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Challenging a myth - the MG-34 wooden stock


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I would like to challenge the commonly held belief that the MG-34s seen in ANH had woodgrained stocks. I think most people tend to believe this by default because most MG-34s have wood stocks and because many, if not all of the real MG-34s that have been cast, like the hyperfirm, have been cast from a gun that had a wood stock. However, I have seen no evidence in ANH to support wooden stocked MG-34s. The more rare stock used on an MG-34 was a bakelite stock. It is a bit more difficult to find and usually more expensive. However, the photos of the archived MG-34s from ANH clearly have this style stock. Please check out the images below.

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If you haven't seen these pictures before you are probably looking at the last gun and asking "wtf is that?" The story from bapty is that the Tunisian govt would not allow complete firearms into their country so parts of the gun had to be replaced. As you can see in the last pic, the entire back half of the mg-34 was replaced with a crude replica. This was also done with the E-11s as can be seen in this pic. The back end of the gun was replaced with a solid metal casting.

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I have posted these pics before but for comparison's sake will post them again. This is my MG-34 with a bakelite stock comapred to one of the LFL guns.

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I think the bakelite stock on the MG-34 is not only techincally accurate but gives a smoother look to the gun and a bit more of a futuristic feel. Just my thoughts. If anyone can show that one or more of the MG-34s in ANH did have wood stocks, please come forward. Otherwise, I believe the evidence strongly leans against it.

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Thanks Buddy.

Very NICE!!! pictures.

Ill got the sci-fire mg34, maby ill paint it like your insted of the wood.

Well, here is a closeup of my bakelite stock. Some are more black than others, but this is the typical bakelite color, which is also seen on the back of the MG-15.

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The shape of the bottom inside lip is telling, I'd have to agree with you on the bakelite. That can get expensive b/c people collect bakelite and it hasn't been made in over half a century. Add in the WW2 collectors, and SW prop collectors, and you have a recipe for high bids.

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Agreed. I know that IMA had a few of them but I think they were wanting about $100-$125 for them as their supply was very limited. Apparently the bakelite stocks can break fairly easily (not suprising considering the weight of the overall gun) so there aren't that many out there. I can only assume that is why the bakelite/metal stock combo came about... to prvent the crushing of the bakelite tips.

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One question here.

To me the bakelite and the wood is a bit different.

Ill have the sci-fire mg34 whit wood, but ill think the bakelite is a "little" bit diffrent in the wood design.

The wood is a bit more round, and the bakelite is a bit more out going in the shape ex (if you know what i mean).

If so ill dont know if i gonna repaint my weapon.

Best regards.

Rolf...

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I got it from a shop whit motorcycle parts, very friendly shipped it out before payment I ordered 2 but he only got 1 he should be having some more next month it has no bipods its heavy about 6 kilos “no kids are going to break this” I think we can get it cheaper if we make a big order he just cut 30 euros of the price when I said I want 2 .so lets coordinate ? I am gona make an comparison whit Rolf TD252 and the sci-fire gun he has and post that later this week

heres the link hope you can use it ,he is on holliday right now to the end of the month

http://www.oldtimergarage.szn.pl/

Take care

Mathias

http://www.sandtrooper.net/gallery/disp ... p?pos=-861

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I got it from a shop whit motorcycle parts, very friendly shipped it out before payment I ordered 2 but he only got 1 he should be having some more next month it has no bipods its heavy about 6 kilos “no kids are going to break this” I think we can get it cheaper if we make a big order he just cut 30 euros of the price when I said I want 2 .so lets coordinate ? I am gona make an comparison whit Rolf TD252 and the sci-fire gun he has and post that later this week

heres the link hope you can use it ,he is on holliday right now to the end of the month

http://www.oldtimergarage.szn.pl/

Take care

Mathias

http://www.sandtrooper.net/gallery/disp ... p?pos=-861

Here they are. Enjoy bro´s... Klik klik...

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Can anyone post screen caps of the Death Star scenes where the MG-34 is shown? - it may give more insight.

For those of us with HyperFirm MG-34's, if we wanted to change the stock to the 'bakelite' look, could using "Plasti Dip" work good?

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Along with that "more futuristic feel" thought, might the stock on the Lewis have been smoothed and painted darker/blackish to match the MG-34 look?? (It does not appear to look like woodgrain)

http://www.mepd.net/gallery/albums/wpw-20050605/PDVD_083.BMP

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(note: the trooper on the left carries the MG-34 upsidedown)

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  • 1 year later...

Even if that's true, it doesn't make him look any more intelligent.

The racked MG's look to me like dark-stained wood to me because there's a slight red-brown color to them. What color is the bakelite material because your links aren't working.

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It very much appears that there are guns with both wooden and bakelite butts in that photo. Some are brown, like stained wood, and others are black.

Of course the brown ones could also be brown or oxblood bakelite. A Mauser bayonet I have has an oxblood coloured bakelite grip.

Personally, I think bakelite (or the closest imitation possible) would be better looking for troopers.

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  • 1 month later...

Bakelite is a material that appears to oxidize over time. I have a friend who has one and he says it is almost black BUT there is a reddish hue. I may ask him to file a tiny spot to see if it is red underneath the dark color.

It may be tinted with pigment as well. The AK-47 uses a wood stock whereas the AK-74 appears to be bakelite. These guns are post 1974, therefore the change in color seems to be less profound.

On mine, I went for a dark reddish-brown. I used rust primer for a full base coat, then misted with Krylon satin black to darken, then clear coated gloss. Since the primer was misted and not fully painted, I got a result that came our interesting AND in my opinion... close to what a moderately aged bakelite stock would look like (say... similar to an MG-34 circa 1976 would still have some red tone).

Here is mine...

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I like a bit of color wince I am a WPT.

Brak, thanks for your tips and advice. You, Mike H., Seth and Paul helped me to get to this point in a relatively quick time. This was my Summer of 2007 project. Lots of fun!

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