Smitty's Junk

Exulted Unicron

New member
Nice one. Well, in the initial scripting phase, Indy was supposed to have a Colt M1911, but it was changed to a Browning Hi-Power because 9mm blanks at the time were more reliable than .45 blanks. Which would make sense, given his M1917 is also a .45 revolver.

As for the Bruni, it's a beautiful model. For the Webley stamp, UK importers for 1971? film props or something for UK based WW2 movies? I'm currently using an M21 Double Eagle. An airsoft 1911 pistol.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Exulted Unicron said:
Nice one. Well, in the initial scripting phase, Indy was supposed to have a Colt M1911, but it was changed to a Browning Hi-Power because 9mm blanks at the time were more reliable than .45 blanks. Which would make sense, given his M1917 is also a .45 revolver.

When the seller pulled the holster from his bag I hoped it was going to be a Browning inside. Nevertheless, the 1911 was a good compromise.

Exulted Unicron said:
For the Webley stamp, UK importers for 1971? film props or something for UK based WW2 movies?

All I've found out is that Webley were the official UK importers for Bruni. Don't know when they first started bringing them in.

Exulted Unicron said:
I'm currently using an M21 Double Eagle. An airsoft 1911 pistol.

Didn't know anything about the Double Eagles. Just looked up one site, and they're selling a half-orange, half black model. Though the price looks very good.

Yesterday I was looking through some old Kool Collectables catalogues from 2001. The company disappeared a few years ago, but among the pages of action figures were two of BB guns, lots of moderns in their correct finish, and all available to purchase!
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Since you mentioned "film props" I checked IMFDB.

A Bruni 1911 was used in the film The Transporter:

600px-T-Bruni8mmM1911BlankA.jpg


600px-T-Bruni8mmM1911Blank02a.jpg


600px-T-Bruni8mmM1911QuiCUa.jpg


http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Transporter,_The#Bruni_8mm_M1911_Blank_Pistol_.28Nickel.29

The Blues Brothers:

600px-BB21911.jpg


Another gets stuck up Jonathan Pryce's nose in Brazil!

600px-Brazil_colt1911_001.jpg



The distinctive markings on the slides in those shots indicate they're from a different manufacturing period to mine.
 

Exulted Unicron

New member
I was looking at a Bruni guns page and a seller linked to an old auction where there's one that's practically identical to yours and it said it was from the early to mid 70s. So even then, they realised that 8mm and 9mm blanks are more reliable and it looks identical to a real Colt.

Double Eagle is a budget Airsoft range from China. They do look and feel good in the hand, but they're mainly plastic and well, they do have a tendancy to break and slowly come apart. If you want a cheap lookalike to put with your stuff that's legal, go for Double Eagle and keep the good stuff on the wall. I have the M40, which is their copy of the MP40. Nice feel to it, a little on the cheapy side. The mag feels rather wobbly when inserted, as if it doesn't fit tightly. It has a foldable AK style bolt and a modern scope rail on the top.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Exulted Unicron said:
I was looking at a Bruni guns page and a seller linked to an old auction where there's one that's practically identical to yours and it said it was from the early to mid 70s. So even then, they realised that 8mm and 9mm blanks are more reliable and it looks identical to a real Colt.

The funny thing about 8/9mm with the Bruni is that it looks as though it would take either calibre.

Here's a sample of some of the cartridges I have:

7nTNCTE.jpg


On the left are the two remaining 8mm blanks that were in the Bruni.

Then four inert .32 Auto ACP (i.e., Automatic Colt Pistol), which are closer to 8mm yet designated as the 7.65×17mm Browning SR (Semi-Rimmed).

On the right is an inert 9x19mm Luger Parabellum.

The 9mm fits perfectly in the magazine. The barrel is the correct .45 calibre, since nothing is intended to travel down it.


Exulted Unicorn said:
Double Eagle is a budget Airsoft range from China. They do look and feel good in the hand, but they're mainly plastic and well, they do have a tendancy to break and slowly come apart. If you want a cheap lookalike to put with your stuff that's legal, go for Double Eagle and keep the good stuff on the wall. I have the M40, which is their copy of the MP40. Nice feel to it, a little on the cheapy side. The mag feels rather wobbly when inserted, as if it doesn't fit tightly. It has a foldable AK style bolt and a modern scope rail on the top.

The first airsoft I ever bought was a sub-budget Beretta Model 93R. It was so light I didn't keep it long. I think it was only £5 delivered through Amazon.

