052 // The Fuel Rod by Alex Griendling

FROM...er...me: After the fossil fuel wars of 2140, oil is a commodity only available to the the privelaged elite. Without cars to consume the precious resource, the rich look for other methods of utilizing (see also: wasting) their black gold. The gun is designed to use a special "grip trigger" so that the decrepid weathy don't strain their clumsy arthritic fingers trying to pull a traditional finger trigger.

On a more personal note, this is the last Raygun of the Raygun52 project. While the endeavor has certainly been stressful at times, it's been a blast working with 51 other designers and illustrators to bring the project to fruition. Many thanks to all the contributors and everyone who has supported the blog over the past year. I'll write a more extensive post mortem on my blog in the coming week. Thanks again.

FROM BISHOP: “As expected, the United Sea of Tranquility managed to pass measures that ordered the shuttering of our time traveling ventures. Fortunately, The Company had been funding a secret endeavor to develop a method of time travel that was not reliant on the USoT’s own Time Travel Commission. You’ll forgive me for not mentioning it previously, but with the TTC monitoring all activity, The Company was afraid of tipping its hand. So, how am I writing you now?

My team and I, unbeknownst to the USoT, have traveled back a few years to a time when raygun technology is in its infancy. Here, armed with our new catalog of 52 rayguns, we’ll dominate the market, making it easier and more affordable for people to ignite small military conflicts and settle personal scores on their own terms.

Please extend The Company’s sincerest thanks to the 52 designers and illustrators that helped us to reinvigorate the raygun market here in the future. True to our word, their descendants have been handsomely compensated. We’ll be in touch should we need any more work from the past, but for now, this concludes your business with The Company. [***Kill Time Transmission Link***]”

051 // The Blast Processor by Rob Sheridan

FROM ALEX: You can (and should) check out Rob's design, illustration and photography via his website, rob-sheridan.com. Chances are, if you're a NIN fan, you're already pretty familiar with his work. You can also give Rob a follow via twitter.

FROM BISHOP: "THe USoT has S**Ss*jjj...[ILLEGIBLE]...bloc*king time...***FHHHH...[ILLEGIBLE]...draStic measureS-**our...[ILLEGIBLE]...eXpeRImental.*HH*[REMAINING TIME TRANSMISSION ILLEGIBLE]"

050 // The Jackpot by Dan Matutina

FROM ALEX: Dan's work has been an inspiratoin for a while now. Be sure to check it out on his website, twistedfork.me. He's also been churning out some great stuff on Versus/Hearts that you should take a peek at. You can also give him a follow on dribbble and twitter!

FROM DAN: " The newest gun from Neue Vegas: THE JACKPOT.

It's easy to use:

1. Pull the lever

2. Wait for the reels to stop

3. Pull the tigger to fire

Take a chance in life. Order yours now.

FROM BISHOP: "Fortunately, a high ranking official in the USoT government has a bit of a gambling...infatuation. In exchange for early access to a Jackpot prototype, he has agreed to misplace a folder calling for the immediate closure of our Raygun52 project. Here's to hopefully procuring a final 2 weeks."

049 // The Ladyspur by Will Baker

FROM ALEX: Will's got quite the bounty of wonderful illustration and design work. Check it out at his website. You can also keep up with him via twitter.

FROM BISHOP: "This raygun is such a beautiful tool of destruction that it pains me to inform you all that we recieved a notice that the USoT has passed regulatory measures that will require Raygun52 to be immediately shut down. While they managed to pass their bill sooner than anticipated, we will be able to prolong our compliment for a few more weeks, giving us time to complete the collection of 52."

048 // The Refraculator by Seth Nickerson

FROM ALEX: Check out Seth's work on his website. Watch him make it via dribbble. See him talk about about it (among other things) via twitter.

FROM SETH: "Designed to harness a single ray of light and transform it into beautiful deadly chromatic power, The Refraculator is among the most energy efficient weapons ever conceived this side of the moon. At the lowest power setting, it can be used to painlessly stun its victims. If irreparable damage to the Cerebral Cortex is what you're after, just dial it up a notch. Finally, to unleash a furious full spectrum of hot death, set the controls to "Heart of the Sun", and be sure to avert your eyes—the results could potentially be too beautiful."

FROM BISHOP: "With such a limited amount of energy on the moon, we're always looking keeping an eye out for energy efficient weapons we can use locally. It won't be much use on the dark side of the moon, but we're not too anxious to give those moonbillies weapons anyway."

047 // Rayflect Special: Catalytic Particle Reflector by Tracy Harris

FROM ALEX: Be sure to check out Tracy's blog, Prickly Pear Bloom and her website, Prickly Pear Creative. You can also give Tracy a follow on twitter and dribbble!

