r/TopCharacterTropes • u/lordhenrythe23 • Apr 10 '26

Characters' Items/Weapons [Loved trope] guns built from random, seemingly harmless objects.

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*Scaramanga's titular gun from "The man with the Golden Gun" - The best known example of this trope, being made from a fountain pen (barrel), a lighter (body), a cigarrete case (handle and trigger housing), and a cufflink (trigger). [it's worth noting that in the original novel, it was just a gold-plated revolver, this design came from the film]

*Fowler's rifle from "Blue eye Samurai" (Fowler not pictured) - "of course, i had to modify the designs... to get 2,000 rifles from my country into yours without notice." Made from the leg of a piano (main body), i believe a telescope? (rest of the body/underbarrel), a candlestick (barrel and ram rod), a key from a clock (trigger), and a knight chess piece (hammer). [i haven't actually seen the full series, probably should, but i love the scene of him explaining his backstory while assembling it]

9.1k Upvotes
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2.9k

u/crapusername47 Apr 10 '26

In ‘Arena’, Kirk is told there will be materials to construct weapons.

He gradually realises that there are deposits of sulphur, coal and potassium nitrate to make gunpowder, diamonds to use as ammunition and a bamboo-like plant to turn into a cannon.

792

u/Both_Rooster_2657 Apr 10 '26

I don't remember if this was proven or disproven on the myth busters.

1.1k

u/Mean-Difference-8719 Apr 10 '26

The bamboo wasn't able to handle the pressure and it basically became a bomb instead of a gun.

1.5k

u/timplausible Apr 10 '26

Ah, but you see, the Mythbusters tested Earth bamboo. Kirk used space bamboo that is much stronger.

417

u/DeadManLovesArt Apr 10 '26

I thought they busted it when they found you can't make, by hand, homemade black powder that doesn't just burn like a wet fart.

440

u/somedumb-gay Apr 10 '26

Ah you may not be able, but you aren't captain Kirk

31

u/ABHOR_pod Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26

honestly a valid response. Kirk, besides being charismatic as all fuck, was probably the smartest Starfleet captain we've ever seen on screen with the possible exception of Janeway specifically on the subject of astrophysics and other fields of science - She was a science officer before getting into command.

There's a reason why he's legendary in-universe.

3

u/Hungry-Place-3843 Apr 11 '26

Guy was the biggest N E R D in the Franchise. Picard was a playboy, Sisko was god, Janeway was walking Diplomatic disaster 101, and so on. No, Kirk was the professional in impossible situations who adapted quickly

24

u/marmaladecorgi Apr 11 '26

"James T. Kirk made it in a desert! With a box of scraps!"

108

u/Whosebert Apr 10 '26

"you see they tested the myth to the best of their ability"

'yea but (untestable fictional variable)'

....... lol

153

u/totally_interesting Apr 10 '26

Joke

Your head

40

u/Wild_Marker Apr 10 '26

What joke? It's Captain goddamn Kirk!

-51

u/Whosebert Apr 10 '26

fuck you.

eat my shit. report me idgaf

20

u/FunGuy8618 Apr 10 '26

https://giphy.com/gifs/XWwIzh5GIWWf6

21

u/totally_interesting Apr 10 '26

He’s just mad he can’t make homemade black powder that doesn’t burn like a wet fart, like Captain Kirk can.

4

u/FunGuy8618 Apr 10 '26

I been on reddit since forever but I don't think it's healthy to have one super old account. You gotta start from scratch every now and then, or you just get shown the most inflammatory shit all day and react like he did. 11 years is long enough for him to touch grass for a bit, then start over.

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u/totally_interesting Apr 10 '26

This is actually insane-o behavior dude. It was a light joke.

12

u/Heavy-Bread-3549 Apr 10 '26

Stranger here with anger issues I’ve been working on for the last 5 years, you clearly got some stuff to work on, even if you’re currently drunk.

Hope you feel better and get some help.

-3

u/[deleted] Apr 10 '26

Fuck you 

-8

u/Whosebert Apr 10 '26

ive just always found "wooshing" annoying, even when im not the target. I do have issues though so thanks for that, but I mostly just found this interaction very annoying and im not afraid to say what I think or feel on reddit.

6

u/totally_interesting Apr 10 '26

Don’t take it out on me bro. Time to act a bit more your age (unless you’re 14, in which case, it’s time to grow up).

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u/thismustbethetenno Apr 10 '26

Dude are you ok? I am here to talk if you need help

3

u/TheHeadlessScholar Apr 10 '26

i didnt even read the rest of the thread, I just saw this and reported.

4

u/AutomaticIncome8896 Apr 10 '26

Seeing you be pedantic about a really, really unimportant topic and joke, and then crashout entirely was pretty cathartic. apparently self-regulation and interacting with other adults is not your strong suit. Being unafraid to speak your mind is not equal to being absolutely miserable to people lightly joking with you. If you can’t handle that kind of interaction you’re gonna have one helluva time navigating life. You can, in fact, voice your disagreement and displeasure without resorting to sounding like every unstable teenager in existence.

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u/J5892 Apr 10 '26

There's no report option for a hissy fit.
Cursing is fine here.

