The firearms world can be fairly creative, and guns that are disguised to look like other things are one of the more creative types of firearms. This odd genre of firearms doesn’t necessarily have a name, so I call them transformers — obviously referencing the children’s cartoons and toys. These aren’t robots in disguise but guns in disguise. Guns have been disguised as random objects since nearly their inception, but the modern age has shown some really neat designs.
Today we’re looking at five of the more modern designs that perfectly represent the transformers—guns in disguise.
The Modern Transformers
1. Magpul FDP-9 / FDC-9
The Magpul FDP-9 and FDC-9 series come from the 2008 FMG-9 Prototype SMG. The FMG-9 never saw production outside of Call of Duty. Magpul teamed up with ZEV to produce a pistol and short-barreled rifle version of the gun. The FDP-9 is the pistol variant, and the FDC-9 is the SBR model. It bears mentioning that the Russians had something similar called the PP-90 in the 1990s.
These two guns fold into some brick-like device that ensures they don’t look like firearms. Sure, they don’t necessarily look like anything else, but they don’t look like guns. ZEV started life as a Glock shop, and that seems to be the idea here. The FDC and FDP series will be 9mm guns and take Glock mags.
The FDC-9 and FDP-9 aren’t for sale just yet, and they were announced two years ago or so. I’m betting they’ll be expensive, but I think I’ll find a way to gather up the cash to get one. It seems like way too cool of a concept to ignore. These are the kind of transformers my gun safe needs.
2. Trailblazer Lifecard
LifeCard is a pretty apt description of the Lifecard. This single shot .22LR or .22 Magnum pistol folds into something roughly the same dimensions as a credit card. Obviously, it’s a bit thicker but is very easily hidden and pocketed. In fact, the little metal card looks so non-gun-like that I feel like I could carry it openly, and no one would ever know what the heck it was.
The Lifecard is a single-shot firearm, so its defensive capabilities are somewhat limited. It’s a striker-fired gun with a tip-up barrel. These transformers could be great suppressor hosts with a lot of modification, and it has been done before. With a can, it almost looks like a vape.
The Lifecard is a very stripped-down platform. It lacks sights and is best described as a belly gun. The trench sight across the top and minimalist grip doesn’t inspire much hope for long-range accuracy. Point and shoot is the name of the game. What can’t be denied about the Trailblazer is how well it’s constructed. It’s very well made and very reliable.
3. Ideal Conceal IC380
This is the most controversial of all the transformers on this list. For a short period of time, parts of the anti and pro-gun sides both agreed this was somehow a ‘dangerous’ idea. “Bad guys will just have an easily disguised gun,” said the anti-gunners ignoring the fact it’s a two-shot derringer. The pro-gun side started proclaiming cops will have to shoot people with cell phones, which shows a really low level of expectations for police from those people.
The Ideal Conceal is a bit like the Lifecard but also a fair bit different. It’s larger and is roughly the size of a modern phone in a case. When folded, it’s a big rectangle, with two clear holes being its barrels. The pistol grip unfolds, exposing the trigger, and readies it to fire. When folded, the gun cannot fire.
The gun features a double-action trigger with restrike capability. Point and pull the trigger, and it will fire twice. The IC380 lacks any form of sight but can be fitted with a laser. These transformers disappear into your pocket and offer you twice the power of the Lifecard with a substantially more powerful caliber.
4. Braverman Stinger
Pen guns are an interesting category of firearms. They are somewhat rare, and most are considered AOWs (Any Other Weapon). If a weapon is a gun that doesn’t look like a gun or is purposefully disguised as another weapon, it’s classified as an AOW. The Braverman Stinger comes in two categories, an AOW model and a non-AOW.
The AOW models are not transformers, though. It’s just a thick pen that shoots. The second model unfolds into something that resembles a gun. The Pen unfolds into an L-shaped device with a small, exposed trigger. This single-shot little weapon fires a single round of .22LR.
The little gun lacks any kind of sights and is very slow to reload, so make that one and only shot count. It’s still easily the most disguised gun on this list. Drop it into a shirt or pants pocket, or hell, carry it in your hand, and no one will notice it. Sadly these guns were only produced for a few years and are collector’s items now. If they were released now instead of 1995, I wonder how well they’d do. I’d buy one.
5. Arsenal RS-1S
Finally, we have a weapon disguised as another weapon. It’s genius. The Arsenal RS-1S is a knife, specifically a fixed blade knife. If you are looking at the blade, you might see a little hole sitting above it—that’s the barrel. The Arsenal RS-1S holds five rounds of .22 short in a revolving cylinder.
You can pop open the grip and load the cylinder with five rounds of the rather anemic .22 Short. However, you can finally bring a knife to a gunfight. The trigger, if you want to call it that, is a squeeze-like device that operates the weapon in a double-action mode. The ergonomics look silly, and as you’d expect, that are no sights.
This gun barely falls into the transformer category. It really just pops open the trigger to fire. However, the whole grip does open so you can load, clean, and access the internals. This gun is an NFA-regulated AOW and costs about $7,500 dollars these days, so it’s likely the most expensive transformer.
Optimus Glocktimus
I love when the gun industry gets creative. I would most certainly own all of these guns if I didn’t have three kids to raise and adult responsibility. Sadly, at this point, I can only look and lust after some. Which would you purchase?
What’s your favorite gun in disguise? Something modern? Or something old-school like that prison key flintlock pistol? Let us know below!
(Cover Photo Courtesy of Nick Chen)
