Project: Walmart DPMS M4

suzenonest · September 6th, 2012, 18:25

I know I'm probably gonna get hate for this, but whatevs

I got the full plastic m4 from walmart just over two years ago. I used it for a full summer playing games on my friends country property and only had minor issues, all of which I could fix myself.

Since then I bought a few high quality AEG's, my first one being VFC. The m4 started to collect some dust until recently. I got ideas for upgrading this gun awhile ago from HKGhost in his "low cost clearsoft mods" thread, but never did a whole lot with them... until now

I had a bunch of spare parts sitting around, so i figured I might as well make use of them.

I installed a element bearing spring guide, element metal gear set, VFC o-ring air nozzle, Madbull soft hop up rubber and a rubber insert into the cylinder to correct AoE. I then shaved the first 2 teeth on the piston, and changed the o-ring on the piston head because the original compression was terrible.

Shimmed, relubed and put back together! When shooting with a 9.6V NimH battery and .20g bb's, it sounds alot better and has very consistent groupings. It shoots just over 300 fps, and since it is SO LIGHT it would make a decent cqb weapon. (as a backup to my sopmod) Because it is low powered, the piston still looks brand new, no wear on the teeth.

I've also painted it and added a homemade suppressor. I swapped the stock pistol grip for a spare g&g grip, which required very little modification to fit. In the near future, I may replace hop up unit with an original mauri hop up, and change the inner barrel with my spare VFC 470mm barrel. At that time I'll just have to make a longer suppressor.

I've searched the internet to see if anyone else has done this before, and couldn't find anything. In fact, most people besides HKGhost said it was impossible. Well, I proved them wrong.

I planned on swapping the piston and piston head too, but the stock cylinder was just a little too tight. I may change them in the future if I have a spare cylinder kickin around. This gun also works with my other mags. (VFC, g&g, g&p)

I learned alot about v2 AEGs from this gun, and because of it I can do all my own gun work. If anyone has questions, feel free to ask

Pirate · September 6th, 2012, 19:13

Very cool, I am doing the same more or less with my kraken. It's worry free when it's a cheap gun you're learning with.

suzenonest · September 6th, 2012, 21:27

Plus it's so convenient having a clear gearbox aha you can visually inspect parts for wear and see if anythings broken without even opening it

Dustin_d · September 6th, 2012, 21:34

see thats exactly what i wanna do .. find a cheap gun (working or not) and just mess around with it for a while and learn how to take it apart and put it all back together and eventually put some upgrades in it and get it working nicely

suzenonest · September 6th, 2012, 22:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dustin_d

see thats exactly what i wanna do .. find a cheap gun (working or not) and just mess around with it for a while and learn how to take it apart and put it all back together and eventually put some upgrades in it and get it working nicely

Even tho this worked out for me, I still wouldn't recommend it for a first gun really. It would be better to pay a little more and get something with a metal gearbox. I just happened to already have this. Find something cheap in the classifieds if possible and mess with that

Dustin_d · September 7th, 2012, 00:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by suzenonest

Even tho this worked out for me, I still wouldn't recommend it for a first gun really. It would be better to pay a little more and get something with a metal gearbox. I just happened to already have this. Find something cheap in the classifieds if possible and mess with that

lol wont be my first gun, i currently have a KWA SR12 that i play with.
just want something cheap that i can take apart and mess with

suzenonest · September 7th, 2012, 10:41

Ahh nice just pick up something cheap then, keep your eyes open for a project gun

lurkingknight · September 7th, 2012, 11:33

you ever take apart any cheap plastic thing before? screw holes strip very easily if you're not careful.

When you start working on gearboxes... you want something robust so even if you're a bit hamfisted shit won't break on you. Of course... if you take a hammer to it, shit will break regardless.

Don't hammer your airsoft.

MaciekA · September 7th, 2012, 11:50

I love this kind of stuff, cheapie project guns are a good platform for experimentation.

Another sweet ultra cheap project gun is the plastic Classic Army MP5 that Toronto Airsoft sells. The body weighs next to nothing, but there's absolutely nothing stopping a person from upgrading the hell out of it until it's superior to most high end stock guns.

Imagine people's surprise when you show them your $130 gun containing high speed gears, perfect shimming, a neo motor, MOSFET, fat wiring, XT-60 connectors, a powerful spring and a metal-rack piston. Total sleeper!

lurkingknight · September 7th, 2012, 12:10

I get that reaction from my very plain looking p90. I maintain that it doesn't matter to the person getting shot about what gun it was that shot him... he was hit. end of story. :P

suzenonest · September 7th, 2012, 13:16

The only screws that stripped were on the inside of the pistol grip. Funny thing is i like the screws on this mechbox better because they are Phillips. The Allen key screws on my vfc are a huge pita! I've stripped so many and had to replace them.

I've actually been considering the cheapo mp5 from Toronto airsoft for another fun project

MaciekA · September 7th, 2012, 13:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by suzenonest

The Allen key screws on my vfc are a huge pita! I've stripped so many and had to replace them.

Try these:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...river_set.html

Excellent grip and torque, precisely-machined. They have absolutely no slip where my other hex tools slip and slide all the time.

CR0M · September 7th, 2012, 13:31

I love it... excellent stuff

Rabbit · September 7th, 2012, 13:40

Kudos - I dig it.

Going from nothing into something always earns my respect.

suzenonest · September 7th, 2012, 17:59

Comparing the plastic gearbox to a standard AEG gearbox, they look to be the same. I'm sure if the shell ever cracked, you could swap all the internals into a new shell. I doubt it'll crack for awhile with this spring tho mainly because of the 1 piece cylinder/cylinder head design.

