M41A Multi-Role Conversion, Laser Tag/Airsoft

[Bazookafied]

M41A Pulse Rifle Conversion
"I wanna introduce you to a personal friend of mine. This is an M41A pulse rifle. Ten millimeter with over-and-under thirty millimeter pump action grenade launcher."

So I've been a big Aliens and Colonial Marines fan for awhile now. I remember seeing that movie when I was a kid, seeing those marines decked out in armor and those iconic Pulse Rifles, and getting what toys I could get together to have my own USCM adventures. My searches over the web have discovered that there are Airsoft conversions to turn a Thompson M1A1 into a M41A Pulse Rifle via a conversion set. After kicking ideas around for quite some time and looking at the designs, I couldn't help but notice that there's an overwhelming potential to make this weapon more than just a laser tag gun.

Back in July of 2009, Kyle Modlin and Danny Ruchti invited me to go airsofting with them and members of the Greater Omaha Airsoft Association (GOAA). I had a blast with them and thought that it might be a fun sport to continue. Though I'm still first and foremost a Laser Tagger, I couldn't help but notice that there are Airsoft Conversion sets out there to make my favorite Sci-Fi gun of all time and... that there's a big potential I see to make that conversion work for both Airsoft and Laser Tag.

To my knowledge, no-one else has undertaken a project quite like this. It's rare to see diehard Airsoft Players take a liking to laser tag and vice versa. This project will undoubtedly be my toughest (and most expensive) project to date, but I think that building a weapon designed for both sports is a good investment to consolidate what I have into a more modular setup. Gear used for Airsoft like camouflage and storage vests are already used by Equipment geeks like me, so the interchangeability between the gear makes this even more tempting.

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The Project:

I'll need to track down a M41A Conversion Set (found several online, looking for best price) and a M1A1 Thompson Submachinegun (used as the Airsoft weapon). There's a site for airsoft called Kapowwee that sells broken/needing-repair airsoft guns. I'm thinking that'd be the cheapest way to get an Airsoft gun for this and just work on the airsoft internals to get them operating properly. I'm hoping my friends at Airsoft Nebraska can help me out on this one. The Laser Tag internals being modded into the gun should be a synch, since I've done several recasing projects since the OLCA"s founding.



Here's an overview of placement of equipment inside the weapon. The kit being shown is the G&P M41A "Alien Kit". Obviously the AEG (Airsoft Electronic Gun) will take up the most room, which is fine, since the conversion set doesn't have a functional grenade launcher (the lower barrel). However there IS a functional Pump-action for the grenade launcher that I can probably use for the reload for the laser tag internals.

The yellow parts are the key "dual mode" pieces in this conversion. Both the power supply (Yellow box in the front of the gun) and the Trigger (outlined in yellow) will need to work for both systems. However, there won't be a time when both systems are running at the same time. So, there's going to need to be a 3-way switch to the power of this gun. 1 for turning the weapon off, 1 to activate the Laser Tag internals and 1 to activate the AEG internals. This, I think, will be the trickiest part, as I'm unfamiliar with the power needed for Airsoft weapons.

In any case, this project will obviously take a lot of investment of time and money, so it may be awhile before it's done. As usual, I'll keep you all posted on it's progress as items come in and construction begins.

[Bazookafied]

A funny little ad I found surprisingly relevant to this project:




The more I think about it, the more this weapon could serve 3 uses.
1: Laser Tag gun
2: Airsoft Gun
3: Prop

Oh well, the parts for the basis of this project have been ordered. The M41A Conversion set is on it's way along with a Thompson M1A1 from the Kapowwee Boneyard (aka, does not work). It'll take some work to get the Thompson up and running, but I kinda want that anyways.

The first phase of this project will be to get the LT part of this weapon working, tested, and complete. The second will involve getting the AEG working, tested, and completed. The third (which will immediately follow the second) will be getting the two systems to work right under the same roof.

The Thompson should arrive first. I'll asses it's situation and open it up to find a way to install a trigger on the existing Thompson trigger without interfering with the Gearbox. Then the M41A Conversion should come in and I can start construction of the main weapon/parts fitting for the LC part.

[Bazookafied]

Thompson Arrives!

So today I had a few minutes after taking this hunk of a gun out of the box just to check out the feel. The space between the grip and the stock didn't leave much room for my hand, as it felt kinda cramped. I was happy to remove the stock which freed up the space for my behemoth-sized hands. However, now I wonder if this problem will come back when the M41A parts go on it.

