By Project Geometry YouTube Channel Follow
In this tutorial I'll be showing you how to create a fully-functioning, 1:1 scale model of an AS-50 sniper rifle using only cardboard and other common household materials.
When complete, this gun features:
Below is a video showing more details:
I have been working on designing and building this gun for close to four years, so I hope you appreciate the tremendous amount of effort that went into it. (The journey began when I was in eighth grade, sketching diagrams of a firing system in the margins of notebooks at school. Since then, that firing system has been through multiple iterations before I finally settled on one that works. As of writing this, I'm a junior in high school.)
Due to the large number of steps that go into building a model like this, I will only go into detail on steps that feature a unique build process, or are particularly complicated. A large portion of the model consists of creating various shapes out of cardboard and gluing them together, so I will tend to skip over those steps and only include a picture or two as to what it should look like. I find that this makes it easier for you to hone in on what's important.
This tutorial will be showing how to create a specific type of gun, the AS-50 sniper rifle. I would like to point out, however, that the techniques I will cover can be applied to creating any type of gun out of cardboard, with a bit of creativity.
I would like to apologize in advance for the poor quality of images appearing in the first half of this tutorial. As I already mentioned, this project has been in the works for close to four years, so at the time I started I only had access to a cheap camera. About halfway through I bought a better camera, so the image quality significantly improves.
And lastly, being that I am showing you how to build a model gun, I feel obligated to throw in a safety warning: Even though this model only shoots pen springs, do not fire it at people or animals.
Now on to the next step, and let's begin!
The following list contains everything you will definitely need to build this model. Whatever you don't have I would recommend buying. In addition to these, there are also some other miscellaneous materials that will come up along the way, but these you can improvise if you don't have them.
In order to make this gun actual-sized, we are going to be basing it off a picture. Here's the one I used:
First, print out the picture. Then, measure the length of the entire gun in the picture. In my example, the length was 6.15". Now, run a Google search or two to find the actual length of the gun. The actual length of the AS-50 is 53.9", so in order to calculate the scale factor, follow these steps.
The scale factor is 8.76422. What this means is that you can use this number with the picture to find the actual length of any component of the gun. To do so, measure that component in the picture, then multiply by the scale factor. That will equal the actual length of that component.
So for example, if you wanted to find the length of the barrel, first measure it in the picture. In my example, it is 2.5". Multiply 2.5" x 8.76422 = 21.9". The actual length of the barrel is 21.9".
The handle is usually a good place to start, so let's build it! For this step I'll go into detail on the method I use to cut and glue cardboard, but for future steps I'll simplify it down more because that same method is used each time.
1. Draw Lines
First we're going to trace out the feature on a piece of cardboard. This can sometimes take a decent amount of time, so don't rush it. Use a ruler to make every line perfectly straight, and use the triangle to make perfect 90° angles. Also, remember to use your scale factor every chance you get. Learn to love it.
2. Cut it Out
Cutting out the part seems easy, and it is, but I recommend you be a perfectionist when doing it. We want every edge and every corner to be precise enough so that everything fits together later on. When cutting, DO NOT USE SCISSORS. This is very important, hence why it is in caps. Instead, use an X-Acto knife. The X-Acto knife is not only easier to cut with, but it gives you much cleaner, more accurate cuts.
3. Check over
Once the part is cut out, give it a quick look-over to make sure everything feels right. So for the handle, hold it in your hand and pretend you're holding a gun. If it doesn't feel right, then go back and check your measurements and recut as needed.
With the handle cut, we're going to move on to gluing it. Use a hot glue gun for this, and make sure it is on the "high" setting (if your glue gun only has one setting, ignore this).
4. Glue on filler pieces
For the handle to be sturdy, we are going to glue in "filler pieces" of cardboard. These allow you to have a tight grip without worrying about destroying it.
5. Glue on a border
Last step is to glue a border around the handle. Cut out a long strip of cardboard the same width as the handle. Also, pay attention to the "grain" of the cardboard. To allow the border to bend and take the shape of the handle, cut it out so the grooves run perpendicular to the long side of the strip.
With the handle complete, let's move on and make a trigger. The trigger is spring loaded and will eventually be connected to the firing system, so be patient and don't rush it.
Once the trigger is finished, play around with it for a bit to make sure it feels right. If it feels too lose or tight, adjust the position of the hook, or use a different sized spring.
In this step we're going to start gluing some cardboard onto the gun to begin to give it some shape, as well as continue to build the trigger.
First, check out the four images above to see what cardboard pieces I glued on. From here on out, I will not go into detail on the dimensions and whatnot of cardboard pieces, so use your picture and scale factor to find them yourself.
After you've given the gun some shape, bend the wire attached to the trigger forward and connect another piece of wire to it. To get a piece of wire like this simply unbend and shape a paperclip.
