German Machine Gun MG 34 (Maschinen Gewehr 34)

Customizing a Cotswold MG 34


With the arrival of the Schwimmwagen from 21st Century I hoped that it would have a nice MG34, but unfortunately, the sculpt of the MG is terrible (IMHO). The only thing usefull is the 50 round magazine which looks ok.

21st_mg34.jpg (10811 bytes)

Here a picture of the MG from 21st.

Well, what else do we have? The Cotswold MG 34, still not very detailed, but it looks better then the one from 21st.

I know that I probably should wait until Dragon comes with a MG34 but until they do, I decided to customize the one from Cots ( which I just happened to have :o) )

MG_34.jpg (17079 bytes)

As you can see, it looks more accurate, however there are a few things that I didn't like about it. So what can be done here.

First : I wanted the barrel housing to look better. So I tool a little saw and cut it in half.

 MG_34_half.jpg (16407 bytes)

Then take a small drill ( 1 mm to start with ) and drill away the pieces as shown in the diagram. Ofcourse this is a difficult job so be carefull to start exactly in the middle.

The 3 mm hole is for the barrel

MG_34_1st.jpg (34478 bytes)

Then take a 2 mm drill, and drill away the cooling holes.

It's difficult to drill in a straight line, so that's why I cut the front piece of the barrel in half. This way it was easier to drill.

MG_34_2nd.jpg (27596 bytes)

Once you drilled al the cooling holes (2 mm) it's time to put everything back together.

For the barrel I took a little rod with a 3 mm diameter and a length of approx. 8.5 cm

MG_34_barrel.jpg (17726 bytes)

Then glue  the first piece back on (with super glue) and let it dry thoroughly.

MG_34_barrel_2.jpg (16775 bytes)

Now it's time to put the last part back on.

MG_34_barrel_3.jpg (22711 bytes)

It's hard to see it on the pictures, but I assure you, it looks a *lot* better :o)

Now....., it's time to put on some details here.

The Bipod that comes with the Cotswold MG isn't looking to good, so I decided to rebuilt is completely.

Click here to read and see the next part.


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