I am the happy owner of a G&P pulse rifle. Unfortunately, it is too precious and heavy to carry to events. So I decided to make a lighter, cheaper pulse rifle without fear of it breaking down at conventions.


The first problem that came up for me was getting the Thompson. Cheap Airsofts are not available in Germany. And I didn't want to spend up to 400 Euro for a Tokyo-Marui. So I decided to use an old model of the 1928 typewriter that I had bought a couple of years ago, and transform it into a pulse rifle.

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

The first thing I did was disassemble the 1928 Thompson and remove the parts I don't plan to use.

Note: Never get rid of leftover pieces. Save them for other props

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

The main difference between the 1928 version and the military Thompson is the position of the charging handle. In the 1928 model it is located above the receiver, while in the military model it is on the right side of the receiver. So the first thing was to cover the upper slide, and mill the right side of the receiver, to accommodate the new charging handle.

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

Once the charging handle was finished, I cut the Lyman sight housing, in order to place the extendable stock.

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

Once the sight was cut, I started with the extendable stock. The first thing was to make a pattern of the slots.

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

Using Forex (Sintra) as the main material, I transferred the stock pattern before bending, drilling and cutting.

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

Once the pattern is transferred, it is a matter of drilling and cutting. a lot of patience is required.

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

Then it's a matter of fitting and securing it, and thinking about how to make the sliding system.

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

For the sliding system I used a block of MDF. I bolted the block to the slide guides, with enough room for it to slide smoothly. A ball latch in the middle of the block secures the extendable stock in 3 positions.

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

Now, the grenade launcher. Fortunately, I had a cheaper Spas 12 airsoft grid that I used a couple of years ago as a mold for my thermoforming machine. Unfortunately, to withstand the pressure of the machine, I had to fill it with resin, which I now have to remove. And it is what took me the most time, so as not to damage the grid.

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

This is not my first pulse rifle. I've already built a couple in my life as a model maker. That's why I had a Remington firing system lying around, from an earlier model. As you can see, made of wood and lined with Forex. In order for it to fit inside the Spas grid, I had to work both pieces simultaneously. And since this will be the pulse rifle for the conventions, I decided to make as many moving parts and details as possible.

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

Inside the remington system, I milled the breech for a grenade.

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

But I wasn't happy with the results, so I redid the old system and replaced it with one that used a pump action system.

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

I used an aluminum tube for the barrel.

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

To make the pump action effect, the barrel was secured to the left side of the chamber, and a dummy ejector was drilled.

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

Once the grenade launcher was finished, the most difficult thing was to join both components. Luckily, the Thompson has a front mounting bracket, and I bolted an aluminum plate to it, with which I secured the Spas. Later I will use this plate as a support for the cooling fins

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

Now to start with the Shrouts. I had thought about using the parts of the shrouts that I had done out of MDF a few years ago and thermoforming them. However, it appears that one side has been missing since my last moving. That means I have to do them all over again, this time using Forex.

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

The first thing is to make the patterns. You can find the measurements on the internet. I diagrammed my patterns on cardboard.

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

Once defined, it is simply transfer them to Forex and cut them

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

The magazine chamber was secured with bolts and black ABS plates on both sides.

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

Then it's a matter of fitting the parts to the gun and securing them.

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

Although Forex is a very strong material, I was convinced that the joints alone would not withstand the stress and weight of the Pulse Rifle. For this reason, I placed a transport handle on top of the Thompson system inside the shrouts, which would give them more stability. The internal carry handle is attached to the Thompson by a ring around the barrel and the MDF block of the extendable stock.

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

Both parts of the shrouts are joined on the thompson, to be able to disassemble them later and install the electronics. To ensure the perfect union of both parts, a complete Forex plate was used, which was then cut in half.

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

The cooling fins were mounted on the aluminum plate that joins the cage of the Spas and the Thompson

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!

The magazine belonged to an old Thompson, who shot plastic darts. I simply cut it to the required length, and built the housing using Forex.

_________________
Gunnery Sergeant Alfredo "Chacho" Vasquez
A05/TQ1.0.93338E1

Oorah, Marines!