Smitty's Junk

The Webley Nemesis wasn't the prettiest of airguns. It reminded me of the original Robocop's modified Beretta 93R (more on him at some point). It was fitting it had to make way for the 92FS.



Will likely shed some of the replicas, but this is the current breakdown:

Deactivated

Webley Mk. IV .38 double action with 5? barrel (UK, c.1965)

Tokarev Mod. TT-33 7.62mm semi-automatic (Soviet Union, dated 1953)

Vincenzo Bernadelli Mod. 60 .22 LR (Gardone proof mark 'AB' for 1959)


Black Powder

Colt 1851 Navy .36 / 9mm blank (Gardone proof mark 'AD' for 1978) (Pietta, Italy)


Blank Firer

Beretta Mod. 1934 9mm semi-automatic (MGC/RMI, Japan)

Colt 1851 Navy (Uberti, Italy)

Colt 1873 Single Action Army .44-40 Long Blank (MGC/RMI, Japan)

Colt 1874 Single Action Army .45 (MGC/RMI, Japan)

Colt 1873 Single Action Army 'Cavalry' .44 (CMC, Japan, 1968)

Colt 1911 9mm semi-automatic (Bruni, Italy. Imported by Webley)

Colt Cobra .38 Special (Malugo/Marugo, Japan)

Mauser C96 Mod. 1930 (Hudson, Japan)

Mayer & Riem 1937 'Perfecta' Mod. S 8-shot repeating 6mm Flobert (c.1960, West Germany)

Remington 1858 New Model Army .44 cartridge conversion 9mm blank (Gardone proof mark 'CC' for 2008) (Pietta, Italy)

Smith & Wesson Model 19 .357 Combat Magnum 4? barrel (MGC/RMI, Japan)


Airgun

Anics Skif A-3000 .177 CO2 28-shot repeating single or double action (Russia)

Baikal Makarov MP-654K Generation 1 1999 .177 CO2 (IMZ Makarov factory, Russia)

Umarex Beretta Mod. 92FS .177 CO2 licensed by Beretta (c.2011 Germany)

Webley Nemesis .177 (UK)


Airsoft

Dan Wesson .357 Magnum with 2.5? barrel 6mm CO2

Heckler & Koch MP5A3 9mm

Walther P99 9mm


Replica

C18th Bunney Pocket Pistol (Denix, Spain)

Colt 1860 Army .44 (Denix, Spain)

Colt 1873 Single Action Army .45 (Denix, Spain)

Colt 1873 Single Action Army 'Cavalry' .45 (Denix, Spain)

Griswold & Gunnison 1860 Confederate Army iron and brass copy of the .36 Colt (Denix, Spain)

Luger P08 9mm Parabellum (Denix, Spain)

Remington Model 1875 Single Action Army .45 (Denix, Spain)

Smith & Wesson 1869 Model 3 .44 Russian / .45 Schofield (Denix, Spain)

Walther P38 9mm Parabellum (Denix, Spain)

Winchester 1866 .45 (Denix, Spain)

I must have looked through thousands of photographs before I was able to identify this holster:







I finally found two identical examples which identified it as a 'Dutch style' drop holster for a Browning FN Model 1922.

The only marking is the stamped number '273' on the top of the flap:



The FN Model 1922 was specifically a military and police pistol, with FN offering it to individual civilians only by special order.

The pistol saw extensive service in the Second World War, and continued to be manufactured by the Germans after their occupation of Belgium and seizure of the FN factory. The FN 1922 was also used by Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Holland, Romania, Turkey, Yugoslavia, and after the war by West Germany.

Montana Smith said:

The pistol saw extensive service in the Second World War, and continued to be manufactured by the Germans after their occupation of Belgium and seizure of the FN factory. The FN 1922 was also used by Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Holland, Romania, Turkey, Yugoslavia, and after the war by West Germany.

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Brings back memories. In a sense.

In Finland, the FN-22 was almost specifically used as Law Enforcement standard issue, from the 30s all the way to the 80s. During the war it was rare among frontline troops, who preferred the domestically made Lahti L-35, a Luger variant which remained the Army standard issue all the way to the 80s. As a successor to both, the police and military were all upgraded with FN-HPs.

Got to handle the upgraded version during the service. Surprisingly stable weapon, very little kick considering the stopping power it provides. Can also take quite a lot of grime before being deemed unsafe to use. It is gradually being replaced by Glock 17 (which is already the modern Law Enforcement standard issue), but many military officers still swear in its name due to aforementioned characteristics.

