CAAF MSP35 Service Pistol

The MSP35 is a hybrid chemical-electric pistol used as a side-arm by service members in the North American Union’s Continental Allied Armed Forces (CAAF). The pistol is designed to be multipurpose, fit for use in all branches of the CAAF including the Continental Allied Army, the Continental Air Force, the Continental Allied Navy, and Continental Space Force.

The pistol relies on a small battery pack. The electricity from the battery ignites the chemical starter in the loaded round. This propels the round like a rocket down the barrel. The round then travels through the electromagnetic coil drive inside the forward half of the barrel of the firearm, which is also powered by the battery. This accelerates the round to very high velocities as it exits the pistol.

With the inclusion of the larger trigger and the wrap-around rail guard, the MSP35 is designed to be held and holstered in both typical and non-standard configurations and be used with bulkier extreme environment clothing. Combined with its hybrid firing system, the pistol can be operated in a wide range of operational theaters, ranging from the standard terrestrial combat to combat in orbit and on other heavenly bodies.

Idea:

After working on the MS-16 rifle, one of my earlier projects, I had always wanted to return to designing another science fiction styled firearm. This time, I thought it would be fun to tackle a pistol type design. Several of my recent projects had been large-scale model, but the deciding to design the MSP35 gave me an opportunity to try working something smaller and more to human scale.

Process:

Now having a bit of experience in Blender3D under my belt, working on this model was a lot faster and my process for developing it was much quicker than before. The added benefit of it being a smaller object definitely helped.

Like with most other projects, I started with the model design. This time, however, I did not sketch the pistol beforehand and when straight into 3D modeling. For the handle, I used a reference image of a standard Glock pistol to get a realistic and ergonomic geometry. From there, I then built up the rest of the body of the firearm, and then followed it with texturing, using procedural textures, and decal made from Adobe Illustrator.

Conclusion:

This was a fun small project that I enjoyed tackling. It helped me change gears a little and let me focus on smaller things, which also helped with changing up the speed of getting things done. Overall, it felt fresh to working on something both familiar and different enough that it gave me some new challenges.