The Download Munkey : Finder of Things …

Another of those interesting-looking weapons that I discovered from games. See, games do teach you stuff

The single-shot Encore pistol was one of the more exotic firearms available in the expanded virtual armory of the JA 1.13 mod for the tactical mercenary game Jagged Alliance 2 (more about JA 1.13 here - Part I, II, III). Images of the Encore from the JA 1.13 mod.

Although the in-game mercenaries aren’t limited to standardized firearms as in regular army forces, using exotic weapons like the Encore wasn’t a very good idea in game. Apart from it being a single shot hunting weapon (albeit for big game) in real life, the scarcity of the ammo - in-game: .454 Casull, real-life: .45 Colt, as well as the logistical nightmare of managing multiple characters with weapons requiring different imcompatitible ammo types make cool weapons like the Encore practically useless from a military standpoint.

The Encore pistol is currently being manufactured by the American company Thomson/Center Arms Co. Pictures below are taken from page 15 of their PDF catalog.

© Thomson/Center Arms Co.

An account in the catalog states that it’s accurate to 300 yards which is several times the effective range of an semi-automatic pistol like the Beretta M9. Then again, it’s single-shot and intended for hunting big game which don’t shoot back

The Encore also reminds me of a similar single-shot pistol used by the villain in the Stephen Chow’s superspy spoof From Beijing With Love.

Download the 2007 catalog (55 MB) or read more at the official site. Airborne Combat Engineer has a post on Gary Reeder’s Custom Mini-Beast Encore which comes chambered for even bigger calibres.

MORE @ THE DOWNLOAD MUNKEY:
De Lisle Commando Carbine
M4 Carbine Accessories
Zacca 1/6 Guns Collection & World Weapon Collection

Read about the De Lisle Commando Carbine while poring through one of my old magazines, Computer Gaming World #207 (Oct 2001) (see cover), in which a preview article for Hidden & Dangerous 2 included a section on the weapons used by WWII special forces in that game.

The De Lisle Commando Carbine and MP44/43 were the featured weapons for the Allies & Axis powers respectively.

© Valkyrie Arms LLC

In Computer Gaming World, the De Lisle was specified as a suppressed carbine with a magazine of 13 rounds firing the .45 ACP with a muzzle velocity of 900ft/s. Wikipedia states correctly that its magazine capacity was 7 rounds (optionally 11 rounds) but lists a much lower muzzle velocity of ~600 ft/s. It was only produced in limited quantities during World War 2 for use by special units like the British Special Operations Executive. (the forerunner of the SAS)

An American company, Valkyrie Arms LLC, created two versions of the De Lisle, the DeLisle 2000 (top) and the DeLisle Sporter Carbine (bottom) on top of offering replicas of the original De Lisle Commando Carbine.

© Valkyrie Arms LLC

Valkyrie Arms also has a scan of an interesting 1984 “Gung Ho” Magazine article by Robert T. Rome on the De Lisle Commando Carbine which can download from the De Lisle replica page here (7 pages). A brochure of Valkyrie Arms’ firearms is also available.

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IMI Uzi Brochures @ Uzitalk.com
Brügger & Thomet MP9
High Resolution Photos of FN Herstal’s Firearms
M4 Carbine Accessories

An invaluable resource for scale modellers, game modders or 1/6th scale collectors who require high resolution photo references for that extra touch of authenticity in their modern/near future US soldier and weapon models.

The Program Executive Office Soldier (PEOS) multimedia page (WARNING: .mil domain!) has a good collection of unclassified public domain photos and videos of current US individual equipment and weapons as well as prototype stuff from the Air Warrior, Land Warrior and Mounted Warrior programs.

In Service: M110 SASS - Photo Courtesy of PEO Soldier

In Service: Advanced Bomb Suit - Photo Courtesy of PEO Soldier

Prototype: XM25 25mm Airburst Weapon (originally part of the OICW program) - Photo Courtesy of PEO Soldier

Photos of most individual and crew-served infantry weapons used by the US today are featured on the multimedia page. This page used to contain photos of the prototype XM307 25mm Advanced Crew Served Machinegun, the XM312 Lightweight .50 Caliber Machinegun and the XM25 25mm Airburst Weapon a few weeks back but it has since been revamped and the XM307 & XM312 photos taken out. They’re in the Soldier Portfolio PDF though. (see below)

Factsheets in PDF format for each of the equipment and weapons featured on the Multimedia page can be downloaded from the Programs page at the Program Executive Office Soldier site.

