How to Turn Old Cardboard Into the Coolest Replica Rifle Ever

Hello everybody, today i am doing one of my favorite cardboard builds. In this instructible i am going to show you how to build your own M27 IAR rifle. On YouTube they show how to make guns that shoot, but here i give you everything you need to build this rifle for an epic display or just for fun. Clocking in at 37 hours this project can take a LONG time so be patient. This build should weigh 1.56 pounds by the time it is done. So, without any more hesitation, let's get into it.

WARNING: for your safety do not bring this in public, this is realistic enough that this could be mistaken as a real firearm. Use caution while showing off this replica. Paint is possible though not recommended.

Supplies Needed:

1. Cardboard (tons)
2. Paper
3. Scissors
4. Hot Glue Gun + Hot Glue Sticks
5. Ruler
6. Pen/Sharpie
7. Super Glue (to much)
8. Drill & Bits
9. Hobby Knife

Extra Supplies (Optional)

1. Paint

To start the lower receiver cut three frame piece that will be the walls of the mag well and one for the interior templates. On one of the templates cut off the front section where the mag well will be. Make a total of five of these copies. Glue three of the interior sections together and draw an area for the trigger housing and rear lock. Cut the shaded section out and then glue that to another one of the interior panels. to make the trigger follow photos 11-13. Take the drill and make four pilot holes. One at the base of the handle and another at the curved section and another were the trigger mounts. The fourth will be behind the trigger to stop it from moving forward. Drill a hole in the trigger and mount the trigger on the interior housing case(DO NOT GLUE THE TRIGGER ON). Attach a rubber band onto the trigger so that the trigger is automatically replaced to its original position. Take the fifth interior panel and glue to the outside of the trigger housing, this will keep the toothpicks from moving. Glue the final exterior panel to the interior housing.

Take a long slip of paper and glue it to the front of the handle. Tuck the edges of the slip into the cardboard and shape to fit your hand comfortably. Cut a piece of notebook cardboard and mount to the front of the lower receiver to support the mag well. Then take two pieces of cardboard and glue then to either side of the receiver to add more support.

Take some long pieces of recycled paper and roll them to make the stock holder. Glue the Roll onto the back of the receiver. Using thin cardboard, most often found as a cereal box. Make two long strips and glue them onto the stock holder and receiver for extra support.

Take the notebook cardboard and make two identical half circles to mount the upper receiver. Using the super glue, reinforce the hinge area when you mount them onto the front of the lower receiver by coating thoroughly with super glue. Carefully, use a drill and drill a hole in each of the half circles for the peg that will connect the upper and lower receiver.

Using notebook cardboard, cut a mag release protection guard and mount it to the receiver. To make the mag release, take a toothpick, spring, and two slips of paper, one about 2 mm and another about 10 mm. Roll the 10mm piece around the end of the toothpick. Using thin cardboard make the finger pad of the mag release. Taking the 2mm slip of paper, rap it around the toothpick to the point where it provides support but allow the mag release to move freely. Glue that piece into a pilot hole that you drill for were you want the release mechanism. Put the spring on the toothpick with finger panel and slip into the hole with guide ring. Roll another thing ring that will prevent the mechanism from coming out. glue this ring to the toothpick. now if you push the finger pad, it should push like a button. On the side that does not have the finger pad, take an ovalish piece of cardboard and glue over the pilot hole to disguise it. Take two long strips of cardboard and glue around the ovalish piece to look like a guard for the mag release.

Drill another pilot hole for the safety. Take a dowel rod and glue a round piece on the end. Put the dowel rod through the pilot hole and glue the safety trigger onto the dowel rod. Trim the dowel rod to desired length. Drill another pilot hole for the locking mechanism to keep the top and lower receiver together. Finally, cut two pieces of thin cardboard and mount under the trigger to be the trigger guard.

There we go. One fourth of the way through. Lets make the upper receiver now.

Start by rolling a large tube. Make two mounting brackets and mount on the front and the back of the tube. Position onto the lower receiver and drill holes through the mounting brackets. Cut two dowel rods and stick through the mounting holes. Now the top and lower receiver are joined (DO NOT GLUE THE DOWEL RODS). Cut two long strips of the thin cardboard. Glue them onto the base of the upper receiver to hide the underside of the receiver and to make it look like one piece (photos 7-12). Cut a long rectangular strip of thin cardboard and cut a channel out of the middle. Glue this piece to the top of the tube to act as a guide when cutting out the charging handle slot. Cut the paper out of the tube that is in the middle of the channel you just cut (photo 16). The cut another slot at the side of the upper receiver to act as the shell ejection port. Roll another tube that fits loosely inside the upper receiver, this will be the charging barrel. Cut some popsicle sticks to make a tube stopper and glue onto the top of the inner tube. Cut one more popsicle stick and make a small rectangle and glue it to the front of the upper receiver (photos 27-28). Build the charging handle and rod (photos 29-31) Slide the charging mechanism into the upper receiver via the top opening. You will have to be rough with it so that it goes in. Take a rubber band and slip it around the charging mechanism and the front block. Then cut two long strips of cardboard and glue them on either side of the charging handle. Make rail using the aid of photos 38-46. Glue the rail onto the top of the two slips that you attached previously. Using thin cardboard, make a small panel that mount above the shell ejection door. Then cut two slips of ordinary cardboard and mount on either side of the upper receiver below the shell door and on the same spot on the other side. Make the shell door hinges in photos 54-55 and mount them onto the receiver just like in photo 56. Build and mount the shell door according to photos 57-67. Make the thumb guard and mount it to the upper receiver behind the shell door according to photos 68-75. Finish the upper receiver by building the door release mechanism prop and mounting it according to photo 81. Now that the upper receiver is complete it is time to move onto the stock.

