MGC68 MP40 ?

Subject: MGC68 MP40 ? Wed May 14, 2014 4:19 pm

Hi everyone,
As promised, here are the pics of my brother's MGC68 MP40. This is a strange one as it does not have a serial number at all, not even on the barrel or barrel shroud Question

It is purely a model gun, not a PFC or a blanker so I have been told but I will ask for a pic to see how the barrel is blocked. It's also mostly steel Shocked

Areas marked in red are steel, green is for pot-metal. I believe this is a 2nd generation '40 as the bolt spring is not exposed and cannot be seen from the left hand side Question

Do correct me if I am wrong Embarassed

Broomie

Subject: Re: MGC68 MP40 ? Thu May 15, 2014 12:58 pm

Thank very much for these photos broomie

This model would have left the factory as a non-firing dummy version. The dead giveaway are the 2 holes drilled through the receiver and through the chamber. These can be seen just in front of the 2 Allen socket head screws securing the Magazine Well in place. There may well be a slot cut into the receiver on the underside beneath trunnion and barrel nut.

Receivers were normally plugged like this:

Here's the barrel showing the carbon steel rod running along its' length

I have seen one barrel that was completely blocked however.

The bolt is a curious one. MGC cast the bolt and charging handle as a one piece unit.
As your charging handle is zinc, the bolt should be too. The extractor would be steel though.

Pistol grip and foregrip panels are plastic whereas the real guns used Bakelite.

This model seems to be a slight mix of Mid and Late production types, perhaps a transition model?
Reading through the registry

https://mp40modelguns.forumotion.net/t886-mgc68-mp40-registry?highlight=registry

The majority of it is Mid production, with some Late parts or methods.

Magazine Well is Late, being 2 piece with straps overlapping and spot welded
Receiver is Late having 2 drilled holes
Recoil Tube/Spring is Early/Mid production
Lack of Serial Number suggests it is Mid to Late as it appears MGC stopped numbering each gun

I hope this is of some help

_________________
Cerwyn

Hobby collector of Replica model guns and Militaria.
also member of Living History Reenactment Groups.

Subject: Re: MGC68 MP40 ? Thu May 15, 2014 2:09 pm

Holy smoke Exclamation

You can tell all that from just looking at the pics Question

Cerwyn, you can get a PhD on the subject Shocked

I was kind of disappointed that there's no serial number on the gun Crying or Very sad

So, as you rightly pointed out, it is a mid to late production '40 - I & my brother have yet to gather enough courage to strip our '40s to check the the bolts & receivers Embarassed

I will probably end up sending mine to Kickback to have mine converted to a blanker when my MVT membership comes through in June. So wait for Kickback to update you on my '40.
I will do my best to get a pic of the barrel plug of my brother's '40, but without knowing how to strip it , it's gonna be difficult Embarassed

Thanks for identifying the '40, you've been a fountain of information Very Happy

BTW, would you know if this model gun '40 could be converted to a blanker , or should it be kept "as is" purely for collectable value Question

Broomie
P.S. My brother's '40 only cost him US$500 (including shipping & import duties), mine was a fraction more but his is just awesome - it's almost mint Exclamation

Subject: Re: MGC68 MP40 ? Fri May 16, 2014 10:53 am

Hi broomie,

Thank you for your kind words but I can't claim any merits for the info I've passed on really.
All the info is already in this Forum, it's just a matter of sifting through all the stuff that's here. I've been collecting modelguns for about 10 years now and joined this forum 9 or so years ago.
MP38s and MP40s are my favourites. I was ecstatic when I got my MGC68 MP40

I'm certain that Kickback can tell you if converting yours and your brothers to blank firing is feasible or not. He has plenty of experience with these

_________________
Cerwyn

Hobby collector of Replica model guns and Militaria.
also member of Living History Reenactment Groups.

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