Here's a cheap & easy mod for all of you A5 owners out there who are on a tight budget and want to add a silencer to beef up the milsim look. Once again, I'm sure many of you have already done this or considered making a similar mod. The basic idea is to take a piece of plastic tubing and make it into a silencer shroud using pvc fittings. The shroud is only for looks and doesn't provide considerable sound suppression.

The actual parts will vary depending on your needs but I chose a 1 inch diameter plastic drain pipe. These can be found at most hardware stores in the bathroom plumbing area. Take the pipe to the pvc fittings and find an end cap the nearly fits into the pipe and two spacers. The spacers are threaded pieces used to connect two pieces of pvc pipe. The threads are easy to sand down to create a tight fit.

Start with the pipe and end cap. Sand down the outside of the end cap with a piece of sandpaper until it fits inside the end of the pipe with the ring. I was able to use the pipe to hold the endcap while I sanded. The endcap should fit snugly into the pipe. Note: The side with the ring has a slightly larger diameter than the other side.

Next cut off the ring end and sand it flat. Lightly coat the inside rim with epoxy and tap in the end cap just slightly past the edge of the pipe. Now carefully coat the remaining exposed side of the endcap with epoxy to fill in any gaps. Let this dry for 5-6 hours. Check back within the first 30 minutes to smooth over any air bubbles. Once it is dry, sand down the end cap until the front is flat and smooth. I recommend sanding until all of the epoxy is gone except for what is left in the cracks.

After carefully marking a center point drill a hole in the encap for the barrel. Use sandpaper or a dremmel to smooth the inside edges to the diameter of the barrel. Now use the side of a drill bit or a dremmel to sand the inside of the pipe fittings enough to accommodate the barrel. Once the pipe fitting can slide onto the barrel sand down the outside of the fittings as needed so they will fit inside the pipe.

Before gluing the spacers in place we need to cut the shroud to fit the barrel. With your barrel installed on the A5 mark the shroud to determine how much to cut off. Make sure the barrel is in all the way and mark your cut so you have a few extra centimeters to work with. I used tape to help mark my cut. After you remove the excess pipe carefully sand down the back end until barrel is flush with the front of the shroud. You may need to use the spacers to size up the shroud on the barrel.

Now that the shroud is at the correct length glue in the spacers using epoxy. I placed one flush with the endcap and one at the back. Make sure to leave room for the barrel adapter when placing the rear spacer. I left my shroud on the gun and barrel while the glue dried to make sure everything lined up. Just be careful not to glue the shroud onto the barrel.

This next step is optional in case you messed up when drilling the hole in the endcap for the front of your barrel. Wrap one layer of tape around the front of the barrel. Place the barrel inside the shroud and fill in the gaps around the barrel with epoxy. Use an old barrel for this if you have one. After the epoxy has had plenty of time to dry carefully cut around the barrel with a razor blade to free it from the epoxy. Then use a hammer and a rag to tap the barrel out of the shroud. Sand down the excess epoxy and you should have a perfect fit.

Now for the finishing touches. Take a razor blade and remove the mold seams and other blemishes from the plastic shroud. Evenly sand the entire shroud until the glossy coat and blemishes have been removed. Clean the shroud with warm water and soap and paint it your desired color. I applied several coats, lightly sanding the shroud in between coats. You may want to seal the paint with some kind of clear coat to protect the shroud against paintball grease and gun oil.

The last step is to add one or two set screws to hold the shroud in place. The reason this is done last is so you can hide any undesired blemishes on the underside of the shroud. When choosing a set screw, find one that matches an allen wrench that you commonly use on your A5. Also, the smaller the set screw the more likely you'll end up scratching your barrel. Drill a hole through the spacer on the underside of the shroud (optionally place one in front as well). Insert the set screw and touch up the paint around the new holes. I used liquid rubber to create a cushion on the inside of the shroud to prevent scratching.

Here is the final product when using the stock barrel. I added a weaver rail for mounting flashlights and such.

I created a similar shroud to fit my All American barrel. I won't go into great detail but the rear spacer is free floating with a set screw and the shroud is held in place by a set screw in the front spacer.