MG-34 AEG

[schmitty]

This was by far the most difficult conversion I have yet done. When I first purchased the MG34 parts kit over a year ago I had decided at one point that it was not possible to make an AEG out of it because none of the available gearbox's would fit. But after a year of having it sit in a heap in the corner of my shop taunting me I decided to give it another look. After a lot of measuring I realized that if I modified an Aug gearbox (marui ver 3) And did a ton of grinding to the 34's pistol grip I could make it fit.

The first difficulty was in welding the original reciever back together. It was deactivated to meet BATF specs with four gastly torch cuts, just getting it back together straight was a major job. I often welded a joint only to find it wasn't quite straight and would have to cut and weld it again.

The next difficulty was with the 34's trigger. On the real steal pulling the upper part fires the gun on semi, and pulling the lower part fires on full auto, I was determined to make this work in a realistic manor. There was virtually no room around the trigger for buttons or mechanisms, but after a lot of tinkering I did get it to work (very reliably too!)

The hop up is from a P-90. The Gearbox has a P-90/ Thompson cylinder head turned upside down. This allows the gearbox to sit higher in the reciever, but requires a modified tappet plate. The gearbox is upgraded to a M120 (420 fps with .20 BB's) and uses a Systema torque up motor. The battery is stored in the stock and is a 2100mah 2 cell Li-poly.

The Assault Drum magazine holds about 2000 BB's and uses a M4 hicap mechanism wound on the bottom to feed ammo through some modified plumbing parts into the hop up chamber.







Here is a comparisson between the custom MG-34 and the Echigoya MG-42 AEG. As you can see the 34 has a much more realistic "been there" look to it, It is also much heavier.





Here are a couple videos of back yard testing. First the MG-34 then the 42. The targets are about 60 feet away.

[ftp]http://home.comcast.net/~milsom44/34vid.AVI[/ftp]

[ftp]http://home.comcast.net/~milsom44/42vid.AVI[/ftp]

The 42 uses a 3 cell Lipoly battery (11.1 volts) that is the reason for the high rate of fire. Also the 42 is full auto only.

I don't expect many people will be inspired to start building there own MG-34's but I would like to encourage anyone in whatever custom projects they choose, Doing your own custom work is incredibly rewarding even if it's a simple project. I don't own any fancy tools or machines, I do have a small metal laithe but I did not use it on this project. I have a cheap wire feed welder, drill press and belt sander, The majority of work is done by hand or with a dremel.

Schmitty

[Gordak]

WOW great work!! Im speechless!!!! you did a fantastic job of hiding all the parts!
-Gordak

[Guinness]

That Schmitty is an Airsoft Gunsmith extrodinaire I tells ya!



Did I tell ya Thank you for my M1A1 yet Schmitty because I wanna tell ya THANK YOU!!

;D ;D



-G

[Capt. Zak]

God I hate you Schmitty! ;D

Sweet Jesus is that cool! You are amazing.

[Mikkel]

Nice job!
Sadly you are two years too late of being the first to convert an RS MG34 into an airsoft gun

What did you do to the barrel? Just skipped it entirely and let the airsoft barrel be alone inside the heat shield, or did you use a metal tube?

[aadan]

can you tell me where to get a parts kit for either the 34 or 42? I can't seem to find one.

[schmitty]

Thanks for all the positive feedback!
Mikkel: I never claimed to be the first. I do recall reading on the Ukan forums of someone else building an MG34 AEG but no details where offered and I never saw any pictures of it. Do you know anything more about it? I made a barrel from aluminum tubing (you can see it in the first pic) for 3 reasons. 1) an airsoft barrel won't fit inside the 8mm bore, 2) to keep the weight down and 3) Now I can sell the original barrel (they go for $60-70)

Aadan: I bought my parts kit from Northridge aresenal (I think that was the name).
You can also buy them from IMA (International Military Antiques), Interordnance LP or check on GunBroker.com

Schmitty

[Mikkel]

I was just teasing you
I still dream about owning either of those guns...i doesn't even have to be airsoft converted

I played a game with the guy last year, but didn't get to try it (shame on me!)
Then i later emailed a little bit with him.
Apparently, his is made from a fullblown MG34 (with an old deactivation, meaning that only the barrel, barrel chamber and the bolt was deactivated). He also made it with an modified AUG gearbox, and also like you, discarded the original barrel.

I myself is thinkering with fitting an M249 gearbox into an MG42, i THINK they should be compatble. More on that...in a few years or so

[savoy6]

thats a very sweet piece of custom work....great job...

[2nd bat]

Smitty,

You are my inspiration! For those not privy to actually see and experience (sometimes on the recieving end) the quality of his work. He is amazing and each of his guns is a true work of airsoft art!

See you at the BoB in December!

