at long last

Well, apart from the potential addition of a dark-sucker and BUPS, I hereby pronounce B.O.M.B.E.R. to be completed:


So I guess a not-too-brief run-down, from top to bottom, of what you see might be helpful:
1x Millet DMS 1-4×24 Scope
1x Burris P.E.P.R. 30mm Scope Mount
1x Complete upper constructed by Michael Z. Williamson, including…
          1x Model 1 Sales Hard Chromed Barrel, 1-in-9″ twist, as made by E.R. Shaw
          1x Low-Profile Gas Block
          1x A4-Style Upper with M4 Feedramps
          1x Yankee Hill Machine Rifle-Length Lightweight Four-Rail Free-Float Handguard
          1x Hard Chrome Plated Bolt and Carrier
          1x Brownells Tactical Flash Suppressor (my own addition)
1x CAA Modular Buttstock including a CAA Rail Mounted Magazine Pouch
1x VLTOR Buttstock Sling Plate (since the CAA one sucked)
1x Replacement Buffer Tube (again since the CAA one sucked)
1x Quick-Detach Sling Swivel
1x Threaded Swivel Stud
1x BLACKHAWK! Lok-Down Sling Swivel
1x V-TAC Quick-Adjust Sling
1x DPMS Lower
1x M&P Parts Lower Parts Kit (wherein the pivot pin detent was a nightmare)
1x MAGPUL MIAD Modular Grip
1x Bobro Fullsize Vertical Forend Grip
2x MAGPUL Mag-Level PMAGs with Ranger Plates
… And I think that is about everything. Whee.
Would I have done anything differently? Of course. In the future, if I can avoid building the lower myself, I will most definitely do so. Most of it really was not that bad, but those gorram pin detents were just about enough for me to call up a gunsmith and have them do it. I also might not have gone so cheap on some of the components – the CAA stock failed on half of its parts, but it is also one of the cheaper stocks out there. Likewise, the M&A Parts lower parts kit works and was quite affordable, but it was a bleeding nightmare to install, and their pivot pin detent installation tool did a spot of damage to my lower due to poor fitting of the detent spring or the detent itself. As with most things in life, when it comes to AR-15 parts, you get what you pay for. At any rate, in the future, I may go with a custom shop like D9Firearms.com – I had an order with these guys for a while, but the barrel provider simply was not… well… providing. Darrel (the proprietor) is a decent guy, though, and I would definitely steer anyone looking to have an AR-15 built for them his way.
Speaking of parts, though, I should have started building this thing sooner… Then, maybe, I woulid have scored the White Oak Armament barrel I was after, rather than being on a positively absurdly-long backorder.
However, for a first-time build, I now have something that arguably works, rather than a whole lot of documentation indicating that I might get my parts before the entropic death of the universe. Now I just have to actually make it out to the range and prove it works.