53990 Disc Launcher, how does it work?

[Hrw-Amen]

Just a quick question, I have put it here as most of the sets this comes in appear to be sci-Fi related.

I have recently come across a couple of these disc launchers (Bricklink ref 53990.) but they are not something I have seen before. I believe they must have come out in my dark age and not been in many sets (if any.) in the last four years.

So the question, having got a couple with a load of other stuff, how on earth do they work? I thought they would be spring loaded, similar to the cannons, but they do not appear to have any moving parts? (Unless mine are broken?)

I have tried google and found loads of images, but not one on how the things actually launch discs? Also they seem in the images to come with some smaller radius green slime coloured discs, not the standard 2x2 that I was expecting. Has anyone got a Bricklink part number for the discs they use?

OK, thanks for the information.

[dooberfloober]

the plastic side arm (sticks out on the right) is semirigid.

1. fill the tube with a couple of discs
   
2. pull back on arm with finger
   
3. release
   

note that they do use smaller discs. they are two-color mixes.

[Hrw-Amen]

OK, thanks for that. I have managed to track down a dozen or so of the discs so now it becomes clear how they work. I was labouring under the false opinion that the tube was the launcher sort of like a mortar, but now I understand that it is just the magazine. Thank anyway.

[Mataroa]

My only encounter with these was the Shadow Crawler and the Mobile Defense Tank from Exo-Force. Each set came with about ten disks (smaller than a dime), and could only load about as many in the stack.

Pulling the arm back and releasing quickly would force the disk out. These didn't travel very far, there was no spring behind the arm to help out.

Pretty much, it was a nice concept that fell flat. I don't think it got the same love that Bionicle's various Zamor launchers got.

Edited September 4, 2013 by Mataroa