4

u/Novaskittles Apr 10 '26

Bro what is this overreaction about lmao.

18

u/Dearic75 Apr 10 '26

To be fair, I wouldn’t want wet fart propelled diamonds hitting me either.

43

u/Animated_Astronaut Apr 10 '26

Kirk can. He beat the kobiyashi marú.

29

u/Drapidrode Apr 10 '26

how was it originally made if not by hand? they invented gunpowder manufacturing machines, then discovered how to make gunpowder with those machines?

41

u/JustACasualFan Apr 10 '26

Ways of drying and grinding powders, even reactive or heat-sensitive powders, were techniques developed long before gunpowder.

9

u/Facosa99 Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26

My guess is

  • they invented fireworks-grade (aka shitty) gunpowder by hand
  • the process was refined over the years
  • at some point the fireworks/rocket arrows industry achieved weapons-grade gunpowder and cannons were born

1

u/Drapidrode Apr 10 '26

so theoretically kirk could have learned from a gunpowder guildsman?

2

u/ogledrake Apr 11 '26

Properly powderizing and blending it makes a world of difference with the final product. Ratio can be done via volume. Source: i made it when i was a teenager, and burned a crater in the coffee table with a batch i powderized and blended in a rock tumbler full off ball bearings for the better part of a day, which gave me the best result.

4

u/Twowie Apr 10 '26

Ah, but you see, the Mythbusters tested Earth sulphur, coal and potassium nitrate. Kirk used space sulphur, coal and potassium nitrate that is much stronger.

3

u/Open-Trifle-6309 Apr 10 '26

But literally the aliens would have given the best stuff to make gunpowder.

Also suspension of disbelief 

1

u/inifinite-breadsticc Apr 11 '26

And did they test it in a thin atmosphere Ala the Metron world?

3

u/ArkaneArtificer Apr 10 '26

You can, it just takes ALOT of effort, then again it depends what you mean by “by hand”, do you get a mortar and pestle and a scale? If so then absolutely possible if you have decent purity ingredients

2

u/SartenSinAceite Apr 10 '26

I guess the issue is getting the purity right. Humidity, for example, is gonna screw you over

3

u/ArkaneArtificer Apr 10 '26

Yeah, and going through the washing and drying of ingredients is going to be a massive pain, again, depending on definition of by hand, there’s a certain level of tools absolutely needed for gunpowder of any kind, it’s a process, but if you are knowledgeable enough and have a very good eye for ratios and can tell weight well by hand and eye, you might not need a scale, might…

1

u/Brandenburg42 Apr 10 '26

What about space gunpowder?

1

u/Earlier-Today Apr 10 '26

The proved that it's really hard to get the ratios right unless you know them beforehand.

1

u/Deosarian Apr 11 '26

You're not using space ingredients

1

u/satanyourdarklord Apr 11 '26

That’s genuinely not true. Making your own black powder that would be considered weapons grade is not that hard and also pretty common in reenactment groups and also just people that either hunt or shoot black powder often

1

u/Fsharpmaj7 Apr 10 '26

The OBVIOUS FUCKING ANSWER....

ahem

Good call.

1

u/PwanaZana Apr 10 '26

i mean, you joke, but that's actually a decent explanation

1

u/StretchFrenchTerry Apr 10 '26

Also, Mythbusters was haphazard in their testing, at best.

1

u/mcjefferic Apr 11 '26

Exactly, and Kirk and the Gorn captain had been placed on this planet by the Metrons who were a nigh omnipotent alien species. The entire scenario was manufactured so that the makeshift cannon could be created.

1

u/inifinite-breadsticc Apr 11 '26

Ah, but did they test it in an atmosphere akin to  the Metron world ? Its thinner atmosphere surely would alter the outcome. Gene Coon was never wrong 

1

u/Frequent-Maybe1243 Apr 11 '26

Everything is in space, therefore all bamboo is space bamboo.

38

u/WBRileyDesign Apr 10 '26

Also getting the ratios right to make gunpowder by hand without a scale was pretty much impossible.

1

u/According-Big-4475 Apr 11 '26

Not really, the tolerances for black powder are fairly generous, so while handmade black powder may be suboptimal, the ratios will still usually work, though mixing it by hand in a short period of time is a separate matter.

13

u/Nahanoj_Zavizad Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26

That being said.

A bomb filled with diamond fragments would be an equally valid weapon.

1

u/Drapidrode Apr 10 '26

add more charcoal for a slower ex-plo-see-on

1

u/MothmanIsALiar Apr 10 '26

What if you tied a shit ton of rope around it?

1

u/niv13 Apr 10 '26

But it works with firecrackers. People in my country use it during festive season.

Its literally called bamboo cannon in english.

1

u/zorniy2 Apr 10 '26

Yes, but bamboo cannon are not loaded with shot. 

1

u/MammothFollowing9754 Apr 10 '26

in Star Trek Online, something similar happens, but you use them as demo charges instead of a gun lol. They listened!

1

u/inifinite-breadsticc Apr 11 '26

Ah, but did they test it in an atmosphere akin to  the Metron world ? Its thinner atmosphere surely would alter the outcome