If there’s anything several of us fellow Predator collectors have learned to do in the last year, it’s to keep an eye on the kitchen of Dave Pirkle from Pirkle-ations because you just never know what he’s got cooking in the oven. When that oven door does fly open, the only thing that comes out of there is pure movie prop magic, and this latest piece has just raised the bar BIG TIME when it comes to full scale replica cannons! It’s my pleasure to present to you my review and photos of the Recoiled Edition of the AvP High Calibre Cannon designed by Gary Jensen and Dave Pirkle.

This 14″ monster cannon based on the AvP High Calibre weapon is the result of a combined effort of two very talented artists from The Lair. The initial sculpt was crafted by Gary Jensen (aka Shataan) and was then shipped over to Dave Pirkle for additional detailing and the final casting process. The result of their combined effort? A full size prop cast in polymer resin for a light-weight weapon of mass xenomorph destruction! In fact, the cannon only weighs about 1.6lbs, and because it’s hollow-cast, you’ve got room to pop in lights, servos and other electronics for you costume buffs.

It’s also important to note that like mine, this piece is available only as a pre-painted and fully finished prop and will not be available in raw kit form. This limited run of cannons is also marked and signed by the artists. With that said, I can honestly say that the paint application is top notch and I couldn’t have asked for any better. The weathering is extremely realistic with a mix of silver metal texture and browned weather patterns, as well as charring on the front muzzle of the cannon where numerous shots have already been fired. Believe me, I’m fussy about weathering, and this is top notch. It’s basically ready right out of the box for the AvP 2 movie set as far as I’m concerned. Not only that, but it’s light weight makes it very easy to add to a full size costume, yet the extremely professional sculpt and paint application also makes it worthy of any collector’s display case. Don’t let that weight fool you though… I admit I was worried it would be a bit flimsy, but the piece definitely has a good heft and solid feel to it. I honestly think I could drop it on the floor without breaking a thing on it.

Drooling yet? Then you need to click the icon below and visit the photo gallery for this cannon!

By now, you’re probably screaming at me wondering how to get your hands on this before the mold dies and it’s no longer available. Trust me, I know the felling… you should have seen how fast I was hunting Dave down when I first found pictures of the original master sculpt he was molding. The cost for this cannon fully finished and ready to go is $130USD plus shipping costs. To order yours, contact Dave at pirkle-ations@comcast.net and make sure you tell him I sent you so he knows where you come from.

Hope you guys enjoyed my little review and I look forward to bring you new products very soon and be sure to keep your ears open for the next piece by Gary and Dave! (Yes, there’s something else coming down the pipe.) Until then, you costume folks had better move your butts for Halloween!

Thanks,
Dan