MG-42 Anti-Aircraft attachment???

[JACKBOOT]

Hello I recently purchased a demiled mg-42. I noticed that there is no hole for the AA spider sight to attach on too. There is simply nothing there, where the hole should be for the AA piece to attach on. Why is that? The place i bought it from said 100% authentic demiled mg42. Have i been riped off? If i have, im going to raise all hell. I paid good money for it. Id appreciate your expert opinions on this topic.

[Michael J]

I don't have much experience with mg42 kits, but no AA sight base does not sound mg42-like...
If there is just metal there, maybe you have a (post war) Yugoslavian m53. A kit should run for give or take $500 to $600 retail i think.

You said "simply nothing", like just a big hole? Did you get your hands on a mg3 receiver (not sure if any of the other newer ones were not compatible with mg42 AA sights)? I haven't seen one before, but i quickly looked this up on google.
http://world.guns.ru/machine/mg3_01.jpg

Did your demil. kit come with the rear half of the receiver too? It might be possible you purchased an m53 kit (possibly with an mg42 demil. rear half included)?

Pictures would help us determine what you purchased to help get us started anyways .

[Bil]

If there is no AA site base,it is a 53.There is a diferance in the receiver taper also.There are some pics here somewhere.A lot of places do the switch like that,especially with the dummy guns.They also grind off the yugo markings on the topcover,it is called 'scrubbing'.If you didn't get what you paid for,raise hell! ---bil

[JACKBOOT]

Well looks like i got screwed. Well you guys are the experts so tell me this, im ww2 reenactor i potray the waffen ss. I payed 1,500 for the demiled mg53. I went ahead and bought the AA mount from BRP guns so i could mount it on mine. Do you think after that it would be okay for display purposes at a ww2 reenactment? or do you think i would just be a laughing stock because all the other germans would now that its a mg53, its almost impossible to tell the difference from mg42 and the mg53. Do you think it would be okay for display purposes? and do you guys think i was screwed on the price? Your opinions will be greatly appreciated. Oh yea and i will try to send photos of my mg too help.

[oakrodent]

You can easily make the M-53 front receiver look almost identical to the mg-42. Are all the rest of the parts mg-42??

[Michael J]

$1500 sounds sort of about there if it is already fully assembled into a display gun, or if your receiver is already welded up and ready for assembly as a semi-automatic or display gun i think .

If everything is still cut up, and the receiver was not welded, i would have to say you got screwed... But until we know just exactly what you got, don't jump to any conclusions until we can confirm it . Worst case you got a cheap $500 yugo m53 kit, and the guy tripled the price. Better case scenerio you got actual mg42 parts, but was given a m53 front shroud.

Lots of people like to scrub their m53's and make them look mg42, its nothing to be ashamed of if you do it. It's like "mg42 on a budget" , which comes in handy for people like me! If you have it built up properly, aside from a small taper difference, it shouldn't be too obvious. I'm not sure just how authentic BRP's AA base is, but i have heard their other repro items are fairly accurate.

[noonxnoon]

I think you can get a 'non-gun' for under 1k.

Can you get your money back from the dummy (no pun intended) gun you got?

From one merchant I saw:

"MG-42 NON GUN

We manufacture a Mg-42 non-gun using most parts of a real Mg-42 or M-53. These are made to BATF specs. but look like a real gun from the outside. The top cover opens and a belt of ammunition (not included) can be placed into the gun. They will accept a fifty round drum and most MG-42 accessories with the exception of the A.A. site. Our non-guns are used by major movie prop houses and museums. Perfect for display or reenacting. Looks great on our Lafette mount. $XXX. plus $XX S&H

Our Mg-42's were used in the recent Tom Cruise movie "VALKERIE"! "

I 'X'ed out the price for this post...but total would be under 1k.

[Michael J]

ooh, cool. I think i'm getting my prices mixed up with the rewelded semi auto's. I just remember seeing some for just over 1k awhile back. I don't know current prices... What did/do the brp ones go for? I saw a pic of one, and it looked pretty nice.

[JACKBOOT]

No, its built and all together, i got it at exactly 1,200. It all came in 1 piece so i didnt have to put it together, makes for a good display piece but im just happy there are no major ways to tell its a mg53, after i get this AA mount on the front, there will be no way to tell from the looks of it from the outside that its a mg53. Besides the butt stock im going to sand and restain it. Is there any other differences from the exterior of a mg53 that i would have to change to mimic a mg42? I mean all i have to do is put the AA mount on it and im good right? Well that is the only difference i can really see in the two besides color of buttstocks and markings. So give me some pointers anything else i need to convert on the outer part of it to make look like a mg42???

[JACKBOOT]

Just plz dont tell me there is a size difference between the 2!!! because there is no way i can change the size of a mg53 to match a mg42, PLZ TELL ME THERE IS NO SIZE DIFFERENCE THAT THEY ARE EXACTLY THE SAME!!!!!

[Bil]

Ok-I promise we won't tell you!! [OK guys-not a word!] They are basically the same gun,parts interchange for the most part.The buffere are differant,but externally the same.If you put them side-to-side,you can notice that the 53 taper starts in a slightly differant place,but you really have to look for it.Mount the AA sight and stop worrying.Anyone that doesn't like it has too much nothing to think about.Just make sure the Yugo crest isn't there,most of the dummy guns have them removed.If you want you can always look for a German marked one,or have your own marks added.Enjoy! ---bil

[amafrank]

Just plz dont tell me there is a size difference between the 2!!! because there is no way i can change the size of a mg53 to match a mg42, PLZ TELL ME THERE IS NO SIZE DIFFERENCE THAT THEY ARE EXACTLY THE SAME!!!!!

There is actually a huge difference in size between an MG53 and an MG42 since the MG53 is a .50 cal, 62lb browning aircraft machinegun and the MG42 is an 8mm, 26lb ground machinegun. If you are referring to the the yugo copy of the MG42 it is actually an M53, not an MG53. This is not intended as a jab at you but rather as education.

Frank

[rocco1911]

Ahhh you'll need the rear AA site as well to complete the correct look of the gun.

BRP sells greman WWII top covers as well... I did a piece on how to install the AA sites on this site its under johns build I think ??? needs to be a sticky the BRP ones dont look exactly like the originals but a member of this site called Oakrodent does sell an almost exact copy of one. I use AK47 rivets & it looks as close to perfect as your gonna get.

[JACKBOOT]

Well i greatly appreciate all this help but i have a couple more questions. Like i said im a ww2 Waffen-ss Reenactor so thrive on maken whatever im displaying look historically accurate. First question.... i dont want to sound like a dumbass but whats the taper??? 2nd Question Where do i find the rear sight piece for the AA spider sight? I have the mount, the spider sight and now im needing the rear sight to complete it. 3rd.... Should i do anything else?

[Michael J]

Here is an attached document featuring research done by one of the members on this board. It shows some more minor details.

Taper (verb): to make gradually smaller toward one end.

[JACKBOOT]

Wow thank you for the document it was very helpfull!!!

[rocco1911]

Dan over @ angola armory had them for like $70.00 I believe not sure if he still has them or not ....