Photos courtesy of Gabrielle Smith
“Keep in mind the British Army’s
‘7 Ps’ (Proper Planning and
Preparation Prevents Piss Poor
Performance) and you won’t go
too far wrong”
taking the gun back to its component parts
and starting from there.
Wooden furniture isn’t bought off the shelf
– it’s fashioned from scratch using the correct
type of wood. Plastic parts are painted in
layers to slowly build up the required effect,
and then lacquered to achieve the final result
– but the really special treatment is reserved
for external metal parts.
Andi has a few words of caution for anyone
thinking of undertaking this kind of DIY job:
“Do not attempt to customise your gun
unless you know what you are doing, or are
prepared to pay the cost to get it fixed if it
goes wrong.
”
Before you think about modding your gun,
put it away in another room and sit down
with a pencil and some paper. Write down
what you want to achieve and how you are
going to do it. Think about the effect you
want to create and how you want the gun to
look when it’s finished.
Keep in mind the British Army’s ‘7 Ps’
(Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents
Piss Poor Performance) and you won’t go too
far wrong.
Andi created his first customised gun
for a 1920-style game and it was an
obvious choice – the ubiquitous Thompson
submachine gun, invented in 1919 by John T
WORKSHOP
Thompson and made famous by the likes of
Al Capone and a million Gangster films.
The gun was stripped down and all
external metal parts, including the drum
magazine, taken back to bare metal before
being given his ‘blue steel’ treatment. The
stock and grip were re-created and the
internals were fully inspected before being
reassembled into a gun that any film star (or
gangster) would be proud to hold.
Next was the Winchester and the result
is so good, you can almost imagine it being
cradled in John Wayne’s arms as he says
“Courage is being scared to death, and
saddling up anyway.
”
The MP5 was more of a challenge as
some of the major external parts are plastic.
After many hours’ painting layer upon layer
the effect is simply stunning and the gun has
a real ‘don’t mess with me’ look about it.
Check out page 70 in this issue of Airsoft
Action for Andi’s first article featuring basic
gun maintenance and customisation. If you
have a question for the Gunmunki you can
find contact details in the box below. He will
also be running some basic gun maintenance
courses at The Grange – Airsoft Action will
bring you details of those as they become
available.
Meanwhile, if you want your gun to look
like one of Gunmunki’s specials, check out
this month’s competition on page 74! ■
Got a question for the Gunmunki?
Email it to:
[email protected]
Contact the Gunmunki: The Shop
at The Grange, 01676 532384,
www.suspensionofdisbelif.co.uk.
Find Gunmunki on Facebook for
more pictures of his work!
www.airsoftactionmagazine.com
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