This piece resides in a private collection today.
Note 1: Photos above show Alpha on display at Alien War following the addition of black vacuuform shrouds for production of Alien³.
Note 2: Following display at Alien War, Alpha has since been restored with its original aluminum shroud.
This piece resides on display at the Royal Armouries Museum in London.
Note 1: Unique to this Pulse Rifle is the black foam filled grenade barrel.
Note 2: Once owned by Propstore of London
Note 3: Video footage of this rifle can be found: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReWuUrZ57RU
Note 4: As well as: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fskP74mo29Y
This piece resides in a private collection today.
Note 1: tbd
Note 2: tbd
This piece resides in a private collection today.
Note 1: The "Gamma" is notable for the padded shoulder pad on the sling. It is unclear if this was original to this prop.
Note 2: The "Gamma" Pulse Rifle was once on display at the Icons Authentic Replicas booth at San Diego Comic-Con.
This piece resides in a private collection today.
Note 1: tbd
Note 2: tbd
While hard to confirm, it is suspected that the shotgun housed inside the "grenade launcher" was also added when it was
reassembled (and may not be production original). Note that it still retains the shotgun's original trigger guard, and in Aliens
the 870s had the trigger guard removed.
This piece resides in a private collection today.
Note 1: The "Zeta" Pulse Rifle was borrowed and used for the Aliens Colonial Marines Technical Manual photo shoot.
Note 2: The serial number on the "Zeta" Rifle matches to the prop production photographs at the top of the page.
Originally sold by Sothebys in 1992 to a public museum in Pennsylvania. In June 2017, the Eta rifle was sold at auction by Profiles in Hisotry. While not 100 percent accurate, here is the auction listing as it originally appeared:
Aliens original hero Colonial Marine M41-A Pulse Rifle (TCF, 1986). One of the most famous sci-fi firearms, the M41-A Pulse Rifle was featured heavily in James Cameron's 1986 action sequel Aliens. Designed by Cameron himself and constructed under the supervision of renowned armorer Simon Atherton at Bapty Armory, the Pulse Rifle is viewed by many as the pinnacle of Sci-Fi prop weaponry. This is an original prop Pulse Rifle that was originally constructed for and used in Aliens, and later re-built and re-used in Alien 3. The prop is constructed around a WWII era M1A1 Thompson submachine gun, which was originally modified to fire blanks for the production and has since been fully decommissioned. The Thompson is fitted with a custom-made pistol grip, and a custom-made extended barrel.
A SPAS-12 shotgun cage mounts below the Thompson barrel via a custom-stamped barrel shroud, simulating the grenade launcher. The grenade launcher features the original SPAS-12 pump handle, which was cut down for a different look in the film. It slides freely back and forth, allowing the pump-action loading of the launcher to be simulated. As only one version of the Pulse Rifle had a practical grenade launcher (actually a Remington 870 shotgun) fitted, this piece has a dummy grenade launcher filling the SPAS cage. The ends of the piece are capped with a custom-made steel shoulder stock, and a custom-made aluminum barrel cap at the front of the grenade launcher. The entire assembly is housed in a vacuum-formed ABS outer casing, which completes the unique profile of the prop. While all other components on the piece were used in Aliens, the casing was installed specifically for the production of Alien 3. After Aliens, all of the Pulse Rifle props were struck back to their original firearm components, and most of the casings used were discarded as they were no longer deemed necessary. When the decision was made for Weyland scientists to carry Pulse Rifles during the climax of Alien 3, Bapty had to re-assemble the Pulse Rifles and were now lacking the outer casings. New outer casings were therefore manufactured by vacuum-forming over one of the original casings from Aliens, and the new ABS casing was fitted to the prop with bolts, brackets and custom-riveted plates. The outer casing was originally painted black for use in Alien 3, as are all Pulse Rifle props in the film, but was later re-sprayed green by Bapty to return the piece to its classic Aliens form. The clip base is made from wood and is installed with a screw at the front of the casing. The Pulse Rifle is complete and in good film-used and weathered condition. All of the moveable components-the shoulder stock, grenade launcher pump handle, and original Thompson selector switches and trigger-can be moved and positioned. This is a rare opportunity to own a masterpiece of film prop weaponry. Special shipping must be arranged through a federal firearms licensed dealer. $12,000 - $15,000
This piece resides in a private collection today.
Note 1: tbd
Note 2: tbd
This piece still resides with director James Cameron today.
Note 1: the only pulse rifle to feature an illuminated counter, but was static on the number "42"
Note 2: the only pulse rifle to feature 10 vent holes along its upper barrel