Next was the MP5A5 which is quite a nice model, but four times the price of the Beretta.

Then a sturdy Walther P99 of unknown make and toe-busting magazine. That one was only £4 at a boot.

Since then I've bought two air pistols, both from the same person. The Webley Nemesis (£7) and the Skif A-3000, the most expensive yet at £25, though it was boxed with two gas capsules, and a metal target with a bell in the centre that rings when you hit it.

As you can see, I generally don't like spending much on them. I've never fired any of them, either.

Over the past few years I've been selling off toy collections that have been growing (and then languishing) since childhood, and using the money to buy better toys instead. I have no intention of ever growing up!

The toys are usually the only things I make an effort to seek out. With the guns and militaria etc they're mostly chance finds that present themselves secondhand at fairs or boot sales.

I only actively sought out two guns: the deactivated Webley Mk.IV and the deactivated Tokarev TT-33.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Exulted Unicron, where are you?

Did your Denix Browning arrive safely?



Saw a nice ex-US police Smith & Wesson Model 59 over the weekend. A lot of money, though.

Looked like this:

Smith_%26_Wesson_59.jpg



And after looking at that the seller pointed out something else at the end of his stall: a German MG 42 on a tripod just like this:

m53-mount-024916.jpg


I didn't even dare ask the price!
 

Exulted Unicron

New member
reason it took so long is that it took a roadtrip from Spain to Germany and then the UK via UPS. From the looks of things and the scratched magazine, it seems like they got their hands on some old, second hand ones
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Exulted Unicron said:
reason it took so long is that it took a roadtrip from Spain to Germany and then the UK via UPS. From the looks of things and the scratched magazine, it seems like they got their hands on some old, second hand ones

That sounds strange. Couldn't help but notice the scratches, but, while the description on Amazon is non-existent, you'd expect them to be new from the quantity they're selling.

And then they make the journey from Spain (the home of Denix) to the seller before going out for delivery?
 

Exulted Unicron

New member
To be fair, I was expecting them to sell a new item, giving the description of the item on Amazon. As for the trip, the company Maskworld, they're a German company who sell masquerade items and Denix replicas. They have a warehouse or store in Spain where the Denix stuff is. Must make life easier that way or something. They shipped it via UPS directly from the warehouse in Spain to Germany and then Germany to the UK. I thought it might have made more sense to go north from Spain directly into the UK.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Found something small enough to add to the wall today:








Price Western Leather, England, Model 8 hip holster. Appears to have some age to it, and isn?t in their current catalogue.

In between the stitching on the back there's a stamp that's hard to decipher. It definitely reads ?S&W?, followed by two numbers. The first is a ?3? and the second, by process of elimination, must be a ?6?.

That would indicate the holster was designed for the Smith & Wesson Model 36 .38 Special.

The impression of the two-inch barrelled revolver it once contained is clearly visible in the leather.

The Colt Cobra .38 Special 2? is a perfect fit:



The Model 36 was designed in the era just after World War II, when Smith & Wesson stopped producing war materials and resumed normal production. For the Model 36, they sought to design a weapon that could fire the more powerful .38 Special round in a small, concealable package. Since the older I-frame was not able to handle this load, a new frame was designed, which became the Smith & Wesson J-frame.

The new design was introduced at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) convention in 1950, and was favorably received. A vote was held to name the new revolver, and the name "Chief's Special" won. A three inch barreled version of this design went into production immediately, due to high demand. It was available in either a blued or nickel plated finish. It was produced as the "Chief's Special" until 1957, when it then became the Model 36.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_&_Wesson_Model_36
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Exulted Unicron said:
It;s interesting to see that even after the war, lend lease gear and kit was still popular in the UK. Nice find on the holster.

I hadn't thought of it like that.

Price Western Leather themselves only date back to 1976:

Price Western Leather Company Ltd. (PWL) was founded in 1976 by Don Price in the South West of England. PWL began making leather kits & belts , principally for sports shooting enthusiasts as well as professionals. The original aim was clear and still remains today - to produce goods of the very highest quality available.

