There are quite a few "Tomb Raider" and "Indiana Jones" figures out there armed with nothing more than a pistol as the primary weapon, but what would be the ideal secondary weapon to carry on the back?

I'm not talking about zombie hunter or post-apocalyptic survivor. I'm talking about an adventure scientist like Indiana Jones---solo operator. The threats could be anything from wild animals to humans.

Doesn't a handgun and shotgun have a range of 50m? A SMG a range of 300m, and an assault rifle a range of 500m? Wouldn't an assault rifle be heavy and overkill to carry on exploration compared to anything else? Wouldn't one want something light, easy to aim and handle compared to a long gun? However, shotgun is almost guaranteed a hit at close range compared to aiming with other guns.

I'm kind of leaning towards the 9mm MP5 or MP5K, but I'd like to entertain suggestions. Thanks.

I'd say for the ranges: Pistol @ 50 feet, shotgun @ 150 feet, SMG @ 150 meters, assault rifle @ 300 meters, and a large bore precision rifle with an optic beyond that.

For a secondary "adventure" weapon, I'd go with a lightweight short barreled carbine with a full size round (e.g. M4).

The older (WW2) SMGs were heavy as. A Thompson was almost 11 lbs empty, and an MP40 was 9 lbs. In contrast, a modern M4 or MP5 is just over 6 lbs.

The modern M4 is a modeler's dream, as it's basically just a platform to bolt cool accessories on to.

Cheers!

Here's the way I see it... an SMG basically uses the same ammo as the pistols, and they are quite ammo hungry, and at the same time not good for hunting, but rather for close quarters fights. And the explorer isn't trying to pick a fight right?
M4 or an assault rifle would be overkill for many reasons. Imagine "dr Jones" entering a local vilage with an M4. He's not there to find an archeological dig, he's there to start a war (unless it is a war torn area)

So my vote would go for the shotgun. It looks cool, but not out of place. The wood stock means it can be used as a club or tool when needed. There are many different types of ammo for it (slugs, pellets...) and having those colorful shotgun rounds on the miniature will make it pop. Finding ammo for a shotgun anywhere in the world would be much easier than for a "soldier of fortune" type weapon.

Another option are those airmen rifles, shotgun/rifle combos that could fire many different calibers, and still fold away to a manageable size.

Also a machete is a must, the bullwhip not so much.

I agree w/Smorko, a shotgun (esp. a sawed off/short barrel) is still the best option. Also, people don't realize how far 150 feet/50 meters actually is. That is half a football field. It is hard to tell who someone actually is and their intentions at that range, esp. if they are in the woods/jungle, etc. If an explorer is engaging someone at that range or beyond, they are definitely picking a fight, not really defending themselves.

For that type of individual,I would think something along the lines of a scout rifle concept would be appropriate.

I wouldn't think a lone adventurer would want to be dealing with long range sniping, and evasion would be more appropriate.
Maybe swap out the pistol for a slightly larger than pistol size select fire smg.

A pistol taking out a large animal is movie hype unless it's big bore. Pistols are for killing human sized organisms. You run into a bear with a 9mm you're dead. A shotgun is good but the ammo is much heavier. You can carry anything from bird shot (in the old days we used low brass #8 bird shot to drive off coyotes we didn't want to kill) to rifled slugs that will stop most living things in their tracks. At a shorter range than a rifle of course. And while sawed off stocks and barrels look cool the stock is there to assist in aiming and the longer barrel increase range and accuracy. Think Hicks in Aliens when he says "I like to keep this handy for close encounters". We had Mossbergs and they were pretty good, reliable and intimidating. Now if you really want to model a intimidating shotgun get a SPAS 12 or AA12. I really love my SPAS 12. Scares the heck out of my neighbors when they see me with it. They run like heck when they see me shoot it. And yes I have had the sheriff called on me a number of times because of it. I don't even have to shoot and they they show up.

With so many 1/35 weapons being made (Trumpeter, DML, Blast, Tank, and Live-Resin), there are many options to choose from.

I'm all for a shotgun; I guess it all depends on where I want to base my Explorer.

In "Kong, Skull Island," Sam Jackson had an M-14 with scope for sniping. However, I think one can do that with a M4 1014 shotgun with rail and ACOG too.

Or should one take a AK-47u? The AK-47u is short, compact, packs a 7.62mm punch, and can spray-and-pray or accurate enough for sniping.

There's also the H&K UMP with .45 cartridge...light, compact, and not intimidating.

As others have said - the shotgun is most versatile, and you can take care of many angry natives/cannibals/beasties with few shots. Assault shotgun preferred with pistol grip and foregrip, unless you have a specific era in mind - here's a pretty one: https://ii.cheaperthandirt.com/fcgi-bin/iipsrv.fcgi?FIF=/images/cheaperthandirt/source/7-gdp12_1.tif&wid=1000&cvt=jpeg . Then, of course, you have the ubiquitous crossbow.

Depends on the era you want to depict. Also, your adventurer should make the decision ahead of time what his threat matrix is. Angry natives? Grizzly bears? Local government types who dont want their precious items taken?

Hard to argue with a shotgun, and I'd go simpler over more complex. Maybe a straight 870 like from the Dragon kits, or the short Ithacas from the Nam Seals II or NYPD ESU sets.

FB_IMG_1491614147007 by biggsgalassi, on Flickr



^That's me, by the way, 12 days ago in a defensive shotgun class. 234 rounds later, my shoulder kinda hurt!

Also, some of the ranges described above are a bit off.

In my own case, I expect to keep 100% of my rounds from a Glock 9mm on a torso target at 50 yards. I expect to keep 100% in an 8 inch circle at 25 yards. Shotgun, depends on the ammo. Federal Flite Control 00 buck should stay inside a torso with ease at 25 yards. Slugs, I can shoot a 6 inch group with 10 rounds at 50 yards with no real trouble, so figure solid torso hits at 100. Carbine, I've shot 10 inch barreled 5.56 and gotten easy hits at 300 without a magnified optic. With magnification (say, 4x) and a 16 inch barrel, figure 500 on a calm (no wind) day.