What are the coolest accessories you've got?

[dwmmg08]

I'm talking odd and a little hard to find here! Who's got neat tools for the gun or mounts? Let's see what youv'e got!

I'll start:

[IMBLITZVT]

Man, I was looking for one of those offset clamps for a good while. Now I just need the finnish version... since I have the sled. Very good pieces! I was thinking of posting a thread like this too. I will see tomorrow and make another reply.

[IMBLITZVT]

Ok well I took a look at my collection and I realized something... I do not collect accessories! I collect rare parts... I love early top covers and don't give a sh-it about a leather tool case. So here are the best of my "accessories", not my rare parts.



We have a Brass water hose connector which must be pretty early??? It has a long metal tube that goes a few inches down the flexible hose. Then I have a Turk tool, at least that was what I was told but don't know for sure. Finally, not an original part but for us in the USA who hope to build a semi auto side plate, its the "F-S" fire or safety stamp that you see on the left side plate of the MG08/15. Its well made!

I would like to make myself a ring like you have Glen. I was thinking of trying to make one from a Chinese Waterjacket ring. I thing I could get that to work.

I find that as I collect, I don't care much about having original tools except when they go on things like the MG08 sled or are needed to take care of the guns. However an old wrench... my new one will work better. Why spend a lot of money on a belt loader. My hands work fine! I guess this might change if I start shooting a lot of FA and there it might become a must... I don't think I will ever own a BFA with any value as I will sell it! If its not a rare part of a gun or something that goes on the gun to help you out... I am just not interested! I guess I am kind of odd there... I guess that also is why I am not into reenacting. I like the German uniforms and all but would much rather buy a gun with the money. Also why spend all day outside reenacting... just not my thing. I will just go shooting...

[rocco1911]

Where on earth did you get that stamp

[dwmmg08]

We have a Brass water hose connector which must be pretty early??? It has a long metal tube that goes a few inches down the flexible hose.

Interesting, I have one just like that, both sides, which I was told was Turkish, as a replacement part. Mine has never been used, either the hose part or the gun part. Both are brass, like yours, and the brass hose part has a steel tube that goes down inside the hose. Interesting!

Then I have a Turk tool, at least that was what I was told but don't know for sure.

That looks period, it looks like the wrench for the blank firing adaptor set,that came in a case with the two BFA's. Rick Keller at Great War Militaria repoped those some years back, and even had one of the little wooden boxs with the two blank adaptors and the wrench. Pretty cool! Where on earth did you find that!!!

Nice stamp, by the way!

That's neat on the ring! I think that thing is really cool! Now I just need a WWII AA mount extention to put it on.... yeah, that's the ticket!

I find that as I collect, I don't care much about having original tools except when they go on things like the MG08 sled or are needed to take care of the guns. However an old wrench... my new one will work better. Why spend a lot of money on a belt loader. My hands work fine! I guess this might change if I start shooting a lot of FA and there it might become a must...

Ye gods man! You try loading the cloth belts by hand for more than 30 rounds, and you'll know what they're for! Wow!!! I just can't get as fast without the loader as I can with the loader, for sure. I'm much much faster at loading belts with a loader.

I don't think I will ever own a BFA with any value as I will sell it! If its not a rare part of a gun or something that goes on the gun to help you out... I am just not interested! I guess I am kind of odd there... I guess that also is why I am not into reenacting. I like the German uniforms and all but would much rather buy a gun with the money. Also why spend all day outside reenacting... just not my thing. I will just go shooting...

For me, the guns and the re-enacting were actually two separate hobbies that happened to intersect: I didn't buy the guns for re-enacting, but they could be used there, if that makes sense. I loved shooting and using them though, in the original context; it really gave me a better understanding of them than I'd get just from shooting, and vice versa: using them for live fire shoots taught me a lot about them that I would not get with blanks.

I do recall one event, where we actually fired so many blanks the gun got steaming, which is itself quite a feat: we had just wiped out a british attack, but it was so cold all of our gun team just focused on putting our gloved hands on the wonderfully, fantastically warm waterjacket, and reveling in the feeling of warmth!

I'm glad I did both, and I really love the MG shoots now. Lots and lots of fun! You need to come out to one.... if you come out to OFASTS, you're welcome to try mine out too, just like Mark F!

[IMBLITZVT]

Where on earth did you get that stamp

Mark Gaynor I think it was the last Maxim thing he had left...

That would make sense that thats a Turk Water hose. Its not German marked and would not be great at holding water...

[rocco1911]

Well I must say its quite nice congrats on it

[alpencorps]

hallo,

a cleaning rod for the MG08 an 08/15,
and a WW1 trench-mount, untouched condition,

greetings
Alpencorps

[MarkFinneran]

I have nothing to offer.................................