The leather belts were well received and production of leather gun holsters soon followed, also serving the sports shooting market. The original range of competition holsters included the Clam Shell Competition Holster, which remains a popular holster. The new holsters attracted the attention of professional marksmen in the police, military and VIP protection arenas.

http://www.pwluk.com/about-pwl/company-history/index.htm

The S&W Model 36 is still in production:

150184_01_md.jpg


Model 36

The price is $729.00 *

*Suggested Retail, Dealer Sets Actual Pricing

SKU: 150184
.Model: 36
.Caliber: .38 S&W Special +P
.Capacity: 5 Rounds
.Barrel Length: 1.875" / 4.7 cm
.Front Sight: Integral
.Rear Sight: Fixed
.Action: Single/Double Action
.Grip: Wood
.Frame Size: Small - Exposed Hammer
.Finish: Blue
.Overall Length: 6.94" / 552.8 cm
.Material: Carbon Steel Frame / Carbon Steel Cylinder
.Weight Empty: 19.5 oz / 552.8 g
.Purpose: Collector's Interest / Personal Protection / Professional / Duty


Incidentally, between 1987 and 2001, Smith & Wesson was owned by the British engineering company Tomkins plc.


 

Montana Smith

Active member
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

This was today’s bargain:









This is a forward venting, blank firing Remington 1858 New Model Army .44 with 8” octagonal barrel and cartridge conversion (i.e., converted from black powder to cartridge).

Made by Pietta of Italy, with Gardone proof marks, and designed to fire .38/9mm blanks.

BattleOrders.co.uk have this listed at £267 plus delivery (and they declare that theirs have red paint in the barrel and aren’t forward venting).

I paid £50. A minute sooner and I would've got it for £30, but another dealer beat me to it, so I had to give him a quick profit.

The New Model Army was actually manufactured between 1862 and 1875.

In 1868, Remington began offering cartridge conversions of the revolver in .46 rimfire. Remington paid a royalty fee to Smith & Wesson, owners of the Rollin White patent (#12,648, April 3, 1855) on bored-through revolver cylinders for metallic cartridge use. The Remington Army cartridge-conversions were the first large-caliber cartridge revolvers available, beating even Smith & Wesson's .44 American to market by nearly two years.

Due to the large volume of these pistols individual gunsmiths produced cartridge conversions in a variety of calibers such as .44-40 and .45 Colt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_Model_1858

.46 rimfire is a family of cartridges which were chambered in revolvers and rifles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were primarily made in short, long and extra long lengths, however a variety of other lengths were designed. Manufacturers in the USA discontinued making .46 Short and .46 Long ammunition after the country's entrance into WWI in 1917, however production of .46 Extra Long continued after the war.[2]

The .46 Short was used in the first large-caliber metallic cartridge revolvers available. Previously Smith & Wesson, who owned the Rollin White patent, had produced the Model 1 in .22 Short and Model 2 in .32 Short.[3] In 1868, Remington paid a royalty fee to Smith & Wesson for use of the Rollin White patent and began to produce .46 Short metallic cartridge conversions for their New Model Army. These converted revolvers were also capable of firing the .46 Long cartridges when they were introduced a few years later.[4]
The Remington New Model Army was a .44 caliber percussion cap revolver. In the nomenclature of the time, .44 caliber referred to the bore diameter of the barrel which was nominally 0.440". The grooves of the rifling were .006-.007" deep so the groove diameter was nominally 0.451-0.454". These revolvers were generally loaded with a .457" diameter lead ball (48-gauge), ensuring a good seal in the chamber.[5] On conversion to cartridge ammunition, the nomenclature changed so that the name of the cartridge was based on the size of the projectile, hence the .46 Short (0.458" diameter bullet) fitted the .44 caliber revolver.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.46_rimfire


Clint in Pale Rider with his Remington Army .44 cartridge conversion:

799px-PRRem58-4.jpg
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Four Denix revolvers have been evicted from the wall now, making way for new arrivals in the gradual process of upgrading.

In all the tally comes to 28, broken down as:


Black Powder

Colt Navy 1851 .36 (Pietta, Italy. AD = 1978; Gardone proof house)


Deactivated

Tokarev Mod. TT33 7.62MM (1953, Soviet Union)
Vincenzo Bernadelli Mod. 60 .22 LR semi-automatic (c.1959-1968, Italy)
Webley Mk IV Commercial .38 (c.1965, UK)

Blank

1858 Remington New Model Army .44 Cartridge Conversion (CC = 2008; Gardone proof house, Italy)
1934 Beretta Model 9mm semi-automatic (RMI, Japan)
1873 Colt Single Action Army Cal. 44-40 Long Blank (MGC/RMI, Japan)
1874 Colt Single Action Army .45 (MGC/RMI, Japan)
1873 Colt Cavalry .44 (CMC, Japan)
1911 Colt (Bruni, Italy)
Smith & Wesson Mod. 19 .357 Combat Magnum 4? barrel (MGC, Japan)
Mod. 1930 Mauser C96 (Hudson, Japan)
1937 Mayer & Riem ?Perfecta? Mod. S 8-shot 'repeating' automatic (c.1960, West Germany)

