Budget Pulse Rifle from Airsoft Parts

[Lflank]

I want to introduce you to a personal friend of mine. This is the M41A1 pulse rifle. Ten millimeter with over-and-under thirty millimeter pump-action grenade launcher:

And here is how I made it.

Airsoft Thompson submachine gun:

Airsoft Spas 12 Franchi shotgun (the clear body was the only one Amazon had):

Airsoft collapsible stock:

First step: removing the Tommy gun stock and foregrip:

Next, removing the Spas cage and pump handle:

Test-fitting the basic concept:

Using a Dremel to cut the pump handle to the right length (new rim is made from foamie):

Removing the shotgun guts and cutting off the back section of the barrels:

All the required Airsoft parts:

Fitting the barrel section into the back end of the Spas cage, which now becomes the front end of the grenade launcher:

The grenade launcher parts glued into place, and a barrel cover made from foamie:

Test-fitting the shrouds. The shrouds were cut from plastic "for sale" signs. Because the Airsoft guns are shorter than the real ones, the shroud templates had to be stretched in the vertical direction, about two inches, to compensate:

Cutting foamie sheets to fill the inside of the hollow handle:

The foamie pieces glued into position:

The shrouds glued into place:

Using joint compound to smooth out the seams in the shrouds:

The finished pulse rifle, painted and with greeblies:

Thanks to Stealth for inspiring me to get off my behind and do this project after months of putting it off.

 

[Lflank]

Yes, there is a reason why the shrouds are khaki-brown instead of olive-green. I use all my props for fan films, and I shoot all my fan films in front of a greenscreen, so I can't have any green color in any of my props or costumes (if I do, they produce transparent holes when I color-key the scene). So I had to change the color to brown.



Total cost, including shipping the Airsofts from Amazon, was right around $100.

 

[red4]

I really love the look of the stripped down Tommy gun. It gives me ideas for some sort of Star Wars style carbine.

 

[Lflank]

Just finished a budget version of the pulse rifle's BFF, the M240 flamethrower:

It was made by cutting a toy plastic M16/grenade launcher into pieces, re-arranging them, and gluing them back together.

 

[Nataku]

Nicely done. I like seeing scratch built, budget props.

 

[Lflank]

Nicely done. I like seeing scratch built, budget props.

Glad you like it.

I've always had a soft spot for the scratch-builders too. Anyone with a bank account can write a big check and buy something that somebody else made. But making one's own prop, especially on a low-budget, requires imagination, improvisation, and creativity--things which few people have.