Finn said:

Brings back memories. In a sense.

In Finland, the FN-22 was almost specifically used as Law Enforcement standard issue, from the 30s all the way to the 80s. During the war it was rare among frontline troops, who preferred the domestically made Lahti L-35, a Luger variant which remained the Army standard issue all the way to the 80s. As a successor to both, the police and military were all upgraded with FN-HPs.

Got to handle the upgraded version during the service. Surprisingly stable weapon, very little kick considering the stopping power it provides. Can also take quite a lot of grime before being deemed unsafe to use. It is gradually being replaced by Glock 17 (which is already the modern Law Enforcement standard issue), but many military officers still swear in its name due to aforementioned characteristics.

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Thanks for the extra info, Finn.

When I pinned the holster down as being for a FN 1922 all the images I could find at first were for this design :







Only real difference is the extra piece of leather to attach the holster directly to the belt.


The one I have is designed to be suspended from a belt, and referred to as 'Dutch style', though I've found no evidence to corroborate that.

Do you remember which design was in common use in Finland?

Montana Smith said:

Do you remember which design was in common use in Finland?

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Not really, no. Sorry. Save for the facile acquaintance I made with the FN-22's successor, all my information is from 2nd hand sources. And since I was in service in the early 2000s, the accessories tended to be a tad more modern as well.

Incidentally, I heard that holsters for service issues were apparently pretty rare. Until very recently, it was actually unusual for police officers to carry a firearm with them at all times - and when the occasion did call for it, they simply tended to stash them into deep pockets they had on their uniforms or overcoats.

Finn said:

Not really, no. Sorry. Save for the facile acquaintance I made with the FN-22's successor, all my information is from 2nd hand sources. And since I was in service in the early 2000s, the accessories tended to be a tad more modern as well.

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Not to worry, it was really just a shot in the dark!

Kick-Ass and Kick-Ass 2 struck a chord. Much more so than Super.

At some point I knew I'd have to have a Hit Girl in the collection. The company with the 1/6 licence is Medicom of Japan, whom I rarely have a good word to say about.

However, in the case of the Kick-Ass 2 Hit-Girl they excelled themselves in comparison to my experience with their Raiders Indy and Last Crusade Young Indy.












Comes armed with ten hands; a double-bladed naginata; six throwing knives; and a pair of purple-gripped SIG-Sauer P230s.

When Japanese professional modeler and Star Wars fanatic Seiji Takahashi set out to create the “world’s most accurate” C-3PO Chogokin figure for toy companies Sideshow Collectibles and Tamashii Nations, he wanted to capture not only the character, but also its essence as well.

Takahashi credits the 1977 film as “fundamentally changing the entire concept of what a ‘tokusatsu’ (special effects) film was.” With that in mind, he asked himself, “how can I capture that same sense of shock and awe I felt when I first saw the film?”

Speel largely plagiarized from http://www.geekexchange.com/possibly-the-worlds-most-accurate-c-3po-figure-83869.html.

A video review from CollectionDX:

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/H1xFHtNnitY?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

To correct a point near the end of the video: this figure did eventually go on clearance. Hobby Link Japan put Threepio in their sale at less than half its original retail price. Seemed like a steal. And it wasn't long before they'd sold out.

My 1/6 Bandai/Sideshow Tamashii Nations 12” Perfect Model Chogokin C-3PO* arrived today. He's heavy die-cast apart from the hands and wires. And I mean really heavy, compared that is to a regular sixth scale figure. He's fully articulated, though not as mobile as a comparable human figure. The pistons are fully functional when you move his arms; the wires in the torso are real and the eyes light up. His accessories are two pairs of extra hands, a magnetic restraining bolt and a comlink, and a nifty stand with a hinged waist grabber designed not to crush the wires.







Not easy to photograph the eyes lit. They aren't as white as they appear:





Dust particles caught in the thin layer of oil Threepio arrives with (!):







Father and 'son' together again:



Another review:

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/14pWUGHMHQY?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


* Tamashii Nations is an umbrella label encompassing Japan’s top collectible brands. The mission of Tamashii Nations is to bring “tamashii”, the Japanese word for soul or spirit, into everything they create.

12” Perfect Model is a Tamashii Nations brand devoted to spreading Japanese action figure culture around the world. They also represent the high end of the Tamashii Nations brand.

Chogokin refers to Bandai's line of high end die-cast figures. 'Chogokin' is Japanese for 'Super Alloy', a fictitious material that appeared in Mazinger Z manga and anime.

