Aliens M56 Smartgun

[joberg]

Wow, wow, wow:cool TFS with us your great find! Eager to see your next update.

 

[Ultimate Badass]

I've been waiting 3 weeks for this:



Technisub Nuova Vega diving lamp (the handle from this is the handle from the USCM shoulder lamp). The quest continues!

 

[Ultimate Badass]

Well, a couple of additional acquisitions have arrived and have made my rainy day a little better...

A friend directed me to an auction for a Beyerdynamic M560 microphone, which I jumped all over given I needed a second one to complete my second headset (as I posted before, I have a spare headset from an Opus mic). Well, after I won the auction and contacted the seller, he confirmed something exciting:



He sent a second one for parts (I bought a functional one)...both are fully intact! So now I have one for a second smartcam headset and the other will be used with my Terry English helmet! So pumped!


Also, this showed up:





A Marushin Smith & Wesson M39 replica. This thing is beautiful and fires blanks. As you can see, it's got the accurate ivory handgrips, exactly like Vasquez's. Now I'm in the mood to pin a xenomorph to the wall using my foot and then joyfully unload a few rounds into its face.


Oh, and I don't think I posted these before:



These are more accurate than the last set I got...things are coming together!

 

[Ultimate Badass]

Here's a post to show you guys more of the level of detail I am going to in order to get my smartgun as close to screen-accurate as possible.

Here is a comparison photo of the original Vasquez smartgun pre-filming, and what I thought was the 'restored' gun that Prop Store sold a few years ago. Note: someone has found pictures of the Prop Store's smartgun, and it appears to be different than the one I used for comparison...my mistake! Still, I hope this at least shows how easy it is to overlook the details...



Grey Arrow: rear motorcycle/ATV clutch perch and lever have been completely changed
Red Arrow: the gap between the actual MG42 and the rear "block" (rectangular plate) was not maintained
Black Arrow: the rod under the gun now has a different ringed pattern to it
Yellow Arrow: the ammo drum top cover is a completely new build and different shape
Purple Arrow: the mounting bracket for the MG42 rear sight is completely removed now
Green Arrow: the underlying steadicam counter-balance (cylinder-shaped piece) is now gone
Blue Arrow: the welded front grip mount has been completely changed
Turquoise Arrow: the muzzle flash-hider has been replaced (it looks like they casted the original but didn't do a great job)

 

[joberg]

Excellent update once again!! Love the level of details you're willing to go to:cool You're right, that Prop Store Smart Gun is...so inaccurate it's not even funny:behave

 

[JOATRASH FX]

d
Black Arrow: the rod under the gun now has a different ringed pattern to it

Turquoise Arrow: the muzzle flash-hider has been replaced (it looks like they casted the original but didn't do a great job)

I wonder if the rod is a camshaft or something similar. No way is that muzzle a cast copy- it's much too different. ("Aidos" is wrong as well.)

How certain is it that the two photos show the same gun? Around that time, even hero props could have fairly large differences between the various copies.

 

[Ultimate Badass]

Haha, have you not followed my thread and realized how much I've studied the weapon? I'm just teasing...no, I can't be certain that the 'restored' smartgun wasn't originally Drake's, because obviously the Prop Store refurbished the gun and painted the 'Adios' on it. What I can tell you is that, aside from the written graffiti on the movie props and the steadicam arms, there were miniscule, if any, differences between the actual props...and only two were ever made, so it wasn't hard to make them dang close to exact.

The prop store had to fix up the prop as it certainly wasn't in fantastic shape when they acquired it...but yes, the point is that the Prop Store smartgun as it exists now is very different than how it originally was built. Where is the other screen-used smartgun? Your guess is as good as mine...certainly it's in someone's private collection somewhere.

 

[Solos blaster]

Love the replica M39!! I almost bought a real Bulgarian clone but it was a doublestack so moreso just an M59.

You never cease to amaze with your dedication and finds :cheers.

 

[mattrendar]

Great stuff !

