Mad Machinist Masterpieces

If a picture is worth 1000 words, by our count, [Ryan Commbes] has said 1.68×10^6 different things about his custom robot, airsoft, and monster truck builds. While we’re not ones to pick favorites, we agreed his Alpine TPG-1 (picture at the top) build is a step above the rest. Sadly, the forums with his build log doesn’t seem to be loading, but he says the basic process if you wanted to make your own is to gather pictures, measure, and create.

[Thanks Andrew]

39 thoughts on “Mad Machinist Masterpieces

  1. You can go to jail in the UK for making airsoft guns?

    Either way, nicely done work. While I can’t see the BOM, I imagine it’s easier to work with the more mild steel/aluminum on this gun.

    The fluted design is really neat.

  2. “You can go to jail in the UK for making airsoft guns?”
    No.

    Not quite sure where that idea came from.

    The forums seem to be working over the pond in the UK.
    Shame there is minimal written info but the pictures show nicely how it goes. Some great machining went into this lot.

  3. Are you SURE he’s in the UK? He could be channeling a redneck hillbilly. Let’s see… monster truck, robot, b*tchin’ rifle (I don’t care that it’s airsoft). Yup, he’s redneck. I’m so proud of him. *sniff*

  4. Seriously beautiful work, the ingenuity of this is almost incomprehensible! I wonder if he does detailed plans? (will check forums when they are up)

    also, I sure hope he keeps his identity hidden :(

  5. beautiful build for that airsoft rifle… with those kinds of skills it’s a shame he can’t start building real ones. (all-in-all, making a bolt-action rifle is a fairly simple thing.)

    well, he should trot over to Enfield or Accuracy International and present that as his CV. just might get to work on the real ones…

  6. IANAS(L), so YMMV… that said, no, whatnot is mistaken. Gun laws in the UK broadly prohibit air guns which can be converted to firearms, but airsoft guns that *appear* real are allowed. Since Mr. Commbes appears to be using Aluminum, rather than steel, he should be good to go. his muzzle velocity has to stay under ~328fps, transport in a gun case. If it was visible in public, and made any bystanders the least bit nervous, he could face significant fines and/or time in gaol.

  7. You can build real rifles in the UK. I should know, because I’m licensed to do just that.

    Building an airsoft replica isn’t anything like building a real bolt action rifle though. There are stresses acting on the action and barrel of the real rifle which are measured in tens of thousands of pounds per square inch.

    But what the hell, he’s still done a great job, exhibited a lot of machining skill and I salute him for it.

  8. Bolt action rifles aren’t easy to make. They look simple from the outside but there are a lot of subtle complications involved. It’s no trivial task.

    But that’s not intended to take anything away from this guys achievement. He’s very skilled.

  9. I applaud this guys skills; with a little more training, he could use his present skills to construct a real rifle.

    A side not about the UK gun laws. How’re those working out for you? Have you convinced the criminals to hand in THEIR guns? NOT!

  10. “A side not about the UK gun laws. Howā€™re those working out for you? Have you convinced the criminals to hand in THEIR guns? NOT!”

    As a general rule, the criminals in these parts just stab you.

  11. I’m wrong about the UK and yet you say you could face fines or jailtime, yeah that’s the modern way, no laws no crime still fines and jail :)
    Incidentally, they had to pull inanimate ‘guns’ that can’t even fire pellets from the UK, and toys, because they looked like guns I heard in various newsitems, and an guy who made a movie said they used a prop gun that could not fire because it was permanently disabled and they still had to follow silly rules like they were handling high explosives or something, so it’s a bit confusing, but since you guys are british it seems I have to assume you know and I guess it’s just an overly complex setup and I assumed a simpler rule system (what was I thinking right? politicians, sigh)

  12. @ Tom
    Some criminals have guns, yes. That makes it easy for when the cops show up and they have to shoot someone.

    You see, the problem is not that hardened criminals have guns. It’s that general schmucks have guns, and when life turns sour for them, they tend to use what they have.

