Functioning Lassiter Prototype Burning Laser Pistol From Firefly!

In Firefly, Mal Reynolds and his crew attempt a daring heist to steal the Lassiter, a priceless antique prototype laser pistol. Sure, the thing doesn't work anymore, but it's still worth a fortune. The good news for Firefly fans is that you don't need a spaceship and a skilled crew to get your own. Sure it may not be priceless (actually it is quite inexpensive in comparison), but it actually works! Mal would be very jealous, I'm sure.

We will be building one that works as a burning laser, a Coilgun/Gauss gun, and a night vision scope

All you'll need is a printer, tape, cardstock (paper would work fine, but you might want to reenforce with cardboard), and a cheap burning laser from ebay or Amazon.

Step 1: Print the Papercraft

Oh. Right. We have to actually make the prop, don't we? Well, luckily for you, it can be done through the easy magic of papercraft! Using the free stuff found here:( http://rocketmantan.deviantart.com/art/Firefly-Las... ) you can make your very own! Begin by printing, preferably on cardstock.

Step 2: Cut Out and Tape

Or you might be able to glue, but I prefer tape. All the parts are labelled, so it's pretty straightforward. Go ahead and pull a picture up of what it is supposed to look like. Also play some Firefly and Serenity music to keep motivation high (especially for you ADHD people.) It should look like the pictures above.

Firefly soundtrack: ( https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL82393B8425... )

Step 3: Now Fill It With Goodies...

Fill your Lassiter with goodies! The first thing I noticed is that-WOW! THIS THING IS HUGE! This is good if you are bad at making things fit into small containers. Or you might want to scale it down. For me, it means this thing is going to have a few functions. Obviously, start with a laser.

A good start is this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/850nm-1W-Adjustable-Focus-...

Here are the functions we want:

•Burning laser

•Night vision scope?

Step 4: The Laser

Once your laser has arrived, make/buy a 9v power supply. I got a variable regulator, which I set to 9v using the potentiometer, hooked up to 2 6v lantern batteries. Try to get a smaller power supply for a more realistic-to-the-prop Lassiter. I was in a pinch. If you use 6 volts, clip the springs to fit in the case.

With the laser I have, I connected the power supply to the fan power, or the white input, and everything worked. Put a switch before that.

Step 5: The Night Vision

Ok, I don't think my phone can see the light, but my computer can. I built a phone rig anyway, just for you. I built it out of foam and duct tape. Fit it specifically to your phone or camera. I might still use the rig so I don't need laser goggles. Yay!

Step 6: Conclusion!!!

Yay! It's portable! Ok, sorry for the hasty build and brief how-to. I worked for about 2 days off-and-on, and it was a frustrating and difficult process. Therefore, I would appreciate a vote more than you can imagine, so if you liked it at all I would love for you to click the vote button. You can vote as much as you want, so no drawbacks! Thanks so much for the view, and check out our youtube channel if you want to see some cool DIYs!

Remember, only shoot Reavers with this, and wear laser protection.