Hardly Ideal

First set of missiles is done, and they seem to work okay!

Even that goofy box fin (four stripes) pretty much goes where you point it.

I think my favorite so far is the tube fin (two stripes). Not perfect, but I like how compact and unusual it looks. It'll need more tape on the inside edges to stick better, but that shouldn't be a problem. Might even control the width better.

I've already got some other ideas to try. Double the tube fins, fore-fins, maybe some tricks to try and prevent folding on the seam, maybe a mock discarding sabot... but I have to be a productive adult for a little while longer first.

More updates as they come.

I like my little MavTitan. It can fire both darts and missiles, all in a comparatively tiny package. Not the prettiest package, but I can always fix that up later.

What I don't like is how between my brother and I, we only have two missiles, which is a lot less than I'd like. I know darts perform way better; they fly farther, faster, and with less pumps. But I like the novelty and we occasionally use special rules for different ammo types, so it'd be better if we had more.

Plenty of people have come up with homemade missiles, and most of them are pretty good. The problem I keep running into is that they seem to require a different barrel size than the stock Titan. That's also fine, but I'd rather make something that won't need an adapter; if I'm going to make such a goofy fun thing as a missile, I'd like to share it with anyone else who happens to have a Titan.

To that end, I've gotten a little creative. As usual, maybe a little too creative.

I had some 3mm craft foam whose original purpose has been lost, like you can find at Michael's. After pacing the plumbing aisle of the hardware store for too long, I thought "Why not just wrap a sheet of that stuff around the stock barrel and seal it up? Granted, I did use the ol' pipe insulation foam in the end, but only to weight the end.

-To keep the finished product from being too tight, I first wrapped the barrel with a couple sheets of printer paper, then I wrapped the foam to measure. That added thickness should allow for a good fit.

-The material sheet width came out to about 5 9/32in, but I had to trim it to get a more exact fit; I chiefly didn't want to have an overlapping seam that might leak during firing. Length-wise, I kept it about the same length as the stock missile.

-To hold it all together, I carefully wrapped it in some nice blue duct tape. It's not the most attractive finish, but it works for prototypes. The final version will probably involve a second wrap of foam for a smoother finish.

-The last three or four inches were stuffed with insulation foam for weight and stability.

-The fins are pretty straightforward for now, but I'd like to try at least one with box or tube fins like you see in model rockets sometimes. It might make loading and storage easier, and I'm always looking to try something different and interesting.

-Just for fun, numbered stripes on the nose to see which ones work well and which ones stink.

So far, they seem to perform about as well as the stock missile, which I'm kind of surprised by. They're nowhere near as heavy, so I'm thinking they might be too tight. But that might not be a problem from a consistency standpoint.

At the moment, it looks like I have enough material on hand for five of these, for a total of six. Which is great, but I've now run into another problem: how the heck am I going to carry these during a real game? Even though these are smaller than a stock missile, they're still pretty bulky; I'd need something the size of a small messenger bag at this rate.

More updates as they come.

I completely forgot that I made this thing.

Took the parts of an old Nite Finder and put them in a shell made of scrap wood.

(camo darts just for nice photos. I'd never see them again if I used them in a park or back yard)

Bigger and chunkier, but that's alright. I was really just trying for something more... I'm not sure what word I'm looking for. Wholesome? Old-timey?

And it has a case to live in, too!

Inspired by Adam Savage and his lovely Blade Runner pistol case.

I've wanted to make a +bow for years- about since it first came out- but I could never quite get it to work. The materials and tools required were prohibitively expensive, and my brother and I had already collected a whole galaxy of comparable modified blasters in the meantime. After a string of other failures and disappointments, the whole idea of homemades kind of dropped off my radar.

Fast forward to 2016. At work, I've been tasked with feeding and watering our new-ish 3D printer, which we got it for making prototypes, quick repair parts, and custom tool caddies. My boss told me to "get good with the thing" and "I expect to see cool things on your desk soon."

He's a great guy, but you should really be careful what you wish for.

Not the greatest +bow in the world, but it's mine. And aside from a janky Snapbow-like thing that scored maybe one hit before ruining itself, I'd call this my first practical homemade.

• Aside from the plunger body, spring, and fasteners, everything is 3D-printed.
• Largely identical to CaptainSlug's original except for some minor tweaks.
• Embellished the panels and grip with triangular cutouts. I kind of have a thing for triangles these days.
• Three levels of draw like the original design, but with an original plunger head. I can never get the right rubber seals, but I've managed to get a solid plastic plunger head at just the right diameter. Less than ideal, but I'm not about to question anything that actually works.
• Customized plunger rod grip. The original was a bit too big and sharp for my liking
• Built-in dart holder. I thought about including add-on rails, but I almost never use those except for dart holders. So for a scratch build like this, I decided to just integrate it from the start.

I've yet to use it in an actual game, but the +bow already feels like a very versatile platform. So naturally, this is a work-in-progress.

Stage 01

• All the important parts out of the printer. A few tweaks to the original to account for taste and oversights on my part.
• Fancier grip than the stock model. Thinner, smoother, and ya gotta have a triangle on it. Did I mention I like triangles?
• Ring trigger just for fun.
• Spacer between the front frame plate and the catch frame (dark blue with the obround slot). I only had the plunger body screwed and glued into the catch frame, but that wasn't nearly enough to keep it in place as the plunger head slammed into the far end of the body. Now it's much more solid.

Stage 02

• Added a shoulder stock, designed and built from scratch. I'm not sure the stock actually helps with accuracy, but it looks nice and feels better. I might try to add tool or part storage later.
• Plunger body shroud. That was actually made as a study in lightsaber handles, so I just slapped it on as the design was superseded. That white space looked empty, anyway.

Stage 03

• After realizing how much oomph this thing really has, I made a barrel for Mega darts. I'd like to try and make a system that would let me toggle between both types of darts like the Dual-Strike, but I might be running into the limit of the 3D printer's capabilities.
• Empty spot in the stock is being used for holding the extra barrel. The rubber band has since been replaced with Velcro straps, but I'd like to make a proper box for holding tools and extra fasteners.

It's been hardly perfect so far. There's a few sharp corners I've had to deal with, and more than a few mechanical problems. The plunger rod has broken at least three times; if that keeps up, I might try for a paracord solution like I've done in the past. And the plunger head still hits the end of the body pretty hard, so I should probably come up with a solution for that. Still, it's been a very successful build so far.

Pictures and updates as they come.