Sterling Bolt

I was lucky enough to pick up a Sterling on ebay last year. It's in fair condition but the bolt face is cut and the chamber plugged. Did I read that 8ace makes steel bolts for the Sterling? Is there a source for firing pins and rounds?

Hi One skunk todd?,

Firstly a big welcome to the forum mate,i'm sure your gonna fit in well here .Well sadly 8ace no longer makes steel parts for modelguns including the bolt you are after ,we all miss the great parts he used to make.

Francky or Shazhib who are forum members and modelgun experts in Japan will be able to get the detonator pins,rounds and probaly scource you a bolt too at a really good price,so i'd contact them if i was you.

I hope this info helps ,and if you have no luck..i'll buy the sterling

Cheers
Kickback

Yeah I just finished reading about 8ace's situation. That really sucks.

I've bought from Francky before and I occasionally see bolts there but haven't managed to snag one yet. Does Shazhib have a website?

If I ever sell the Sterling you'll be the first to know. (don't hold your breath)

And now pics of that Sterling please!

Cheers guys,

Yep it's a bummer but things might change in the future

8ace

Welcome to the forum one skunk todd!

Shazhib can be contacted by PM here as he's a fellow member.

I'm pretty sure www.modelguncollector.co.uk made and sold steel Sterling bolts... could be worth you sending Kevin an e-mail there too?

Thanks Cerwyn. Put some pictures of my Sterling in the Sterling thread. I checked and it seems like modelguns UK does sell the steel bolt althought the price is listed as POA. (Price On Asking?) It may be a little out of my range at the moment.

One Skunk Todd wrote:

Thanks Cerwyn. Put some pictures of my Sterling in the Sterling thread. I checked and it seems like modelguns UK does sell the steel bolt althought the price is listed as POA. (Price On Asking?) It may be a little out of my range at the moment.

I am after a steel bolt and I thought I would resurrect this thread.
Just to let you know that www.modelguncollector.co.uk will not sell a Steel bolt unless you purchased the sterling off of them and I quote "we only supply custom steel parts to customers that have purchased modelguns from us ( its part of our customer service)" which I think is a bit narrow minded as I would have purchased lots more stuff but I suppose it is their prerogative

megamicrofish wrote:

Just to let you know that www.modelguncollector.co.uk will not sell a Steel bolt unless you purchased the sterling off of them

Ooops :-/
Modelguns Worldwide had the same policy of servicing/selling parts only for replicas that they have sold, but I was not aware that MGCUK had the same.

From the business point of view I think I can understand that policy, even if it's a pity for collectors.

I think that MGCUK not supplying custom steel parts for everybody is a sensible policy (although frustrating if you need the part) as you have to be a little more careful with custom bits. But they will supply normal parts even if you haven't brought the model from them.

8ace

There's a custom steel bolt for sale on Gunbroker.com

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=171195595

could be worth a look

Yes, I saw that on Gunbroker but no International shipping.
How much do these things normally cost is $250 (£175) about right ?

megamicrofish wrote:

Yes, I saw that on Gunbroker but no International shipping.
How much do these things normally cost is $250 (£175) about right ?

The seller on Gunbroker won't sell complete modelguns outside the USA as there are to many Customs problems these days.
He'll usually send parts though if you e-mail him first.

As for price, well it's back to "supply and demand" I suppose. The rarer things are, the dearer they'll be just like everything else.
The chances of finding a new unused MGC Sterling bolt are 99.99% NIL these days. The last time I heard, I think (not sure) MGCUK were charging about £120 for a custom made steel one. They are one offs or very small prodction runs so the amount of machining, turning and milling will warrant high prices.
That said, $250 DOES seem a bit steep but if that's the only bolt out there you might have to dig deep into your pocket I'm afraid

Cerwyn wrote:

The seller on Gunbroker won't sell complete modelguns outside the USA as there are to many Customs problems these days.He'll usually send parts though if you e-mail him first.

One comment though - bolt is considered in some countries to be an essential part of a weapon and is restricted just like a weapon. In this case it is a modelgun spare part, but unless buyer is prepared to explain that in Customs, this bolt might be simply confiscated. This is a high risk for the seller - buyers can just claim back money through Paypal. This is often reason that sellers prefer not to ship internationally.

Based on my experience Model Gun Collector USA does ship smaller parts and cartridges if you email him first to check if that's ok.

Your comment about availability vs price is right... more and more spare parts are becoming scarce, especially custom bolts. These used to be manufactured in UK on demand, but no longer so after VCRA act :-(