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Armor/AFV: Modern Armor
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Modern .50 cal MG Question
mikeo
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Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: April 12, 2006
KitMaker: 325 posts
Armorama: 323 posts
Posted: Monday, September 13, 2010 - 05:30 AM UTC
Does anyone make a kit of the GAU-21? (M3P on a soft recoil mount - meant primarily for helicopter door guns)

How about just the M3P ? (FN's high ROF version of the M2HB)
GaryGore
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Ontario, Canada
Joined: November 05, 2006
KitMaker: 384 posts
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Posted: Monday, September 13, 2010 - 05:39 AM UTC
The only 1/35 scale M2 with cooling jacket that I have found is from Storm Miniatures as an upcoming release.

http://www.patsyconstruction.com/sm/upcoming.html be it for the Pave Hawk.

Really externally the M3P looks like a normal M2HB with a cooling jacket and flash suppressor. The soft mount would be neat, but I have not seen any yet.
majjanelson
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South Carolina, United States
Joined: December 14, 2006
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Posted: Monday, September 13, 2010 - 05:45 AM UTC
For reference, a picture:



...and a website:

FN M3M/GAU-21
18Bravo
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Colorado, United States
Joined: January 20, 2005
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Posted: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - 04:38 AM UTC
I think your best bet is to get the Academy .50 set. It comes with two air cooled MG's. While not the same, you can come very close. For the flash hider, you can probably go with a 14 guage hypodermic needle (or around that size, I just remember it was waaay bigger than I wanted to see) rather than brass tubing. The wall thickness would be more to scale. You could cut the slots with an abrasive disc cutter. The rest is obviously a pretty straightforward scratchbuild.
mikeo
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Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: April 12, 2006
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Posted: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - 10:39 AM UTC
Thanks guys.
The photo is different than the ones in the 2010 print catalog from FNH that I have. The photos there show a solid flash hider, one that looks like a solid pipe, slightly larger in diameter than the barrel. This is also the way the one that I saw looked up close at a local Expo that I went to this summer. Next year I have to go off duty so I can spend some time taking lots of pictures. This year everybody wanted to know if I was going to mount it on my Charger.

Come to think of it, their catalog DOES say that is available for Law Enforcement ">sales....

I'll have to see if I can scrounge an unused 14 gauge needle from one of the Ambulance crews.

Thatguy
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Virginia, United States
Joined: November 09, 2008
KitMaker: 487 posts
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Posted: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - 11:14 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Thanks guys.
The photo is different than the ones in the 2010 print catalog from FNH that I have. The photos there show a solid flash hider, one that looks like a solid pipe, slightly larger in diameter than the barrel.

That does sound like the M3P, but the GAU-21/A is the M3M as pictured with the forked flash hider. The only vehicle I'm aware of the M3P being mounted on is the US Avenger AAA vehicle.

Also, at least the 6-6th Cavalry appropriated a number of these weapons and modified them for use in place of the M296 gun and associated subsystem on the OH-58D. I believe the M296 is also a Browning M3 derivative, but it should also have a forked flash hider.


M3P on OH-58D
kruppw
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Texas, United States
Joined: March 17, 2006
KitMaker: 1,117 posts
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Posted: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - 11:41 AM UTC
I'm not aware of any company that makes either guns in question. You could always use the academy .50 kit to make both guns, but the mounts would have to be scratch built and the flash supresor added. I was with 6/17 Cav in Iraq when we started to field the MP3 gun towards the end of our deployment, externally the look the same as a regular M2, but internally they are different. The parts are not even interchangeable between the ground .50 and the air .50 which is one of the things we hated about the gun, but maintenance was simpler with the new gun a real big plus.
mikeo
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Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: April 12, 2006
KitMaker: 325 posts
Armorama: 323 posts
Posted: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - 02:36 PM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

Thanks guys.
The photo is different than the ones in the 2010 print catalog from FNH that I have. The photos there show a solid flash hider, one that looks like a solid pipe, slightly larger in diameter than the barrel.

That does sound like the M3P, but the GAU-21/A is the M3M as pictured with the forked flash hider. The only vehicle I'm aware of the M3P being mounted on is the US Avenger AAA vehicle.

Also, at least the 6-6th Cavalry appropriated a number of these weapons and modified them for use in place of the M296 gun and associated subsystem on the OH-58D. I believe the M296 is also a Browning M3 derivative, but it should also have a forked flash hider.


M3P on OH-58D


Thats the gun I saw, in person and in the catalog, that gun in the above door mount.
majjanelson
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South Carolina, United States
Joined: December 14, 2006
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Posted: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - 03:42 PM UTC
A few images from Global Security.com of the Avenger (Pedestal Mounted Stinger) HMMWV showing the M3P:

Nice secondary armament ;-P






Hope this helps...
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