M2HB Ma Deuce

[TazMan2000]

Taking a break from a lot of other ongoing projects to make this baby. For as long as I can remember, I have always liked this weapon. Basically the front is pretty well done but there is a lot of detailing to do aft of the barrel support (the thing with the holes in it). The feed cover opens up but I'm not going to replicate the internal moving components. Since this is made up of mostly styrene, a bit of wood and PVC/ABS pipe, this will just be for display, since it would never survive the vibrations of being mounted on a jeep or being handled too much in any way.

As always, I started this thinking it will only take me a few weeks. Several weeks later I'm still going at it.

A tribute to vets from all over the world.

TazMan2000

 

[TazMan2000]

Sorry for the grainy photos. Photos taken from a crappy phone cam.
Finished building. Put a couple of coats of flat black on it. I think it looks too dark. Probably will try a lighter grey coat.
I'll take some more detailed photos with a good camera once I get this painted up.

TazMan2000

 

[gunnerk19]

Wow, color me impressed! I've fired that beast on several occasions and that is looking dead on. :thumbsup

Yeah, the black is too dark. I would suggest Tamiya Color for Aircraft "Gunship Grey" AS28.



That looks to me to be the closest to the MilSpec finish the M2's have.


Can't wait to see it finished. Someone needs to tell Matsuo he's got some competition

 

[TazMan2000]

Thanks for the kudos, but I don't think that I'm even close to being in competition with Matsuo.

I've seen that color on one of the replica M2s and for some reason it looks a bit light. Here is a pic of what I'm talking about.
http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab278/mmike956/M2HB replica/Picture028.jpg
Here is a pic of a darker one.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5040/7176825130_4e01337956_o.jpg

I'd probably go with something in the middle of those two colors.

TazMan2000

 

[gunnerk19]

Well, there's also Tamiya "Dark Gunship Grey" AS27, it's just a shade darker.

 

[TazMan2000]

Yeah, I think that's the one. Not quite a black oxide parkerized finish but darker that the other grey.
Thanks. I hope my LHS has it.

TazMan2000

 

[Matsuo]

Competition? Meh no such thing, were all in this together! You need anything Taz just ask!

You've done a fantastic job!

Addendum if I may... The two rivets on either side (front and back ) of the front mounting hole need to be flat heads in order for it to fit in any kind of cradle or pintle mount, if you don't plan on doing that then it's not an issue. :thumbsup

M

 

[TazMan2000]

That's high praise coming from you Matsuo. Thanks.
Initially this project was just supposed to be rough prop, but suddenly in the middle of the project I started putting in moving parts, like the charging handle and a couple of things in the feed mechanism. Strangely enough, the trigger is not one of the things I ended up giving movement to. The back is pretty much a solid chunk of MDF and I glued the handle on it before I had a chance to think.
I knew about the rivets, and decided to go ahead with putting a screw in there because at the time I didn't have a solution to making a grinded off rivet looking real, until right at the end. I may change it in the future. The barrel and the barrel support are removable and I plan on making the aerial version that were in use in the B-17 and similar aircraft.

TazMan2000

 

[Mr. Nagata]

Very cool! I did an M1919 in a similar fashion for a short film a while back:

It's motorized so the charging handle goes back and forth when you pull the trigger just to simulate the movement. The muzzle flashes were added in post.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and another great way to do gunmetal finishes on plastic guns is to use black primer or ultra flat black then rub the whole thing with graphite powder. It really looks like metal.

 

[TazMan2000]

I used Tamiya's AS27 paint, and it came out way lighter than expected even on a flat black base coat. Even factory fresh, I think that the M2 didn't look like this. I'm going to try your idea Mr. Nagata. Is this the graphite powder for drawers and hinges that comes in a tube?

TazMan2000

 

[Mr. Nagata]

Yeah, it's the same stuff, but if you go to an art supply store, you can get a whole big jar of it and it's probably cheaper. You'd need more than a small tube for a project like this.

Parkerizing looks a little more gray/greenish when it's new, so I used Duplicolor Hot Rod Gray primer on the gun above, then rubbed graphite over it. If you use straight black, it'll look a little more like bluing. You can experiment with the undercoat, but any flat dark gray would probably work. Just make sure to use something very flat so the painted surface has a little bit of a tooth for the graphite to stick to. Then buff the whole thing with a soft cloth. It'll take off the excess and really rub the graphite into the paint so it doesn't come off easily on your fingers.

 

[TazMan2000]

OMG!!!! What a great trick Mr. Nagata! I tried it out on the barrel and barrel support which was still painted black and it turned out amazing. I couldn't believe the result! I felt like King Midas for a second, where every where I touched with the graphite powder, turned to steel in my case. Thanks for sharing that.

The first image is the flat grey color I painted it. Nice, but it was as boring as the flat black and neither were convincing to any degree. The next is the barrel and support. My cell phone camera doesn't do it justice but you can see the beautiful sheen the graphite gives this piece.

TazMan2000

 

[TazMan2000]

As promised some higher rez shots (Except for the first one).

A lit of bit of touch up to do, but as you see by the first pic the difference that the graphite powder makes. Many thanks to all who showed interest in this and helped me to make this project better. Be warned that this graphite powder has been found to cause cancer in California and it really gets everywhere so take precautions if you try Mr. Nagata's trick. It's definitely not meant to be handled after this stuff is applied because it does come off on your hands as Mr. Nagata told me. Not certain, but perhaps a varnish or fixative is needed.

TazMan2000

 

[Matsuo]

If you havve an airbrush, testors buffing metalizer sealer is the absolute best thing to use to seal the graphite in. With Krylon workable fixative a close second. The krylon will gloss up if laid on too thick though.

M

 

[TazMan2000]

Previous lot of photos did not all upload correctly. If this is a limit on the server, my apologies...just let me know.


TazMan2000

 

[Mr. Nagata]

Wow, that looks terrific. Great job! I think it's primarily an inhalation hazard, so just wear a mask if you're doing a job like this.

 

[anamorphicWayne]

Holy Moly! I haven't seen these Taz. Excellent job. :thumbsup

 

[TazMan2000]

Thanks Wayne.. Just recently I tried Matsuo's recommendation with a sealer but couldn't find the Testors one so I went with the Krylon. Just like he said, it went a bit glossy, and it turned much darker...but still nice.

TazMan2000

 

[anamorphicWayne]

It looks like metal to me.

 

[nomuse]

For those of us on a really tight budget, you can just buy a stick of graphite at the art store; rub it on a scrap of sandpaper to get the powder, then dip your fingers in the dust to smear it over the prop.