Miniature Guns

I'm sure you are like me, you have heard of certain genres within a sport or hobby, but were not really aware of the scope, breadth or history of it.
Such is the case with "miniature guns". I had documented the Swiss mini revolver in my Strange Revolvers post, I was unaware that there was a whole society of craftsmen who build and collected these scaled down replicas.
These are not Photoshopped pictures....these are the real deal, although most of these are replicas and do not fire a projectile.

The Swiss Mini Revolver:

 While searching for something, I came across the website of a Mr. Wayne Driskill and I discovered his breathtaking work, which lead me to author this post.
Take a look and notice the coins placed in the photos for reference:

Now GI Joe can have a real looking Tommy Gun

 To see more of Mr. Driskill's work visit his website here

According to the Arsenal Firearms website the tradition of making scaled down versions of real guns started with the gunmakers at the Tula and Izhevsk Arsenals back in 1850. There is a very famous set of 1:4 scale 1891 Mosin-Nagant rifles made for Czar Nicholas in 1897, currently on display at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.

I have no reason to doubt their claims, except that the terms "skilled gunsmith" and "Russian Arsenal" are rarely used in the same sentence.
Perhaps my view is a bit skewed. Most of what was produced during the Communist rule in Soviet Russia would not be considered "art".
I suppose Imperial Russian Armorers had more time, pride and skill than the Soviet Armorers that came later.

Here are some of the examples at the Arsenal Website

 I could not possibly list all the different craftsman engaged in this hobby, this is some of David Kucer's work

Here are some others I found online:

 Links:
Wayne Driskill Miniature Firearms
David Kucer
Arsenal Firearms
Miniature Arsenal
Icollector


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