[Howto] Mounting a X7 AK-47 shroud to your mag

[FiXeL]

Somebody PM-ed me about how i mounted a X7 AK47 foregrip onto my tac one and my guess would be that more people would want to know. So here it is, a small writeup on how i modded the thing.

General disclaimer:

My english could be a bit "off" due to the fact this isn't my native language. Please bear with it. And proceed modding at your own risk.

Also this mod will work for a long style RT rail, with the frontbottle adapter placed closest to the trigger guard. If you have a short style RT rail, or a classic style one, you will have to make somthing to mount the foregrip with!

First of all we need this:



And some of this:



Some of the stuff we will be using: Expoxy glue, epoxy polyester putty, paint, xacto knife, files.
Not pictured are the drill press, (for drilling and tapping the rail) hand drill for drilling the holes in the grip, saw, a dremel with some carbide milling bits, sandpaper and a sanding block.

The first thing to do is cutting off the parts that are needed to mount it to a Tippmann X7.



Use a file and the xacto knife to clean the cut, sanding can be done later.



The upper and lower part slide together in a inside rail. Make sure you don't damage it or put putty/glue inside it.



The top half at the back needs some extra clearance, because the barrel is coming higher out of the automag than an X7. The lower part needed some cutting due to my 15 degree front bottle adapter. If you have the straight type, my guess is it would fit right away if you place it closest to the trigger guard. Emag lowers need more clearance, and maybe to such an extent it would not look right. (the battery pack will be partly inside the grip)



The original barrel of the X7 comes out of these parts right in the middle. Because the automag barrel sits pretty high on the marker, you will have to cut the upper half, and fill the lower one. I used the epoxy glue to fill spaces, because it remains shock resistant after curing. (so it won't come loose when hit with paint)



Here you can see the epoxy from the inside. This is added as a filler, and for structural strength. When cured, it can be cut and filed to shape if needed.



The lower half was dremeled out a bit to make room for my LPR. A bit of a hack job, but only visible from the inside and it gave me enough room to mount the foregrip straight and in line with the rail. Mount it and look from the back of the marker along the rail to check if it is in line. If not, you're barrel hole could be off, or the back needs more clearance.



Since i'm no real fan of Tippmanns, i dremeled the logo out and filled it with epoxy.

To be continued...

[FiXeL]

Part 2



After the foregrip fits, it should be secured with some screws. I measured out where i wanted the threaded holes in the rail, and where the holes in the foregrip should be. After that i drilled and tapped 8-32 UNC holes in the rail, and holes in the grip. I've used a caliper for measuring and marking it. After that i marked the lines with a fine pencil and took it to the drill press.



The grip was a bit wider than the wingless tac rail i used, so after drilling all the holes i added a few washers on the inside with instant cement, so it can be mounted without any play.

Sanding and painting was next. I used the epoxy putty to fill up some inperfections and sanded all parts smooth. After that degreasing, a thin layer of white primer, more sanding, more putty, and added a layer of green polycarbonate spray paint from Tamiya. I used this paint because it is not affected by paintball fill. Normal spray paint would dissolve, but this stuff is resistant to the fill of paintballs. Duracoat would be better, but in europe that stuff is hard to come by. The final black coat of paint was done very "powdery" since it is a gloss paint. If you spray too thick you will end up with a shiny part, and i wanted a bit more matte look on it.

After curing and mounting it, you end up with this:



Looks like some green is seeing trough the slots in the foregrip, but this is due to the flash. In real you cannot see it at all. I really like this mod because it gives more of a rifle feel to the marker, and i can swap from front grip to foregrip as i wish.

Well i hope this is usefull for you guys, lets see some more mags with modded grips!

[Anjin3515]

NICE! Thanks so much for the write up. I may have to give this a go....of course I am banned from ever useing any sort of tool outside of a fork because I am such a klutz....but I may have to try

[Warwitch]

Wow, that was an amazing amount of modding. Finished product looks really sharp Fix. Great writeup too. Everytime I read one of these I have a nagging urge to go to Home Depot