My New MG08 Sled came in yesterday!

[IMBLITZVT]

Well, sorry but no pictured yet, I will add them today or tomorrow. I know I hate when people run a pictureless thread too.

Ok so overall, pretty happy. It was boxed in a huge wood crate and it looked like someone broke the top off as someone had taped it shut. Either way, I don't think anything was broken.

Let start off with the bad:
1. Things I knew: Broken Traverse guide, Missing Top Yoke Strap, Missing Lock box door, Missing Range Chart from gear Box, Missing Oil Caps, Missing Traverse Lug
2.Things I Discovered: Missing Oil Cap Receptacle (the part that the cap screws into), Slightly bent lock box door, Slightly bent Barrel box, Slightly bent piece of the deck near spare barrel tip, Broken Traverse lug stop (metal broken but not missing)

Now Good Things:
Well I have never had to vacuumed a gun part before cleaning! It was seriously dirty! Well under that dirty was a lot of paint and most importantly NO rust, NO pitting. I mean there is a small little bit of surface rust in a very few places but no pitting anywhere. The wood on the legs and bottom is perfect. I am thinking the paint is about at 60%. No cracks in the metal anywhere. The pads are pretty much still there. I have one front pad near perfect, the rest are not bad considering what you normally see. They are also not covered in leather but in a cloth with horse hair for padding. The gearing works very well and nothing is frozen up.

So bottomline, I am pretty happy with it and for the money its a hell of a deal. In the end it cost me about $2850 shipped. Pictures will come as I get it clean up. Now I just have to decide if I will repaint it. It does have this very odd neon green undercoat... its just odd.

So I found a lock box door and a traverse lug. I can fix the broken Traverse guide, Slightly bent lock box door, Slightly bent Barrel box, Slightly bent piece of the deck near spare barrel tip, Broken Traverse lug stop

That leaves me with a Missing Top Yoke Strap, Missing Range Chart from gear Box, Missing Oil Caps, and Missing Oil Cap Receptacle (the part that the cap screws into). I really do not care that much about the oil caps and receptacle. I would like to find the range chart but the number one thing has to be the top yoke strap. When I bought this one, I thought I had one lined up but it sold before I got it. So please keep an eye out for me!!!

Matt

[dwmmg08]

Hooray Matt!!!! Glad to hear it got there, and you've finally gotten to inspect it!!!!

Now so I can be the first, even though you admitted it.....

[www.Prussia.us]

Ditto

[IMBLITZVT]

As promised:

As received:

Note the "deck" and now dirty it is!


With light cleaning and lots of oil:

[IMBLITZVT]

The "deck" after cleaning. Note the missing Oil Cap receptacle. Also note the one range chart screw???


Picture showing the replacement lock box cover I got off an all brass Russian Sokolov wheel mount lock box! Luck find less then a week after I won the auction. Tools are IMA tools, probably not German.


Pictures shows front Armor with retaining pin and even cotter pin! The are rare!


Picture of the front bottom of the sled. Note slight bend in the deck where next to barrel muzzle holder. Are the barrel muzzle holder spring loaded? I can't get the end of the barrel to go in all the way???


Bottom of sled, no rust and clean!

[IMBLITZVT]

Serial number but I can't find a year or Manufacture mark?


Image of lower back leg pad. Note the missing Oil Cap receptacle.


Near perfect front leg pad. As you can see its not leather... Maybe a later war model?


Wood handle in leg. All 4 are in about this condition. Very nice!


This is a close up of the green paint thats under the tan. This is very bright, almost neon with grit in it. Is this the original primer?


Questions... Are the chamber cleaner handle socket and barrel muzzle socket spring loaded? So what do you guys think?

[dwmmg08]

The barrel muzzle cup and the scissors attachment are both spring loaded, they are different, of course, but they are spring loaded.

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

WWWWwwOW ! What a find! Big Congrats!

[IMBLITZVT]

The barrel muzzle cup and the scissors attachment are both spring loaded, they are different, of course, but they are spring loaded.

Yeah I thought so. I will have to break these loose. Now, to repaint or not to repaint...???

[MarkFinneran]

Matt an excellent item - of couse you must be very proud

I do not know much about paint schemes and wish to learn myself but the majority of 'tan' seems to be pretty good.

As for date, either buried under the paint or maybe the early versions were not dated. It seems those who are lucky enough to have sleds have so far all said 1917 or 1918. Maybe the type with the 2 oil screw caps box were undated - just a thought.

A great piece and good to see re-united with a MG. Does the armoured shield come out or will that require more loving attention. Your clean up efforts have not been wasted and already it is transformed. Good to see and I along with others will watch the progress.

