UPDATED WITH RANGES
Righto, as a comeback to nerfing I decided I'd finish brassing up my Big Blast, only to discover that somehow in the last few months I'd managed to mislay all of the screws for the housing. Oh dear, whatever would I do? While the insides looked like you could effectively glue on a handle and have this interesting space-gun-thing (a project for another time methinks) I decided that as a primary, I should have a slightly more durable covering for it than none at all.
So here it is, the Recon BB-8.
BB for Big Blast, and 8 for the max shots it can hold; 6 in clip, 1 in short barrel, one in extended barrel.
Remembering my butchered Recon (click here for the original recon) that I'd pulled apart for an extra spring to add to the longshot, as well as a buggered slide (etc.), I decided to put the two together.
Alas, all photos are post-creation, so you'll have to use your imagination.
I cut up the main part of the shell from where the hole for the slide-bar starts at the front back to just above the clip lock mechanism, following the slide-bar hole the whole way. Any internal dividers/supports above the trigger mechanism were clipped out; except for the ones that hold the orange front piece on, and the screw holes.
I experimented with brass length and ended up with a few inches that slot into a cut-down Big Blast barrel and the orange front piece with only minor plastic snipping (the 9/16" brass fits perfectly into both pieces). Enlarging the hole at the back by snipping off the boxy rear section that would connect the stock, I also cut away pieces of the slide (just below the 'CS') so the tank would fit.
The stock took a lot of fiddling (massive underestimation of complexities) but eventually got it so it slid well and could move the entire distance of the pump. Little shaky if you overdraw, but fine if you know the gun's limits.
Secured the top of the BB trigger mechanism to the shell with a U shaped piece of coat-hanger wire wrapped in e-tape in the middle, and poking through the outside of the shell. If I had more patience and could find the rest of my tools I'd have made it look prettier, but I was well into it by now and didn't want to stop to look for my dremel, long bolts, etc.
Secured trigger mechanisms of both guns together with 1mm copper wire made into a loop that starts on the Recon trigger, loops around the BB firing mechanism and back.Had to experiment with positioning to get the best result.
The whole assembly is held incredibly tight by the shell, so I've had no need to reinforce it... yet. Will see how it's going after the first game, but basically it would entail epoxy-ing a couple of cylindrical pieces of plastic to the tank and the corresponding section of shell before screwing them together. Or just gluing it in.
Last part is to take a 17/32" brass tube approximately the length of the Recon's extended barrel and wrap both ends in e-tape, with the connecting part wrapped a couple of inches away from the end so it can slide into the 9/16" brass in the recon. With the leftover brass I made a 4" pipe that I keep in the Recon's handle as a "quickfire" option.
With ten shots for each barrel I have finally tested the ranges. The Long Barrel average range is 116' (35.5m) and the Short Barrel average is 84' (25.5m). Significantly better than I thought it would be having only used Nerf brand previously.
Accuracy over 35' (10.5m) is amazing, even with the shorter barrel. 3 pumps will generally get best result, but I fear with a sacrifice in range. As far as where the 35' comes from, that's the length of my hallway (the entire length of my house). At that range there's only about 1' (30cm) degradation from being fired at 5' up (150cm). And yes, that's level. Not the best figures, but will have to do proper tests; a tripod, a spirit level, another person, an afternoon, and a park are all required.
I'm sure it's been done before in a variety of ways, but I thought I'd throw it up anyway, see what people thought and see if you might suggest different options, lengths etc. The BB has had very little done to it, just Ar removed and grafted into the recon frame.
Stay Groovy
:{>
Righto, as a comeback to nerfing I decided I'd finish brassing up my Big Blast, only to discover that somehow in the last few months I'd managed to mislay all of the screws for the housing. Oh dear, whatever would I do? While the insides looked like you could effectively glue on a handle and have this interesting space-gun-thing (a project for another time methinks) I decided that as a primary, I should have a slightly more durable covering for it than none at all.
So here it is, the Recon BB-8.
BB for Big Blast, and 8 for the max shots it can hold; 6 in clip, 1 in short barrel, one in extended barrel.
Remembering my butchered Recon (click here for the original recon) that I'd pulled apart for an extra spring to add to the longshot, as well as a buggered slide (etc.), I decided to put the two together.
Alas, all photos are post-creation, so you'll have to use your imagination.
I cut up the main part of the shell from where the hole for the slide-bar starts at the front back to just above the clip lock mechanism, following the slide-bar hole the whole way. Any internal dividers/supports above the trigger mechanism were clipped out; except for the ones that hold the orange front piece on, and the screw holes.
I experimented with brass length and ended up with a few inches that slot into a cut-down Big Blast barrel and the orange front piece with only minor plastic snipping (the 9/16" brass fits perfectly into both pieces). Enlarging the hole at the back by snipping off the boxy rear section that would connect the stock, I also cut away pieces of the slide (just below the 'CS') so the tank would fit.
The stock took a lot of fiddling (massive underestimation of complexities) but eventually got it so it slid well and could move the entire distance of the pump. Little shaky if you overdraw, but fine if you know the gun's limits.
Secured the top of the BB trigger mechanism to the shell with a U shaped piece of coat-hanger wire wrapped in e-tape in the middle, and poking through the outside of the shell. If I had more patience and could find the rest of my tools I'd have made it look prettier, but I was well into it by now and didn't want to stop to look for my dremel, long bolts, etc.
Secured trigger mechanisms of both guns together with 1mm copper wire made into a loop that starts on the Recon trigger, loops around the BB firing mechanism and back.Had to experiment with positioning to get the best result.
The whole assembly is held incredibly tight by the shell, so I've had no need to reinforce it... yet. Will see how it's going after the first game, but basically it would entail epoxy-ing a couple of cylindrical pieces of plastic to the tank and the corresponding section of shell before screwing them together. Or just gluing it in.
Last part is to take a 17/32" brass tube approximately the length of the Recon's extended barrel and wrap both ends in e-tape, with the connecting part wrapped a couple of inches away from the end so it can slide into the 9/16" brass in the recon. With the leftover brass I made a 4" pipe that I keep in the Recon's handle as a "quickfire" option.
With ten shots for each barrel I have finally tested the ranges. The Long Barrel average range is 116' (35.5m) and the Short Barrel average is 84' (25.5m). Significantly better than I thought it would be having only used Nerf brand previously.
Accuracy over 35' (10.5m) is amazing, even with the shorter barrel. 3 pumps will generally get best result, but I fear with a sacrifice in range. As far as where the 35' comes from, that's the length of my hallway (the entire length of my house). At that range there's only about 1' (30cm) degradation from being fired at 5' up (150cm). And yes, that's level. Not the best figures, but will have to do proper tests; a tripod, a spirit level, another person, an afternoon, and a park are all required.
I'm sure it's been done before in a variety of ways, but I thought I'd throw it up anyway, see what people thought and see if you might suggest different options, lengths etc. The BB has had very little done to it, just Ar removed and grafted into the recon frame.
Stay Groovy
:{>
Last edited by beigeman on Wed May 12, 2010 5:44 am; edited 1 time in total