MP38/40

Hello all ,, I am new to this forum and have been lucky enough in my country to have owned in the past several live original smg's such as the German MP38/40 ,, This leeds me to my question for this forum,, who in your opinion manufactures the best true to life in weight and detail reproduction model MP38/40 of the companies listed on this site ,, Does any one produce the MP38 ? ,, I look forward to and appreciate your advise and opinions ..
Regards collectorpp.

Hello collectorpp and welcome to the forum

The answer to your question may well depend on which type of replica you are interested in. There are Cap firing PFC Modelguns, Blank Firing models, Display only versions and Airsoft bb firing guns.

The most prolific replica, regardless of type, will be the MP40.

Beginning with PFC cap-firing modelguns, several Japanese manufacturers have made MP40s.

MGC,Marushin,TRC, and Nakata for instance. Arguably MGC built the best replica. They used steel , albeit low grade steel, for the receivers and ancilliary parts, with Zinc Alloy for the Working parts like Bolt, sear, and barrel. Sadly, the Japanese government banned the use of steel in the late 1970s so production of MGCs' MP40 ceased. They are still circulating in the Modelgun owners world though and are really nice, desireable and good performing models.

The ban on steel for production forced the manufacturers to use zinc alloys for receivers as well as bolts etc. Steel could be used for magazines, shoulder stocks, barrel nuts, nuts and bolts etc so Marushin, NAKATA nd TRC produduced the MP40 cap firers using zinc castings.

Later, plastics made an appearance and Marushin began producing their MP40 PFC cap-firer using abs mouldings for Receivers, barrels, bolts, with some zinc andsome steel parts. These versions were available in factory assembled or kit form. An extremely good and popular modelgun. These are still available, brand new in abs or also the new factory assembled Heavy Weight abs plastic
Marushin also make a Gas Blow Back bb firing Airsoft abs MP40. Again, a very nice model, but not as realistic because the internals differ due to the nature of Airsoft Gas Blow Back mechanisms.

The MP38 is much rarer as a replica. One UK based company, www.modelguncollector.co.uk, makes beautiful MP38 replicas to order. These are predominantly Blankfiring, but their website has offered PFC versions too.
Hobby engineers compying with strict UK laws restricting manufacture of replica imitation firearms also produce the MP38 to order.

Blank Firing MP40s can be built from scratch, or from heavily converted MGC Modelguns. The above mentioned UK company does so, there are American and Russian companies we're aware of that build them from scratch. Being such a popular War Movie weapon, there are many more that build them no doubt. There are American and Russian companies that have built them.

Airsoft bb firing versions of the MP40 are available. Japanese manufactures Marushin and TOP have made them in Gas Blow Back form, there are also Chinese made Electric powered versions available.

Dummy, display models are currently made by the Spanish Denix company. These are ornamental models rather than 100% accurate reproductions. There has been talk of the Japanese Shoei company building MP40 replicas. Shoei have a well deserved reputation for building high quality, accurate reproductions of a number of firearms. Superior quality, limited production runs make their models highly sought after. Their MP40 hasn't appeared yet, we can only wait and hope!

Which is the best replica depends on what you intend to do with it really.
For PFC cap firing, probably the MGC steel MP40 would come top of the list, followed by Marushin's ABS MP40
For Blank Firing, the American SSRoom (Schossler) company built theirs with an unusual reversed action bolt to get around certain American laws and regulations. It doesn't detract too much from the gun's performance but it isn't accurate.
ModelGunCollectorUK's scratch built MP38, MP40 plus the converted MGC MP40 are very very good examples.

There's a lot of information here on the forum covering PFC Cap firing models, discussions on Blank Firing and Airsoft too. Have a read through, watch the videos too, then once you've seen what's available, we can give you more detailed information on different models.

Hello Cerwyn ,,

Thank you for taking the time to go into so much detail, you have answered all of my questions and more ,,
I can see the best model for me would have to be the pre 1970 MGC, I am not worried about being able to fire caps etc, I simply want a model that is as close as possible to the ones I used to own ,, I do still hold the required police licence in my country to own a live example but sadly the world wide prices for one of these has gone Mad !, making them out of reach to the average collector ! .. One more question : what will I need to pay for a nice example of a MGC and what countries are ok with exporting to New Zealand .. Again I appreciate all the help you have given me ..

Cheers collectorpp

Hello collectorpp

It's my pleasure to help if I can.

As far as I'm aware, importing replicas into NZ isn't restricted so, in theory, it should be possible to ship from anywhere.
MGC MP40s, despite not being produced since the 1970s are still available. Classified Ads and Dealers often have examples for sale.

If you don't particularly want a capfiring model, MGC supplied dummy versions for export which had ground bolt faces, drilled trunnions and chambers to ensure they'd never be capable of conversion to fire live ammunition. Several of these have appeared here on the forum recently.

Prices will vary enormously. Here in the UK, a good cap firing example can fetch between £450-£850
You'll see them advertised for £1000 plus sometimes but it's difficult to say if the sellers manage to sell at prices like that.

Discussions on the forum here with other members from NZ indicate prices charged by NZ dealers can be horrendously high for all replicas. If that's the case, buying one from overseas and shipping into NZ may be the better option.
Be aware that Import taxes may need paying, and that some shipping companies won't ship replica firearms. Losses might be uninsured.

Hopefully our NZ members can give you some advice on current market prices over there.

Till later