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Hi all, I haven't been the most active member on this board since I signed up after a long period of lurking (or using my stealth skills to the full). I have been blown away by the stuff that gets created on here and it has inspired me to actually do something with my IG, albeit at my usual snail's pace.

I have enough unbuilt troops to to put together a Vet Squad and I have many ideas about what I want to do with them but the first thing I want to tackle is giving them shotguns. I want them to have something a bit beefier than a standard pump action and decided to try and make something like the automatic shotguns in many FPS games (I think COD: Modern Warfare might have them but I haven't played it for a while). After a bit of Google research I decided to base tehm on the USAS-12 beastie that is very easy to find.

My modelling skills are rusty after a long break from the hobby and my hands and eyes aren't what they used to be (been in and out the hobby for about 20 years) but this is my rough WIP on them.

I used the good old lasgun as a base because it makes it easier to attach them to the troopers cleanly and maintain the right 'fit'. The weapon case length is shorter than the standard lasgun but left long enough that I can repeat the design on guns with the left hand holding the weapon. I am happy with what I have done so far but I feel it is lacking something, so any feedback and ideas would be gratefully received.

edit: the ejection port doesn't look as rough as that when viewed with non-enhanced vision

Thanks. They aren't too fiddly even with my unresponsive paws. The ammo drum is made from 4.8mm plastic rod and the barrel is 1.58mm brass tube and i cut both with a saw and mitre block. The rest involves a few careful cuts,, snips and file work so I should be able to repeat it without too much stress. I will take some step-by-step photos when I make the next one. The top of the gun still looks a little bare to me but I'm not sure if I should add anything to it (iron sights or accessory rail etc.).

I don't know how effective the USAS 12 is in the real world but some of the videos I came across of it being emptied of ammo were impressive in an almost Orky way

Thanks for the replies, I haven't managed to fiddle with them yet as my wife and I took the kids to the circus this afternoon.

I'm glad I am not alone in the 'it's missing something' camp. I might try making a basic iron sight for the top of case.

@CommissarKhaine - I set the barrel at that level with the intention of putting something above the barrel to match the USAS-12 pic but my bits box is near non-existant. I thought about using a small length of cut off paperclip as a rod. Also now you mention it the position of the ejection port is off. I will see if I can match it with the barrel height on the next attempt.

I'll see what I can acheive while drinking coffee and watching T.V. tonight

Hialmar wrote:All you really need is a small bit of rod clipped off and glued above the barrel parallel to it. The only other thing missing is the top handle. Irn sites are not required on this weapon.

Ah, in my coffee filled T.V. break (or possibly vice-versa) I made a second prototype and I have done both of those things (see pics). I also tried fitting the ammo drum by cutting the lasgun power pack in a different way that was a bit trickier but didn't interfer with the main gun case. This allowed me to lower the ejection port in-line with the barrel. Edit - Ignore the blu-tack that can be seen around the rod above the barrel, it is holding it in place until I am sure I can superglue it without drenching the whole gun

I also made a simple laser sight for the first prototype just to get some feedback on that as a possible accessory (maybe to be used on other weapons too). I am trying not to get distracted by the T.V. as Starship Troopers is on again.

Hoffen wrote:Good job on v2!

Not too sure on the iron/laser sights though, the rear iron-sight needs to be trimmed down a bit.

suggestion : why don't you turn the laser sight around and mount it further forward on the gun, more like a red-dot (aimpoint) sight.

I like how you mounted the ammodrum. keep it like so!

oh, i hope you haven't glued the barrel on to the gun with the lasersight, it isn't parallell to the body of the gun.

//Hoffen

Yeah the rear sight is a bit big but as my eyes were straining in artificial light I thought I would stick it on and see how it looked. I like your idea for the red-dot sight, fits well with a combat shotgun so I will give it a try.

I haven't glued the barrel on V1 as I did notice it was going slightly north towards the tip. I think it is a combination of drilling the hole off the centre the horizontal line and an slight weekness in the actual plastic caused by cutting all the other bits off. The order and method of cutting ant trimming on V2 appears to have avoided any major stress on tha gun body.

I will fiddle some more tomorrow as I am almost asleep now.

Thanks for all the feedback and encouragement so far

My IG need all the help they can get hitting anything but I know what you mean about the laser sight idea.

@Hoffen - I tried that rear iron sight as it was the smallest thing I could drill a hole in but it does look too big (ok for an ork weapon perhaps). I will try making an aimpoint style sight tonight as I have several things to sort out in the garden this afternoon.

The part I used for V1 may be a bit on the big side but I am happy to get a 2nd (3rd, 4th...) opinion on that.