Aftermarket LEGO parts- Gun, Grenades and "Bandits"

Aftermarket LEGOs Accessories - Guns, Grenades and "Bandits"

I'll admit that I own a lot of LEGOs. I used to be a LEGO addict until, like many addicts, price made me go cold turkey. I love the castle sets, the Star Wars sets (you'll never see me with a LEGO Jar Jar though), and best of the the big old box of miscellaneous bricks in every shape, size and color.

When I was a kid my brother and I used to spend hours making demolition derby cars and smashing them against each other. LEGO bricks would fly, and be reassembled into new designs to see what would be best to withstand the impact. I also used to make fleets of space ships to save the galaxy from evil invaders and LEGO blasters to shoot Storm Troopers and other bad guys.

The most fun I had with LEGOs was making forts and terrain to use with my army men. You know the old green and gray plastic guys with the not-to-scale tanks and cannons. Hours passed while I fought and re-fought battles where the good guys always won and the bad guys got their just deserts.

Of course thinking about those days long past makes me feel old and out of touch. Now you can buy aftermarket LEGO WW II Marines, US Army Soldiers, German Army Soldiers, Space Marines, and more from Brick Arms. They come with a dizzying array of fairly accurately modeled machine guns, hand grenades, blaster rifles and even an Uzi concealed in a briefcase for "Bond Spy." If you want to outfit your regular LEGO guys with guns well you can buy those individually or in sets. The Black Knight doesn't stand a chance if you outfit the good guys with a case of hand grenades.

The little kid in me thinks this stuff is amazing and pretty damn cool. The adult in me thinks they are just a little bit disturbing especially the middle eastern terrorist looking "Bandit." I guess that it hits a little too close to reality for my LEGO enjoyment.

Shotgun Flamethrowers Oh Boy!

Here's a quick quiz...

Which of the following types of ammunition are illegal in every state in the U.S. (the answers are below the cut):

A) Armor Piercing
B) Incendiary
C) Flamethrower shotgun shells
D) None of the above

Trick question...all of them are legal in most states.

A) Armor Piercing - The technical definition of Armor Piercing is :

18 USC Section 921(a)(17)(B), the term “armor piercing ammunition” means:

1. A projectile or projectile core which may be used in a handgun and which is constructed entirely (excluding the presence of traces of other substances) from one or a combination of tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper, or depleted uranium; or

2. A full jacketed projectile larger than .22 caliber designed and intended for use in a handgun and whose jacket has a weight of more than 25 percent of the total weight of the projectile.

However I think the definition should be anything that can penetrate the average police issue bullet proof vest. That said, I guess most rifle and many shot gun ammunition just inherently penetrates bullet proof vests and we shouldn't outlaw all of these bullets because that would unfairly affect hunters and sport shooters.

BUT, I think that any ammunition made for the purpose of penetrating body armor should NOT be sold to civilians. EVER. For example these .50 cal military surplus bullets.

B) Incendiary - These bullets are designed to start fires. A quick Google search turned up:

This site and this auction site which boasts this ammo was tested by police in Florida and "one round shot through the windshield to the interior of a car ignited the car on fire and burnt it to the ground". Is there any reason at all for civilians to own this!?

C) Flamethrower shotgun shells (down at the middle of the page) apparently can't be shipped to California, Florida, Iowa or New York City addresses; what a relief....NOT!

Now I think that people should be allowed to own guns for hunting/sports and self defense. But these ammunitions have two purposes - playing around and criminal. The playing around purpose doesn't override the possible criminal uses. These type of bullets should be banned