Picked up another CO2 Umarex air pistol.

This one's a licensed Walther, based on the P99. Like the Beretta it's a semi-auto with an 8-shot 4.5mm/.177 lead pellet magazine. Single and double action with a velocity up to 360 fps.

Steel slide and polymer frame as with a real Walther P99, and actually weighs a little more than the real thing. Pulling the slide back engages single action. As with actual P99s there's a de-cocking button on top of the slide to uncock from single action.









A standard Walther ambidextrous lever at the rear of the trigger guard releases the magazine:

Don't see much Indiana Jones junk around. Suppose he just isn't very popular!

So I was pretty surprised to find these at a boot sale this morning (okay, so it's expanded universe, but I suppose it still counts):



Young Indiana Jones Chronicles trading cards by Pro Set dating from 1992.

The box originally contained 36 packs. There are 14 unopened packs and the complete contents of 22 others, so it's actually still the complete contents of the box.

According to the box there were 114 cards to collect and this page shows that they break down as 95 story cards; 10 3D cards; 8 Hidden Treasure game cards and the 3D viewer.

Among the opened cards I have 90 story; 10 3D and 5 Hidden Treasures. The missing ones may well be among the unopened packs.


Back to the unpopularity of Indiana Jones: these cards are virtually without monetary value. I see that sealed box sets of 36 packs can be had for under £3 (plus delivery from the US). They couldn't have sold well back in 1992/1993that so many sealed boxes are still being off-loaded.

Half the fun in picking up old junk is identifying what it actually is.

As with this copper shell case:



It's a 30x111mm case from an Aden cannon. The Aden was a revolver cannon with a rate of fire of 1200/1400 rpm, and was used in many RAF fighter aircraft from about 1950 until the 1980s. It was a developed from the German MK213C after the war.



J = the case type

30mm = calibre

RG = the case maker Royal Ordnance Factory Radway Green, Cheshire

60 = year of manufacture of the case 1960



CY = the filling station Royal Ordnance Factory Chorley

20 = lot number

61 = year of filling 1961

HE = High Explosive



TX 5 = the designation for the projectile charge, i.e. the filling for an HE shell

5z = the cartridge type

Just a selection of some recent junk:






1) Along the top, two pairs of Special Air Service collar dogs.


2) The Gordon Highlanders badge on the next row was troublesome to identify at first: it's neither a cap nor a collar badge, but a sporran badge.


3) Next is a Men's "On War Service 1915" buttonhole badge. The arms in the centre resemble those of the Army Ordnance Corps. The issue number engraved on the reverse is 13295.

One reason for the issue of the ?On War Service? badges was that when the war began, voluntary enlistment was unregulated and skilled men were joining up and leaving companies with a shortage of skilled labour essential to maintaining the country?s war capability. ?Badging? essential workers helped to retain those skilled workers. While these badges were unofficial, these company ?On War Service? badges were tolerated by the War Office.

Sometime in early 1915 the War Office issued the ?On War Service 1915? badge. At first this badge was an oval badge with a blue enamelled border and a design in its centre, of three cannon on gun carriages, looking very much like the cap badge of the Army Ordnance Corps. A cheaper plain brass stamped badge was issued later, when the authorities realised the cost, of issuing large numbers of the enamelled version. The ?On War Service 1915? badge was issued to men engaged in essential war work (other than shipyard work) and a list of certified occupations drawn up.

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This is a companion buttonhole to one I've had for some time:





"On War Service 1914" was the first official badge for essential war workers, and was issued by the Admiralty in late 1914 for "workmen whose services are indispensable for the rapid completion of HM Ships and Armaments".


4) The Second World War "For Loyal Service" buttonhole is a reflection of the true cost of war. Called "The King?s Badge" it was awarded to wounded-discharged servicemen.

The King?s Badge was authorised by the Ministry of Pensions and issued to servicemen who were wounded in the course of their duty and as a result discharged from the armed serviced. The King?s Badge was instigated in the early stages of the war and by the end of 1941 over 8,000 had been awarded to members of the British Armed Forces and Merchant Navy (ref: Hansard, 2 Dec 1941, vol 376, 1011W). The badge states FOR LOYAL SERVICE and displays the royal cipher of King George VI. The same type of badges would also have been issued to discharged members of the Australian and New Zealand fighting forces.