Now my quest to find one is even more fired up!!!!!
Mark

[www.Prussia.us]

That is a great sled.

That under-paint looks almost like Gumby rubbed himself on it just kidding of course.

I am stunned that those legs had wood on them given the harsh conditions that they had to be employed in. I assumed all metal, of course I am very ignorant on this stuff.

That outer dull green looks quite uniform could it be original, what colors were sleds painted during the war?

Really a nice 08 set-up, which just screams "turn me into a semi, or get me a registered plate."

[IMBLITZVT]

Matt an excellent item - of couse you must be very proud
..... Does the armoured shield come out or will that require more loving attention.

Mark,
Thanks! Yeah I love it, it really dwarfs everything else in the collection. Even the Vickers on the tripod is small next to it!

The armor shield has a flat large pin that goes under the tube that connects to the sled front legs. Then that pin has a cottern pin in it. You can see this flat large sticking out in the middle of the armor plate in the picture below. After you remove the pin, the shield just slips right out.



"That outer dull green looks quite uniform could it be original, what colors were sleds painted during the war?"

No that green paint is under the tan! It also has a lot of grit in it, like an anti slip surface. I mean that is some green green green paint too and bright!

"Really a nice 08 set-up, which just screams "turn me into a semi, or get me a registered plate.""

Well maybe after the Vickers and the 1910... it will become a semi. I would love a registered plate but they are the hardest and most expensive part. Who knows... maybe I will just have to save up and get a complete gun!...

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

Would it detract from the value to repaint the sled whatever color is the original color? Was the tan perhaps painted over to camoflage the sled?

[IMBLITZVT]

Well its all hard to say when it comes to repainting something. I think this sled is right at the point of where it might not gain or loose value if repainted. If you do a good job repainting it, it would probably be worth doing. As is it looks very well used and so I don't know if you loose that much. I would probably leave the original paint underneath anyway, rather then stripping it. If I am going to paint it, I am going to do a cool looking camo job on it as you will not know what is was originally painted anyway.

I think the green was a primer and the tan was the paint. Whatever, the tan was put on in a hurry. They did not even move the legs to get the tan under them.

Would it detract from the value to repaint the sled whatever color is the original color? Was the tan perhaps painted over to camoflage the sled?

[www.Prussia.us]

If that tan/green is original, then given what that has been through, I would say the Fatherland had a durable painting system. The fact of the matter is these sleds look elegant whatever their painting scheme/condition as it really completes the Mg08.

[dwmmg08]

I very much doubt the tan or Green paint are original Imperial German, but easily could be some other army's or collectors paint. I've had lots of German WWI stuff, and I've never seen that bright green paint as the original color on anything pristine, but I have seen it on enough stuff to where I think some army somewhere did use that paint, but not the original Imperial Germans; perhaps Polish or Czech? ? The fact that the sleds been so hugely neglected does not mean that the original US purchaser of the sled didn't paint it, and wasn't excited about it; just that no-one cared much about it for a while now.

That said, I'll bet if you very gently strip a small area, a little at a time, especially from the underside, you'll get to the original primer and paint. I'm sure it's there, and it would be a great mystery to solve! I believe all of these were sprayed feldgrau at the factory, in a very durable paint finish, just like the helmets and gasmask cans were. Any other colors were applied after it hit the front, by the soldiers themselves, or by other end users later. I really am curious about the users that held them from WWI to WWII; many of these were redone then. Dutch? Belgian? Polish? The possibilites are endless!

[MarkFinneran]

Matt I bet you are right now still massaging your new 'toy'!

2 questions though...when you can tear yourself away from her - what is the difference between a Russian lock box/lid and the German one? And, what is the type of wood in the legs?

Sorry to interrupt your 'love' time - i am so jealous

Mark

[IMBLITZVT]

Mark,

Well I do sometimes pet it like the dog and tell it how much I like it.

The German doors have a bump on them and on the inside have a clip for a broken case extractor.

The Finnish/Russian lock boxes are flat, plain sheet of steel. The also have a "lock" strap on the clasp. Very easy to tell in person.

I do not know what type of wood... probably beech like the stocks... but its painted and old... I just do know or know how to tell...

[www.Prussia.us]

I would presume the wood on the legs is the same type used as with the Imperial Mauser bayonet handles, they have a similar look and stand up well to use/abuse/neglect.

Although that sled's days of neglect are now behind her

[MarkFinneran]

Matt on your sled restoration - what did you use to get all the grime off and down to the original paint? Also on the underside does your sled still have its original wood base?
Thanks
Mark