First the list:
    Bushy lower and LPK
    Ace M4 stock and VFG
    Hogue Grip
    CMT upper and bolt
    JP stainless BCG and Rifle length V-TAC FF tube
    White Oak 14.9" SS Mid-length recon barrel w/ Phantom 5 slot
    Vltor gas block
    Midwest Industries Front BUIS and Matech Rear BUIS
   
Here she is just test assembled

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b65/bushflyr/ARBuild/Gun2.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b65/bushflyr/ARBuild/Gun1.jpg

The reciever extension timed to 1/4 turn before aignment. If I ran it back out there was a 1mm gap between the extension and the reciever. This was unacceptable so I chucked it up in the lathe and skinned a couple hundredths off. After 2 passes it screwed on to just past perfect, mission accomplished. NOTE: If you are going to do this. Any more than 1/4 turn prior to TDC and your top rail will be too long. I just squeaked by by installing the top rail first then sliding on the tube then tightening the top rail screws. Be careful.

You'll also notice that the front of the upper reciever in the second shot is shiny. The reciever face was .004" out of true so I lapped it in with Brownells tool. It's perfect now. :banana:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b65/bushflyr/ARBuild/Turned.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b65/bushflyr/ARBuild/Turnings.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b65/bushflyr/ARBuild/Gap.jpg

Then it was time to solder the flash suppressor on. A turbo head MAPP gas torch with a wet rag wrapped around the barrel and it was all good. I used peel washers instead of crush so I won't have to redo it in the event that I get a Gemtech Halo can. They say a crush washer can slightly misalign the flash suppressor. It's not usually an issue, but when you hang a can off of it any slight misalignment can cause a baffle strike. I would have preferred to not use a washer at all, just face off the rear of the FS till it times, but that wasn't possible with my limited tools. WOA doesn't put a proper relief cut at the rear of their threads and the threaded section was a bit long so threading on the Phantom sans washer had it bottoming out on the crown .5mm short of the shoulder. The barrel was too thick to go through the head stock in my lathe so I was stuck.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b65/bushflyr/ARBuild/Heat.jpg

I then Norrelled the barrel and reciever extension. The rest of the gun is Duracoat because I could get it out in Hawaii, but I had the Norrells, which I greatly prefer, left over from a previous project.

After that, tear the gun apart.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b65/bushflyr/ARBuild/Theparts.jpg

Then shoot them all woodland brown. I should say here that I elected to swap the brown and tan on the jungle MARPAT. I like tan better becaus it tends to pick up the surrounding color and reflect it. And I just like tan. The shop is a mess and I just shoved everything off to the side to make room to spray.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b65/bushflyr/ARBuild/TheBrownParts.jpg

I then applied some stencils I got from bulldog. They're very high quality, traced from actual MARPAT BDU's and pretty cheap at $14 delivered.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b65/bushflyr/ARBuild/Stencils.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b65/bushflyr/ARBuild/BrowmRifle.jpg

(Yes, that is my dogs ass in the pic. :) )
Next I sprayed the green. The color is actually very close to the woodland camo fabric, but due to differences in reflectivity, it looks kind of odd in these pictures.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b65/bushflyr/ARBuild/GreenRifle.jpg

About here I started to have this really wierd cobweb effect while spraying. Because the Duracoat is so thick I had to run my airbrush about 100-110 psi. The overspray tended to form these odd cobwebs all over everything. Yet another reason I prefer Norrells.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b65/bushflyr/ARBuild/DuraWebs.jpg

After that dried I put on more stencils and applied the tan. I was going to continue with the positive stencil, but it quickly became apparent that there weren't enough positives to complete the gun. I then decided to mask the green, shoot the tan, then finish up with the negative stencils and spray the black highlights. I don't plan on putting much black on sinct it doesn't really occur in nature.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b65/bushflyr/ARBuild/TanRifle.jpg

After shooting the tan on the rifle, I had just gotten started on the accessories when I ran out of gas. Literally. My power tank ran out of CO2. :(

So, that's where I stand now, and as soon as I can get my tank refilled I'll complete the spray job and take it out to test fire. :supergrin:

Looks great but why exactly isn't it evil??  Certainly looks naughty at the very least.

Scott

Reading comprehension > You. It is evil, just not black.

Very cool! I don't know if I have the hungistoes to paint mine. Flat black is my friend.  I sure do like the idea of a "naughty" rifle though. Be sure and put the finished pictures up when you get there.

Nice job, got to put finished pics up when done

More pics, more pics!   I may have to do that to my next build if I like the finished product  

How does paint hold up on the flexible rubber Hogue grip? I have one that I wouldn't mind painting...

That is a very nice set up.  One of the neatest ones that I have seen in awhile.

No idea how it's going to hold up on the rubber parts. I squeezed the rubber butt pad a bit and the finish crinkeld a bit but didn't flake off. So, we'll see. DPMS failed to install the plunger in the ejection port cover before it left the factory and they don't offer the parts separately, so things are on hold till a replacement arrives. I thought the bits were mixed in with the rest of the upper parts kit, but apparently they're supposed to be pre installed. So, I'm holding off on the final coats for a bit. The replacement shipped today, so hopefully it gets here by friday, but most likely it's going to be monday before I can finish it up.

right on! nice looking rifle... is that the cure for BRD?? or just a different strainhats) why would you use what seems like 3 base paint coats? i dont understand how the MARPAT is being applied

height=8

Quoted: why would you use what seems like 3 base paint coats? i dont understand how the MARPAT is being applied

First I sprayed the whole thing brown, the color that there would be the least of. Then I put the vinyl on the areas that I wanted to stay brown and shot the green. Apply more vinyl, keeping in mind that some places are going to be double masked. These areas ar going to remain green. Then, since I was running out of the "positive" stencils, I changed tacks and sprayed the whole thing tan. The 2 levels of vinyl are still in place, protecting the brown and green areas. Now, when I get the dust cover and more CO2, I'll put negative masks, the ones you see still on the sheet, where I want the black and spray it. Then all the vinyl comes off and we see we've got.

okay i understand, i didnt realize the vinyl stayed on throughout the processh.gif

Here it is right after stripping the vinyl. The small parts are in the oven force curing. It's not perfect, but I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out, and especially glad that I swapped brown and tan. I still think Duracoat is WAY inferior to Norrells, especially in the color match department.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b65/bushflyr/ARBuild/IMG_3726.jpg

Well it's all assembled. Now I just need to get out to the range and test fire it. Everything seems to feed and eject smoothly, so now I get to see how it shoots.http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b65/bushflyr/ARBuild/IMG_3744.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b65/bushflyr/ARBuild/IMG_3743.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b65/bushflyr/ARBuild/IMG_3739.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b65/bushflyr/ARBuild/IMG_3737.jpg

Stunning! Definitely worth all the work!

I just spoke with the Lego Man, he wants his rifle back. Seriously though, that thing looks great. I have wanted to do a MARPAT Finish on one of my rifles for some time now, I just haven't gatherer all the info, tools and most importantly...balls to do it. Again, looks great man.

That is sweeeet!

Congrats on the great looking build.

I'll bet it shoots as good as it looks too.

Nice job.

Looks like an assload of work, but the end certainly justified the means.

great job OP