FROM BISHOP: "It's cute that you included a safety switch, but lax government regulation and a general disinteret in safety will probably result in its ommision from the final design."

046 // Radio-Lux by Paul Sahner

Paul also sent along a recording of the gun in action.

FROM ALEX: You can check out Paul's design work, motion graphics and piano playing on his website. You should also take a look at his photography project, NYC Grid and give him a follow on twitter.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM APCON TECHNOLOGIES: This cannon-like weapon has been a great find for our organization. We can't wait to see what you can do with it. As you can see, it's an older model – a one-of-a-kind prototype from the early 20th century. At 24 inches long, it's designed to be held on the user's right arm. The hand rest and its unique thumb trigger work well, though some of the engineers here found it to be rather unbalanced and difficult to carry, so we've added some leather straps to wrap around the arm and gun.

Developed in 1937 by GE as a way to harness the energy of high frequency radio waves, the Radio-Lux was recently uncovered and refurbished by our company. Over the past 75 years, the proliferation of radio waves has caused this device to no longer function as originally intended. Rather than a reasonable laser-like shot, the Radio-Lux absorbs nearly 120 times the energy it would have in the 1930's. The result is a short, but uncontrolled blast which causes irreparable physical damage to anything in its path, as well as EMP-like damage to all surrounding electronics.

The video, shot behind several inches of glass with a specially-developed camera and lens system, shows the various stages the gun must go through to fire. Unfortunately, the extra radio waves found in the modern atmosphere don't aid in the gun's recycle time. The slow charge is due to the tube system used to hold and convert the waves into energy. A turbine in the rear does its best to keep the system cool, but we've found overheating to be inevitable.

We hope you're able to take what we've provided today and better adapt it to your needs in the future. Hopefully by now you'll have the technology to solve the overload issues we've experienced.

FROM BISHOP: "I speak for The Company when I say that I look forward to this new partnership between Apcon Technologies. While our companies have not seen eye to eye in the past, we hope this gesture signals a great leap forward in cooperation and patent sharing."

045 // The Thunderbuss by Duncan Wilson

FROM ALEX: You can check more of Duncan's illustration work on his blog, Wellington, Drawe!. You'll also be able to follow duncan along via Twitter.

FROM DUNCAN: "The Thunderbuss has been designed to siphon surrounding noise through the four audio receptors placed on top of the gun. These sounds are then transmodulated and binarised through a series of expertly tempered brass data-pipes before being reconstituted inside the lower audio cartridge to form rounds of hugely destructive audio pulses.

Laboratory tests have shown the Thunderbuss to be so finely tuned that it can convert the sound of a snail climbing a blade of grass into enough power to strip the meat from a cow."

FROM BISHOP: "While the vaccuum of space will render this weapon unusable in open space combat, it will prove most useful in almost every other circumstance. Earth's noise pollution is at an all time high, the Moon's terraforming refinery emits a low hum at all hours of the day and the native species on [REDACTED] are always making strange sounds. Yes, The Thunderbuss will be a most useful tool."

044 // R9726817160 (AKA Spoon) by John J. Custer

FROM ALEX: Check out John's portfolio on his website. It's full o' design and illustration goodies. You can also give him a follow via twitter.

FROM JOHN: "The R9726817160 [Spoon] is a Western-styled, nonlethal riot ray gun. This retro-future firearm is powered by Texas' own liquid gold: Dr. Pepper. The syrupy ammo is pressurized to puncture glass shells that fire powerful ray gun onomatopoeia printed on flags–perfect for crowd control."

FROM BISHOP: "In 2052, a formal investigation was launched into the legality of PepsiCo Inc using the "Dr." prefix in the name of their "Dr. Pepper" drink. After a lengthy court battle, usage of the "Dr." prefix was deemed misleading and outlawed. While many viewed this decision as extreme, with an obesity rate of 72% the United States was desperate to dissuade people from consuming unhealthy foods and beverages. Unfortunately the drink, subsequently named “Pepper”, failed to entice consumers and was discontinued.

Fortunately for us, corporate oversight is now a thing of the past and we’ll be instigating a “Dr. Pepper” revival campaign to support the launch of this syrupy side arm."

043 // The Plasma Cannon Mk. XIII by Justin Mezzell

FROM ALEX: Do yourself a favor and check out Justin's other work on his website. You can also give him a follow on dribbble and twitter.

FROM BISHOP: "Best quality raygun drugs 100% guarantee best prices in the market. Payment discount 25% with gCredits. See change in size now wow! Luxurious Raygun no need to apply for big winning conference: [LINK REDACTED] [**TIME TRANSMISSION COMMITTEE NOTE - WE BELIEVE THIS TO BE "SPAM", BUT ARE UNDER ORDERS TO SEND ANYTHING THAT COMES FROM THE DESK OF BISHOP]."