Besides the Armed Forces and Merchant Navy; members of the police, Home Guard, Coast Guard and Civil Defence organisations who did active service during WW2 would also become eligible. The badge was presented in a box together with a signed certificate, similar to the service medals.

The King?s Badge was intended to be worn with civilian clothes by wounded-discharged veterans. It is unfortunate the badges were unnumbered (unlike their WW1 equivalent), nor was the recipient's certificate named.

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5) The Inter-Allied Victory Medal, Great Britain and British Empire issue 1914-1919 is hardly a rarity, though each one is unique by virtue of the recipient's details being engraved around the side edge. In this case: "SR-7577 PTE W. ELLIS SHROPS. L.I."

(Private W. Ellis, King's Shropshire Light Infantry)

The idea of an inter-allied medal to commemorate victory in what was termed ?The Great War for Civilisation? is credited to the French Field-Marshal Foch. It was agreed that each of the Allies should issue a medal to their nationals featuring a figure representing ?Victory? on the front and have a symmetric double rainbow ribbon with red, the colour of courage and sacrifice at the centre, representing the colours of the allies flags and presenting an allegory of calm after storm. The British medal was instituted on 1 September 1919 to be awarded to all those who served in a theatre of operations between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918. It was awarded also to all British Empire military, except those of South Africa, whose government issued their own variant. Additionally, it was awarded to those British servicemen active in the Hejaz and Aden after the end of the European war, for post-war mine clearance operations and for the Royal Navy mission to Russia, hence the latter date of 1919.

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6) Aldershot District Athletic Association ? Unit Team Championships 1949-50 Winners. This was a military cross country running championship, but as yet I can't discover who won that year.

Somewhat similar to the Desert Rat medal from a few years ago.

In the words of Lt. Columbo, "There's just one more thing..."




A Coldstream Guards parade dress belt buckle.

This was a pick up today:



A licensed Sig Sauer P226 X-Five semi-automatic made by Cybergun of France as a full metal 18-shot .177 (4.5mm steel BB) Co2 airgun with blowback action.











Probably one of the best airgun replicas I have, notwithstanding the Gen 1 Baikal Makarov which wasn't a replica so much as the real thing from Makarov's factory.

Take Down: The P226 X-Five can be field stripped for cleaning just like the Sig Sauer firearm by: 1) removing the magazine, 2) pulling the slide back so that the take down lever is lined up with the forward cutout, 3) rotating the take down lever on the left side of the frame 180º, and 4) pushing the slide forward and off the frame. When reassembling the gun, be sure to rotate the take down lever back to its normal position before installing the slide.

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http://www.co2airguns.net/collection/Sig Sauer X-Five/index.htm




An example of a live firing X-Five:

The Sig Sauer P226 has a fair bit of history on film in its various model variatos.

Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon in The Dark Knight Rises:



Milla Jovovich as Alice in Resident Evil: Retribution:



Peter Weller as Murphy finger-twirling his P226 in Robocop:



The late Paul Walker in Fast Five:



And Gary Oldman again, this time in Air Force One threatening Indiana Jones:





The Cybergun I have is an accurate licensed replica of a Sig Sauer P226 X-Five Tactical, which has the Picatinny rail under the barrel as standard. The grips are the Magwell flared type designed for faster reloading - the bigger flared opening helps to guide the magazine home. The magazine itself simulates the 19-round 9mm version.

Both the real X-Five firearm and the Cybergun lack a decocking lever, and have to be decocked in the manner of a single action revolver by pulling the trigger and lowering the hammer.

X-Fives are hand-fitted and assembled in Germany, hence the 'inscription 'Germany' on the slide of the Cybergun.

I could only find two actual X-Fives on film in IMFDB.

Djimon Hounsou in Zero Dark Thirty:



And John Travolta in From Paris With Love with his X-Five Lightweight, which he affectionately calls "Mrs Jones":

One more holster:



This one is a French Army Modèle 1948/50 GT (Grande Taille, i.e. Large Size) holster, designed for the French Modèle 1935A semi-automatic. It was subsequently used for the M1935A's successor, the MAC-50, which came into service in 1953.

The Model 1948 holster was modified in 1950 mainly with the addition of a stiffener inside. The original design itself is derived from that of WWII German holsters.



The single D-ring on the belt loop is for the attachment of a lanyard.

This chromium tanned example is the later style with a solid belt hanger, likely 1960s to 1980s. The black versions of this holster pattern were used by the Gendarmerie, and the tan by the Army and French Foreign Legion.

