Functioning Panzerfaust

The panzerfaust 60 was a WWII German anti tank weapon with a warhead that shot from a metal tube and lobbed itself onto enemy armor and exploded. The most defining feature about the weapon was that it was recoilless, meaning that the user would not be knocked back by by recoil from the warhead launching. The weapon was meant to be fired once and discarded where the user would grab another one and fire that. This version is a functioning model very similar to a potato gun and able to be reloaded an unlimited amount of times. Materials needed: 2" x 3ft schedule 40 PVC tube 2" pvc cleanout adapter 2" pvc cleanout plug BBQ push button igniter ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09TW9CVL9?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1 ) 1/8" x 3ft metal rod 5/16 x 3ft metal rod gorilla glue duct tape three 3.5 x .25" rubber bands 10-24 x 1" bolt and nut PVC cement hair spray (i used suave max hold 8) ------------------------- to create the panzerfaust tube------------------------------ 1 - cut the PVC tube down to 33 inches. 2 - coat the smooth end of the PVC adapter with PVC cement and apply to one end of the tube and let it dry 3 - Assemble the front sight and trigger into the trigger assembly, slide the BBQ igniter into the bottom hole 4 - position the trigger assembly into the PVC tube and mark where it will sit (with the front sight down, have it sit about one inch from the end of the tube) 5 - find a good distance where the BBQ igniter spark will sit inside the tube (mine is roughly 14 inches from the button) 6 - drill a hole in the tube for where the BBQ igniter plate will sit. 7 - drill a hole in the tube for where the BBQ igniter wires will exit the tube and connect to the button. 8 - To protect the arc from getting hair spray directly on it, place the igniter guard so that it sits in front of the arc and hold the two together with a 10-24 bolt 9 - feed the BBQ igniter plate down the tube, pull the wires out of the hold to connect to the button, push the bolt through the hole made in the back of the tube and secure with the nut. 10 - if the hole for the wires is too big, plug it up with gorilla glue and duct tape. 11 - if everything is assembled, glue the trigger assembly to the PVC tube and add a bit to the button to hold it inside the assembly. ------------------------- to create the panzerfaust warhead------------------------------ 1 - cut the 5/16 rod into 3 pieces 90mm long 2 - cut the 1/8 rod into 3 pieces 55mm long 3 - cut the 1/8 rod into 3 pieces 20mm long 4 - slide the centering ring all the way to the top of the base and glue in place (this will keep the panzerfaust head centered when inside the tube) 5 - push the 20mm and 90mm pieces into the fin holder and glue in place. 6 - slide the fins over each of the 5/16 rods 7 - assemble the rubber bands and 55mm long pieces according to the diagram. 8 - use a little bit of glue to hold the rubber bands to the rod so they dont slip out. 9 - from there, the rest of the warhead assembly follows suit from the warhead layout image and gluing the parts together. -------------------------Testing------------------------------ test the fins by collapsing them and quickly releasing. They should spring out immediately and fully. If they do not spring out completely or encounter some resistance, sand down the holder or twist the rubber band a bit to create more tension. Collapse the fins while pushing the warhead down the tube The warhead should slide down and be snug against the walls, but should not need much force. Certain parts may need to be sanded down to allow it to reload easier. check your connections with the BBQ igniter to make sure you have a circuit and it is creating a spark. unscrew the cleanout plug hold the hairspray over the adapter end of the tube, cup your hand to angle the spray in and spray hairspray into the tube (best results are counting to 2 before stopping quickly twist the plug back on aim the panzerfaust using the window of the front sight to the top of the warhead. if panzerfaust does not ignite the first time, try once or twice more, brand new BBQ igniters may be slightly unreliable until they're broken in. hold it securely. this thing generates a fair amount of recoil. A special thanks to Banshee350 and Bigboss50 for doing most of the work on the models. My models are still very similar to theirs, but reinforced in some areas to protect from extended use. Highly recommend printing the lower half of the warhead with at least 4-5 walls and plenty of infill. Printed using hatchbox ABS Feel free to remake or improve the model, I'm always looking for ways to make them easier to assemble.