10-Hole Hero:
The Grip
DETAILS OF THE 10-HOLE HERO GRIP
Each of the Hero Pulse Rifle has a grip with a very individual shape, as they were most likely shaped by hand by sanding down the original Thompson M1A1 wood grips that were then painted black.
It seems the grips were shaped to be somewhat reminiscent of the SPAS 12 grips, seeing as parts of the SPAS were used on the Pulse Rifle. Most of the grips did have six "lines" (recessed rounded slots), as seen on the SPAS 12 grips, however not horizontal, but angled.
fig. 1: Pistol grips of: a. Prototype Rifle; b. "Alpha" Rifle; c. unknown BTS photo grip; d. "Delta" Rifle.
In the "prototype" Pulse Rifle images, the grip has a unique shape and has seven lines, a feature that none of the other Hero Pulse Rifles have.
However, during filming, it seems that the grip was at some point swapped with one of the grips with six lines. This is seen especially well in the "I wanna introduce you to a personal friend of mine" scene. The grip with six lines can also be seen in the Aliens DVD special "The Risk Always Lives: Weapons and Action".
While it can't be definitively proven, based on intensive study of the different grips, I am reasonably sure that the grip from the 10-Hole Hero can now be found on the Delta Pulse Rifle.
fig. 2: A movie still showing that the final iteration of the 10-Hole Hero Pulse Rifle in the movie only had six grip lines.
I have created the grip in Fusion 360 and you can download it below as .step-File. While it is a reasonable rendition of the grip, the 3D model is not based on the original Thompson wood grip, so it might be slightly off. However, I did a 3D print and was able to swap it for a real Thompson grip, so it should work with a real M1A1.
