MOC Breech Loading Gun

[greg3]

Hi

Here's a quick, small MOC I've put together. It's based on a breech loading ship's gun recovered from the wreck of the Tudor warship Mary Rose.

Breech loading guns of this type had a removable chamber which was filled with powder, and often the projectile too, before being wedged in place at the rear of the barrel. It was then fired like a muzzle loader. The advantages of this type of gun were speed (each gun could have several chambers so a loaded one was always ready) and space (the gun didn't have to be fully retracted to load). The drawbacks however were a reduction in range caused by gasses escaping from the chamber/barrel join and an increased potential for the gun to explode if a chamber was damaged or fitted incorrectly. Despite this, the guns were considered effective at short range and used throughout the Tudor period and smaller swivel versions were used as anti-personel weapons long after that.

Reference

Side view - the black handles I added to make it look more interesting (I was going to use clips to represent eye bolts but they didn't look right)

Top view - not keen on the hole on top of the barrel!!

Chamber removed

[Big Cam]

I like the design. It's refreshing to see a new gun design as there are only a handful of designs out there, at least in LEGO form.

Nice work.

[-zenn]

Looks great!

You could fill up that whole with a simple stud, or get a black one of these> and cut it exactly at the hinge part and slide bar side first in. It will hold firmly.

[Derfel Cadarn]

Very cool design! I can use something like this as I'm trying to push the Tudor era forward a bit. Most people here build more in the later century's. Maybe you could look into building the famous ship herself. I'm surprised no one has built the Mary Rose yet! Great moc, it would be nice to see some more designs like this from you.

[Norrington]

I'll say that it is a very interesting and new design, which I appreciate.

That being said, although it is based on a historic example, it seems to me to be more akin to a more fantasy-type element (i.e., a land cannon moved about by a band of roving pirates or something similar), at least with the way most people approach the pirate theme.

I think the end of the barrel coming off doesn't represent the breech loading very well, but that's just me. And, as Zenn said, a 1x1 round plate or an altered piece would fill the hole up splendidly.

All in all, it's a great design, and I quite like it. I hope someone uses it to help create more "eclectic" vessels akin to Flyuts and Galleons and other ships of that genre.

[Warhorse47]

Very nicely done, thanks for sharing!

[Bart]

looking very much like the breech loaders of the old day's,

or it looks like the picture I have of them in a book.

nice to see a different design :)

Bart

[Bobkov]

That looks really good!

Based on the reference link you provided, you could solve both your issue with the hole on top, and make it even more similar to your reference by simply using a series of 1x1 cylinder plates, as you started with for the breach at the bottom. The only challenge at that point would be holding it down to the rest of the pieces; probably some string as with the image.

[martinsuper]

VERY cool! I like it a lot. Def another option for fort and MOC builders!