FN P90 Prototype (1980s)

I believe this, especially the bottom model, was always intended to be a “tool room gun”. As in it was never intended to be the final design, but a testbed for proof of concept of things like the feed mechanism.

Firearms designers, especially at places like FN, tend not to be completely stupid so if a prototype model looks immediately stupid to us, I think we can safely assume the designers were aware of the faults.

I know what I said might be obvious, but the “hurt durr dumb design” comments that inevitably follow pictures like this around tend to get a little old. The pictured design evolved into the P90, so obviously there had to be experiments when spinning up a design with so many unique features.

The original design was meant to be a sidearm, wasn't it? Something a tank crew might fall back on IIRC. I could see this being a real vision for a final product. That doesn't make the designers dumb. Sometimes you have to try stuff that looks dumb because it might not actually be.
- The vision of the PDW was a primary weapon for troops not normally expected to be on the frontlines. Essentially a submachinegun form factor and weight with a cartridge capable of penetrating soft body armor.
  Importantly the big magazine and full auto were with the PDW concept from the beginning, so that rear line troops faced with a defense situation could hose down bad guys until help showed up.
  There are a lot of obvious deficiencies in the bottom gun such as a lack of any kind of sights aside from a tube, which is even simpler than the wartime M3 Greasegun sights. The idea of a gun designed for full auto but held out and away from the body like a pistol strikes me as the kind of thing not intended for final production.
  The top picture looks closer to some kind of concept for a finished design. It looks like an iteration of the bottom design, keeping the below-the-grip bore and big magazine but in a gun beginning to resemble something practical. If you look back and forth between the designs, the top design is an extension of the first that has features that would have been dead obvious to add from the beginning.
  I will research and see if I can find links because I am almost certain that read that the bottom design had the “sight” literally drilled with a power drill, but I’d like to source that before declaring it.

Stargate might still have used it.

O'Neil wouldn't have liked them.
- It's "O'Neill" with two Ls. There is an O'Neil with one L but he has no sense of humour
Its a reverse engineered goauld weapon, the Fa'abriquena'tiona'al
O'neill would call them Fab's for short.

Accidentally grab your fn p90 prototype instead of the hand vacuum..

Well one cleans up all the dust in a room and the other cleans up all the people in a room.

Is this a firearm or a stapler?

Long-distance hole-punch
Just wait till Swingline releases their competing model.
- Does it come in red though?
It is a stapler for your enemies.
Anything is a stapler if you are brave enough.
I think we had something like that hanging on the kitchen wall in the 90's. Or maybe that was a vacuum idk

SA80
- The SA-80 is proof that the Brits can’t be trusted with designing auto-loading guns. Sniper rifles? Maybe even Sniper rifles dressed in a garage? Sure, go wild. Thing that’s going to be issued to general infantry? No, leave that to one of the myriad other countries that have never designed and ordered in large quantities an abomination like the SA-80.

Costco Jack Bauer looks like he likes it.

grabs pillow

Covers prototype with pillow

Pushes hard

Sssssssshhhhhhh, it's okay.

NGL, I kinda want wood furniture on a P90 now.

Lookin' like an FN P00.

I like the curved barrel

It's to account for the curvature of the Earth.

This would have made SG1 way less cool.

I'm glad they redesigned it.

I see they made some changes. As a fan of 5.7, I still approve.

I'm fr curious what was the reason for this design

Confined spaces. Think about trying to hop out of a transport vehicle with a full length rifle.
Compact, non-snaggy, durable design for personnel who would otherwise snag, break, or not be able to carry a full sized battle rifle. E.g.: tank crew, pilots.