AirSoft ALIENS Pulse Rifle

For those that have asked, the image above was created by me in LightWave.

Many of you may have heard of the idea of an AirSoft ALIENS Pulse Rifle project that has been floating around for a couple of years now. Well, I was one of the original members of that group, and even I have been wondering about it's status. So, I have decided to officially resurrect (No pun intended) the project here. For those of you who may not know, the original movie prop was created from a Thompson M1, a SPAS-12, and a Remington M870 along with a custom shell to hold the combined pieces. A SPAS-12 has been available from Marui for quite a while now. The Remington M870 is available as a gas-powered replica from Maruzen, but due to the customizing necessary for the project, a gas replica is not plausible. There is reported to be a spring-cocking version due out this year, but so far I have been unable to find out exactly when. A Thompson M1A1 has not been available in any form until now. Marui has finally released a Thompson M1A1 which is due to reach the states this week. I have been informed that there are spring-powered kits of these three available, but I have only been able to find them available in he UK.

Thanks to the popularity of Saving Private Ryan, Marui has produced a Thompson M1A1. The lack of this replica has presented problems to this project due to the arrangement of the trigger and clip. The clip that comes with the Thompson will not hold the desired 95 rounds, but they have also released a high-capacity magazine which will.

Although I would like to see someone step forward and officially spearhead this project, I will do so for now. I have several years of experience with modeling and electronics, and intend to be a large part of constructing the prototype, but I do not have the time to coordinate everything. If you would like to participate in this project, please let me know as soon as possible. I would like to be prepared to start building as soon as the Thompson arrives.

I have established the Sci-Firearms mailing list. This list will be used as the official means of communication for this project. For more information, click here.

Paige Manard, of Laser Shot has said he might be interested in getting together with us when we are further along and developing an ALIENS based shooting game using a converted version of the Pulse Rifle. His company makes shooting games/simulations that are PC based. The guns are AirSoft replicas which are converted to activate a laser when the trigger is pulled. The system that uses these guns is rather pricey, but interesting to see. There are home versions of the different scenarios which can be played with a mouse, and he does do the laser conversions to AirSoft relicas if you'd be interested in having that done. If anyone would be interested in being involved in this, please let me know.

Update - October 15, 2000

More pictures for the project.

This is the lower receiver housing, minus the electronics.

These are the electronics from the lower receiver housing.

This is the gearbox from the Thompson, minus the motor and housing.

Update - August 23, 2000

Here they finally are. The first group of pictures for the project.

This is the Tokyo Marui stripped of all unneeded parts.
Missing are the Barrel, rear sight, and all "wooden" parts.

A view of the upper receiver housing devoid of the barrel, foregrip, and rear sight.
This is one half of the final used portion of the Thompson.

A view of the trigger assembly devoid of the pistol-grip and stock.
This is the other half of the final used portion of the Thompson.
The power supply clip can be seen extending from the back rear of the assembly.

Here's the highly recognizeable SPAS-12 shroud.
Note that on the Pulse Rifle, the shroud is reversed.

Finally, here's the SPAS-12 fore-grip.
The yellow line is where the fore-gip will be cut.
Note that on the Pulse Rifle, the fore-grip is reversed.

Update - April 03, 2000

Well, the Tokyo Marui Thompson M1A1 is finally here. Although the Maruzen Remington M870 spring has not yet been released, we are finally at a point where we can move forward with this project. If you are interested in participating in this project, I need to hear from you in the near future, so it can start to be decided who can do what. I have found the following people with the following products that can be incorporated into the project:

• Steve Dymszo - Creator of the SD Studios ALEINS Pulse Rifle, which is reported to be the best available, has agreed to provide me with construction advice.
• J.M. Shima - Produces a device called the Vortex, which can reproduce the sound of the Pulse Rifle firing, as well as a working ammo counter.
• Forrest Overaker - Produces some excellent Pulse Rifle Grenades, which I will procure when he runs off his next batch.

As stated above, the VirtuArms.com Mailing List will be used as the official means of communication for this project, so please contact me and/or join the list as soon as possible so we can start the process of building the AirSoft ALIENS Pulse Rifle.

ALIENS and the Pulse Rifle are copyright 20th Century Fox.
Saving Private Ryan is copyright DreamWorks SKG & Paramount Pictures Corporation & Amblin Entertainment, Inc.