Ross Taylor Capsule Gun. Dates back to the 1950"s. Shoots big gelatin capsules to simulate bullet hits. State of the art in its time. Ross Taylor got an Academy Technical Achievement Award in 1981 for this gun, long after wide use in Hollywood. I (Matt Sweeney) remember well my first use of this gun back in the 1970"s on a Universal TV show. I shot a gelatin cap full of Vaseline with a 1/2" round piece of black duveteen in it to simulate a bullet hit on a windshield. This made a great looking effect that didn"t damage the windshield, which could quickly be cleaned off.

12 gelatin caps load in from the front of the cylinder. The thumbknob on the bottom comes off to allow the barrel assembly to hinge back for compact storage. The ingenious firing mechanism rotates the cylinder to the next shot, firing at the end of the trigger pull. Beautiful handmade parts thruout.This gun was widely copied by other gifted studio machinists.

This is an old blood capsule gun that Larry Fioritto rescued from the trash bin at Disney Studios. It shot a wax capsule full of blood and that capsule was propelled by a puff of air from the bellows under the gun. Check out the rear sight; it is really high, as the capsule is so slow that it arcs into the target.

Cool handmade pelican hook from Bob Turk"s collection

Another view of Bob Turk"s oldie.

One of Bob Turks clever releases opens a pony clip.

Here is an old pelican releasing sheave from Scott Fisher. Totally handmade.

Check out the hand pull release mechanism. Amazing what those old time guys made from the simplest materials.