The weapon is HEAVY! Originally weighing in at 8.5 lbs, I removed a little less than half it's weight by taking off the barrel and stock alone. Neither of those parts will be used in the conversion and they were surprisingly heavy.

Adding a trigger to this beast is going to be a real pain, but I think i'll be able to do it. I see some space when I remove the grip where I could hide a Laser Tag button. I'll be able to tell more of how to do this once I get the rest of the conversion set (Friday) in.

[Bazookafied]

Progress Update!

Laser Challenge V2 Internals successfully installed! Max blast activates by pulling back on the grenade launcher handle. Reload button is located on the underside of the grenade launcher near where the Shroud meets it. The power switch is located where the grenade launcher's trigger SHOULD have been. Batteries are, temporarily, in place of the Thompson magazine storage inside the weapon. Sound is located just in front of the magazine storage at the bottom.

Construction began on Friday, September 4th. It was completed at 12:09am on September 6th. Range testing and a full Combat Test are next and will commence at 7pm on the 6th.


Internals layout


Lens setup



Ready to Rock!

[Bazookafied]

I had planned to conduct alignment/range tests on the M41A before the game on September 6th. However, carpooling fiascos used up the time that I would've used to see these tests through. So, unfortunately, the untested M41A was used in full combat before these tests could occur. I did a quick alignment test before a game, only to see that the rifle was shooting a tad high and to the left. During the game, I attempted to keep this in mind in an attempt to make the most of whatever range the untested M41A had.

Overall, the M41A's internals performed well, with no malfunctions to it's operations at all. However, the range (mainly due to the alignment) was much shorter than I had liked. Thankfully, due to the design of the M41A's lens arrangement, adjusting it's accuracy should be quite easy. Instead of disassembling the entire weapon (a real pain in the rear to do), I just can remove the front portion and make the neccissary adjustments.

Structurally, I think there's more work to be done to the frame of the Pulse Rifle's shroud. Though the weapon is together and for the most part sturdy, the carry rail/iron sight has yet to come together tightly. I have some work to do there, it seems. I also intend to rebuild the not-so-sturdy magazine door, as it has never held on without electrical tape helping it out. Either a modification of this piece or a complete rebuild of it is in order, I think.

Overall, the M41A Pulse Rifle turned a lot of heads at the game that we, regretfully, didn't take any pictures at (mainly due to the fact that we started late and it was getting dark FAST) However, I think after the first game or two, people started to see the Pulse Rifle only as eye candy, and not as a real threat like I would like to make it. Hopefully with some refinements for it in Phase 2, I can get the LT parts of this project working enough to deliver judgement upon my foes as it would a Xenomorph on an alien planet.

[Bazookafied]

Max Blast Activation

One of my favorite parts of this conversion set is the "Grenade launcher gimmick". By pulling back on the handle, you can reveal the "round" in the chamber. I've used this mechanism to activate the Max Blast feature of the V2 Internals. Images of it closed and open are below:

[Bazookafied]

Magazine Storage Work


Eventually, there will be a Thompson Magazine for the airsoft rounds in the magazine chamber. Right now, there's just temporary battery storage for the LT Internals. However, once that's moved, I realized that reloading the rifle in AEG mode was going to be a bitch-and-a-half, what with removing the green cover, then removing the mag, then inserting a new mag, then closing it up with the cover again. Additionally, the cover doesn't seem to have a good track record of staying on. So, I've decided that a redesign/modification of this mechanism is in order. I'll be permanently fixing the green cover on the bottom to the gun. However, to make reloading the AEG easier, I'll have a hole cut in the bottom of the cover where the mag can slide in and out from without having to remove the cover at all.

[Veku_Rommel]

That's awesome. Nice Job. I know that other people said it already, but the rifle looks great, and It sounds like it will work. I'm really happy for you.

[Bazookafied]

Thanks man! I'm really proud of finally owning something like this!

Speaking of proud, looks like I get to keep the range I liked: ~830ft

No surprise, since I'm basically using the same lens that the Sentry used and when I first tested that without a scope on it, I got roughly the same results. Not bad for a weapon with just a big ol' ironsight to aim with!

The last 100 feet or so was tough to land, with the last 30 feet being a bitch-and-a-half to nail, so I'm gonna list 830 as the max and 800 as the effective range.



