The Official Avatar Colonel Miles Quaritch "Wasp" Pistol Research Thread

[ReaverReject]

No idea where you get the frontload theory from. Here's my pic of a broken one, seems obvious to me.

SAS

I can do that too:

 

[ReaverReject]

Edit: Found a pic. I think it is safe to say, the dials have been Identified...compare to the scanned pic on page 2... Check it out

nerftheherder, I'm afraid it's not conclusive - count the tick marks on the EOT dials: 12 in the front, 9 in the rear, and you'll see they exceed the 8 marks on the Wasp dials. There's also that unexplained hole to one side of the screwdriver slot that the EOS screw lacks.

My theory is that the Wasp was inspired by several firearms & scopes, and the end result features elements of all of them. And given that Cameron did fire the prop (you can hear the double-action hammer clicks after he empties the cylinder), it's pretty safe to say there *IS* a real revolver frame embedded in it, at least up to the leading edge of the cylinder. The break may indeed be real (for loading flash caps or blanks inside the cylinder chambers), but the barrel doesn't need to be anything more than a brass tube.

Lacking any word from WETA people on this prop, that's the theory I'm going with until convinced otherwise.

And by all means lets discuss other AVATAR sidearms, SMGs, and MGs! We might as well fill the time & keep the thread going until more info comes along. Can anyone post pics of Chacon's semi-auto, when she liberates the others, before Quaritch chases them out to the helipad and fires the Wasp?

RR

 

[Jack Bauer]

The pistol this future weapon is made "on" is a Ruger GP100 double-action revolver.

 

[ReaverReject]

The pistol this future weapon is made "on" is a Ruger GP100 double-action revolver.

I don't see it...

Do you know something we don't?

RR

 

[Jack Bauer]

That photo of the prop is a bad angle. Try this one. There is a lot build up and changed stuff. (including the trigger guard)

where is that previously posted photo from?

 

[ReaverReject]

That photo of the prop is a bad angle. Try this one. There is a lot build up and changed stuff. (including the trigger guard)

where is that previously posted photo from?

Hmmm... You ARE in the know, Agent Bauer! Care to share your sources? :love

The cylinder in my photo is courtesy of another member who posted a scan of page 174 from the Avatar Survival Guide book on the second page of this thread:

http://www.therpf.com/showpost.php?p=1072293&postcount=38

The scooped cuts in the cylinder stops are indeed facing up, or clockwise, from the shooter's perspective. In your photo they're facing down - a seeming impossibility, unless more than one Wasp (a stunt, or more likely an early rev which made it into the Survival Guide so it could be printed in time to coincide with the film's release?) was built and each was based on cylinders and frames from different revolvers? The section of frame directly behind the cylinder and above and in front of the trigger guard, not to mention the trigger itself are also very different in both photos, unless your photo is of the "undressed" gun. But that doesn't explain the different shapes of the rear edges of the 2 Ruger frames or the rear cylinder lock thumb rest in the photo below:

I couldn't find a single Google photo of the Ruger GP100 that matches the model in your photo with respect to the differences circled above... Not on the Ruger website either. I'm so confused, and it's *NOT* because it's almost 2 AM! :confused

Regardless of the discrepancies, the frame in your photo undeniably belongs to a Ruger GP100 - one mystery solved, thanks! :thumbsup Can you shed any light on this vexing contradiction? Damn Kiwis - would it KILL them to make our lives here a bit easier? :lol

The plot thickens!

RR

 

[Sidewinder]

Naaahhhh you'd never get the boolets in!

SAS

I can do that too:

 

[loonitick]

Must agree there, think the cylinder would hinge forward too, seems just too impractical to have to take the whole thing out (somehow, maybe having to take the barrel+upper receiver off to do so) just to reload. Doubt anyone would make or use a 6 shot futuristic weapon that is such a pain...

 

[Mike J.]

*cough* Battlestar Galactica, I, Robot *cough*

 

[Sidewinder]

#cough# think he's talking 'real (film) world' practicalities rather than prop wrangling ones #cough#

 

[Grey]

I don't see why there's debate over it, break-two revolvers are not that uncommon and have been around for some time. Aside from whatever the base revolver was, the rail and the rail mounts, I seriously doubt anything else is a found part. Maybe the dial on the back but everything else looks custom, it dosen't have the hobbled together look of found parts slapped on to make a big gun.

 

[The 48th Ronin]

This won't help with the debate over the actual prop, but it definitively answers a couple of questions about the concept of the weapon...

The cylinder, or "mag" as they called it in this concept design, is one use/disposable - break open the pistol, pull out the used cylinder, and pop in a new one.