2nd bat

[schmitty]

Thanks again for all the kind remarks, I don't posess any extraordinary skill. I truly believe anyone with paitence, will and determination can accomplish similar projects.

I think an MG-42 would actually be a lot easier to do for a couple reasons. The reciever is considerably larger and since it is full auto only this simplifies things a great deal. If using a TM gearbox you can cut off the whole section on the bottom that holds the trigger and related parts then run the trigger off of your own switch. This means lots more room where you need it most and you don't have to line up the gearbox's trigger with the real guns trigger.

I don't know for certain but I don't believe the M249 gearbox will fit in a MG-42. I believe it is considerably too tall.

Schmitty

[Mikkel]

Would you mind, and try, if the box can fit inside the reciver?
The gearbox is 6cm high, 21,5cm long and 3,5cm wide.

The nice thing about it, is that you can keep the original trigger. The gearbox got a regular preassure switch and the trigger in the 249 works like the real one (a little pin that pushes upwards)

[Gordak]

m249 box, both the stock one and the pgc version, will not fit in mg42, its a proven fact.

-Gordak

[Mikkel]

Noo! Dont say this! You are just saying to be mean to me!!


Whats wrong? I just measured, and its exactly as tall as an v.3 gearbox, plus the MG42 reciver seems to be slightly taller then the MG34 reciver (don't have any guns around to measure, so its just an observation).

Back to the drawing table i guess

[CharleyNovember]

What about the ver6 mechbox Sam will it fit a 42? IS it too wide too tall is it bigger than breadbox give a hint

[Mikkel]

The V6 is 2cm taller then the M249 box, so i dont think it would fit at all.

[schmitty]

O.k. I just measured both the MG42 and MG34. The 42 is about 6 cm tall at the front of the reciever where the top cover is tallest. It tapers down to 5 cm just above the trigger. The MG34 is about 5.5cm at its tallest and tapers down to 4 cm. These are outside measurments. Subtract the thickness of the metal used to figure I.D.

The biggest problem is that the gearbox's nozzle has to be in the center of the barrel, In my Mg-34 I used a p90 cyl. head that is normally off set to the top turned up side down so that the nozzle is lower on the gearbox and the whole gearbox can be raised in the gun, Without this the motor would protrude from the bottom of the pistol grip and the gearbox would have protruded from the bottom of the reciever.

There is no way a ver 6 gearbox would fit. The shape just doesn't lend itself at all.

I think the Ver III is the way to go. In fact when I look at all my projects over the years, The Ver III is in most of them (Sten, Bren, PPSH, MP40, MG-34) Even the Echigoya MG-42 has Ver III parts inside a custom gear case.

Mikkel Where are you located? I'm guessing Europe somewhere since you use metrics?

Schmitty

[Mikkel]

Yes im European :-) From Denmark to be more specific.

That was a setback, with the reciver heigth.
Im currently working on ordering an deact MG42 (or yugo clone, its nicer to cut a copy )
Then i will try to do some thinkering with which box can fit insid eth ereciver. I got NO doubt that something can be put there, the questions is what.

Thanks for te tip about the P90 cylinder head! That was completely new information for me!


Which gearbox do you think, could be put into the MG42 then? The modded V3 should surely do the trick, right?

[schmitty]

Yes the Ver3 will fit. The pistol grip on the 42 is about the same size and angle as the mg34. The Aug gearbox has the motor at a higher angle than the AK and more closely matches the German MG's (both are version 3).

As you can see in the picture below the 42's reciever is quite a bit larger than the 34. I think overall it would be a lot easier to convert than the 34, but still a fair bit of work.



Schmitty

[mikkel]

Thats a nice collection you got there
Have you also converted the Czech MG26(t)?

Unless you are going to make an additional gearbox for your '42, it seems that this "mystery" will not be solved until i get my deact MG42.

Im not skilled with working on custom parts, so it might be a peoblem for me, getting an AUG box to fit. Thats why i hoped for the M249 box to be my saviour. If all gores wrong, i know a toolmaker, and i'll try to pursuade him to do it.

Btw. Schimtty, you should seriously consider to make and sell these custom pieces of art, it would be a great benefit for the ww2 airsoft community in the us, i think.

[schmitty]

That's a Bren gun (not ZB26 although similar) and yes it's airsoft. Also with a Version 3 gearbox. I am very certain that the MG42 can be made with a Ver3.

You can still currently buy the Echigoya MG42 for $2300. and not very many have stepped up to buy it. Considering the cost of all the parts + the work I don't think I could sell them for less. I realy prefer the R&D of making different weapons function rather than making a bunch of the same.

Schmitty

[Guinness]

Yeah-

That sure is a pretty Garand ya got there!





-G

[mikkel]

Ah, my bad, i can also see now that the barrel is different.