    Not every lowlife has a gun, and that makes life safer.

  13. @Whatnot

    The law that came in over the realistic BB guns etc says that they have to be made of 75% (or something like that) transparent plastic so that they are easily distinguishable from the “real thing”. The reason you *should* have to go through lots of procedure when handling real guns/realistic replicas in public is so that la polica don’t see said realistic gun and decide that something needs to be done.

  14. @Whatnot
    I’m from the UK, I have 2 realistic looking airsoft guns. I have no idea on their legal status, but if I know they were legal when I bought them and as long as I don’t go waving them around in the high street I should be OK.
    I believe the current law is (though don’t shoot me if I’m wrong) you can own/carry a realistic looking airsoft weapon as long as you are a registered airsoft-er (you have to sign a register at an airsoft/paintball centre.) Otherwise, all airsoft weapons must be at least 50% a bright colour or transparent.

  15. you may be right about the bb gun rule, I really don’t know, but I have a realistic beretta BB gun that I bought maybe 5 years ago. don’t know the legality of it now.
    I also have an air rifle, which is definitely legal as long as only shot on private land/at a gun club yada yada yada. I’m no expert but it looks mean to me. If I was dumb enough to point it at the police I’d deserve what I got.

  16. “That is a hell of a build. At first I thought it was a modification of an existing rifle or something, but then I looked at the picturesā€¦”

    It IS a modification of an existing rifle, a KJ Works model M700…

  17. Hello, I made ther guns in question, I am in the UK and its all legal. I used the action from a donor gun, so in effect I am making a big “body kit” for the doror gun. I made 4 guns in total, 3 snipers and a pistol and have been working on the Robocain robot from Robocop 2 for the last 4 months.

    If you visit my website http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ryan.coombes there are links to the forums where I will be posting updates every 2/3 days

  18. I am from the UK, and for the past 5 years have played airsoft at an airsoft club every month. Realistic guns are completely legal, and there’s no ‘transparent plastic’ law. There are no laws regarding metal content, size or shape whatsoever. In reality, I believe that the UK’s replica gun legislation with regard to airsoft guns is less strict than in the US – US airsoft guns must be sold with orange muzzles to mark them as replicas, while no such law exists in the UK. Since 2 years ago you have to be a member of an airsoft club to BUY a gun, but ownership is entirely unrestricted. And whilst most sites limit their playable muzzle fps to around 328, this is entirely voluntary and some sites have much higher limits (usually only for sniper rifles & co).

  19. Aw boo, it looks like guns are actually more accepted in the UK and Canada than the land of freedom, USA.

    I almost got arrested once because I was unloading a BB gun for storage while sitting in my car and a random bystander thought I might be going to kill everyone at my job(which is a fantastic job and I love it, by the way), so they called the cops. The only way I got out of it was by saying I was really sorry(for having a BB gun) and telling the officers in question that it wouldn’t happen again.

    Welcome to the United Soviet States of Amerika…

  20. @dan

    The VCR bill doesn’t state that guns have to be transparent, but that is what a lot of people do to get around the fact that it forbids realistic replicas unless you are a signed up member of a club. Being a signed up member probably gets you on some terror list though.

  21. @anti-tom:

    So, by your comments you feel that because knives are the weapon fo choice in the UK, then knived must be locked up by the government and you must sign out the carving knife for a holiday and return it when you are finished? Gun control laws only affect those that are law abiding citizens in the first place.

    All I can say is that we are on different sides of the debate. By the way, calling me a “**** redneck” shows your lack of civility and a general rigidness to thinking outside your comfort zone. Best of luck to you old chap!

  22. @cantido

    Terror list? These aren’t some kind of hick militia shooting clubs; airsoft sites are in no way different from paintball sites! There are usually a whole bunch of little kids, students and old people.

  23. @dan

    Doesn’t matter who you are over here, you’re likely to be on some terror list. I used to go to an airsoft club and to be honest it was pretty dry,.. taking shots at each other with BB guns in the woods was more fun.

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