[dwmmg08]

Wow, Alpencorps, that's some great stuff, I really like the trench mount!

And the original cleaning rod, that's neat!

Mark, nothing at all??? Come on man, you've got to have something!

[alpencorps]

hallo again,
another curios part,
Blankfire-Adaptor, but not the German Standard Type,
he has only 3 cuts, and hexagonal nuts ??
The threads fits the 08 or 0815, also the barrel-thread.
Know's anyone more about this item?

thanks
Greetings from Germany
Alpencorps

[jmann]

Wow, great stuff guys. Here are a few snaps from mine.

[dwmmg08]

hallo again,
another curios part,
Blankfire-Adaptor, but not the German Standard Type,
he has only 3 cuts, and hexagonal nuts ??
The threads fits the 08 or 0815, also the barrel-thread.
Know's anyone more about this item?

thanks
Greetings from Germany
Alpencorps

Hallo Alpencorps!


Great blank adaptor! I have one like that one that works quite well. I believe it may have been for the MG13, but also fits the MG08/15 and 08, at least with the standard 08 barrel. I'm guessing it was part of the mass of MG13 items purchased by Portugal?? I can tell you it does work with the 08 and the 08/15.

I have several, but this one is my favorite for odd: it's the 08/15 blank adaptor, which has a sleeve for the 08/15 barrel, like the standard one, but it's threaded on the exterior of the sleeve, and the cup for the booster screws to the sleeve.

[dwmmg08]

Thought I'd just post this here, this is an earlier style fusee cover I've got, It's neat looking! I love the older style markings on the fusee cover, but I also really like the markings on the topcover, too, so I guess I'm sort of torn there!


gotta have the dancing bannana!

[dwmmg08]

Jmann, that's one spiffy belt loader!!! and a very nice collection! I'm impressed!

[alpencorps]

@ dwmmg08

thanks for the Info about the BFA,

your Type for the 0815, super, and...very rar!
I like the olt styl Fusee-Cover to, very nice examle!!

@ jmann
very nice example your Beltloader, with all accessories, super!!
also your "complet "Paintbrush"

enclosed find a pic from the Tool to check the headspace,
not big, but neat..

[dwmmg08]

WOW Alpenkorps, that's great!

Wish I had a set of those.....

[LA MITRAILLE]

Hello,
the coolest accessorie i found for the MG 08, is the canvas cover. It's not in good condition, the ersatz material is very fragile but i never see another one.....exept on original post card



And for dwmmg 08, me too i like the earlier fusse cover...









Best regards
david

[IMBLITZVT]

David,

Thats some great stuff! Is the picture below one of your guns? If so can you please post some more pictures of the sled from the front and sides? If my Sled needs to be repainted, which it probably will, I would love to uses this as a model for painting mine. I think its one of the coolest paint jobs on any gun I have ever seen and I would like to try and make mine look like it. I would probably do the Jacket armor too but probably not the gun. I really really like that paint job!

[dwmmg08]

Hello,
the coolest accessorie i found for the MG 08, is the canvas cover. It's not in good condition, the ersatz material is very fragile but i never see another one.....exept on original post card

*GASP* You're right! That's pretty hard to find, and in Erzatz material... is it made of papercloth, like so many of the slings??? Wow, where did you find that??? Can we get some more pictures of that, I'm shocked it survived all these years too! If it's papercloth material, I'll bet it's really coarse, I wonder what that would do to the guns finish... wow!

And for dwmmg 08, me too i like the earlier fusse cover...

WOW! Is that first one a Spandau *1910* gun? That's great! I'm impressed it survived the war!

And the second, that's a late late late Spandau 1917, pretty cool too- as they quit making 08's.

What an odd camo job on the last one! The regulations issued by the germans that I've seen for painting the steel helmets mandated separating the colors from each other by the black lines, *in the style currently seen on Machine Guns and Artillery*, and every camo job on waterjackets I've seen is the same style. Yours is very different though, and each camo job is unique that I've seen so far! Where did you get that? The colors look right, is it a late 1918 job?

Incidentally, I wondered why the specific colors for the late WWI camo jobs, until I found the orders. I still wondered why those exact ones, until I learned more about paint back then; most colors were mixed from a few stable ones at the jobsite, just like you might have them mixed now at the store. If you mix those colors, in the right proportions, you get a perfect German army WWI Feldgrau! I know it works, I've done it! I think the colors specified are the ones they already had on hand to mix up to paint everything Feldgrau, just not mixed together. I also suspect it started being done with stuff aircraft observers were looking for but were a little hard to move fast, the artillery, and then got taken up by the heavy MG's.

Very very cool pictures!!! Please post more! Thanks, David!