During the 1970s, strict firearms laws in Japan led to the development of “Airsoft” guns and the game played with them. One source says the earliest mass produced Airsoft gun likely sprang from American-made airguns of the 1950s and 1960s to become the Masudaya Airsoft guns of the late 1970s. From that time on, Airsoft gun manufacturers began producing very realistic replicas of actual firearms.
The maximum effective range of field-legal Airsoft weapons is under 100 yards, and the guns can generate muzzle velocities from 160 feet per second to more than 400 feet per second, and a game using the air- and spring-driven guns found a foothold in Asia and the US during the early 1980s.
Mark Raykhenberg is a graphic and product designer who graduated from California State University in Long Beach with a BA in Studio Art, and he’s an Airsoft enthusiast. His latest project uses 3D printing to build what he calls Airsoft Revolver Shotshells. The shotshells contain 6 BBs each, and Raykhenberg has taken them from concept to product through his BrainExploderCreations and his Shapeways storefront.
Raykhenberg says the shells were designed for Airsoft revolvers, and they effectively lower the FPS of the projectiles launched by CO2-powered revolvers. He says they “make the revolvers more capable by allowing the user to fill the shell [with] anywhere from one to seven BBs.” The 
designer says that no additional work is needed to use them, and a user can simply fill the shells from the front before firing.
“They fit into the speedloader [that] comes with the CO2 revolvers as well as into aftermarket speedloaders designed for the .357 chambered revolvers. These work with WinGun revolvers but should also fit into other .357 style revolvers by G&G, ASG and other brands,” Raykhenberg says on his YouTube page. “With the latest evolution, the shells are able to shoot 6 BBs per shot at about 200fps this makes them fairly accurate within 30-40 feet, but as your range needs increase, simply decrease the amount of BBs in each shell to extend the range and up the FPS.”
The Airsoft Revolver Shot Shells are sold through Shapeways, and Raykhenberg said he likes the fact that they can be printed in a variety of colors and then even painted for a more realistic look.
He’s also designed other upgrades to his Airsoft guns like a “flat hop type bucking” using NinjaFlex material, camera mounts, and power grips.
What do yo think of these Airsoft Revolver Shotshells from BrainExploderCreations? Will you print them out? Let us know in the 3D Printied Shotshell forum thread on 3DPB.com. Check out the video below showing the shells in action.
