Does anyone have Marushin P38 modelgun?

Hello,

I have always been trying to find a good quality of P38 modelgun. It seems that Marushin P38 is the best one among them. However, I have never bought this one. Does anyone have this? My question is: what is the material of this modelgun? Is the material same as that of Marushin Luger, or is it ABS plastic?

Thank you very much in advance

I have a Marushin P38 modelgun. It is ABS plastic, thus a little light (approx. 500 g), but it has a nice metal finish. Drawback is that this finish is not very durable and will come of easily when handled a lot. It was made in the late 1980s I suppose.



I used to have a metal one (propably zinc), but this was a dummy only model that could not fire caps. I gave that to a friend years ago. I am not sure if it was Marushin though.

MadMike wrote:

I have a Marushin P38 modelgun. It is ABS plastic, thus a little light (approx. 500 g), but it has a nice metal finish. Drawback is that this finish is not very durable and will come of easily when handled a lot. It was made in the late 1980s I suppose.



I used to have a metal one (propably zinc), but this was a dummy only model that could not fire caps. I gave that to a friend years ago. I am not sure if it was Marushin though.

Danke, Kamerad.
I found a P38 modelgun of Marushin on the Internet, which was called P38 Giga Maxi Weight. It really had similar weight as a real P38 did. Price was also expensive. Even more expensive than my Marushin Luger modelgun.

Do you think a deactivated P38 would be better than a modelgun?

MadMike wrote:

I have a Marushin P38 modelgun. It is ABS plastic, thus a little light (approx. 500 g), but it has a nice metal finish. Drawback is that this finish is not very durable and will come of easily when handled a lot. It was made in the late 1980s I suppose.



I used to have a metal one (propably zinc), but this was a dummy only model that could not fire caps. I gave that to a friend years ago. I am not sure if it was Marushin though.

Well, a deactivated P38 will have ist pros. It is a real gun, not a copy or model. You can't beat that of course.

But it has its cons. It will be expensive, and you won't be able to cycle rounds or pull the Trigger as it will be blocked due to strict German regulations.

I tend to go with modelguns, as they are cheap and really good copies that can cycle dummy rounds.

Can't you even pull the trigger and make a dry shot?

MadMike wrote:

Well, a deactivated P38 will have ist pros. It is a real gun, not a copy or model. You can't beat that of course.

But it has its cons. It will be expensive, and you won't be able to cycle rounds or pull the Trigger as it will be blocked due to strict German regulations.

I tend to go with modelguns, as they are cheap and really good copies that can cycle dummy rounds.

No, current German regulations require the trigger mechanism (on deact handguns) to be blocked (mostly welded), so you can't dryfire it. I am not sure about the regulations in other countries though.

Do you think the slide of a real gun would fit the receiver of a modelgun?

MadMike wrote:

No, current German regulations require the trigger mechanism (on deact handguns) to be blocked (mostly welded), so you can't dryfire it. I am not sure about the regulations in other countries though.

I highly doubt so.

Construction details vary even between different models of the same manufacturer, and between different manufacturers as well, so putting slide from one modelgun on receiver of another is already a problem.

You can compare for example metal Kokusai and plastic Marushin models:
https://mp40modelguns.forumotion.net/t1797-identification-metal-version-of-kokusai-walther-p38
https://mp40modelguns.forumotion.net/t1568-marushin-p38-military-abs

Yes, this is different material, but shows the principle.

Thank you for the information very much.

By the way, do you know whether the Marushin P38 modelgun "heavyweight" is made of full metal or ABS, please?

smootik wrote:

I highly doubt so.

Construction details vary even between different models of the same manufacturer, and between different manufacturers as well, so putting slide from one modelgun on receiver of another is already a problem.

You can compare for example metal Kokusai and plastic Marushin models:
https://mp40modelguns.forumotion.net/t1797-identification-metal-version-of-kokusai-walther-p38
https://mp40modelguns.forumotion.net/t1568-marushin-p38-military-abs

Yes, this is different material, but shows the principle.

"Heavyweight" is ABS plastic mixed with metal particles.
This makes material heavier, with different surface than just ABS, a bit colder to touch.

At the same time it is more brittle than normal plastic, and can break more easy when model is more stressed during firing. Consensus seems to be that heavyweight models are more for display, while ABS are better for firing.

Is there any full metal P38 modelgun?

smootik wrote:

"Heavyweight" is ABS plastic mixed with metal particles.
This makes material heavier, with different surface than just ABS, a bit colder to touch.

At the same time it is more brittle than normal plastic, and can break more easy when model is more stressed during firing. Consensus seems to be that heavyweight models are more for display, while ABS are better for firing.

joshephliu,

Hi,
Just an update as to P38 modelgun from Japan.
Currently, Marushin only makes P38 in Heavy Weighted plastic, as dummy cartridge model (cannot fire a cap).
No full metal P38 modelgun is available here due to a regulation. Marushin had "mega weight" (this is also be plastic) model, but I heard this is very fragile, may not good for manual action too much.

S

Hello,
Did any Japanese company ever make any full metal P38 in the 1970-80s?

shazhib wrote:

joshephliu,

Hi,
Just an update as to P38 modelgun from Japan.
Currently, Marushin only makes P38 in Heavy Weighted plastic, as dummy cartridge model (cannot fire a cap).
No full metal P38 modelgun is available here due to a regulation. Marushin had "mega weight" (this is also be plastic) model, but I heard this is very fragile, may not good for manual action too much.

S

They certainly did, P38 was one of the most popular models out there.

Metal P38 models were manufactured in 70s by Nakata, Kokusai, MGC, CMC and Marushin.

You can check photos of my Kokusai metal P38 through this old thread:
https://mp40modelguns.forumotion.net/t1871-wts-kokusai-p38-full-metal-dummy-version

Thank you for the information.

Which company do you think has produced the best metal P38 modelgun?

smootik wrote:

They certainly did, P38 was one of the most popular models out there.

Metal P38 models were manufactured in 70s by Nakata, Kokusai, MGC, CMC and Marushin.

You can check photos of my Kokusai metal P38 through this old thread:
https://mp40modelguns.forumotion.net/t1871-wts-kokusai-p38-full-metal-dummy-version

MGC and Marushin are probably the most popular and available models, with good markings..

Kokusai is very decent too, although the "KOKUSAI" and "SM" marking is a bit too large.

CMC is famed for accuracy and quality of their work. I haven't handled their P38 model, but others are impressive. Only thing on CMC model might be "CMC" marking on a side.

Can't comment on Nakata, but they had some good quality models like CMC. Note that it has a dummy extractor.