In search of the functional ‘blaster’ rifle

If you’ve been wondering why I haven’t posted in far too many weeks, this is one of the reasons. Don’t worry, projects are proceeding apace!
*I use EU terminology. If you’re into post-Disney stuff, just replace any instance of ‘A295’ in the following with ‘A280C’*

About a year back, I began toying with the idea of retooling my SKS into a more GFFA-style slugthrower. Eventually, though, I had to resign myself to the limitations of the Simonov platform, and abandoned the idea. However, a few weeks ago, someone in the Endor Commando facebook group was seeking help on a A280 prop rifle they were planning…and I got the bug again. I never liked the looks of the Endor rifle…it just seemed clunky and ugly to me (the alternate version with the triangle buttstock especially so) – give me an A295 Hoth rifle any day!
Owing also to having more time onscreen and the easier availability of the base gun*, I see way more prop A280s online. At the same, I got to thinking about what folks these days could use to build an A295 prop out of, and one fellow pointed out the most accurate base rifle would be AGM’s all-metal electric airsoft StG44, which retails for $235; he commented that it would be awfully expensive “for something you will be cutting up” for a prop rifle. I agreed, but this led me to my next question: well, what if you were cutting it up, but it was still a functional rifle? And just out of curiosity, how cheap could I do it for?
Obviously, an original 8x33mm 1944 Sturmgewehr would be prohibitively expensive, but perhaps modern reproductions, or semi-auto converted rifles were around? With just a bit more browsing, I found an accurate, modern, German-made, semi-auto Sturmgewehr replica…chambered in .22LR. To my surprise, I found that the price difference between an all-metal rifle that shoots plastic pellets and an actual firearm (that shoots the universal .22LR, to boot) was only $65!

Don’t get me wrong–I love my DH-17, but as a heavy lump of wood and plastic, it’s not very practical for anything but looking good in photos. Since I do plan on trekking in nearby national/state forests in my GFFA kit, I would also like to have a way of potentially harvesting small game, and having an easily-available .22 rifle with onscreen pedigree like this is too tempting to pass up.
It’s been a year since I’ve added anything new to my arsenal, and considering my frugal lifestyle leaves me with some extra funds, I pulled the trigger and placed my order. After a little waiting and some paperwork at my local FFL, this German beauty is now all mine, and ready for its conversion:
It is my goal that when all is said and done, this Functional A295 Rifle project will be completed for less than the cost of a completed prop blaster kit ($375**)…although I might have to count only materials and not include things like shipping and transfer fees 😉

*In case you were wondering, the reason the Rebel commandos on Endor carry the A280 rifle instead of the A295 is a result of the budgetary limitations of filming Return of the Jedi—the StG44s would be considered ‘machine guns’ and importing them to film in California would be cost-prohibitive…far easier to get some domestic AR-15s and just slap some stuff on them! With this in mind, I would really like to see someone photoshop 295s into the hands of the Endor strike team!

**For the curious, the price spectrum for this model from toy to prop to weapon is as follows:
$35—plastic airsoft STG44 (spring-powered)
$235—metal airsoft STG (battery-powered)
$250—metal STG replica (nonfiring)
$275—A295 prop kit (resin cast/3d printed)
$275—metal blank-firing STG
$300—metal .22LR STG
$375—finished A295 prop kit (resin cast/3d printed)

You can follow the process of this build in update #1, #2, and #3!

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