The Echigoya is insanely expensive, for an "cheap" copy of the shell.
An deact MG42 goes for around 900$ in germany which is quite close to where i live
So for less, i can get a better result (IF i can get the lollipops to work, that is)

Is it possible to purchase an AUG gearbox seperately, or do i have to get a complete rifle?
I somehow canøt imagnie you, having 10 empty AUG shells lying around, and just using the boxes

[schmitty44]

guiness: It is indeed (thanks to you). I just picked up that gun case and needed to fill the last slot so took it out of the jeep. The gun cabinet is English probably 30's era. I picked it up at an Estate sale. Had to modify it a bit to fit the MG's though.

Mikkel: Some times WGC sells gearbox's by themselves (usually out of stock) but otherwise, Yes you have to buy the whole gun. Sometimes you can get a deal buying a used one, and of course you can sell what's left over for a few $$. Yes I currently have 2 Ak's and an aug brand new minus all the internals.

I wouldn't consider the Echigoya a "cheap" copy. keep in mind these are a rather limited production. I also don't think that an MG-42 AEG based on a real one would be considered more valuable. The Echigoya being lighter is actually more usefull on the airsoft battlefield and someone who isn't into airsoft probably wouldn't pay more for either instead of just a dummy with a solid reciever. You build yours and then tell me it isn't worth $2300.

Schmitty

[Mikkel2]

The "cheap" comment was solely based on the fact that it's based on the shoei body, which is not up to the same quality as the real deal (for obvious reasons of course).
As a realism freak, i also don't consider the lighter weigth a plus
Im in for the airsoft MG42 for two reasons, both as an airsoft player, but also as an weapon collector and enthusiast. For the second reason, the copy would not fullfill my 'needs'.

It seems i'll have to look out for an secod hand aug...And a dremmel
I guess its easier to have the whole gun, as you then also got the hop mechanism, and other small parts.

The nice thing about german deactivated MG42's is the fact that you simply just take out the barrel and the bolt, and thats it! No need for welding, cutting or anything.

[AAdan]

So I happen to have an AK ver3 mechbox but not an Aug do you think it might work for either of the MG's as a mechbox or should I just bite the bulelt and get an AUG ver3 mechbox? There are some other things I can hopefully do with my ver6 mech we will see. Possiblly a MA duece?

[schmitty]

Mikkel: I felt the same way about the weight/realism when I built my airsoft Bren, But after lugging it around in the woods I started to change my tune. I play airsoft regularly with a very large group in my area (Evergreen airsoft). There are usually 50-100 people at every game. almost everyone uses upgraded aeg's. The simple fact is that these custom MG's don't shoot any harder, faster or further than guns that are a lot easier to deal with. If it was a specific WWII game with limited ammo and less AEG's on the field it would be different. I too consider myself a collector, I guess being a copy doesn't bother me since I have lots of other real weapons as well.

AAdan. It might be possible to get the AK mechbox into the MG's it's just that the Aug fits better. Keep in mind the actual Gearbox is the same. It's just the part that holds the motor that is different, unfortunatly I don't know of anywhere you can buy that part by itself.

Yes, a Version 6 is perfect for an m2, There are some nice M2 copys out there for less than $500

Schmitty

[mikkel]

I understand your viewpoint for using it at regular games. But for those, i got my modern german loadout and a nice G3, thats going to be a lot shorter and faster (currently M120 & 18rps). Here in Denmark all the bigger and commercial fields are dominated by speedball players. So to be in this game, you need quite some gun. We tried to use only standard magazines and realistic rof guns, but its simply not very fun to get ripped apart all the time.

This MG was only intended for milsim and ww2 games. Im also too protective about my stuff, so i donøt think i would really run wildly into the fight while carrying such a rare gun

How did you make the hop chamber on your MG34?
And how do the drum mag work? The capacity of 2000 suggests that the colt hicap is lying flat on the bottom of the magazine, instead of being upright?

[gunfreak]

the best way to make a mg better in the field is the limit the weapons allowed to use hicaps. if all other weapons have to use either low caps or even better the realistic amount in there clips/mags, then a mg with 1000+++ bb's would be a effective weapon

[schmitty]

Mikkel: The hop up chamber is from a p90 (unmodified) There is a piece made from small plumbing parts and brass tubing that takes the BB's from the magazine and makes a sharp 90 degree turn into the hop up. You can see it in the first picture right in the middle.

Read Gordaks MG42 article on the ww2 AA main page. My magazine is similar. The M4 hicap is not on its side (It wouldn't work that way) it points straight up and only the very top section of the assault drum holds BB's.

Gunfreak: I tend to agree with you, but trying to convince everyone else that they should have less ammo than the MG's is a lost cause. In a well organized dedicated WWII event that is the way it should be.

Schmitty