Well, since my BD38 is in CFC-hoc (LOL - I hate restricted transfer times), all I have to fondle are the mags and pouches - d'oh!
Given that my verbal description in another thread was certainly subjective and it's difficult to describe condition in words, John from Marstar rightly commented that I was being overly harsh of the mags and pouches which was NOT AT ALL my intention.
Let me begin by saying that I THINK THESE MAGS AND POUCHES ARE A PHENOMENAL BUY - especially at the $399 point (available only to customers who have bought a BD38 or BD3008). If Marstar ever makes these available to non-SSD customers at this price, I suspect they would sell ALOT more of these combos to re-enactors, etc.
So in order to be 100% completely fair and true to what marstar is offering, I am going to post pics of every angle of all the Marstar "six pack" mags, the pouches, and a side-by-side comparison with the magazine that ships with the BD38 from SSD in Germany.
I do not know if it is typical of most of Marstar's mags, but the SSD mag that shipped was a WaA37 fxo42 MP38u.40 marked magazine, while all six mags shipped from Marstar are WaA37 "schmeiser logo" MP41 marked magazines. Both were interchangeable and identical except for markings when new, though MP41 mags were apparently originally made for the select-fire MP41, basically MP40 with a wooden stock. I think they were always issued interchangeably in the Wehrmacht. I also suspect the MP41 marked mags might be a bit rarer, if that matters to you.
The SSD provided mag is limited to 5 rounds internally and there is no visible alteration to the mag from the outside. It does only hold 5 rounds though. The 6 mags from Marstar's inventory are limited the way I am used to seeing, with a pop-rivet, but it's very nicely done (also 5 rounds). The marstar mags have a film of cosmolene on them, while the SSD mag came lightly oiled. Shouldn't be any issue to clean them and they are not "Yugo Mauser" coated. (those who have degreased an M48 know what I mean!)
Some of the Marstar mags look to have been re-blued (and possibly refurbished?) at some point in the distant past, but have clearly seen use since then. A couple had minor surface pitting that was blued over and a couple others had some initials scratched lightly into the metal that were blued over - presumably the initials of some long-gone Wehrmacht soldier. I photographed the two worst examples to show that it's not that bad. These are, afterall, mags that fought a war on the losing side and likely did extra-duty afterward in some eastern-european country.
All the mags are serviceable, free of any significant dents, and would sell separately in the $80+ range without too much trouble IMHO.
First up - I randomly selected a Marstar magazine to compare with the SSD magazine.
View 1 - the marking-side flats. SSD's mag on top, Marstar's on bottom.
View 2 - the non-marking-side flats. SSD's mag on top, Marstar's on bottom.
View 3 - Mag spines. Note the rivet on the Marstar magazine.
View 4 - closeup of WaA marings. Note the rivet on the Marstar mag. The SSD-supplied mag shows a factory code, while the Marstar mag bears the Schmeisser logo on the base of the flat (see photo further down)
View 5 - magazine fronts. Marstar mag on the bottom, SSD mag on top.
Ok, now for the pouches. To my thinking, there are about three grades of repro pouches out on the market. At the top end are the repro pouches that are made to borderline deceive buyers into thinking they are real. These are made from old canvas with correct thread, stitched exactly like the originals and have fake ink stamps on the canvas and fake markings, RBn numbers and WaA's on the belt loops like the originals. In the middle are serviceable pouches that a re-eneactor would wear, but there may be minor differences like the gauge of thread used, lack of Nazi production markings on the belt loops, they aren't aged to look 60 years old, etc. and at the lower end is Chinese made e-bay junk that only looks the part from a few meters away and falls apart with minimal use.
In my personal opinion, the Marstar pouches are the middle-grade variety. They are really pretty good, but do not have reproduction markings and some small details like the type of rivets used and the gauge of the stitching are SLIGHTLY off. A re-enactor or someone building a mannequin display would be well served by these, I should think. They also don't have that "made by a tribesman in Afghanistan" smell about them that alot of current e-bay repro stuff has. I've been told that the smell I am referring to is from the urine that some countries still use in the leather tanning process, but in any event, Marstar's MP38 pouches and leather fittings DO NOT have that horrid smell.
