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Object Title

Rifle - M-41A Pulse Rifle

Rifle - M-41A Pulse Rifle

Date

1986

Object Number

XII.11846

Provenance

Purchased from The Prop Store on 11th May 2015.

Physical Description

Comprises original modified (now deactivated) M1 Thompson sub-machine gun with modified cage and pump grip from a Franchi SPAS 12 shotgun, as well as various parts fabricated by Bapty & Co.

Vacuum-formed painted shroud (originally metal, replaced for Alien 3 with this version, painted black)
Metal barrel vent, barrel support, and sliding stock
Wooden grip and faux magazine base-plate

SPAS-12 heat shield is filled with black expanded foam and a faux grenade launcher barrel, as this prop never featured a firing shotgun.

Techniques

Machining, metal pressing, Wood carving, vacuum-forming

Materials

Plastic, Steel, Wood

Dimensions

OverallLength27 in
OverallLength689 mm
BarrelLength9 in
BarrelLength230 mm

Firearms/Artillery

Serial Number None visible

Calibre

.45 in

Associations

Notes

Originally designed by director James Cameron around the Heckler & Koch MP5 9 x 19 mm sub-machine gun. This was found to have an insufficiently large muzzle-flash, and so Bapty armourer Simon Atherton substituted the .45 ACP Thompson SMG. A Remington 870 shotgun was cut down to serve as the `30 mm pump-action grenade launcher`, and was disguised using the heat shield and pump grip from a Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun, both being cut down to fit. Custom aluminium `shrouds` based on Cameron`s design were pressed by a car-body manufacturing company. A barrel vent, triangular barrel support, and sliding stock were created from folded steel, and a replacement pistol grip was carved from wood and painted black to replace the Thompson`s obviously old-fashioned contoured bare wooden grip.