Maraushin p38

Hi all,

Can anyone give me any information on the Maraushin p38 ? Don't know much about it,firing, type of rounds needed and stripping.

Thanks

FJ

[b]

Hello FJ,

You have a great review by our friend Smootik here:

https://mp40modelguns.forumotion.net/t1568-marushin-p38-military-abs

All is here, description, cartridges, stripping, etc.

In my case, I haven't a P38 so I can't speak about it.

See you.

Wow!

What a great review!

Most questions answered. Does anyone have a parts breakdown of the p38 HW version and does the ABS version differ ?

Thanks

FJ[b]

Glad you liked it :-)

I think that HW and ABS should have the same, or very similar composition. It is fairly expensive to modify molds, so manufacturers try to avoid it. Even recent dummy HW version is same as cap-firing ones, except for blocked firing pin and barrel.

I have one problem when trying to strip the gun following the guide. When I get to the part a where you remove a pin that holds the barrel to the base , there is no pin to remove. It is solid. Any Ideas ?

FJ

Finally worked out how to strip it, Yeah !

By the way it's not the HW model, it's the all metal version I have. I thought HW related to metal versions ,my bad !

One more question. Does anyone know where to get hold of the rounds for this pistol? Mp40 maraushin rounds are too big for the magazine so they must have a special round.

FJ

It's a nice feeling when you overcome a challenge, even a small one :-)

Full metal version is different construction indeed.
Here's a page about metal Marushin P38, click blue button at the bottom for parts drawing:
http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~yon-yon/cgi/marushin/p38/index.html

Can't help with cartridges, I'm not familiar with such models. Early metal models in general have very different cartridges from later ones, as they are not blowback. Cartridges are usually dummy, or at most they have a hole at the tip for paper caps. These give effects without any slide action.

LOL! Yes sometimes even the smallest challenges can be the hardest!:-)

That's interesting to know that it is not blow back but also a bit disappointing. It does have a detonator pin and the rounds that come with it are the solid brass ones with the hollowed out tip for a cap , but you say the slide wont work when fired ? Is this because with a cap there is not enough pressure to push back the slide?

Or is it just meant to be single shot then?

Anyway, even if not blow back it's still a very nice piece.

FJ

FJ AWAY wrote:

It does have a detonator pin and the rounds that come with it are the solid brass ones with the hollowed out tip for a cap , but you say the slide wont work when fired ? Is this because with a cap there is not enough pressure to push back the slide?

Metal pistol models did not originally feature a blowback action as far as I know. They used paper caps purely for sound/smoke effects (like kids toy cap guns). It was not until mid-70s and switch ABS models that reliable blowback was invented by Tanio Koba. Earlier metal models had fairly heavy slides and simple cartridge design (hollow tip) did not allow for enough pressure/force to move the slide back. Going further forward, plastic cap was invented only in 1979, with its plastic base providing additional sealing surface (especially in Marushin design). Later on Hudson and WaShan pistols demonstrate that modern cartridge design can provide blowback even in full metal models.

Some of the paper cap models can be converted to fire modern CP or PFC caps. For example RMI/MGC Beretta 1934 that I reviewed has been converted from dummy to PFC blowback sometime along the way, it is a small pistol though.

In theory you might modify detonator pin and use modern cartridges. Someone more versed in modifying modelguns might offer more insight if it's feasible.

I can understand your disappointment, as I was not aware of all of that and expected all cap-firing modelguns to use plastic caps and provide blowback action, until I learned more. Still, these models are nice pieces to display or handle :-)