The highlight of the PEOS site must be the 280 page PEO Soldier Portfolio filled with information and photos on most current and future soldier equipment & weapons.

The PEOS Soldier Portfolio can be downloaded as a 14.8 MB PDF by clicking on the link at the bottom of the left sidebar of the Programs page. (look for a button with the cover image (above) of the Soldier Portfolio PDF). It’s slickly designed and is definitely an interesting read for military hardware enthusiasts like me

View or download the images and PDFs from PEOS Multimedia and Programs pages.

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M4 Carbine Accessories
Armada International - Complete Guides
OPFOR Worldwide Equipment Guide
Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare E3 Trailer
Dick Kramer - Military Artist

The sequel to one of the most controversial FPSes is currently in the works and is slated for a November 2007 release in US.

The original Soldier of Fortune (SOF) also published by Activision garnered quite a lot of controversy back in 2000 for its “realistic” 26 Gore Zone GHOUL animation system promising multiple ways to take down your adversaries as well as for its excessive graphic violence, both which were considered novel features at that time. SOF however, pales in comparision with today’s games in terms of violence, gore and realism - exploding heads seemed more silly and OTT than realistic when I played it a few years back.

The original SOF was also quite fun being a semi-realistic FPS with real-life weapons and emphasizing more on action than tactics. Which tactical FPS pits you against a Mil Mi-24 ‘Hind’ gunship with a bolt-action sniper rifle?

Weapons in SOF were unlicensed and bore names like Silver Talon when the pistol in question was clearly a .44 Desert Eagle. Hopefully the new Soldier of Fortune : Payback will have licensed weapons which will definitely add to the authenticity of the overall experience

Judging from the trailer at Gametrailers.com, Soldier of Fortune : Payback looks pretty promising in the graphics and stylistic departments and looks like it will possibly be as stereotypical as its predecessors in the choice of adversaries and battlefields. Check out the battlefields below:

© Activision

And below are some screen captures of the firearms of Soldier of Fortune : Payback that you’re be handling.

© Activision

The ubiquitous AK.

© Activision

H&K G36C with AG36 grenade launcher.

© Activision

M249 SAW. Check out the cool reloading animation for the M249 SAW in trailer.

© Activision

Upping the OTT factor is the ability to go hunting with the .50 Barrett XM500.

Download the trailer @ GameTrailers.com.

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Call of Duty 4 Trailer
Accuracy International AS50 Rifle
Assault Rifle Vidcasts
Heckler & Koch Catalogue 2007

Image from Impact Guns.

I did know that the M4 SOPMOD could be configured with different accessories depending on the mission type but I didn’t know there were so many options … 5 different sound suppressors and a mind-boggling array of sights, scopes, stocks, grips and tactical lights. See below:

© Mark Fingar

Orginally found this from Google Image Search and then traced it to a certain Mr Mark Fingar who has produced a wonderfully laid out poster of the M4 and accessories. The poster is 18″ x 24″ (457 x 609mm or slightly larger than A2) and costs 12 USD + 3 USD shipping (seems to be for US only).

You can view the sample poster at 770×1024 resolution as well as close-up shots of the actual poster from this AR15.com forum thread.

UPDATE (02/10/2007): Steve of The Firearm Blog has found Mark’s official site which contains an exhaustive list of all items featured in the poster as well as updated pricing and shipping charges. More @ The Firearm Blog.

© Dogfight Ink

On a separate note, I also saw two illustrated prints of the M4 and associated accessories over at Dogfight Ink at USD 49.95 excluding shipping.

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BrickArms - Lego for the Gun Nut
Dick Kramer - Military Artist
Masada ACWS Technical Drawing
High Resolution FN Herstal Firearm Photos and Posters
Counterstrike Weapons (IV) - Colt M4