I completed the illuminated ammo counter wiring and thought it was important enough to take some photos of. The routing for the wires was inspired by a member (lear60man) of the Aliens Legacy forum who used a similar method. Here's what the counter looks like when switched on:
The Matsucorp shroud kit comes with 2 counter windows. One has the area for the numbers cut out while the other is solid and just has a box etched into it. I'm using the solid variant. As a side note, I picked up some 6-32 hex drive screws to replace the Philips head screws seen above. Below is an inside look of the wiring layout:
As you can see above and in the detail shot below, I created a channel for the wires to lay in and a place for the on/off switch at the base of the magazine well. The idea was to make the switch invisible when the weapon was being displayed/handled. To turn the counter on/off, simply drop the magazine a bit, and toggle the switch.
This close up shows the wire channel and the switch well that I routed using my Dremel and some small files.
This last photo shows the switch location clearly and the square recess I added to the magazine base so that the switch doesn't prevent the magazine from seating fully in the Thompson receiver. I will use hot glue to keep the electronics in place once the shroud is painted and ready for final installation.
