My Buzz Bee Plasma Blaster Mod

[kahmaui]

I'm not going to finish my cardboard BR for Halloween so I decided to modify a Buzz Bee Plasma Blaster and make an AR.



Gun barrel is PVC pipe held in place with hot glue and then bondo. Original LED lights up barrel when trigger is pulled. I used a toilet paper roll holder from KMart to make the mount for the Mini Mag-lite.



The counter is static and does not change when the trigger is pulled, but I can change the number by flipping a few dip switches inside the gun. I used an old CD case to make the cover for the counter.



There is a button on the side that activates the counter which is powered by a 9 volt battery in the gun.



I thought I had pictures of the counter circuit with me, but I guess they are at home. I'll post those pics up later with a parts list if anyone wants to build a counter (Cost for materials is about $35).



I know the paint scheme isn't right, but I like it.



What do you guys think?

 

[Shaymin Sky]

crap, dude! You went all out! did you get the counter at replicant fx?

 

[kokujo17]

Looks very well I went the BuzzBee as well, altho I didn't use a counter. Did you leave in all the L.E.Ds & speaker??(I took out the speaker) His counter is from radioshack if I remember right.

 

[kupokitty]

Dude. You should make this into a Buzz Bee AR Tut. This is awesome!

 

[Spartan 343]

If there is one thing I haven't seen done yet, it is extending

the length of the body. It's just too short and stubby.

 

[GiR3892]

wow nice stuff , i really like the ammo counter you put in it , nice job

 

[kahmaui]

@spartan-343 - I was thinking about extending it cause I have two plasma blasters. I really screwed one up so maybe after Halloween I'll try extending it to the correct length. I'm going to need something better than my puny coping saw and dremel to make the right cut.



@kokujo17 - I was going to rig a second switch to the speaker so you can turn it on or off, but I wasn't sure where to hide it as I wanted it to be accessible without opening the case. I guess I could just disable one of the four sounds so that 3 sounds work and one is silent...not sure if it will affect the lights though... All the LEDs still work, but I painted over it. Only the barrel LED can be seen when pulling the trigger.



The counter is scratch built from parts I bought from Radio Shack and eBay. I'll post up pics and a parts list of the counter circuit when I get home.



Thanks everybody! Glad you folks like it!

 

[kahmaui]

Here are a few pics of the ammo counter circuit. As I mentioned, it does not count down.



















Parts List

1 - Radio Shack Grid-Syle PC Board - part #276-150

1 - Radio Shack Dual PC Board - part #276-148

1 - Illuminated Pushbutton Switch - part #275-0009

16 - 470 ohm resistors (Carbon Film 1/2 watt) - Purchased a set of 50 on eBay

2 - 8 position dip switches - Purchased a set of 6 on eBay

2 - 7 segment blue LED 0.5" display common cathode - Purchased a set of 20 on eBay

1 - Radio Shack 9 volt battery holder - part #270-326B

1 - Radio Shack 9 volt battery snap connector - part #270-324

misc screws, nuts, spacers, and washers to mount the board into the gun - Purchased from the local hardware store.



My soldering skills are not that great, but I got the job done. There is a large round circle on the Buzz Bee Plasma Blaster that when its cut out, the Pushbutton switch fits perfectly into. You can see the back side of the switch in the last picture next to the 9 volt battery.



I only use part of the dual pc board to mount the 7 segment LED, and then I hot glued the display into place near the original battery compartment. The fit is very tight and a lot of cuts need to be made into the plastic of the gun and the battery holder in order for the display to fit.



I glued four screws to the inside of the gun head down, then used a nylon spacer to raise the board above the other parts. I didn't measure the screws, but I was lucky because the screws just touch the other side of the gun when put together.



The mini mag-lite, 9 volt battery, and circuit add more weight to the gun; so it doesn't feel like a toy.

 

[thatdecade]

DIP switches. Wow, what a great idea!

 

[ARMYofONE2469]

WHERE CAN I GET ONE?!



I L :lol VE YOURS! Pm me please.

 

[FreeAce]

Thats pretty interesting that your using DIP switches. Have you though about using a 555 timer it pretty much is a 8 DIP.

 

[thatdecade]

You would need a 555, bcd counters, 7seg driver chips, plus the display. That's not even getting into wiring up the reset / starting number. In the long run, a single microcontroller would be easier to wire up and do a better job.





I like the simplicity of the way it is. Anyone could wire this up and, with some trial and error, set any static number they want.

 

[kahmaui]

@FreeAce I'm not much of an electronics person so I have no idea what a 555 timer is. I was just browsing the net looking for a simple way to display a static number and I found a schematic in another forum. The original schematic didn't have dip switches and when I first built it, I had a difficult time getting the number right. So I thought, I need a switch to turn each segment on and off and thought of using dip switches.



@thatdecade I actually wanted a circuit that performed similar to the replicantfx counter, but I don't know how to program a micro-controller.

 

[PhiremanPhil]

Does anyone know if the Plasma Blasters are available in Canadian Toys R Us? Just curious.