ZF41 clone project

Here's the one repair I had to do to the stock I inletted for the mount. There was a small chip missing at the toe. I have a garbage laminate K98 stock I use to cut patch material when I need to. Here it is, inletting and glued in place.



stained and oiled:

 
In other news, all the metal except the TG (which doesn't need any bluing) is at the gunsmith for a hot tank blue :) Getting closer to completion!
 
So how close is the blue that your gunsmith is using going to match the original finish? I've heard that Brownells sells a blue solution that matches the original finish pretty darn close or is this not true?
 
Got bored, so took a picture of the stocks I had to choose from. The top stock is off a late 1943 (IMHO) Steyr (i.e. bnz43). It looks very pretty, but has a totally incorrect bolt handle cutout. Ignore the bands, they are incorrect for this stock, just there to hold the HG on. The stock I did use, is mostly un-marked. I believe it's actually a 1944 dou stock (No WaA stock proofs and Ph maker code), but it looks close enough to pass for a byf stock. A persistent faker would order the WaA135 stamp set being sold on e-bay and elsewhere. If Waffenampted-up in this manner, it would fool all but the most careful.





I'm debating whether to use this rather excellent bnz wood set to turn my bnz43 RC into a single-claw sniper repro. The only thing stopping me is that the scopes (3-piece bmj dialytan 4X) routinely sell for $1000-2000 depending on condition and markings. There are no good repros of that scope either. Apart from the scope, I have most of the other needed parts on-hand.

 
The bolt cutout on the stock you used looks very MO. It looks right for the job. The dou stocks are usually a lot thicker through the wrist and buttstock so that's another clue besides the Ph mark.

The bnz single claw would be an expensive but fun project as well. Personally though I couldn't bring myself to modify a RC like that though. A sporter or something would be better for a project like that IMHO, but then again I'm pretty weird like that.:p
 
Like I said, I'm on the fence. I've yet to see a bnz42, bnz43 or bnz44 sporter up here in Canada, so if I go ahead with it, it may HAVE to be this rifle. We'll see. It's a huge outlay for a scope to build a repro that may only be valued for the sum of its parts.
 
Since I'm simultaneously trying to help you guys detect fakes, I thought I would share some photos. There are many sellers, mostly in Europe, who make some pretty convincing reproduction Nazi-era firearm and accoutrement stamps. I've collected a few photos from sellers and here are some examples. I even ordered a couple of these stamps myself and am debating whether to use them on my ZF41 repro to mprove the looks and show what can be done with a decent stamping die. (Note that I left the East German markings on the bbl intact to show it's not a WW2 original gun. The stamps I bought are the WaA135 stock stamp and a barrel firing proof eagle.)

Some of these are pretty scary good.



these are only a few, I have many many more pics of examples. Anyway, the moral of the story is that there is BIG money in "all original" collectible nazi stuff and the ability to fake markings is ever-improving. A piece may no longer look obviously like a fake and needs to be evaluated as a whole. More and more the nazi gun collecting hobby is getting to the point good reference books and lots of in-hand experience with original guns will be VERY important in not getting taken to the cleaners.
 
It may or may not be from the same vendor (?). Either way, on that SVT, it's not the design of the eagle that is most problematic, it's that the stamp is about three times larger than it should be for a firearm and it's in the wrong spot. Likely that stamp was intended for leather goods.

Some of the stamps, particularly the Waffenampt stamps, are actually pretty good.

Take a look at this late-type WaA135 for example. It would likely fool me if applied properly. Same with the WaA77.



 
Well I had to pay dearly for it, but I now have a better WaA 135 TG on the way, which is properly unserialized. It will need a reblue though. (pic from e-bay)

$(KGrHqZHJDgFG8V7eTe6BRw5irFEZ!~~60_57.JPG


I have to decide also which follower to use. I have two WW2 German followers, not sure which is better for byf44 - one is totally unmarked and is an as-new armorer replacement part, the other isa slightly used "lxr" follower, shown here.

$T2eC16dHJGoFFvNw2n(,BRw47+HiEg~~60_57.JPG
 
Yeah, the un-marked one is, I think, from a byf rifle to begin with so I'll probably use it. I have another project I can use the lxr part in.
 
Do you have a repro metal zf41 scope can for the project? That might be cool mounted on a belt for display.
 
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A little more fakery... I know I said I would not, but I decided to weld over the serial numbers on the firing pin and re-number it. These parts are in the white on a byf44, and it's amazing how hard it is to detect the weld and renumber. I used coarse paper on a file to replicate the original late-war rough finishing on the flats, re-stamped it, then cold blued the whole area and pickled it back of again to make the metal look aged. Scary, huh?



Next, here is what a decent fake stock stamp looks like. Stamped into the wood, then lightly boned to remove the proud crispness. Finally, some dark brown dye rubbed into the bottom of the stamp to make it look older.

Freshly stamped:



Aged:



The evil repro stamps. MO firing proof on left, WaA135 stock stamp on right.

 
Those stamps are pretty good. Not quite right but close and would easily fool a lot of people.

Shame stuff like this is being sold really. For those that are honest its not a problem but there are too many people looking to make a quick buck at the expense of a new or uninformed collector.

I should add that I'm in no way implying what you're doing is dishonest. You've been straight up with pics and descriptions of everything you've done and the work is top notch! It looks really cool!
 
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