The only markings are the words 'Materiel Vincennes' stamped inside the flap:



The two different closure settings on the flap are an indication that the French used it to carry a variety of pistols, e.g.Browning Hi-Power; Walther P-38; Colt 1911; French 1935-A and 1935-S, and even the smaller MAB D and Unique R. As the MAC-50 was introduced and gradually replaced all these other pistols over the years, the holster became most associated with it.

I tried the Bruni Colt 1911, and it was a perfect fit for both gun and magazine:







(I found a lot of this information here: http://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/french-army-mac-50-holster-model-1948.html)

Going to need a bigger board. Or at least another one.



The gloves hanging on the hat cord are reproduction leather cavalry gauntlets of the kind that would have been issued to enlisted men and NCOs from the time of the US Civil War and through the Indian Wars.

A box of old shell casings bought for 50 pence is what I call cheap entertainment.



Picked out the biggest one and tracked it down in no time:





LC 4 is a .50 calibre Browning Machine Gun cartridge made in 1944 by Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, Independence, Missouri, which was established by Remington Arms in 1941 to manufacture and test small calibre ammuniton for the US Army. The '4' denotes 1944, as for that year the shells were stamped either '44' or '4'.

The case is just under 4" long. Complete with bullet it would be 5.5".


The next is what appears to be oldest of them:





Dated 1927 and marked RL (with the War Office arrow) VII indicates a British .303 Mk.VII shell case made by Royal Laboratory at the Woolwich Arsenal.

Woolwich Arsenal, of which the Royal Laboratory was only a part, is situated in South East London on the River Thames. The Arsenal dates from 1670 and has manufactured many different items of warlike stores for the armed forces. Ammunition was made at Woolwich long before the adoption of the .303 cartridge in 1889. Ammunition production ceased completely at Woolwich in 1957, the last known production of .303 Ammunition there being Mk 7 Ball in 1957. The Woolwich site apart from containing all the supportive facilities for the research, design, development, inspection and testing of Ammunition also included an extensive range complex on the Plumpstead Marshes. In addition there was a filling area not far away in the vicinity of Abbey Wood.

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http://www.dave-cushman.net/shot/303headstamps.html

Some that Finn might recognize :



They're .357 Magnum cases made by Lapua of Finland.

From shadows of war to defence technology.

1923

Finland became independent in 1917, and the state owned cartridge factory was founded and built in Lapua in 1923. In 1927 the name State Cartridge Factory was taken into use. In the beginning the operations were modest, but since the political situation in the world changed before the World War II, the ammunition production quantities multiplied.

1946

The Cartridge Factory was incorporated with the Governmental Metal Factory, Valmet. The first rimfire cartridges were manufactured in 1947. The cartridge factory went under the Ministry of Defense in 1955.
Decades of growth.

1976

In 1976 an explosion accident resulted in the decision to build a new factory, further away from the city center. Next step was to further expand by building a new case and bullet factory, which was taken into use in 1984.

1980

In the 1980´s Lapua concentrated strongly in product development, which resulted in fast growth in the civilian product sales. As marketing and product development got stronger, Lapua became an even more competitive manufacturer in sport shooting, hunting and special purpose cartridge markets.

1991

In 1991 Lapua became an independent limited liability company under the new name Cartridge Factory Lapua Ltd. In 1992, Lapua acquired the German cartridge factory SK Jagd- und Sportmunitions GmbH. The product line fulfills and supports the ammunition selection of the main factory.
Towards international markets.

1996

Finnish military manufacturers formed a state owned company Patria Industries including Patria Finavitec, Patria Lapua, Vihtavuori Oy, Patria Vammas and Patria Vehicles.

1998

In August 1998 Patria Industries Oyj from Finland, Celsius AB from Sweden and Raufoss ASA from Norway signed an agreement to affiliate the companies into a Nordic Nammo Group, which started its operations in the summer of 1998. In Finland Nammo Lapua Oy became part of the Nammo Group.

2005

Nammo AS ownership changed: 50% owned by Patria Oyj and 50% by the Norwegian government

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This case, measuring 2.5" long, is a .458 Winchester Magnum made by Remington-Peters:





It was introduced commercially in 1956 by Winchester and first chambered in the Winchester Model 70 African rifle.

Designed for hunting dangerous, heavy thick-skinned game animals, such as elephant, rhinoceros and African Cape buffalo, the cartridge would become the standard African dangerous game cartridge, and the .458 bolt action the duty rifle for game wardens, wildlife managers, and professional hunters.