Master Of Miniature Guns

Can you take a stainless cane with 3 mm in diameter and drill a hole of 2 mm alongside the cane at the depth of 3 cm? It’s fine if you can. Now let’s take a cane with 2 mm in diameter and drill an ideal 1 mm hole at the depth of 2 cm. Mind that you don’t have any power drill at your disposal but only a primitive hand brace used in 1970. Will you be successful this time? Hardly.

But there is a man who will. He has done it many many times.

He is a historian, constructor, woodcarver, jeweler and the only master making miniature copies of shotguns and cold weapon. “The Kalashnikov Gun”.

Over 30 years ago Alexander Perfiliev drilled his first longitudinal hole in a miniature Mauser copy with a hand brace. In 1979 he was busy with making the first exhibit for his future collection of small-arms in miniature.  It was a tiny Mauser. Some models are very complicated. Thus, it took 1 year to make a copy of the Mosin rifle. Most models are made of steel. Though, in case good material is lacking it’s possible to use whatever is nearby.

Alexander’s favorite model is a twisted steel sword that forms a loop. It was not easy to bend the sword to get a beautiful loop. He adores weapons but hates wars. The sword is tied up and placed into the earth saying it’s time to stop wars all around the world.

What we are talking about here are models that reproduce real guns in details. These are acting mechanisms and real copies of guns decreased 4-4.5 times. They could fire if real bullets were used. Due to the lack of information on guns he used to travel much when he wanted to collect schematic pictures and drawings. Now it’s all different as any kind of data is available on the net. “The British STEN Gun”

The hack was especially complicated because Alexander didn’t have real gun drawings. He managed to find schemes and descriptions and had to invent some technical moments by himself.

Buying special instruments in 1970 was practically impossible so he used whatever he had at his disposal. “The DP (Degtyarev Pechotnyi, or Degtyarev Infantry) light machine gun used in 1927”

Alexander Perfiliev was born in the Kyrinsk region of the Zabaikalsky krai. To become a professional teacher of the subject called collective farm mechanization he had to get the second higher pedagogical education. During those years he spent long hours in the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. “The Kalashnikov gun, the USSR.”

On weekends Parfiliev visited exhibition halls in Saint-Petersburg and Tula. Guns in miniature seen in Tula produced lasting impression on the future gunnery master. He came back home accompanied by inspiration, promotional materials from visited exhibitions and a scratch stock. “The Makarov pistol, 1951, the USSR”.

Today his collection consists of 50 models he has created for 30 years.

Mauser.

It takes 7-8 months to make one model as Alexander is also fascinated with wood engraving and bicycle invention. “The G. Mariette multi-barreled revolver, 1839”.

When his small son refused to play with other kids because all of them had bicycles of their own and he didn’t, Alexander invented a model no one else could boast of.

Today almost every model made by Alexander can be seen in the central hall of an art salon in Zabaikalye. Many guests are willing to buy some. “The Mosin infantry rifle, 1891/1910”

It is not advisable to touch the models as the details can be easily damaged. “The Nagant M1895 Revolver.”

Alexander Perfiliev.

The models made by Alexander impress even those who are not keen on guns and wars.

One can imagine impression produced on soldiers and officers who know about guns at first hand.

Alexander changed a lot of work places during his life. When he was chief of a factory plant construction office, he exhibited his models in one of the showrooms. “The Sterling L2A3 submachine gun, England”

An old woman impressed by the models presented Perfiliev with her grandfather’s medals of wartime which were exhibited alongside with armor models. “PPS-41 submachine gun, the USSR”

“The Webley Air Guns, UK”.

“The 1951 Hubley Colt 45 GUN”

“The Smith & Wesson Model, 10×67 mm”

“The Russian silicon gun, 1812”.

“The Russian hand cannon, beginning of the 15th century”. During his exhibition held in 1983 he was surrounded by boys who couldn’t believe that the models were true copies of real guns and wanted to disassemble them to see the similarity. Alexander allowed a soldier who was also interested in the collection to carry out the procedure. That’s how the master’s words were proven.

“The Smith & Wesson revolver”.

He can tell you a lot about the history of the guns as well. Thus, the Thompson gun was used by American gangsters. Finding its schematic drawing was far from being easy. “The Thompson submachine gun”. Alexander is not going to shoe a flea yet as he is always busy as it is. Still, it is not a problem for him as he can turn his hand to almost anything.

Location: Zabaikalsky Krai

via lesnyanskiy

13 thoughts on “Master Of Miniature Guns”

  1. The gangster Tommy gun usually had a drum magazine like the PPS-41. The Tommy gun depicted here was like the type used in WWII by the American forces.

    Amazing work!

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  2. Russians DIY craftmanship is just incredible. One can understand why the Soviet generation perfected such skills since there was not a variety of products available, one had to do it by oneself. Wonder if such skills are still present in the new Russian generation under capitalism?

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  3. Having worked as a gunsmith and a Manufacturing Engineer for machined parts for airliners, I have some idea what is involved and am astounded by the skill and craftsmanship of Mr. Perfiliev.

    Reply

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