Has anyone purchased one of these uppers?  I have a Nodak partial fence lower in black that I was going to build up.  Just wanted to know if the fit to the Nodak lower was good and if the finish was a close match.

Thanks!

I purchased one about a year ago. It's a nice upper, flat black cera coat. Should fit and look fine with your NDS lower. Mine is on a NDS 601 lower and fits perfect

I hate to nit-pick but just FYI, there's no such thing as an "A1 slickside"

I was just getting ready to ask this same question.

What is the difference between this A1 upper and that of NODAK? Along with the original uppers that were offered by both Colt and GM and H&R?

Are Fulton Armory close to what the original A1 uppers would have been? I would love to build a slick side but have not seen one in the EE for sale until it is to late.

Good post OP.

There uppersare nice, lugs not rebated and have a A forging. I like them.

I believe the A1 is an indicator of the addition of a forward assist and some other modification like chrome chamber and stainless gas tube.  But an A1 upper would indicate to most it is the later forward assist type upper.

The Fultons (at least mine) have the splintered "A" forge code. As far as the A1 comment, I think most people and companies are referring to the sight configuration, A1 vs A2 rear sights. Technically though you are right Sputnik, A1 should only refer to M16A1

Ok, you all got me on the "A1 Upper"  lol  

I bought one for a retro inspired 9mm carbine build. It matches my black 9mm lower well

I have a couple I picked up for a good price here on the EE - wish I had the money at the time to get all of them he had.  They match up with the regular black anodized lowers really well.  They would be great for a GM Hydramatic clone.  

The only thing I hate about them and the NDS uppers is the forge codes, I know this doesn't bother many people but it does look a little off if you are wanting to build a completely original build.  They have the splintered A for Anchor Harvey forge mark under the rear sight where a Colts would have the letters C H.  And NDS receivers actually say NDS in a different font style then the originals.  

The only quality issue I have seen on my 2 is 1 of them has a little bit of a surface blemish where the forge marking is.  Like a tiny grind mark in that area, it isn't very noticeable but I am not very picky on surface finish.  I just did a battlefield pick up look to it with some scotch brite pads and a little banging/scratching with some screws/nuts I had laying around.  It turned out quite nice and I plan to do many more like this since I prefer the been there done that look.  I really like how the black anodized receivers look after they are aged like this.  

As for fit and function, everything is as smooth as any other upper I have used.  At first they were a little gritty inside since it had a new finish but after a little bit of use it smoothed out to be like all my others.  I recommend them if you want this style upper.  But I also see plenty of used ones show up in the EE.  And while you may not get one the first day you look, I would say if you checked every couple hours you would find one within a few days-week for a good price.  

Brownells now also offers the true A1 uppers in black if you decide you want to do an A1 with the forward assist after this one.  Everyone acts like the black is a big deal, and while it would be nice to have Colt grey available, I really enjoy doing the GM Hydramatic builds.

That is good to know Mike, I can only see the spot on 1 of them.  The other one they did a really good job at because you can't tell anything was removed.  The only reason I even got these to start with was because I picked them up for $75 here on the EE and couldn't pass up that deal.  It doesn't surprise me that they don't put in the same quality control as NDS does and leave some with little marks where they ground off the C.  But overall I am satisfied with the uppers I have, especially with the price I paid.  If it came down to paying full price I would probably either pick up a used one on the EE or wait on NDS to get one in.  But if someone is in a hurry or needs it right away the Fultons are a good choice.  

Also, I don't want to come off to sound like I am complaining, but I do wish the NDS receivers would have had a slightly different forge marking.  I have mentioned this in a couple other threads but since you brought it up about not wanting to be confused as originals I figured I would mention it again.  If the forge markings would have blended in with the original style font better I think it would have looked a lot cleaner.  And instead of NDS it could be something like NS.  I understand why you did it the way you did, and it won't stop me from buying your uppers at all.  But I would be a lot more likely to put one on a 100% correct build if the forge markings didn't stand out so openly.  People that seen an NS forge code in the same style font that the Colt CH is in would know right away that it wasn't original.  And if they couldn't figure out that it wasn't original then I doubt they know the ones marked NDS now aren't original.  Again, don't want to sound like I am against what you guys do as I am a big NDS supporter and have been since my AK building days when you guys had the only quality receivers around.  Just an alternative idea that I think would appeal to a lot of Retro guys.  I know after many years of the same markings it is very unlikely to change now.  But if you ever have to get a new die in the future perhaps you will consider it.  Probably not, but figured I would throw it out there anyways.  

'Well, I ordered the Fulton slickside upper and it arrived yesterday. It has the C forge marking and the fit to my NDS partial fence lower is nice and tight with a decent color match too.

Wow, very nice!!

Bonus "C" but is that kosher (perhaps directed at Mike_NDS more so than the OP)?

No, Just saying that Fulton evidently did not remove all the C markings.

I want one, but I will first have to get over the fact that they aren't anodized.

What finish are they?

Right, what I'm asking is "is it kosher for Anchor-Harvey or Fulton to not remove that C and still sell it?" Doesn't the C indicate a Colt part?

Either way it's a great looking upper IMO.

Cera coat flat black

Mine are anodized the usual black anodizing like on modern uppers?  I thought they were all anodized, did they change them at one point to cerakote or what?  Never knew that but I doubt I get anymore of them if they are cerakoted because I like to do the BFPU look to most things.

Generally referred to here as a "splintered A" it is really an A on top of an H.  I'm sure most know that, though.

If Fulton is using Cera coat instead of anodizing, why don't they offer these in gray?

I had 4 of these in my cart and was excited about getting a slickside that's not gray and doesn't have "NDS" on it.  I closed out the window when I saw the shipping charge of $35.

I'll just do some retro-inspired builds with regular M4-type uppers.