Replica

C.18th Bunney Pocket Pistol (Denix, Spain)
1860 Army Colt .44 (Denix, Spain)
1860 Griswold & Gunnison .36 (Denix, Spain)
1866 Winchester .45 (Denix, Spain)
M1869 Smith & Wesson Schofield .45 ?top break? (Denix, Spain)
1873 Colt .45 Peacemaker (Denix, Spain)
1873 Colt .45 US Cavalry (Denix, Spain)
Luger P08 9mm (Denix, Spain)
Walther P.38 9mm (Denix, Spain)
Remington Model 1875 Single Action Army (Franklin Mint Jesse James Revolver? Denix, Spain?)
Colt Cobra .38 Special (Marugo Gun Co., Japan)

Air

Webley Nemesis 0.177 (UK)
Anics Skif A-3000 0.177 (Russia)

Airsoft

Heckler & Koch 9mm MP5 airsoft
Walther 9mm P99



 

Montana Smith

Active member
I?ve been looking at the ways the 1858 Remington was converted from cap and ball to cartridges.

There?s the sealed block behind the clyinder that replaces the percussion cap nipples:



The block with a loading gate:



And the straight through cylinder:



The Pietta conversion is of the straight through type, resembling Clint?s Remington in Pale Rider, which can either be loaded through the gateless access, or by removing the cylinder itself:

PRRem58-2.jpg


PRRem58-3.jpg
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Meant to add in the previous post that the straight through cylinder design was patented by Rollin White in 1855.



And now for something completely different.

While re-arranging some shelves I came across this Defense Mapping Agency Survey Mark again:

10269588934_258a321c08_o.jpg



It?s an unused heavy brass or bronze disc measuring three-and-a-half inches in diameter, which would be engraved and set into concrete as a benchmark, such as the one found by these people:

6127022296_5e2ab060cd_z.jpg


The Defense Mapping Agency was created on January 1, 1972 to consolidate all United States military mapping activities. DMA's "birth certificate", DoD Directive 5105.40, resulted from a formerly classified Presidential directive, "Organization and Management of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Community" (November 5, 1971), which directed the consolidation of mapping functions previously dispersed among the military services. DMA became operational on July 1, 1972, pursuant to General Order 3, DMA (June 16, 1972).

DMA was first headquartered at the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C, then at Falls Church, Virginia. Its mostly civilian workforce was concentrated at production sites in Bethesda, Maryland, Northern Virginia, and St. Louis, Missouri. DMA was formed from the Mapping, Charting, and Geodesy Division, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and from various mapping-related organizations of the military services.

The Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) was incorporated into the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), which was established on 1st October 1996.

On 24th November 2003 NIMA was renamed the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA):

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense with the primary mission of collecting, analyzing, and distributing geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in support of national security. NGA was formerly known as the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA). In addition, NGA is a key component of the United States Intelligence Community.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation...gence_Agency#Defense_Mapping_Agency_.28DMA.29
 

Montana Smith

Active member
The Romans have arrived. :D

So far I?ve only unboxed one, and he?s taken two-and-a-half hours to assemble and ?futz?.

He?s a 1/6 scale figure from Kaustic Plastik of Rome, representing a Legionary from Legio VII Claudia during the Invasion of Dacia, c.101-106 AD.

The figure contains parts made from metal, such as the helmet with changeable cheek guards; pilum; brass fittings and buckles; gladius and pugio blades and the axe head. He even has his own genuine wooden bowl and wooden carpenter?s cup from The Last Crusade! ;)

There?s just so many little details, not to mention the ?Marius Mule? marching cross with its leather packs, cooking pots, eating utensils and water flask.

There?s the option for displaying him in two kinds of armour: lorica hamata (chainmail) or lorica segmentata (Corbridge type ?B? plated armour).




Kaustic Plastik Legionary c.101-106 AD by Titus Pullover, on Flickr


Kaustic Plastik Legionary c.101-106 AD by Titus Pullover, on Flickr


Kaustic Plastik Legionary c.101-106 AD by Titus Pullover, on Flickr
 
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