One of Jane Fonda’s most memorable roles is Barbarella, and in a promotional photo released for the film, she posed with a giant space rifle. The image appeared on the 1968 cover of Life magazine, and as you can see, the weapon is practically as tall as Barbarella:

It’s the only reference photo of the rifle available, but that didn’t stop Adam Savage from building it. He decided to make two rifles based on the striking prop in the photo for his latest One Day Build for Tested. He studied the picture and noted the different materials – metal and wood – and brainstormed from there.

The video documentation of the build is an hour long, but it’s worth checking out just to learn how Savage approaches a project like this with very little reference material available. Just the first ten minutes are packed with educational process information. Watch:

via Maker Station