Sunday, January 24, 2010

Stage 2 begins

Ahh yes, now it's starting to take shape. Up next is the upper receiver parts including the bolt assembly, which will slot inside the carry handle area.


You may notice I re-made the magazine holder - the original effort was the first piece of papercraft I have ever made, so it looked a bit naff.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Jan Rukr: the man is a legend

Jan Rukr is the creator of the M-41 Pulse Rifle papercraft I'm building.

Right now, he is in the finishing stages of his latest creation (which he will release to the world when all the bugs are ironed out).

Yes, it's the Sulaco - the Colonial Marines starship from Aliens.

This is Jan's desk in his apartment. What you can see of the Sulaco is about one third of its final complete size, which is about 1.6 *metres* long.

M-41 build Stage 1 complete!

Well, it's*almost* done but there is only three remaining pieces (10 minutes effort total) so I figure I'll call this one complete.

It's really starting to take shape. Hee hee!



Only another five stages to go....

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Let's go back a step with the M-41

I thought I'd show you the assembly instructions for the Papercraft M-41.

Looks simple, no?


NO.

Each of the above pages probably represents 10 hours of effort for a learner. I was figuring 30 hours to complete, but I'm still on page 1 after eight hours and I think I have at least another four to go.

I am making progress though:


This is the majority of the upper receiver, yet there are 28 parts left, out of a total of 65 parts for this component. Glueing these two pieces together is going to be a bitch, because there is a lot of stress at the joins. I'm going to need a lot of glue and then be very gentle with the combined pieces until I get the pistol grip and chamber attached.

Still very keen on getting this done, even with all the effort. I am unsure if this means I am learning better patience as I get older, or if I just like this gun too much. Possibly the latter.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Papercraft M-41 Pulse Rifle

OK so this one is a bit left field. I've been a massive (massive) fan of everything James Cameron for years, particularly Aliens. In addition I'm keen on weapon technology, to which the venerable "M-41 Pulse Rifle" is one of my favourite firearms of all time.

For years, I've wanted a mockup of one, whether it be made of steel or plastic, I didn't care. Unfortunately, the laws in my home state are so severe, that even something which resembles a firearm is strictly illegal. So, my options were limited.

Until in 2003, I found this. Yes, it's a Papercraft model of the M-41 created by a fellow by the name of Jan Rukr.

Here's a pic of Jan holding the completed model:


And here's a couple of profile shots:


Jan provides a RAR file containing images of all the sheets included in this kit, which is 30 pages to be printed on white card stock (250gsm paper). In all, it's about 200 parts, and somewhere near 1,000 folds which need to be made. I've never done papercraft before, but on my first night, I did manage to create this:



This picture shows the result of about six hours of effort. I imagine it will take me something like 30 hours to complete the model, so as I progress through the build, I'll put more posts up. I'm already a bit further in than this pic shows but I can't find my camera for the life of me, so I'll post those updates tomorrow.

I will say this though. It's BIG - and it's 1:1 scale too so the original prop must also have been pretty darn big!