 

[Grey]

It wouldn't be the first time that idea has been used, the sidearm in Battlefield 2142 was a revolver that functioned in the exact same way. However, I wouldn't be too sure of how accurate that concept sketch is to what actaully shows up in the movie since design wise it's clearly different, and not just because it's missing the big thing ontop, but the Wasp logo on the barrel and the trigger.

 

[ReaverReject]

Damn, Tim - where did you get those neat diagrams - are they also from the Survival Guide? If so, I need to get me one of those...

I take back my pre-cylinder breaking theory based on Sidewinder's post and your graphics, but I still contend that my version would allow rapid replacement of a heated barrel!

Interestingly, if the cylinder has 8 chambers, then the prop Jack Bauer posted a photo of and the one from the Guide scan are 2 scooped grooves short, that is, 6 chambers. Guess they had trouble finding a cylinder that could chamber 8 9mm rounds with a diameter that didn't approach that of a beer can! :lol

Many inconsistencies between the artwork, and at least 2 physical versions of this prop (check out the "WASP" logo, too - originally slated to be on the barrel cover). So I'm thinking the conceptual art, training manual, and Survival Guide photos didn't get updated after the blueprints went to the WETA Workshop and the design deviations began... I'm starting to get a headache, lol. :confused

RR


P.S. I'd like to know how loud that target acquisition beep is... Not gonna do squat if you're in a combat situation with explosions and charging Pandora predators or Na'vi screeching or hissing their lungs out! And what happens if you forget to hit the "MUTE" button when you're on a recon patrol or planning an ambush?

 

[loonitick]

Those guys need to make there mind up how many rounds that thing has, looking at the cylinder scoops, i would bet it has 6 rounds, would be stupid to have 6 scoops on a 8 shot cylinder...

 

[The 48th Ronin]

It wouldn't be the first time that idea has been used, the sidearm in Battlefield 2142 was a revolver that functioned in the exact same way. However, I wouldn't be too sure of how accurate that concept sketch is to what actaully shows up in the movie since design wise it's clearly different, and not just because it's missing the big thing ontop, but the Wasp logo on the barrel and the trigger.

No - design-wise it's identical... I didn't post the entire design sheet (which originated at Weta). The design is modular - the "2X Optic Thermal Image Enhancer" on top and the "UV/Standard LED Illuminator" underneath are detachable.

As far as the 6 chambers/8 chambers question, remember - this is a concept design (emphasis on concept). Concepts don't always translate well into real world prop applications - I'm sure the real gun is probably indeed a 6 shot revolver.

 

[Construct]

BTW: 9mm sabot rounds in a revolver? That would that make the projectile diameter, what, 3 mm? :lol I don't see what impact that would have on anything, living or structural. The only possible benefit would be increased range... Then again, this thread isn't about critiquing the science or balistics, just getting enough info to Matsuo so he can start sculpting this puppy!

"9 millimetre hypervelocity sabot rounds" accurately describes existing armour-piercing pistol ammunition such as the Russian 7N31. The sabot in these cases remains attached to the penetrator unless and until sufficient resistance (i.e. body armour) is encountered, rather than discarding as the projectile leaves the barrel.

 

[ReaverReject]

"9 millimetre hypervelocity sabot rounds" accurately describes existing armour-piercing pistol ammunition such as the Russian 7N31. The sabot in these cases remains attached to the penetrator unless and until sufficient resistance (i.e. body armour) is encountered, rather than discarding as the projectile leaves the barrel.

That's all well & good - I'm not knocking the concept. But on Pandora, you'd think fragmentation or explosive rounds would be more practical. The only creature that would require armour-piercing rounds would be the Hammerhead Titanothere, but even the 30 mm A.M.P. belt-fed cannons had a hard time stopping those beasts...

Since the WETA manual also mentioned that the Wasp fires other types of 9mm ammo, I'm not losing sleep over this issue.

I'd just like to nail the correct build version.

Tim & Agent Bauer - do you guys have any more inside info? Construct - do you have any access, being a local?

RR

 

[Skyler101]

Re: The Official Avatar Colonel Miles Quaritch Pistol Research Thread

You're assuming Cameron isn't a limp wristed shooter. He very well could be.

Shocked to see Cameron cant fire a gun to save his life. So much for the good old days when he and Heard used to drive around on cell phones and fire guns for fun....

 

[Noeland]

Finally saw this over the christmas break. I was disappionted the real hardware took a beackseat to the pretty light up CG forest animals.

The revolver was only shown for a few fleeting moments. Real let down.