 

[jun]

Awesome and inspiring build!

 

[vintageslant]

Thank you so much for this thread and the time and care you have taken in documenting this project. I have spent every free minute I have had today reading every word. This is the first time I have read this thread and you DO NOT ever come of as a smart ass regarding funding. Heck it's your money and I'm sure you work damm hard to get it. So you spend it however you like! That said in this process you are giving away the fruits of so so many hours of labour freely and willingly to anyone who wants it. Also many times within the thread when someone asks you take some of your very precious time to answer them and indeed offer more of it. The RPF is blessed to have a member such as yourself whose dedication is above and beyond. Now I intend to set aside some time tomorrow to read about Ecto-1.

 

[Ultimate Badass]

Now I intend to set aside some time tomorrow to read about Ecto-1.

Oh man, I cannot wait to see what you think. And thanks for all of your words and to everyone else for your support. My friend Jack is about to get real annoyed with me, because I won't be able to comfortably do this build without his help (he's good with his hands).

 

[wildcardphantom]

If you don't me intruding, this thread has made me finally get going on building a smart gun of my own- one of the last couple of firearms I need to complete my Aliens collection. This will be a budget build for me (as far as is possible with this weapon, haha): airsoft mg42 (arrived yesterday), china-made steadicam (CAM TV 2.5-20kg variant of which I found one very cheap locally) complemented by a few 3d printed parts (headsets and such nuless I can source real ones) and authentic items (already acquired the foot peg mounts and bike controls)

Here's the steadicam I'll be using:
View attachment 441148
I'll be doing some modding to bring it a little closer to the CPIII. A lot of the vest will be hidden by the armor, wiring and other details and I will add some parts to the arm to accurize it a bit. I'm usually a stickler for detail accuracy but in this case I couldn't justify the extreme cost of a proper CPIII so while I'll never claim anything close to screen accuracy, (something I feel folks do much too often around here these days) I hope to make it close enough that most people will not register the inaccuracies.

Questions for UB:
How are you planning on mounting the MG42 to the steadicam arm? I've been flipping through the film but getting good views of the underside is a bit difficult. I'm guessing some kind of ball-point camera mount would work. (I've got one for my DLSR that might be adaptable.)

Are you going to machine the muzzle adapter? (I'm probably going to model and 3d print mine.)

Fyi, I just modeled a muzzle adaptor for my smart gun. Plan on printing it this week

 

[Ultimate Badass]

Well...as with everything else, I continue to find duplicate parts, and no, my spare is NOT for sale...

Now onto more M56 stuff. I have, as always, continued to examine every detail I can from the very few photographs that are out there. One of the things I've taken a look at is the IR sight box. There are a lot of details that you can't see well, but there are some other details I've been focused on, and of course I want to have an accurate box made.

I also used to think that the steadicam arm attaches to a bolt that drills through the MG42 shroud, but I was wrong. This has been discussed before on the Aliens Legacy forum, so I can't take credit for being the first to analyze this by any means. Of course, I had to make some diagrams to use towards having the parts made (which will hopefully be soon)...

Yeah...this gun is so awesome and it's really a shame we get to see so little of it in action.

 

[Ultimate Badass]

Tomorrow morning I leave for California to check on my Ecto-1 project. Yesterday I was given the perfect bit of good news to get me excited for my venture...



My Vasquez steadicam arm is 100% complete and 100% authentic, built from every single same period-specific part as in the movie (no reproduction parts). Nobody will be able to look at it and tell this, but it means so much to me. I should be meeting the man who built the arms next Wednesday, and I'm excited to do so.

 

[Duncanator]

so incredibly cool...

 

[joberg]

Unbelievable man, this Steadycam arm is a beauty. Eager to hear what the original builder has to say:cool

 

[Gator Fett]

Love the attention to detail you are putting into this build. :thumbsup

 

[mugatu]

This is beyond words. Just pure excellence.

 

[Axlotl]

Just read this whole thread. EPIC.