_________ SWAT MAGAZINE ISSUE FIFTEEN: MARCH 1999 __________ / \___________________________________________/ \ / "Mardi gras" style booby traps \ / By -=The Firestarter=- \ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Remember the Mardi Gras bombers? a year or so ago these guys where sending bombs to Barclays bank and Tesco supermarkets, for whatever reason. That was before they got caught. Ok I didn't follow the story too closely. I was more interested in how those things where made rather than the reasons behind the bombings. Ok maybe I should correct that, they wheren't bombs, the devices didn't explode nor did they burn (so there not incendries). The devices where infact simple mechanical devices that set off ammunition, usualy rifle or shotgun rounds, although I seem to think that one or two of the deivces where designed to explode, but that's irrelevent. So imagain a device that blasted off a shotgun cartridge when you opened it or it was set off by means of a timer, hell if somebody blasts you with a shotgun at about 10 meters it will cut you in half, imagine if a cartrige where to be set off less than a meter? there's no barrel to direct it, so it's entirly likely that you'd get 180 degree spred from it. And who say's that the cartridge has to contain normal lead shot? I have (in the past) seen them loaded with all sorts of projectiles, and then set off by devious means (I'm telling you, if you compare the damage of lead shot to what other forms of "shot" does, you'd see just how nasty they can be). Ok so what is going to be needed for these nasty little devices? 1 Video case 1 Spring loaded bolt lock 10cm of Nylon string (the real strong shit) 35mm film case box of matches (large) any form of ignition 1 battery (for ignition system, if electrical) 1 Shotgun cartrige Epoxy resin (go for the 24hr stuff) Small plastic bag Tape Blue tak 1) First off take your video case, open it up and examine it, take it's verious messurments. You will need to punch a hole just small enough for the string to fit through, punch the hole on the top of the case (the bit that's 12cm x 3cm) around the center. Now thread the string half way through. Tie a knot in it and try and pull it back, don't yank it really hard because we haven't finished with it yet. 2) Next, mix up a batch of epoxy resin (remember it's the 24hr stuff so we don't need to rush this). Once you've got it mixed really well, paste some of it over the knot which should be poking just through the hole (on the outside, the rest of the string should be in the case). 3) Take the spring loaded bolt lock, make sure that it's got a large metal base, also make sure that it's not covered in any form of paint, 'cause if it breaks loose when you building this, you will die. Pull out the bolt and measure how long it is, also take a note as too the strengh, it doesn't take much to set a cartrige off, but if it's too weak it will do fuck all. I can't really remember what the poundage is needed to set off a percussion pin, something similar to that of a cap gun (if that's of any help). Now let's assume that it's fairly strong if you pull it back about 3cm. 4) Measure 5cm from the top of the video case (where the string is) and place the bolt farly centeral. Now tie the string around the bolt so that it can be pulled back (I mean, pull the bolt back and tie the string to it). Use epoxy resin to secure this, make sure that 2cm of the string is epoxy free. Now once it's all set you should be able to place the bolt in it's predefined position (i.e the center of the case) and the bolt should be held to it's limit by the string with no slack. Now here's where you have a few choices you can either epoxy it directly to the video case, or apply epoxy to it and use small screws to hold it in place while it dries. Note: You can epoxy it too the case before you tie the string too it, that's what I'd recommend anyway. 5) While that's setting, take your 35mm film canister and cut the back center piece out of it (it should be the small indentation on the bottom). Before I go any further, has anybody noticed that the film canister is 35mm and the video case is 30mm? this is a simple problem over come by cutting 1cm from the film canister (as in, cut the side off it) What you should have now is a small trough shapped canister that will fit into the video case, allowing you to close the lid. Take care in positioning it in the video case. The part that you cut out (on the bottom) should fit where the bolt will be once the string is cut. I.e the bolt will shot through the hole, if it won't, then cut a bit more plastic off. 6) Now get your blue tak and your shotgun cartridge, use the blue tak to prop the cartridge up so that the percussion pin is against the part you cut out of the center of the film canister. To put it one way, make sure that the bolt will hit the cartridge once it shoots forward. Now you'll want to epoxy the film canister into postion. DON'T add the shotgun cartridge yet, if anything goes wrong, you don't want it to blow a hole in your wall (or wherever you build your tools of destruction). 7) After a while you should have a bolt and a film canister epoxied in position inside the film case, you should also be able to close the lid. It should look similar to this: _______________________________________ | _________ _______ | | ___ |_ | | | |-1-x|_2_|==3=== _ |4 | | | _________| |______| | |______________________________________| Key: 1= String 2= The bolt where the sring is tied 3= The bolt that will shoot forward 4= The film canister (Obviously that is not to scale) 8) Now we will get the small plastic bag, cut off all of the match heads and place them inside the small plastic bag. Place the bag either so that the string is running through it, or the string is running directly over the bag. 9) Get your little device's ignition system, this can either be a simple switch, or a timer. I'm not going to describe how to make those little bulb igniters because I'm sick to death of it. If you really don't know how, then read the last issues of SWAT Magazine and make a huge batch of them. You should now have your igniter going into the bag of matches. If you where to now set off the igniter then it should ignite the matches, thus burning the string and sending the bolt forward. (I guess you now know how this works) 10) Now you device is all but compleate, how you fix the cartridge into position is up to you, Epoxy is the best bet, since it will hold it well with little or no chance of it comming loose. Once the cartridge is in position your device is compleat. You now have another piece of terrorist hardware, all you need to do now is to scan a black and white picture from resoviour dogs and write "Welcome to the madi gras experience" on it (BTW that was a joke) 11) So just to re-cap, when the device's timmer/ignition system goes off, the matches will burn the string. Once the string has burnt away the bolt will shoot forward and set off the cartridge. That should blow the front end of the video case away, along with any body else that's unfortunate enough to be there. I'm in no way encouraging you to go out and bomb your local supermarket or local bank. I'm mearly demonstrating how such devices can be built. And another thing: I am not in anyway linked to the mardi gras bombers.