LEGO Heavy Weapons – Build Working Replicas of Four of the World′s Most Impressive Guns Paperback – 16 May 2012

Having seen lots of Chinese clone Lego makers release gun kits, I wanted to see how the real Danish Brick coped with similar treatment. Lego would never, ever make an official model gun set, but Jack Streat's book is the next best thing. This book has the parts count, instructions and information on the workings of 4 influential firearms.The book itself is very well written and has a sensible number of steps in the instructions. Unfortunately the pages are in black and white, which produces two problems: the colours are all the same (well, red is slightly lighter grey), and the joins can be very hard to see as almost all parts are black. Having said that, the author knew about these issues when writing the book and has tried very hard to lessen the effect, both in the text and the way the guns take shape. Be warned though - you'll need good eyesight and your wits about you to get it right first time.I bought this for the gun on the front - the AK-47. OK, this version is the AK-74U, but it's basically the same thing with a shorter barrel and folding stock. What was most impressive was not the 11-round magazine, the surprisingly good accuracy, nor the way the firing mechanism actually works (lots of elastic bands power these things, in case you're wondering, and no, the AK is not semi-automatic). The really impressive bit is the overall design skill, and how the Lego pieces have been chosen to assemble a structurally coherent shape. Cleverly placed technic bars, pins and rods create a strong but lightweight structure which can withstand the large tensions inherent in the firing mechanism and the reloading magazine. It is this that singles out Jack Streat as a truly impressive builder. Hard to believe he wrote this when he was 18.Finally, unless you have a huge collection of black technic parts, getting everything via the ubiquitous BrickLink is likely to cost over £100 for the bigger guns. However, when built they fire 1x4 bricks at quite a punch. I use orange bricks so I can find them next to the dents in the furniture. Oops...

My son was always building guns by himself with old lego bits. With This book now he can build some of his favourite properly

This year being the 100th year since the start of world war 1, I am setting up huge events for help for heroes so this was just what i needed. I did actually have an issue with the products however, whilst walk down the street with them on the way to one of my events, i had them on show and they are so realistic the police were called and i was checked to be sure they were safe!These are by far the coolest thing i own, and i hope more books like this can be made so i can have the ultimate firearm collection!

👍

So much thought and detail has gone into producing these instructions, I have yet to build one of these (still need to obtain the bricks) but the instructions are very clear and links to video are an inspiration.

Son got this from his sister as Christmas present. He loves it and studied the designs in details. Very clever designs in there.

My son has always been a Lego fan, and this book has kept him busy for hours. When Lego towns are falling out of favour, what better than a working Lego fire arm? younger ( and older) siblings beware!

I believe this went down as my lads best Christmas present ever