MG42 "WW2" photo

[anjongni]

Vicious-looking "Nazi" MG42 machine-gunner in this photo for sale on Ebay, not mine.
Is he aiming an MG42 that has a front sight with a Yugo part number? Odd.....Phil

[JBaum]

Is that a Yugo style bolt sticking out of the barrel change door? Is this maybe not a genuine WWII picture (not that anyone on ebay would sell a reproduction item as being the genuine article, hahaha)?

[along]

where do you see the bolt? also its kinda odd we can't see the guy's eyes lol.

[JBaum]

Click on the picture to make it large, then if your cursor changes to a plus sign, click on the picture again.

First picture. See the vertical pattern of lines inside the black circle? Now look at the second picture without the added lines. That's where something was removed from the photo using the rubber stamp tool in Photoshop. Notice how the image is sharp around the edges, and blurry in the area where it was rubber stamped? I've done that sort of thing myself to repair crease lines and spots for pictures in my manuals, but whoever did it to this picture isn't very good at it. Notice how the top crown of the helmet is a sharp line, and everything else is blurry? I don't think a camera did that.

Third picture. See the bright spot at the end of the arrow? That's the barrel door catch screw, Yugo style. The German one is much lower without the crown around the outside.

And the part number on the front sight? He might as well have put a moustache on the Mona Lisa.

Looks like the picture also had the contrast increased and color stripped. That's why the shooter's eyes are gone.

This certainly does not look like an original WWII picture to me. It reminds me of the movie with the airplane flying in the background over the Roman battlefield.

[along]

I certainly would had not picked that up about the barrel catch door, but am glad to learn from your expertise.

So in the first picture what would have been in place of the blurred out area?

Lol what movie had an airplane flying over a roman battlefield?

[JBaum]

It's impossible to know what was in the blurred area. Maybe the reenactor's kid or girlfriend? Or a cooler of Coke. Maybe just a Yugo painted ammo can.

I don't remember the name of the movie. It had Brad Pitt in it as an undefeatable warrior-type. Trojan maybe? See the picture.

[along]

lol thats funny, yea looks like trojan

[bbrown]

The movie is called "Troy", and Pitt played the Greek thug Achilles. Decent movie, actually.

[usmc8488]

i sent the seller a message through e-bay months ago letting him know it was not WWII...... No response

[JBaum]

He either knows it, or doesn't care. It doesn't take long to figure out who the goofs are on Ebay.

[usmc8488]

He either knows it, or doesn't care. It doesn't take long to figure out who the goofs are on Ebay.

It just sucks because I have bought so much bad stuff over the years .... recently a bi-pod sold as original

[along]

does the forum have a list of known bad sellers and con-artists? if it doesn't i feel like it should... i could start a thread on it, to please list all known scammers and con-artists/bad sellers. Its sad how people take advantage of others trust for an item.

[JBaum]

While people are free to list their own complaints, actually having a list of who's a bad seller could open up the board to legal liability that I doubt it wants.

Remember, you don't need a legitimate reason to sue someone and cost them a lot of money trying to defend themselves.

Running questionable items past the guys here seems to work pretty well. There are a total of decades of experience on here in dealing with collectibles, especially German collectibles.

[along]

yea very true, don't wanna be liable for anything of course