MGC's Luger P08

Post by Garyforce

Ok….. here it is …. Eagerly anticipated by some ….. drum roll …… ladies and gentlemen …… I give you …the somewhat rare….

MGC LUGER P08
(pictured below)

Specs
Length: 22 cms / 8 5/8" (muzzle to butt)
Barrel: 12.5 cm / 5" (open)
Weight: 570g (approx)
Materials: Heavyweight abs, bakelite & zinc alloy
Grip: Plastic (wood grips are available)
Comments
Well if you don’t know what this gun is…..what planet have you been on ! …. Possibly one of the most instantly recognisable guns and the star of many a war movie the Luger !
This gun is … well ….. what can I say its ….cool….sleek and stylish … the grip is incredibly comfortable and the weight is not to far of the real thing

Loading
First release the magazine by pushing the button behind the trigger. Next all you need do is push a 5mm cap (face up) down to the bottom of the cart.
Once the carts are primed … load 7 into the magazine …. Slide it back in and your ready to go

Firing
Now….the really fun part ….(obviously this description will vary if your left handed) holding the gun in your right hand with your left grip the 2 circular parts of the gun at the top (where the hammer would be) now pull back/upwards and let go ….. you’ve just chambered a round
Now pull the trigger as fast or as slow as you like ……. You can unload the Luger in about 3 seconds also because of the open barrel Marushin caps give you a fair amount of sparking
Now here comes the embarrassing admission ! ….. unlike me…make sure that the safety is defiantly OFF ! …. If you have not pushed the safety catch up fully ….the gun will not fire ! …… see ….even those of us experienced with modelguns can still make mistakes

Cleaning
OK ….unlike most reviews when im telling you the basics of how to strip your gun …. With the Luger im going to say something different …… if you don’t have the instructions DON’T DO IT ! :? …. The Luger has a complex internal mechanism and is extremely sensitive ….so don’t risk it ! ….. if you don’t have the manual…pm me your address and ill do you a copy !
Ok…now the warnings out the way …. A quick run through. …first remove the screw on the right in front of the trigger… then the screws at the base of the grips to remove them. ….when the grips are off you can remove the safety.
After that the entire top part of the gun (barrel and all) will come off. You can then stick with the handle part and remove a series of screws to gain access to the trigger mechanism.
Next my advice would be to clean and oil that …reassemble the trigger ..then turn your attention to the hammer mechanism ! (its good advice … trust me :? !)
The hammer mechanism has 8 pins and screws 2 extremely fiddley springs and numerous potential disasters ! …ill say it again………even those of us who are quite experienced … if you don’t have the manual…..don’t mess with the hammer !
The only other part that will need cleaning is the firing bolt in the barrel….this is removed by the funny propeller looking tool that shouldve come with you gun. Its 14 cm / 5 ½” long and what you do is holding the “propeller” end insert it into the barrel into it will go no further … you then unscrew the bolt and remove it. And there we are
Cleaning and oiling the gun when its stripped down as you normally would as always i would recommend marks cleaning technique of hot water, baking soda & vinegar
so.after all that fiddling and heart ache … when your cleaned and oiled .... put it all back together!

Over all
If you can get one. GET ONE !
The Luger is excellent and a must have piece in any collection (mine wouldn’t have been complete without it )
As I said the modelguns sleek and stylish looks are superb …. The detail that MGC have put into this is excellent and what one would expect from them ….. the only thing I have against it is (in case you haven’t guessed ) the stripping procedure …… yes. i know….besides the firing this is were a lot of the fun is to be had …. But this one treads a fine line between fun and maddeningly complicated !
But hey ….. a small price to pay for owning one of these 9/10
WOOD GRIPS


STANDARD GRIP

Post by Claymore

Great review gary nice to have you back and doing them again. I have wondered about the strength in the plastic bolt mechanism, its one of the reasons i have never bought a luger when one has come up, it always seemed to be a bit fragile and knowing what modelguns can be like at times does it not worry you when you fire it.
The real luger from what i have read was a bit tempremental though and did not like dirt and was fussy on the rounds it would fire, hence the the P38. Is that true or just old wives tales.

Post by Garyforce

yes im back doing the reviews .....least till i run out of guns to review (have to buy some more hehehe )

the strength of the firing mechanism does concern me ..... but........ i dont fire my guns all that often .... so i figure.....what the hell

what you say about the real P08 is partly true.

the P08 was THE german pistol for WW1 and saw action right the way upto the middle of WW2 .... but it was just natural evolution that lead to the P38
_________________
- Gary

Post by Mark

Great review as always Gary! I especially like this reference:

Quote :

The hammer mechanism has 8 pins and screws 2 extremely fiddley springs and numerous potential disasters ! …ill say it again………even those of us who are quite experienced … if you don’t have the manual…..don’t mess with the hammer !

The MGC Luger has an entirely different internal mechanism than the real Luger. The actual Luger can be finicky due mostly to weak amunition, dirt and mud as it has many openings and it was very finely manufactured with close tolerences. The Luger was replaced by the Walther made P38 mostly due to the fact that the P38 was far simpler to manufacture and was far cheaper not only that, it also was far more modern with better features like double action etc.
Again nice review Gary!