I wish more aftermarket cylinders were a one piece design, maybe with sloped heads too for those running silent piston heads. Zero compression loss that way and less stress on the mechbox itself

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September 6th, 2012, 18:25	#1
suzenonest Trader rating Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Hamilton, ON	Project: Walmart DPMS M4 I know I'm probably gonna get hate for this, but whatevs I got the full plastic m4 from walmart just over two years ago. I used it for a full summer playing games on my friends country property and only had minor issues, all of which I could fix myself. Since then I bought a few high quality AEG's, my first one being VFC. The m4 started to collect some dust until recently. I got ideas for upgrading this gun awhile ago from HKGhost in his "low cost clearsoft mods" thread, but never did a whole lot with them... until now I had a bunch of spare parts sitting around, so i figured I might as well make use of them. I installed a element bearing spring guide, element metal gear set, VFC o-ring air nozzle, Madbull soft hop up rubber and a rubber insert into the cylinder to correct AoE. I then shaved the first 2 teeth on the piston, and changed the o-ring on the piston head because the original compression was terrible. Shimmed, relubed and put back together! When shooting with a 9.6V NimH battery and .20g bb's, it sounds alot better and has very consistent groupings. It shoots just over 300 fps, and since it is SO LIGHT it would make a decent cqb weapon. (as a backup to my sopmod) Because it is low powered, the piston still looks brand new, no wear on the teeth. I've also painted it and added a homemade suppressor. I swapped the stock pistol grip for a spare g&g grip, which required very little modification to fit. In the near future, I may replace hop up unit with an original mauri hop up, and change the inner barrel with my spare VFC 470mm barrel. At that time I'll just have to make a longer suppressor. I've searched the internet to see if anyone else has done this before, and couldn't find anything. In fact, most people besides HKGhost said it was impossible. Well, I proved them wrong. I planned on swapping the piston and piston head too, but the stock cylinder was just a little too tight. I may change them in the future if I have a spare cylinder kickin around. This gun also works with my other mags. (VFC, g&g, g&p) I learned alot about v2 AEGs from this gun, and because of it I can do all my own gun work. If anyone has questions, feel free to ask Last edited by suzenonest; May 4th, 2018 at 15:35..

September 6th, 2012, 19:13	#2
Pirate formerly Godfather Trader rating Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Halifax, NS	Very cool, I am doing the same more or less with my kraken. It's worry free when it's a cheap gun you're learning with. __________________ NORTHERN GUNFIGHTERS Amphibious Recon Specialist Level 2 Certified Sniper

September 7th, 2012, 11:50	#9
MaciekA Trader rating Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Portland, Oregon, USA	I love this kind of stuff, cheapie project guns are a good platform for experimentation. Another sweet ultra cheap project gun is the plastic Classic Army MP5 that Toronto Airsoft sells. The body weighs next to nothing, but there's absolutely nothing stopping a person from upgrading the hell out of it until it's superior to most high end stock guns. Imagine people's surprise when you show them your $130 gun containing high speed gears, perfect shimming, a neo motor, MOSFET, fat wiring, XT-60 connectors, a powerful spring and a metal-rack piston. Total sleeper! __________________ "Mah check" Now you know

September 6th, 2012, 21:27	#3
suzenonest Trader rating Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Hamilton, ON	Plus it's so convenient having a clear gearbox aha you can visually inspect parts for wear and see if anythings broken without even opening it

September 6th, 2012, 21:34	#4
Dustin_d Trader rating Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Narol, MB	see thats exactly what i wanna do .. find a cheap gun (working or not) and just mess around with it for a while and learn how to take it apart and put it all back together and eventually put some upgrades in it and get it working nicely

September 7th, 2012, 10:41	#7
suzenonest Trader rating Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Hamilton, ON	Ahh nice just pick up something cheap then, keep your eyes open for a project gun

September 7th, 2012, 11:33	#8
lurkingknight "bb bukakke" KING! Trader rating Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Ottawa	you ever take apart any cheap plastic thing before? screw holes strip very easily if you're not careful. When you start working on gearboxes... you want something robust so even if you're a bit hamfisted shit won't break on you. Of course... if you take a hammer to it, shit will break regardless. Don't hammer your airsoft.

September 7th, 2012, 12:10	#10
lurkingknight "bb bukakke" KING! Trader rating Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Ottawa	I get that reaction from my very plain looking p90. I maintain that it doesn't matter to the person getting shot about what gun it was that shot him... he was hit. end of story. :P

September 7th, 2012, 13:16	#11
suzenonest Trader rating Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Hamilton, ON	The only screws that stripped were on the inside of the pistol grip. Funny thing is i like the screws on this mechbox better because they are Phillips. The Allen key screws on my vfc are a huge pita! I've stripped so many and had to replace them. I've actually been considering the cheapo mp5 from Toronto airsoft for another fun project

September 7th, 2012, 13:31	#13
CR0M Trader rating Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Hamilton	I love it... excellent stuff __________________ WBR

September 7th, 2012, 13:40	#14
Rabbit formerly FrankieCees, Remylebeau Trader rating Join Date: May 2010 Location: Hamilton	Kudos - I dig it. Going from nothing into something always earns my respect.

September 7th, 2012, 17:59	#15
suzenonest Trader rating Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Hamilton, ON	Comparing the plastic gearbox to a standard AEG gearbox, they look to be the same. I'm sure if the shell ever cracked, you could swap all the internals into a new shell. I doubt it'll crack for awhile with this spring tho mainly because of the 1 piece cylinder/cylinder head design. I wish more aftermarket cylinders were a one piece design, maybe with sloped heads too for those running silent piston heads. Zero compression loss that way and less stress on the mechbox itself

Project: Walmart DPMS M4

Upgrades & Modifications