.

TazMan2000

 

[anamorphicWayne]

Yes, they have quite a few colours. the two other lighter grays are just way to light for this weapon. This paint, was not in the usual place with the rest of the spray paints in Home Depot. For some reason it was in another aisle. Possibly this is meant for spraying on old furniture, like in the picture on the can.

TazMan2000

Ya, I remember finding it in the arts craft section of WalMart. The stuff lays down thick, but sands smooth once cured. Personally, I wouldn't use it on small scale models, as it'll eat up your details. The Death Star was okay as it didn't have any. Ideal for large props.

 

[TazMan2000]

The trunnion block, which is the main part that holds the barrel on the M2 is completed and ready for paint. The front sight and sight hood, are modelled exactly like the real weapon and are held in with pins that are made from Bandai SW kit sprue. If the sight or sight hood breaks, they can be replaced.

Internal parts on the feed cover were also created. As I said before, this is not meant to fool anybody with close scrutiny, and the parts on the real weapon were designed to move the rounds into the weapon. My parts are just a facade.

TazMan2000

 

[TazMan2000]

The Browning M3 is very similar to the M2. The feed cover is slightly different as well as the back plate.
Pictured here is the underside of the feed cover. The latch, is spring loaded and of course...latches.

TazMan2000

 

[anamorphicWayne]

It appears your printing skills are spot on. Outstanding work Taz.