Our weapons vault contains 90-plus small arms and light weapons, and some Star Wars weaponry.

During the making of Star Wars, they used contemporary, modified weapons as movie props. Our matching Star Wars small arms include a Sterling MK1 as a Storm Trooper’s E-11 Blaster rifle, a German Mauser C96 as Han Solo’s DL-44 Heavy Blaster pistol, a Lee Enfield MK3 as a Jawa Ion gun, and a Lewis MK1 light machine gun as a Storm Trooper’s T-21 Light Repeating Blaster.

As movie props, they modified each small arm or light weapon. They removed components, cut-down the barrels or stocks, added attachment rails, scopes and mounts, muzzle tips, flash hiders, and covered the contemporary markings.

In our weapons vault, museum curators arrange the small arms and light weapons to show technological development over time.

We display weapons used by Canadians, or used against Canadians in warfare. We start with muskets and work our way to modern rifles used by Canadian soldiers today. We also display medium and heavy machine guns from Maxim and Victors. We only display 20 per cent of our small arms collection because the museum just does not have the space to display everything in our collection.

Our curators often display our small arms and light weapons in the deployed position with their sights up. Small arms represent handguns, muskets, rifles, submachine guns and light machine guns.

Light weapons include medium and heavy machine guns and grenade launchers.

However, in order not to weaken the springs or damage the artifact, the sights cannot remain up for long periods.

Our curators have to find a safe balance between artistically displaying the artifact and the preservation of the artifact.

By the Boer War and into the Great War, Canadian soldiers commonly used the Short Lee-Enfield MK 3, with a .303 bullet, brass casing, smokeless powder, and a detachable clip.

During the Second World War, Canadian soldiers commonly used the Lee-Enfield No. 4 MK 1. Other notable weapons from that war include the Bren Gun MK1, Sten MK2 and Thompson M1928.

We display handguns, such as the Canadian high-power nine-milimetre, the American Colt 1911 .45 calibre, and the German Walther PPK 7.65mm.

When it comes to more recent models, we display the FN C1, FN C2, C7 and some experimental models.

In the near future, I would like to add a M2 .50 calibre machine gun and more Star Wars weaponry.