#Replica

SIG Sauer Inc. just added a new product to their ever-growing catalog. It’s extremely cool, well refined, affordable, and, so far, in stock! However, it’s not a real firearm, but a 1:3 scale die-cast replica of the MCX Rattler, manufactured by GoatGuns.

Many of you saw my recent article about my friend’s rough replica of Han Solo’s DL-44 blaster from the Star Wars movie franchise. If you missed it, you can find it here. The idea behind that build was to construct an AR pistol to look like a rough approximation of the movie prop, as inexpensively as possible. Today I bring you another functioning DL-44 replica gun, but the goal with this one was much different. The owner sourced a real C96 “Broomhandle” Mauser and commissioned a professional gunsmith to rebuild and modify it to be as close to a perfect movie prop replica as possible. This was not to be just a cheap, fun range toy. Today’s blaster was the obsessive mission of a Star Wars mega-fan and his gunsmith, bent on excruciating detail. Let’s discuss how they accomplished this galactic feat.

In the Star Wars movie franchise, Harrison Ford’s iconic portrayal of space-borne smuggler Han Solo is inextricably linked to his trusty blaster pistol. Throughout the interstellar saga, our roguish patron saint of shooting first wielded a modified BlasTech DL-44 heavy blaster, which he used to dispatch dozens of Imperial Stormtroopers and the occasional humanoid alien, among others. This fictional blaster was itself a modified real firearm, based on the venerable Mauser C96 – affectionately known as the “Broomhandle” Mauser. The German manufacturer produced more than a million of these guns between 1896 and 1937, and long before Ford fired laser beams out of his on the silver screen, C96s were reportedly carried by the likes of Winston Churchill and Lawrence of Arabia.

About a year ago we published an article telling about a Belarusian PDW concept called Humble Bee. Victor Aster, the inventor and CAD designer of that weapon concept, has recently come up with a new project called Rocky Gun. The idea is to make sort of model kits that allow you to build cardboard replicas of firearms.

I am pretty sure that most of our readers know about the World Of Guns: Gun Disassembly application by Noble Empire Corporation. This app represents a database of detailed 3D firearm models which you can disassemble, learn the mechanisms of operation etc. Recently, Noble Empire’s subsidiary company called  Printed Firearm Replicas has announced the start of sales of polymer 3D printed non-firing firearm replicas.

A Ukrainian company called “ AUTOMATIC” manufactures functional replicas of historical firearms. Right now there are six firearms listed on the company’s website which include the semi-auto replicas of German MP-18/I, MP-18/IV, MP-38, Russian PPD-34/38 and Mauser C 96 carbine.

British historian Stephen Wisdom has built a full-scale replica of a World War One tank from fibreglass and wood.

Earlier we reported about the Umarex announcement of their agreement with Glock of manufacturing licensed airsoft and BB Glock replicas. Now, Umarex has added the Glock branded airguns to their website and released videos showcasing these new pistols. Let’s take a look at key features and the released model line.

Ever wanted your own field gun but never had the garage space to keep one? Well look no further, a small group of British gunsmiths have developed a working scale replica of the World War Two-era British Ordnance QF 17-pounder!

Before we all go crazy let us make this clear, the online ordering does NOT include any real, working firearms.

A company called Burke Gallery Guns manufactures functional (shootable) scaled down copies of American Old West firearms. What sets them apart from other miniature gun makers is that they make 1:2 scale guns (50% smaller). Most of other miniature replicas are much smaller. The most impressive of the Burke guns is the scaled down Volcanic pistol.

At the 2016 SHOT Show, Troy introduced their first retro AR-15 replica, the Air Force’s GAU-5A/A Colt carbine as used by the Sơn Tây raiders in Operation Ivory Coast. Now, at the 2016 NRA Annual Meeting, Troy has introduced its US Army counterpart: The XM177E2 model, with a forward assist.

I was compiling my database of all my firearms, pictures of them and their serial numbers when at the end of my cataloging, I realized I had 18 guns. That’s not a whole lot in the grand scheme of things to do with collecting but it is alot for me. More importantly I was very vividly drawn back to a time when I couldn’t have any firearms at all because of the political circumstances I was in. And that is what this post is for. This is for those TFB readers out there who can’t own firearms legally, who aren’t able to pop down to their local shop to pick out a new gun, browse for ammunition online, and can’t maintain a family heirloom or even pass one of their own down to their friends or family. In addition I want this post to humble the gun owners who read this, so that they can better appreciate their own collections. Bear in mind this also isn’t just for American gun owners, but international gun owners as well.

I have blogged about the wooden replica guns made by Jenni Edwards in the past. She emailed me this photo of the last of her wooden guns, which she is selling as a set. They now feature EOTech holographic sights replicas with LEDs inside to replicate the laser hologram. They look awesome. I also like the PMAG magazines with the clear windows.

I am a fan of the KRISS Vector. So I stumbled across this and was shocked at the sticker price for a resin cast KRISS Vector. It is purportedly to have been used in the recent Total Recall movie remake. It was kitted with optics, flashlight and a vertical grip but those have been removed. The barrel is even missing. So you are getting a broken paper weight all for the bargain of $595.  I could get the KWA KRISS Vector airsoft replica for less than that and at least it does something and is complete.