And with that, Phase 2 is pretty much complete. I technically already completed the full combat test on this, but at the time of the combat test, the range was litereally cut in half due to a mounting mistake that I didn't catch until the matches were over. I'll do another combat test just to be sure everything is working nicely before I move onto Phases 3 and 4, which I suppose don't really concern this board since it involves the Airsoft part of this gun.

[Bazookafied]

Had a major problem with a minor piece of this overall project. My temporary Power Supply became... too temporary. Gonna have to gut it anyways to start work on the AEG, but it was a bummer not being able to use her at my last match.

Plan on getting down-n-dirty with the AEG parts once I open this bitch up again.

[Bazookafied]

I've been tweaking a bit of the Pulse Rifle and it's Laser Tag components. However, it seems that every time I fix the damn Max Blast activation, it stops working after a few uses. The way I have it working is there's an aluminum tube that runs through the grenade launcher that, when slid back all the way, comes into contact with two metal pins. When the tube contacts them both, it completes the circuit, activating a Max Blast ready to be fired on the next shot. I've redone it several times, but it only works for the first couple of tries and then stops working entirely (yes, I've restarted the gun to get new Max Blasts too) Any suggestions as to alternate ways to rig this up or to tell why it stops working after a few tries?

Other tweaks to the gun I've made are just for the Pulse Rifle Casing, to get it to fit better/come together better. Before, the metal panels around the magazine storage weren't attaching right, but I redid the construction there so they connect correctly.

I've also gone in and made a temporary fix. The mechanism for the Ammo Counter is an interesting, yet simple bit. When you turn on the LED Counter, it reads "00" until it senses that there's a mag in the chamber by way of a pressure switch inside. When the mag goes in and connects to the AEG, it presses up against the pressure switch and automatically, the counter reads "95". After shots are fired, sensors in the front of the gun count the BB's leaving the barrel and the numbers descend numerically until it reaches "00" or the mag is replaced. When the mag is taken out, it reads "00" until a new one is in and it starts the process over again. Until I can get the AEG working though, I don't want to have a clip in there, so for the time being, I've got a piece of plastic taped over the pressure switch so that when I turn it on for Photo Ops and such, it reads "95".

For the sake of combat effectiveness in the OLCA and because I have no idea how to get the ammo counter to work for my LC weapon, the LED Ammo Counter won't be on during games. Having it is a neat gimmick, but it's tactical suicide to constantly have a red "95" glowing during the OLCA's usual night games!

I've been looking into mounting a sling on this weapon, but am unsure of where exactly to mount them/if mounting it could potentially damage the Pulse Rifle's casing. I've been messaging around on other Airsoft Boards and such to get a better understanding of what other Pulse Rifle Fans have done.

[Bazookafied]

It's been awhile since I've made any progress on this gun. Things kinda came to a screeching hault when the LC internals started acting up and I had to go back in and fix/redo some things. But now I'm done with the repairs and I can move on to designing the new Mag cover!

...and boy is it ever a tedious job...

Constructing a new Mag Cover seemed like the only good idea. The construction of the original mag cover didn't look like it was going to like a big hole in the bottom, so I started from scratch. By using steryne plastic sheets of varying thickness, I've been able to start construction of a new mag cover. It's nowhere near complete/as accurate as I want it, but it's getting there.

[Bazookafied]

Had a full combat test with the M41A again on our first Fall Game. She performed to my expectations, working well in a mid-to-long range realm and sucking it up close quarters. The weapon is so much heavier than other ones that it faces the same agility problems the massive M43A Sentry faced with half the length. I also feel like I have to be more accurate with this weapon, which is probably a testament to the slightly smaller diameter of the emitter's muzzle. Max Blast and normal functions of the gun worked flawessley though.

[Bazookafied]

Getting closer with the Mag Cover. Painted it just for the sake of looking "legit" for the game it was at recently.

[Bazookafied]

Thought I'd never see this day come so soon, but the M41A's power supply got depleted during Fall Game #2. I'm surprised since I put some REALLY nice AA Batteries in there since I didn't feel like replacing them anytime soon. My guess is that the gun got left on at some point and I didn't catch it. There have been long periods of inactivity on the weapon, so it's possible it was left on for a week or two.

::sigh:: that said, I need to dive into it again and replace batteries to continue combat testing it. Hopefully this will also solve the bit of a range problem I've been having recently. At first I thought it was just bad aim, but I'm thinking now that the weapon was just performing poorly on low power.