German Designer 3D Prints Futuristic, Functioning, 3D Printed ‘M-1 Enforcer’ Airsoft Rifle

Over the last couple of months we have been following the work of an up-and-coming artist who goes by the handle ‘Printing the Revolution’ on YouTube. Although he prefers to remain somewhat anonymous, only providing us with his first name, which is Alex, his work combines 3D modeling, 3D printing, and an awesome ability to finish those prints. We have already covered his Star Trek’s Starship Enterprise model, as well as his replicas of the Star Wars X-Wing & TIE Fighters in past articles, but this recent piece of work may just take the cake.

This new M-1 Enforcer airsoft rifle is an incredible piece that was 100% designed, printed, and finished by none other than Alex.

“I was thinking about some applications for 3d printing an airsoft,” stated the designer. “I built a few small parts, but then I thought, ‘well why not build your own airsoft rifle’. There are very few futuristic airsoft rifles out there, so I thought ‘well why not start there,’ and I designed everything myself, and of course took some inspiration from movies and games, but I never look at any design in particular. The main focus of this project was actually the functionality. I wanted to have everything in working order, and it does work flawlessly.”

Intricately designed and futuristic, the M-1 Enforcer is able to utilize standard M4 Airsoft magazines. The gun, which Alex tells us is only a toy (it shoots around 0.5-0.7 Joules in kinetic energy, so that’s considered a toy in most countries), features a fire selector which allows its user to switch from semi-automatic to full automatic firing with a simple movement of one’s finger. In its initial test, the gun fired quite well, with pellets reaching distances of 50-60 yards with no problem.

The model was created in TinkerCAd, which the creator says is a very easy, yet accurate application to use. Although he couldn’t do extreme renders with curves, and intricate srface detail, bulkier objects like the parts needed for this gun were very possible.

“This project was really not easy. I mean building something completely from scratch is no easy task,” stated ‘Printing the Revolution’. “You always have to keep in mind the build volume of your 3D printer. In my case with the Ultimaker 2 it is, I think 22 x 22 x 20cm [actually 23 x 22.5 x 20.5cm] or something, and you have to plan everything accordingly; how the pieces fit together after you print them, how you are going to attach them, in my case screw them together […] Just a whole fitting process and keeping in mind certain tolerances. It’s no easy task.”

The gun was printed in the country of Austria, and according to its designer will remain in Austria because of their more lenient rules and regulations regarding this type of thing. “Although this may be an airsoft toy gun, there are certain restrictions in certain counties,” he warned.

Alex tells us that the design of the gun took just under 24 hours, while the printing of all the parts took approximately 60 hours.  As for pricing:

“The filament cost was 45 USD, however, I also ordered a commercially available airsoft gearbox, a performance inner barrel, screws, aluminium outer barrel, LED strip, which also amounted to another 130 USD. So I would say 175 USD in total,” Alex told us.

Either way, the details, the design, and the airbrush painting that went into this incredible gun are certainly something any airsoft enthusiast would appreciate. Check out the video of the gun in action below, as well as a dialogue from its designer. Let us know what you thought about this incredible piece of work, and chat with its designer in the 3D Printed M-1 Enforcer forum thread on 3DPB.com.  Check out the full video of the gun below: