10-Hole Hero:
The Shrouds
WHAT SETS THE SHROUDS OF THE 10-HOLE HERO APART?
fig. 1: Movie still of the 10-Hole Hero Pulse Rifle showing machining quality as well as the rivets in the mag well.
It is not easy to point out the differences of the 10-Hole Hero Pulse Rifle shrouds, since all metal shrouds of the Hero Pulse Rifles were created individually by hand and have differences. There are some details that distinguish the shrouds of the 10-Hole Hero Rifle and are commonly wrong on most replicas.
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First off, the shrouds of the 10-Hole Hero - while far from perfect "machined" quality themselves - seem to be a lot smoother and less "banged-up" than the shrouds of the other Hero Pulse Rifles appearing on screen. It is possible that this is merely due to movie magic and that were the 10-Hole Hero shrouds photographed today, they would look no better than the shrouds of the surviving rifles with all their nicks and dents, but at least in the movie, the shrouds looked rather smooth.
One thing that is immediately noticable in the above shot are the rivets on the side of the magazine well (see also in the image to the right). On the surviving Hero Pulse Rifles, these rivets can only be seen on the Delta Pulse Rifle. It is possible that the rivets are in fact on all shrouds with live-fire Thompson M1A1 rifles but not visible as they may have been repainted since the movie.
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However, the shrouds of the Delta Pulse Rifle are definitely not the same as the 10-Hole Hero Rifle shrouds, since the shrouds of the Delta Pulse Rifle don't have a hole where the ammo counter sits. The counter window was therefore most likely glued on. It is likely that the rivets are in fact on all shrouds with live-fire Thompson M1A1 rifles but not visible under new paint; the topology of the mag well of certain rifles suggests that there might be rivets present as well.
fig. 2: Movie still of the 10-Hole Hero Pulse Rifle showing the rivets in the mag well.
The rivets - at least on the Delta Pulse Rifle - attach magazine guide rails to the inside of the magazine well of the shrouds. Inserting the magazine into the Thompson M1A1 is difficult when the shrouds are on since the magazine has to be inserted exactly into the rails of the Thompson M1A1 lower receiver. As you can see in the image on the left, the guide rails line up exactly with the rails of the lower receiver.
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Therefore, it hich would have been highly advisable on all Pulse Rifles with live-fire Thomson M1A1 rifles.
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fig. 3: View into the mag well of one of the Hero Pulse Rifles (not the 10-Hole Hero Pulse Rifle, but I don't know which one).
This page is still under construction. More to come!
