Thanks for the responses, guys! Please discuss the caliber stuff on some other topic, knowing the caliber of a bolter isn't my problem, and doesn't actually help me...
The pics were nice, though not 100% necessary. (I'm completely aware what a bolter looks like...
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The problem is that even though I know what bolter looks like I would greatly benefit from some sort of templates or plans for one...
you could try guessing it by calculating the scale models are made on. A marine is supposed to be about 6ft, divide this by the actual size of a marine model. Next you simply multiply this number with the size of a model bolter and the result would be something like how big a real bolter would be
...and the 40k bolters, Space Marines and other stuff aren't in 100% accurate scale and there are different sizes of Marine models even in 40K scale Marines alone. And, for example, comparing the bolters on Inquisitor scale and Epic scale models makes the bolter completely different sizes. And no-one is 100% sure on how tall a Space Marine would actually be and even if somebody is, somebody else says something else, just like this:
A marine is supposed to be about 6ft <|> I was under the impression that marines were closer to 7-8ft.
I'm pretty sure I can get the actual scale comparing Inquisitor and 40K models but it would still be a lot easier if somebody had actual experience on building/having/seeing a real-life-scale bolter in real life or having some sort of plans or templates for one.
The link posted by Two Blades as One had a really nice bolter (though the barrel is too small IMO).
some of them are a little bit bigger or smaller than other bolters depending on what pattern it is.
Got no idea on patterns but they don't matter that much as long as the bolter itself looks cool...
Thanks, everyone, I'm still eager to get more information.