Pulse Rifle Grenade Comparison
from Deck36 and Dean Overaker

Many of us have watched the appearance of Deck36 with interest and some of us have taken the plunge and ordered some items from them. I was initially in contact with them to purchase one of each of their stunt grenades, with a view to reviewing them when I got home in 4 weeks for the benefit of the members of this board. As long term members of this board will know, I support many of the sellers here not just with my words, but with my wallet as well. I decided that I would also ask Alchemist to send me an example of their M-40 Hero grenade out here to Oman straight away so that I could directly compare it to the equivalent M-40 Hero grenade of Dean Overaker that I have. Quite without any prompting from me, Alchemist e-mailed me to say that he would send out a hero grenade complete with an example of the three different colored caps, free of charge so that I could evaluate them for the members of this board. I am using Dean's grenades as a benchmark for comparison as they have been and continue to be some of the best replica Aliens grenades on the market. I own 4 of his grenades, 2 M-40's and two M-51's and still consider them the centerpiece of my prop collection. I am sorry for the large image size, but I was trying to get good views of the detail as well as capture the colors of the caps correctly.

Overall, the dimensions of the grenades are identical. This is as it should be, as the diameter and basic length is dictated by the need to chamber them in a 12 gauge shotgun. The height to the tip of the push button is the same, all the difference in height in the first picture being in the cap. The base section is identical up until the nurling, the Deck36 nurling being slightly shorter and a little coarser. The next difference is the two rings around the top, the Deck36 example being higher and V-cut rather than the square cut of Dean's. The Deck36 site has a very informative picture of how they arrived at the dimensions and proportions of their grenades, so as I do not have access to a genuine screen used grenade I cannot comment on accuracy. I will say that the finished result matches well with the picture there.

The caps are very different in contours and color, the Deck36 color being more solid and less translucent. This is a function of them being molded in a flexible resin sort of material. This has reproduced the contours of the movie prop well in my opinion, but the material used seems less durable than the caps supplied with Dean's grenades. This is evidenced by signs of splitting starting to occur when taking the caps on and off. They had not actually split yet. Alchemist has mentioned that they are having problems with the caps staying on, these caps seemed fine but these may be problems that will be fixed in production as these could be prototype items. He also said that anyone who receives the loose caps will be supplied with replacement ones. The Deck36 name is molded on the inside of the cap. The white line is a piece of laser cut white vinyl that is very thin and flexible.

This picture illustrates where the two really are different. The contours and overall diameter of the detonator button area differ in every aspect while still remaining identifiable as the same item. The overall height is the same with the Deck36 push button having a weaker spring action, making it easier to depress.

Another area of difference is the bases. Overall diameter and size of the brass primer is identical, the real variation being in the engraved details added to the base by Dean. Deck36 has put forward their stated aim to produce movie accurate replicas, and the movie grenades did not have this engraving. I appreciate that, but I personally like the detail that it adds to the grenade and feel it is the kind of detail a real world piece of ammunition would have. That is not a criticism, rather my preference.

Taking into consideration that all the pictures here of the Deck36 grenade are of one grenade with different colored caps, this picture shows the real difference. Deck36 has already stated that all three grenade variants would be identical with only the caps varying, as faithful to the movie props. The deeper blue of the Deck36 cap is striking, but Dean's M-51 replicates very closely the contours seen in Derrick Baena's Pulse Rifle manual, a feature I like. Though replicating basically the same items, it is details such as the base engraving and the wish to have a replica of the grenades seen in Derricks manual that will be factors to a purchaser. As the M-51 was not seen on screen to my knowledge, I am happy with the differing configuration.

This final picture gives you an overall picture of the three grenades, plus shows the deep green of the M-38 style cap. In the movie, when Newt picks up the grenade that Hicks identifies as an M-40, it has the cap of an M-38, The color in that scene was a lighter green in my recollection, the shade in the picture is as close as I can get with my camera. It is literally a British Racing Green in shade.

The Deck36 grenade is very well machined and the caps have very convincing contours. The overall durability will only be a concern if you are constantly taking them on and off, but that of course is the point of having working detonator buttons. As a personal preference I like the contours of Dean's M-51 and the base engraving he offers. His plastic caps are more durable and a firmer fit, but there seems to be no danger of the Deck36 caps falling off.

As a first effort, the Deck36 grenade is an excellent effort that is well made ,a great display piece and accurate to the supplied references. I can say that no one would be disappointed if they purchase a grenade from Deck36. Having said that, Dean's grenades offer features that in my mind add an edge to them that goes a long way towards offsetting the price difference. Though they are directly competitive products, I feel they compliment each other well and I would be glad to purchase either, and fully intend to in the future.

Thanks for reading and I welcome any comments or criticism.

Cheers
Tony