Parts arrived last week!
I ordered the G&P barrel heat cover for a few reasons...
A. It comes with the heat cover
and pin
B. It was about the same price, and in some cases cheaper, than ordering a CA heat cover + pin or A&K cover + pin. This is due to a combination of over priced stock and having to buy from different retailers in some cases.
C. G&P are known for their quality externals, among other things.
The external quality I'm pretty impressed with. The pin is metal, interior frame is all metal, and plastics are thick and well made. I noticed a some draw backs though, which I'm not sure are present on other manufacturers having never owned the CA or A&K version of the heat covers...
A. The barrel clamps are riveted into place, and as they are made from two overlapping clamps, each overlapping piece forming one half, they force the cover to be slightly offset towards the left hand side of the gun.
B. The front steel portion that mates up with the pin was twisted and sat offset, partly due to A. This may have been damage during shipping.
C. The barrel clamps had to be pried apart to slide onto the MK46 barrel, due to the grooves/notches that run the length of the barrel.
To resolve the above items I used vice grips to widen the barrel clamps and create a twisted/bent portion which slides over the barrel easier. I then straightened out the front and and re shaped it to sit evenly on the barrel pin/gas block.
The last, and most important thing to note is that the CA metal gas block pin and G&P metal pin are different sizes. It took a good while to force the CA short pin out of the gas block with a hammer, the thing was in there quite well. After getting it out, the G&P pin is actually larger and would not go in. I had to enlarge the hole in the
gas block only to 1/4", I did not re size the notch in the outer barrel.
See below with the front end disassembled.
After adding a light coat of tan, here is how it looks. I'll blend in the camo later in the year when we have some warmer weather.
