How to Build a 90mm Recoilless Rifle

This build took less than 20 hours of physical work - but took weeks of planning, studying and securing components.

Presenting a US Army M67 Recoilless Rifle in 1/1 scale! This was the largest hand-carried weapon used by allied infantry during the Vietnam War. Its M371A1 90-mm HE AT antitank rounds could easily take out armored vehicles and reinforced structures alike. A very useful weapon back in Hue City, '68. Here are selected photos from the build.

Meet 'Boomer' - the latest addition to this year's series of weekend weapon builds.

Sturdy and heavy, he's now the biggest weapon in my personal inventory. But what did he look like the day before this image was snapped?

Ta-dah! Freshly-baked from the oven! This was the first weekend I experimented with melting metal.

Here he is prior to final detailing and painting! The M67 Recoilless Rifle measures 53 inches in length and is 3 inches in diameter. All components were sourced from local hardware, plumbing, kitchen and artist shops.

The Monopod is made of a 13-inch segment of 0.75-inch aluminum tubing with cut-down parts from two bicycle handles.

The tube has been melted directly into the 3-inch PVC pipe and reinforced with cyano-acrylate plus Pioneer clay epoxy.

The trigger mechanism was made from an old glue gun, bolted directly to the 3-inch PVC pipe. A length of ribbed wire represents the reinforced electric cable which operates the trigger. Rivets were fashioned out of flat-topped push pins.

Painted her olive drab. Brought her out for a little test run!

Introduced in the early 1960s in Army and Marine Corps service, the M67 was used in the Vietnam War together with the much larger 106mm M40. The M67 proved a reliable and effective weapon, though it was primarily used against personnel and fortifications in combat, and saw little or no use against armor. While troops praised its effectiveness, the M67 came in for heavy criticism due to the weapon's weight and length as well as its back-blast.

Fun with 'Boomer' the Recoilless Rifle.

For more information, contact the builder on Facebook. Enjoy!