Very nice and well thought out mod, you have made yourself a awesome performing flashlight :-) . I will not confess what my first mods were, but they were way more simple than this one, well done!
Well done RMM. Those MTG-2’s can become addictive. love your mod and even better it works. Whats next?
Since you asked, I’ve got a few in the works (but nothing too original):
- 3D Maglite XM-L swap (to run on alkalines, will be a Christmas present).
- ZY-T08 de-domed XM-L2 on copper, maximum amps possible (will be my first de-domed thrower). Not sure yet what driver I will end up with, I think I’m going to try and turn up the stock driver first on this one. Will be using Samsung 20R batteries for this one.
- Trustfire 3T6 with DRY driver swap.
None of these are as cool as what you guys do, but I am having fun and hope to continue to increase my skills.
I still have a long ways to go when it comes to soldering, but I finally am feeling a little more competent. Before starting this flashlight hobby I had lots of experience welding with my various jobs (Mig, Tig, etc.) but no real experience soldering. My first few attempts were pretty frustrating until I did some reading; I found out that you don’t solder like you weld. I bought one of the Yihua stations from Hobbyking which is much nicer than the $3 Harbor Freight special I was using. I have also been watching a lot of helpful YouTube videos on soldering. Most importantly, I have been practicing and getting some experience. I still have a long way to go; some of the stuff I see soldered on here looks like a work of art. Right now I’m at the “it’s shiny, strong, and conductive” stage; better aesthetics will come with time.
I was really glad when I put it all together that the zener/resistor modded driver worked correctly. I checked everything as I was working, both visually and with the DMM, but I’ve worked on enough projects to know that if something can go wrong, it WILL go wrong with me! 
This is really cool, well done! Can’t wait to get my Mt-g2s and have a play. Out of curiosity the c12 is identical to the c8 apart from the extra heatsink fins right?
Yes, they are very similar, but vary a lot from manufacturer to manufacturer, so it is hard to make a blanket statement. Along with the extra external heatsink fins, the pill in my C12 is larger and has more contact area than the pill from my XinTD V4.
Excellent work, RMM! One of these days I will have a go with an MT-G2. :)
I have been trying to modd my c-12 and have failed miserabley this week I still haven't had a chance to find out why but I was. Changing the driver to a 8 chipped 380 mAH 7135's on and a XML2T5 on a 16mm copper star with no luck anyhow as soon as things slow down ill take a looksie but kudus on a MT-G2 I love the MT-G2 emitters huge hot spot.
That's a great build. 
Where do you get a C12 extension tube?
From eBay. I couldn’t find one anywhere else that fit right. It was more than I wanted to spend, but it was the only option I could find.
$8 C8 Extension Tube
Added tailcap measurements to OP.
Really nice job RMM! Hhmm - like that C8 extension tube, for $8 shipped from US, not that bad really - it's an unusual item. I didn't know they were available.
Great mod RMM! One of these days I'll do an MT-G2 build!
-Garry
Thanks, I just saw your post. A little pricey considering Banggood just had a whole C8 for $8.88, but what can you do? 
Great mod! They way you do this is quite clean and thorough.
Thanks for the comments!
You’re right, $8 really isn’t that expensive but it is hard to swallow when you know that you can buy entire budget lights for less than that! 
He doesn’t have very many left, so if you are interested in one it might be good to pick one up. The anodizing isn’t perfect, but it is good enough and the threads are good.
I have debated cranking up the current on this a bit more by adding a few more 7135s but I think I’ll leave it as is for now. On one hand, there are three lower power modes that are very usable, an MT-G2 deserves to be driven hard, and high could function as turbo mode that only sees limited use. From what I’ve seen, think that I could see 6 amps on these cells with On the other hand, I think that 4.5 amps puts out a good amount of light, doesn’t slam the batteries too hard, and can be run for 5+ minutes without getting too hot to hold.
The thing that has surprised me the most is that this light has quickly become my favorite all purpose light for use around the house, and it now resides on my nightstand. The wide, smooth beam pattern and attractive tint make this one a winner. Moonlight is nice for getting up early in the morning and during the night without disturbing anyone, low provides plenty of light for completing tasks in the dark, medium lights up entire rooms, high is just too bright for anything too close but is great for wide open spaces.
This thing isn’t a great thrower (my XinTD V4 and ZY-T08 are better at long range), but it is a great light for everything else.
Nicely done! I know you’re loving it, as I love mine. I have an MT-G2 on a Noctigon coming my way, with a Qlite already modified and waiting, to put in my M8. Already tried the hybrid reflector on the light engine in my K3 and the beam is very satisfying to me, so I’m very much looking forward to my 3rd MT-G2 light.
I haven’t chosen star 4 yet, but your work here makes me think I need to. Might do that to the M8 and expand it’s horizons. Thanks for that tip.
When you get ready to really put your mind (and hands) to work, figure out how to add some copper to pull the heat away from that monster, you’ll see your run times go up!
I really like the fourth star on the Qlite… but I realize that it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. The good thing is that it’s easily reversible/changeable if you don’t like it.
I’m not sure that adding a little bit of copper would really extend my run time by much. I thought about putting some in the back of the pill behind the star, but really all it would do is add a tiny bit of thermal mass, not aid in removing that heat. The pill is large enough and has good contact with the body and fins, which heat up fast telling me that they’re doing what they’re supposed to do: remove heat away from the star/driver. I am building a ZY-T08 MT-G2 right now that I’m going to try for maximum amps on… then I can compare the two.
I’m not talking about a little bit, more like several ounces. It does much more than add a tiny bit of thermal mass.
Mass isn't a magic bullet that makes heat evaporate or teleport into a parallel universe.