Vicar Rifle Build

Extract from Space Navy Book Five, "Belatu-Cardos":

Skelat took a deep breath, swelling his considerable chest out to bow in front of him like the prow of a ship.

‘Right, you ‘orrible little lot. This,’ said Skelat, holding one of the rifles out in front of his puffed-up chest, ‘is the new model 15-C, void capable case-less assault rifle. That’s a bit of a mouthful, I here you say, like the actress said to the bishop…’

There was a marked silence at the appalling joke. Skelat snorted and carried on after a pause.

‘So, the Johnnies at High Command ‘ave decided to nickname it the “Vicar”.’

Skelat deftly swung the rifle around and slapped a full ammo cartridge into the bottom of the rifle. There were a series of uncomprehending stares from the troopers.

‘I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that V.C.C.A.R. doesn’t spell Vicar. But it sounds a lot better and people like a nickname, don’t they? You lucky lot, are going to be the first to field test this marvellous new piece of kit.’

Ever since I saw the film "Aliens" when I was a teenager, I wanted my own M41-A pulse rifle. When I wrote my own military sci-fi series, I finally got the chance to build my own version of something similar. The "Vicar" rifle is a gas propelled case-less round firing weapon. It has a warming mechanism to prevent misfires in the cold vacuum of space. I have been messing around with prop weapons ever since I shot my student film in Newcastle. Here is how the final prop became a reality...

Above: Early designs for the Space Navy Pulse rifle from my student film...

Above: Two, designs for the Vicar. These were the culmination of years playing with the design. I based the weapon for the model trooper very closely on these designs, however, the full size prop had to be altered slightly to accommodate the toy that it was built around.

First, I went to my local budget store and picked up this fine specimen. Unlike most child's toys, this doesn't look under sized in an adult's hands and so was the perfect basis for my prop rifle.

Then began a long process of cladding the toy with card and MDF. Here I'm constructing the carry grip.

The front vents were constructed over a base of plastic sheet, wrapped around with thin card.

Then I began to construct the magazine case. I decided not to make this a practical prop, so the magazine does not eject.

For comparison, the model rifle is in the foreground. The laser target above the barrel was made from plumbing parts.

The stock and hand guard were constructed next.

I did leave the cocking mechanism in working order. In front of the magazine, I constructed a card "hollow" to be later filled in with Milliput to make the hand grip.

All imperfections were filled with Polyfilla before applying a base coat of grey primer and then a top coat of satin black. I eventually discarded the fancy barrel and opted for a simpler version.

Hex bolts were added for realism and the black was dry-brushed at the edges with silver to give the impression of buffed metal.

An L.E.D. torch was added to the side of the rifle and the controls painted with sparkling nail varnish to give the impression of lit bulbs.

The finished rifle...

A laser pointer was later added above the barrel which was in fact a pen torch from Maplin with the bulb painted over with red glass paint. A United Worlds logo, made by Al Scott Signs was also added to the side of the rifle.

Above: The Vicar rifle side by side with the Abbot bio-rifle, on a purpose built rack, ready for ComicCon...