I’ve featured Kol’s blaster a number of times in the blog, as it’s been a big influence on me. The first time I showed a pic, it signposted my Wild Minus narrative. Kol’s blaster is a full breed mil pig, but it helped define the direction I took with my nascent Hit Takers upper.
Today, I published “You Dream It, We Build It.” This is my attempt to describe the bleeding edge of In The Wild SOF builds; and the bold, correspondingly edgy, off the script moves which the more progressive mil sim guys are making in personalising their blasters. Kol’s blaster is the apotheosis of this theme. It blends a Block II CQBR build, with a yet to be seen In The Wild (but totally logical) Geissele SMR MK2 in FDE.
However, there’s something else a bit different about Kol’s gun, aside from the SMR. It’s not a PTW, but a GBB. To be quite honest, until recently I’d completely ignored the GBB world. But as my appreciation for great builds has grown, so has my appreciation of GBB builds. This is not least because GBB users covet most of the same 1:1 spec parts which PTW owners do.
I contacted Kol through Development Team Six Group III Gold Team’s Facebook page. Kol was kind enough not only to allow me to cover his blaster, but to provide some words and pics, too.
I asked Kol about the motivation behind this build:
“I’ve been a huge proponent of NSWDG, ACE, MARSOC, SEALs, etc, style kits for a long time as a milsimmer. That being said, I love the 416 platforms that you see as the norm in the DG/ACE community. Ever since the Geissele rail showed up I knew i had to have one. I had a problem though. I didn’t have a 416…I had an KWA LM4 GBB that I’d acquired as a gift.
So I was in a dilemma whether or not to sell/trade it for a 416. I really liked the reliability of the LM4 platform and I wasn’t too sure about the 416 GBBR platforms on the market at the time. I pondered a great deal about what to do. About that time, Geissele started really cranking out some cool M4 rail systems, so I had my answer. I would do a M4 build, with a Geissele twist and everything else would be inspired by Devgru and ACE 416s.”
Kol continues,
“So, I was taking a bit of artistic freedom. I thought if some guys in ACE and DG still use M4s, and the SMR is arguably the best M4 rail on the market, then hypothetically that could go together. And thus I acquired the MK2 Mod1 SMR in FDE. I had some modding to do to the LM4 before it would accept real steel rail systems though, which proved to be quite the pain. I am not a mech savvy guy so it really scared me to have to do anything involving shaving off threads and carving new ones. But luckily my Dad had re-threaded things before so he was experienced enough to make it work. Once it was re-threaded and the SMR arrived, everything went together perfectly.”
As for the rest of the build,
“We have a Car-15 stock with a Mason stock pad (ACE inspired), LaRue A-PEG grip (not strictly seen In The Wild, but by far the most comfortable grip I’ve ever encountered), a replica EXPS3 in FDE, Replica LA-5 (PEQ15), Replica SF M600, Surefire FA556MG suppressor, and a direct mounted MOE MVG (eliminating the need for a rail piece).”
Also nice to see the blaster still rocks the No-BUIS look.
Many thanks to Kol for collaborating on this article and for playing with the rules and building such an inspiring blaster.
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