To build the stock roll a long tube of paper. make a thick beam of high-density cardboard and glue it to the tube allowing there to be space where it is inserted into the back of the lower receiver. wrap paper around the tube and beam making it look like one piece. Take some single sided cardboard and wrap it around the inner stock to create a movable sleeve. Roll two identical tubes and glue to the skinniest side of the out sleeve. wrap more paper around the outer sleeve and tubes to make it look like a single piece. On the front part of the sleeve, shave off some of the two tubes to make a tapered look. Glue paper over the tapered ends to hide interior. To make the back of the stock follow photos 17-25. Mount the back of the stick accordingly. Roll another small tube for the adjustable part. Glue to the stock on the underside and secure with super glue. make the rest of the stick with help from photos 26-32. To make the adjustable part functional, take a dowel rod and glue a pad of thick cardboard to the end with notches for rubber bands. Using a drill, make pilot holes about an inch apart with aid of the small tube mounting mid stock. Insert the dowel rod into the small tube in the middle of the stock. Take the drill and make two small holes on either side of the small tube and glue toothpicks through to hold the rubber bands. Mount the rubber bands and attach the outer sleeve to the inner stock. The stock is now complete. Time to make the front barrel.

To make the barrel, roll a tube that will be for mounting the barrel to the upper receiver. Then roll two more tubes that will equal 12 inches. Roll another tube that will attach the two previous tubes together. Cut a bunch of one-inch-wide strips of paper and rap around the paper tubes that are attached. One at the front, one in the middle, and the final one at the back. Take some single sided cardboard and wrap it around the paper tube. Make four rail section (steps can be found in step 2 upper receiver). Cut some long strips of cardboard and glue them to the backs of the rail. Mount the rail segments on each side of the tube, top, bottom, and sides. Roll a long tube to be the front barrel extension. Using the extension roll a tube to be the dampener. dampener can be made according to photos 20-22. Cut two strips of single sided cardboard and glue them in a circular fashion around the base of the extension. Using paper make a sleeve around the extension when it is inserted into the main barrel (extension can be glued or left unglued for easy packing). Make the front and rear mounted sights with help from photos 27-37 and then mount them onto the gun.

To make the mag, measure the needed area in the mag well. make the templates according to the measurements. Make 5 of the templates with the middle three being shorter on the top. Glue them together and use some thin cardboard to coat the visible edges of the mag. Then take a dummy round (you can find a YouTube video on how to make them) and insert it into the top of the mag. Then take thin cardboard and make the exterior pattern.

Take some pieces of normal brown paper and cut them into hundreds of small rectangles. Using hot glue, glue them into the inside of the rails. Take some super glue and coat the paper insuring a strong bond. Then using a hobby knife trim off the extra. Then coat the rail completely in super glue to make it hard as rock. repeat for all the rails. Now take a lot of super glue and coat all of the cardboard surfaces on the gun. Wait till dry and sand it smooth.

Roll a tube to be the main scope body. Using single face cardboard make the textured eye piece. Then make a front guard using normal cardboard. Make an L piece and glue it mid front of the scope body. Roll two cardstock tubes for the adjustment knobs. Add cardboard on top of the knobs and glue to the L piece on the scope body. Make the base of the scope according to photos 12-18. Mount the base to the top segment and the scope is complete. To mount the scope onto the body. Remove the front barrel from the upper receiver, slide the scope onto the upper receiver and replace the barrel. If you have any questions on this process let me know and i can add more pictures to the instructible.

So overall, this was a really fun build for me and i bet it will be just as fun for you. It had some surprises along the way so do expect the unexpected. If you have any questions let me know and i will do my best to answer them. Take your time, and it may take a couple of tries on this to get it right. This is like my 12th build for me and my last 10 were not the best so don't give up. I really hope you enjoyed reading and maybe even building this replica and if so do follow me. As always, have a great rest of your day and God bless you.

WARNING: for your safety do not bring this in public, this is realistic enough that this could be mistaken as a real firearm. Use caution while showing off this replica. Paint is possible though not recommended.