Have you ever bemoaned the lack of free, 3D-printable T'au Empire sidearms? Do you need one last accessory for your Fire Warrior costume? Do you want a desk ornament to show off your allegiance to the great and the good of the 41st millennium?
Well, look no further! Here is the answer to your problems! A completely printable model of a T'au Empire Pulse Pistol for cosplay or as an ornamental piece. No additional materials required other than superglue.
It was designed from scratch in Fusion 360 with an approximate scale from the original miniatures. Obviously credit to Games Workshop for the original miniatures.
I've split the pistol into parts which fit onto an Ender-3 Pro's bed so they should fit onto most print beds. The complete model is also included so you can slice it yourself.
I edited the grip around my hands so you may want to scale it up/down to fit you comfortably. I would recommend printing one of the rear sides first so you can get a sense of scale.
Two versions of the sight are included depending on whether you want a hole through it or not. (see photos)
One of each part is needed to make the complete pistol. Supports are not strictly necessary, though you will get much better overhang quality with supports than I did without (see photos). I used 5% infill at .20 mm layer height with a .4mm nozzle. The end result was pretty good, though I did get some lifting on the front right panel.
I printed the Gyros in Prusament Yellow PLA, the Top Casing in Prusament Red PLA, the Front Body in Prusament Black and the rest in Prusament Recycled PLA. I was aiming for the Farsight Enclaves colour scheme, as that's the army I play, but Prusa Red isn't really a good substitute for Citadel Khorne Red so I'll probably paint it at some point.
The gyros and the sight have locating elements (see photos) but the most of the rest of the parts have to be aligned by eye. The tolerances of the gyros and sight are deliberately loose to ensure that they will go on easily, but it does mean supergluing them on is a must.
It's large enough that I expect you could fit a nerf or air-soft mechanism inside it so that it can actually shoot.
Although it's fairly obviously a prop, obey the rules concerning replica guns in your country and don't hit people with it; it's solid enough to cause damage. It's not delicate. (depending on your print settings) but I dropped it from elbow-height and the top muzzle got smashed in so be careful.
I've found that it's balanced enough to twirl round your finger like some kind of grimdark-gunslinger, though it does take a fair amount practise because of the peculiar shape of the grip and trigger.
Other than that, enjoy your Pulse Pistol and ‘smite’ the enemies of The Greater Good with it to your heart's content. It might win you some points at a 40k tournament or cosplay competition.
The author marked this model as their own original creation.