Galil ACE Phenom (Project Jaguar)

Cheshire · #1 (**permalink**) 06-23-2012, 12:26 AM

Here she is, my long overdue contribution to the X7 family!

June 28, 2012 - Added video (at bottom of post)
July 9, 2012 - Added pics from a Sunday game

Project Jaguar
-I figured Jaguar was appropriate given that the Ace is currently issued to the Colombian military. South America, jaguars, guns... Somehow it fit! BTW, I LOVE this camo scheme. Just like a melanistic (black) jaguar, from a distance it just looks black, but in good light you see the rosette pattern.

Galil ACE 22 Phenom

I gave most of the backstory in my teaser thread, so I'll spare you all the boring details and get right back to the pics. Took plenty, let me know if you're wanting something specific! And of course, any comments/suggestions/critiques are always welcome. Thanks for looking!

Now to the breakdown and my usual style of photo ops

I wasn't a a fan of RAP4's AR-style mag release, so I opted to convert my magwell to use an AK style level. I had to cut a notch in each Milsig magazine, but now it's soooo much easier to insert/remove mags one-handed and with either hand while keeping the finger on the trigger. You might be saying, "Looks great, Chesh, but what made RAP4's magwell kit so great was being able to remove it with a single pin. I don't see any pins on your magwell..." Well...

I got it covered, while keeping the look all sleek and sexy. The arrows show how I got the magwell to be flush to the handguard yet still be easily removeable. There are slots cut into the handguard/shroud that the sides of the magwell dig into when swinging it off.

Here's a look inside the magwell, with some minor mods pointed out. I added a raised portion on the back of the well to keep the mags tighter/more secure and aid in inserting them AK style (front lip/feedneck first, then roll it into the mag catch) and raised the mag tension release area to improve reliability. No matter how much the mags get knocked around, they stay "engaged". Anybody can do this with a 1/8 - 1/4" piece of plastic epoxied inside.

Here's how far I can disassemble the Jag without tools just by removing pushpins. If I cut a hole into the faux dust cover, I could pull the Flex valve out, but I prefer to take the shells apart when I'm looking to get at the internals, so I did compromise form over function for this one thing.

A closeup on the body, showing that it is in fact two halves, just heavily modified. The dust cover and charging handle are just for looks. I omitted the opposite side selector lever that is on the real Galil out of laziness. I felt it didn't heavily contribute to the "look", so it wasn't needed. I personally like the clean look. There are actually a lot of details I omitted to keep the design simpler and cleaner looking. Hence why I've called this, Galil ACE Inspired, rather than a faithful reproduction.

Here's my custom Deadlywind Fibur barrel. I permanently attached a Flasc thread adapter so I can use whatever tips I want without a silly pressure lever. BTW, the barrel can be removed straight from the fully assembled marker, for easy field swabs/changing out Freak inserts. The o-rings keep the barrel sturdy inside the faux gas block/front sight.

Without the Mako rail covers.

With some accessories. More to come as I go. I have a Mepro sight planned, which will be a custom fabricated shroud over a red dot sight.

...and a little something I'm working on when I want just a little more "firepower"...

Again, thanks for looking! Video will come later. I plan to get some footage this weekend. My comrade tells me I need to make better videos

EDIT - As promised, a new (hopefully better) video. If you're annoyed by people putting dubstep in everything, well... ...tough.