Here are some pics, including a random closeup of the stitching and part of a belt loop showing the lack of repro maker's markings. FYI, real pouches bear ALL their markings on the back side, so when worn, there's no way to know a marked set from an unmarked set.
I looked around the web to compare these to other retailers' offerings and the closest set I could locate sell for $45 USD at Lost Battalions in the USA. If you value these pouches similarly, they are a great bonus in the Marstar deal.
Now here are both sides of the six Marstar provided mags. As John pointed out in the other thread, the blueing is really pretty exceptional for used magazines and I was CERTAINLY WRONG wen I said the blueing was worn. The mags display rather well, in fact.
Here are the MP41 Schmeisser markings I spoke about earlier. All six mags are marked the same.
Closeup of the limiting rivet and the WaA markings on a typical (as received by me) Marstar mag.
This was the single "worst" case where initials were scratched into a mag body. Only one other mag was so marked and the marking was much smaller - almost difficult to see. As you can see, no bright metal - the scratch was blued over. All letters are in the latin alphabet, not cyrillic, so I suspect a German ex-user did it.
Here is the worst case of pitting on any of the mags that was not blued over - as you can see, not bad at all. Only two mags had any evidence at all like this, and this mag was BY FAR the worst example. Certainly nothing to worry about IMHO.
And here is the worst case of pitting that was blued over. Only two mags had any blued over pitting, one was very minimal - almost none. This one was by far the worst of the two, and again, it's nothing serious at all.
OVERALL RECOMMENDATION:
Buy with confidence. These are good, original WW2 mags at a very fair price. whether for display or use, they should be just the ticket.
Other recommendations:
1) I've discovered IMA USA has repro mag loaders for reasonable money to fill the tool pouch. Also, if you plan to use the mag pouches, you may wish to get a neck strap and issue Whermacht belt.
Given that my verbal description in another thread was certainly subjective and it's difficult to describe condition in words, John from Marstar rightly commented that I was being overly harsh of the mags and pouches which was NOT AT ALL my intention.
Let me begin by saying that I THINK THESE MAGS AND POUCHES ARE A PHENOMENAL BUY - especially at the $399 point (available only to customers who have bought a BD38 or BD3008). If Marstar ever makes these available to non-SSD customers at this price, I suspect they would sell ALOT more of these combos to re-enactors, etc.
So in order to be 100% completely fair and true to what marstar is offering, I am going to post pics of every angle of all the Marstar "six pack" mags, the pouches, and a side-by-side comparison with the magazine that ships with the BD38 from SSD in Germany.
I do not know if it is typical of most of Marstar's mags, but the SSD mag that shipped was a WaA37 fxo42 MP38u.40 marked magazine, while all six mags shipped from Marstar are WaA37 "schmeiser logo" MP41 marked magazines. Both were interchangeable and identical except for markings when new, though MP41 mags were apparently originally made for the select-fire MP41, basically MP40 with a wooden stock. I think they were always issued interchangeably in the Wehrmacht. I also suspect the MP41 marked mags might be a bit rarer, if that matters to you.
The SSD provided mag is limited to 5 rounds internally and there is no visible alteration to the mag from the outside. It does only hold 5 rounds though. The 6 mags from Marstar's inventory are limited the way I am used to seeing, with a pop-rivet, but it's very nicely done (also 5 rounds). The marstar mags have a film of cosmolene on them, while the SSD mag came lightly oiled. Shouldn't be any issue to clean them and they are not "Yugo Mauser" coated. (those who have degreased an M48 know what I mean!)