With that done, glue a piece of cardboard to the front, making sure to leave a slit for the wire to move up and down. What this accomplishes is it converts the pulling of the trigger to the up and down movement of the paperclip wire.
When making a cardboard gun, it is helpful to attach a large piece of cardboard that will serve as a framework on which you can build smaller elements. For this gun, the framework I am using is in the first picture above.
Now we are going to build a housing unit for the wire connected to the trigger. What this will do is allow us to push against the wire without damaging it. You'll see why this is important later.
The power behind the gun shooting comes from a mechanism built from the body of a pen. In this step we'll be building the tube of that mechanism.
After that the tube part of the shooting mechanism is complete. In the next step we'll be building the spring-loaded part.
Now we'll be building the part that is going to be able to shoot stuff:
This completes the springy part. In the next step we'll attach the two together.
Now we're going to finish the shooting mechanism and attach it to the gun itself.
I feel like I should give you a warning for this step: In theory, it is easy. In practice, it can be a real pain.
We are going to be tying a knot on the jewelry wire so that it locks onto the trigger wire when pulled back. The best way to do this is through experimentation and extreme patience. This is more of an art rather than a task of engineering. Keep working at the knot until it is in a shape that will allow it to slide up against the trigger wire and then lock into place when it is pulled back. The knot should be strong enough to hold the shooting mechanism in place against it. Once you have tied a knot you are satisfied with, you can attach a paperclip next to the trigger wire to "guide it into place" when the jewelry wire slides against it. Keep trying until you get it. This step is tough, but definitely not impossible.
Now that the last step is done, let's do something a bit more fun. The reload bolt door is pretty easy to make and is rather satisfying to play around with.
The wire loop and the cardboard slit may seem like unnecessary add-ons. What they do, though, is allow the reload bolt to be pulled back then slid back forward without un-priming the gun. This may seem confusing but once you build it it will make sense. This is important for two reasons. For one, it makes the reloading more realistic, but more importantly it reduces the resistance put on the shooting mechanism. Without the metal loop, the shooting mechanism will have to pull forward the entire bolt assembly, which draws away power that would otherwise be used for launching the projectile.
In this step we'll be starting to build the shoulder stock. This step is pretty self-explanatory, so just take a look at the pictures above to see how I made it, and follow along as you see fit.
The first part of this step is also pretty self-explanatory, so follow the pictures to build the basic frame of the magazine. Once that's done, we are going to put some accents on it to add aesthetic appeal. See the fifth and sixth pictures to see what I'm talking about. First, trace out the area to cut with a pencil, and then very carefully use an X-Acto knife to slice away the top layer of cardboard. You should be left with two impressive looking lines on either side of the magazine.
Start making the magazine slot by:
See the pictures above for details.
This step is optional because, depending on how well you made your shooting mechanism, it may or may not be necessary. At this point you've probably been playing around with the bolt and shooting mechanism for a bit, so you know whether or not it needs improvement. If so, try gluing a sloped piece of cardboard beside the metal loop like shown in the pictures above. This helps ease the jewelry wire onto the trigger wire so it is more likely to lock into place.
The shoulder stock is pretty difficult to make, so I have attached a number of different views above to give you an idea how I made mine. Feel free to add detail or take away detail depending on how comfortable you are with working with curves and rounded pieces of cardboard.
Once you have the shoulder stock made, glue it to the back of the gun, and glue a rounded piece of cardboard connecting the stock to the main body of the gun.
In this step we're going to add some more pieces to the front of the gun, before attaching the barrel itself.
The bipod mount is tough, but not as tricky as you might think. Let's do it:
The mount part of the bipod consists of a box with a hole to rest the axle. Glue a thin piece of plastic to the cardboard (see picture 1) before assembling to add strength, and then glue together the box as shown in pictures two and three. Attach the tripod into the hole then glue another holed piece on the other side.
In order to make the bipod lock into different positions, we are going to use neodymium magnets. See pictures four and five above to see how to configure the locking system. Glue triangular extrusions to the side of the mount box, and embed magnets in them that will line up with magnets embedded in the bipod legs.
When complete, the gun will be capable of firing pen springs. In order to load the pen springs into the barrel of the gun, we are going to use magnets.
We are now going to build a covering to go over the shooting system. This process is made slightly tricky because it needs to be removable in order to access the inner workings of the gun, but even so it is not too difficult.
In order to make the scope extra realistic, I used a real rifle scope that I covered in a shell of cardboard. This gives it the cardboard appearance with the optics of a real sniper rifle. If you don't have a rifle scope, though, don't worry about it. You can still make it fine by following these instructions and just leaving out the real scope.
To make the barrel:
You're finished! Awesome. Above are some pictures of the completed project.
