LEGO Heavy Weapons: Build Working Replicas of Four of the World's Most Impressive Guns [Paperback]

Jack Streat (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 23, 2012

From LEGO guns mastermind and 18 year-old YouTube sensation Jack Streat comes LEGO Heavy Weapons, a collection of complete building instructions for four truly impressive, 1:1-scale replicas of the world's most iconic firearms.

LEGO Heavy Weapons will show you how to build brick-based models of:

• A massive Desert Eagle handgun, with working blowback action
• The compact but deadly AKS-74U assault rifle with folding stock
• A bolt-action Lee Enfield sniper rifle (a.k.a. Jungle Carbine)
• A pump action SPAS combat shotgun

Each set of instructions includes a complete parts listing, so you can find (or special order) any hard-to-find bricks. The book's illustrated, step-by-step building instructions will be clear to anyone who's ever played with LEGO bricks, and the biggest models will challenge and delight even the most serious builders.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Desert Eagle

Say hello to the Desert Eagle—possibly the meanest of all handguns and definitely one of the biggest. With Mark VII and XIX models available in .50 Action Express, it's also one of the most powerful production handguns to date. The sheer power, size, and weight of this beast have made it the director's pick in many an action movie, even though it has some inherent drawbacks when compared to a smaller, lighter weapon with a larger magazine capacity. That said, there's no way any other pistol comes close on a scale of sheer awesomeness.

The Desert Eagle is a gas-operated, semiautomatic pistol. Gas operation (where the expanding gasses from the fired round push a piston, which operates the action to chamber a new round) for a pistol is unusual, as normally a pistol's action is cycled simply by recoil. The gun can be chambered for a variety of rounds, including the previously mentioned .50 Action Express and the .44 Magnum. It feeds from a detachable box magazine, which holds nine, eight, or seven rounds (single stack), depending on the caliber being used.

About the Author

Since posting his first LEGO gun online at age 13, Jack Streat has played an influential role in the LEGO weapons builder community. In his spare time he modifies guitars in a never-ending quest to make them as loud as possible. Streat is 18 years old. This is his first book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: No Starch Press (May 23, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593274122
• ISBN-13: 978-1593274122
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 1 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75,630 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Crafts & Hobbies > Toys & Models > Models
  • #31 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Crafts & Hobbies > Toys & Models > Toymaking
  • #45 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Crafts & Hobbies > Crafts for Children

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Now for Something Completely Different May 27, 2012

By John Jacobson

Format:Paperback

My experience with LEGOs is primarily building Star Wars ships with my son. For a number of years we would travel to his grandparents house for Thanksgiving, go looking for a large model to build on Black Friday, and spend the weekend working on it. The LEGO enterprise has continued to expand and grow, and covers many more areas now than mundane earthbound transportation and the Millenium Falcon.

Although some will not be happy that one can build guns out of LEGOs, I won't address that here. Judging by my experiences with my son, guns can be made out of almost anything! The four guns that are presented in the book are the Desert Eagle, AKS-74U, Jungle Carbine, and SPAS 12. The author makes clear that though the cover states these are working replicas of the guns, "working" in this instance means able to shoot LEGO bricks propelled by rubber bands. "Working" also means that some of the functional parts of a gun are modeled, including a safety mechanism, magazine, movable trigger, and firing mechanism and slide. The design of the LEGO guns models the actual gun in amazing detail.

The building instructions are largely pictorial, with occasional textual directions added for clarity. The illustrations are black and white, which can make interpretation of some of the drawings challenging but not impossible. But the cost of making color illustrations for a book this size (353 pages) would be prohibitive. The book contains advice about building techniques, and gives several sources for obtaining the necessary LEGO pieces to complete the projects.

This is a book that accomplishes its aims well, and would make a great gift for certain children. An occasional adult mght also enjoy it. The pictorial guides to construction are particularly well suited to the target audience, in this case, a picture is worth more than a thousand words! Recommended.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome June 8, 2012

By Garett Medlin

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I just finished building the AKS-74U and it works great. The instructions are very well presented and I appreciate the hard work that was put into it. I'm thinking of getting the binding replaced by rings though so it's easier to hold open while building. If there was a way I could get this on PDF for use on my iPad that would be even better, but I don't think I'll take the time to scan it.

I used Bricklink to gather the necessary parts, which took quite awhile, but it was worth it. This is about the coolest LEGO model I've built and it's crazy how well it works. Can't wait to start on the other models.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Warning Label Lets You Know It Will Be Good July 14, 2012

By Ashley Glennon

Format:Paperback

When a LEGO book comes with a warning label, you know it's going to be good. And so reads the back cover of Jack Streat's, book, LEGO HEAVY WEAPONS: "Be particularly careful when handling these models in public because they can be mistaken for real guns."

Streat's 353-page instruction manual offers adult builders the opportunity to create four realistic renditions of some of the world's most interesting guns. And it gets better. Three of these guns actually shoot. Using LEGO bricks as plastic bullets, these guns ratchet, clack and recoil with amazing realism.

For each of the four unique models, Streat offers meticulously crafted step-by-step instructions and interesting side notes that help you feel as if Streat is at your side helping you build. The two-toned, photo realistic instructions make sure you don't miss a step, and the bill of materials provided in each section makes preparation a breeze. Of course you will need a healthy dose of LEGO Technic beams and bricks at your disposal, but numerous online shops make parts acquisition easy.

The four guns Streat has chosen for this volume offer unique building opportunities beyond just their iconic looks.

The Desert Eagle handgun offers builders the opportunity to build a tight, well-engineered handgun and learn about trigger mechanics.

The AKS 74U is an optical beauty in it's own right and offers a great learning experience for building a brick-bullet magazine plus a heavy-duty folding stock.

The Jungle Carbine is fun because of its bolt-action design and long barrel accuracy.

The SPAS 12 shotgun includes an intricately designed firing mechanism that Streat --and the resultant builder-- can certainly be proud of. Note: This model only shoots one brick at a time rather than a spray of bullets, but this in no way diminishes the cool-factor of this machine.

While this book isn't for everyone, it's definitely for the serious LEGO fan or action hero enthusiast who wants to learn something new. Streat even provides X-ray views of how his creations work, so that your combined handiwork can be appreciated from the inside out.

A small but important aspect of this book that many builders will find useful is that the book will lie flat (and on the correct page) while you build, thanks to the publisher's choice of a RepKover binding.

Builders may wish this book featured more models, and for that I originally thought about giving this book a four star rating. But after I experienced how well Streat laid out his instructions and how far he takes each builder in explaining his craft through more than 300 pages, he gets five stars. This book should indeed be on the shelf of every serious LEGO fan. And these fans should heed the warning.