Some of the Marstar mags look to have been re-blued (and possibly refurbished?) at some point in the distant past, but have clearly seen use since then. A couple had minor surface pitting that was blued over and a couple others had some initials scratched lightly into the metal that were blued over - presumably the initials of some long-gone Wehrmacht soldier. I photographed the two worst examples to show that it's not that bad. These are, afterall, mags that fought a war on the losing side and likely did extra-duty afterward in some eastern-european country.
All the mags are serviceable, free of any significant dents, and would sell separately in the $80+ range without too much trouble IMHO.
First up - I randomly selected a Marstar magazine to compare with the SSD magazine.
View 1 - the marking-side flats. SSD's mag on top, Marstar's on bottom.
View 2 - the non-marking-side flats. SSD's mag on top, Marstar's on bottom.
View 3 - Mag spines. Note the rivet on the Marstar magazine.
View 4 - closeup of WaA marings. Note the rivet on the Marstar mag. The SSD-supplied mag shows a factory code, while the Marstar mag bears the Schmeisser logo on the base of the flat (see photo further down)
View 5 - magazine fronts. Marstar mag on the bottom, SSD mag on top.
Ok, now for the pouches. To my thinking, there are about three grades of repro pouches out on the market. At the top end are the repro pouches that are made to borderline deceive buyers into thinking they are real. These are made from old canvas with correct thread, stitched exactly like the originals and have fake ink stamps on the canvas and fake markings, RBn numbers and WaA's on the belt loops like the originals. In the middle are serviceable pouches that a re-eneactor would wear, but there may be minor differences like the gauge of thread used, lack of Nazi production markings on the belt loops, they aren't aged to look 60 years old, etc. and at the lower end is Chinese made e-bay junk that only looks the part from a few meters away and falls apart with minimal use.
In my personal opinion, the Marstar pouches are the middle-grade variety. They are really pretty good, but do not have reproduction markings and some small details like the type of rivets used and the gauge of the stitching are SLIGHTLY off. A re-enactor or someone building a mannequin display would be well served by these, I should think. They also don't have that "made by a tribesman in Afghanistan" smell about them that alot of current e-bay repro stuff has. I've been told that the smell I am referring to is from the urine that some countries still use in the leather tanning process, but in any event, Marstar's MP38 pouches and leather fittings DO NOT have that horrid smell.
Here are some pics, including a random closeup of the stitching and part of a belt loop showing the lack of repro maker's markings. FYI, real pouches bear ALL their markings on the back side, so when worn, there's no way to know a marked set from an unmarked set.
I looked around the web to compare these to other retailers' offerings and the closest set I could locate sell for $45 USD at Lost Battalions in the USA. If you value these pouches similarly, they are a great bonus in the Marstar deal.
Now here are both sides of the six Marstar provided mags. As John pointed out in the other thread, the blueing is really pretty exceptional for used magazines and I was CERTAINLY WRONG wen I said the blueing was worn. The mags display rather well, in fact.
Here are the MP41 Schmeisser markings I spoke about earlier. All six mags are marked the same.
Closeup of the limiting rivet and the WaA markings on a typical (as received by me) Marstar mag.
This was the single "worst" case where initials were scratched into a mag body. Only one other mag was so marked and the marking was much smaller - almost difficult to see. As you can see, no bright metal - the scratch was blued over. All letters are in the latin alphabet, not cyrillic, so I suspect a German ex-user did it.
Here is the worst case of pitting on any of the mags that was not blued over - as you can see, not bad at all. Only two mags had any evidence at all like this, and this mag was BY FAR the worst example. Certainly nothing to worry about IMHO.
And here is the worst case of pitting that was blued over. Only two mags had any blued over pitting, one was very minimal - almost none. This one was by far the worst of the two, and again, it's nothing serious at all.
OVERALL RECOMMENDATION:
Buy with confidence. These are good, original WW2 mags at a very fair price. whether for display or use, they should be just the ticket.
Other recommendations:
1) I've discovered IMA USA has repro mag loaders for reasonable money to fill the tool pouch. Also, if you plan to use the mag pouches, you may wish to get a neck strap and issue Whermacht belt.
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