PBI Arsenal?

Hi, I think it is a good idea but has problems as you have already pointed out. The main issue is the amount of contribution and the cost of what is needed.

As a rough idea of what you might want to have for lend per potential player:

Belgian Denison £35+
Set of blancoed basic webbing £20+
Enfield sling £10
Gaiters £15+
Beret and badge £10
Scrim £5

They could buy/use a set of Brit lightweights pants and combat hi type boots (under £10 each). Or spend a little more (and be lucky to find them in their size) for a 49 pat pair of pants.

Weapon (here is the problem!)

Mp40 - £100+ but now looking to be a problem to obtain and looks a bit wrong but OK
Thompson - £100+ also now more difficult to obtain so prices will climb looks wrong and we want rifles
No4 Lee Enfield - Only Shoot and Scoot so is that £300? Plus delicate and problematic.
Cheap Mp001 - £30+ OK but not the correct shape and not great accuracy but cheap
JG Bar 10 - £60+ as above not correct but better quality and more useable - black though.

I personally would prefer those without a No4 or the chance to get one to have a JG Bar 10 as a standard and a bit of sandbag around it. The reasons for this are:

1. Fairly cheap out of the box that can be converted with lots of effort to No4 later
2. We want a rifle company
3. It has high power (400fps +) and accuracy OK which means the squad could use the same ammo weight and each have the same range capability
4. We want a rifle company
5. They look OK as a group if we each have the same gun even though it is historically wrong
6. We want a rifle company

Downsides - historically wrong compared to a Thompson or MP40 and everyone wants a Thompson or MP40 by preference (unless they have actually played a single shot bolt action game as a squad which is ace).

However, We want a rifle company

Last odd option would be a bunch of c96 carbines (£100 +) but they are gas so the cost of running them and more magazines is much higher and they are still wrong for Brit infantry unless in very low numbers as a pickup.

So all in all one person kit would come in at just under £200 with weapon so each year at around £10 'membership' we could fund one person. Not taking over the world quickly is it?

Hi Barrie or Ann

I don't think it is such a poor idea.
I had already looked at Sgt Heide's No.4 but can't justify it as a personal purchase as I already have a S&S model.
In the same way I would already let someone borrow kit so they could take part I would be happy with the idea that we might need to issue a weapon to someone who had nothing suitable. This is similar to the situation in the Re-enactment world where without Armourers who can hire/lend blank firing weapons many groups would have to resort to shouting BANG in a convincing manner.
As the credit crunch has not hit me yet I would be able to contribute to buying this rifle or others for group use (selfishly I would include myself in this for when all my weapons are broken). What I can't do is pay for all of it myself or keep more weapons at home.
Peppered contribution that we concentrate on Rifles I think is a good one and that we consider buying more No4's or SMLE's as they are available. We could look at converting ourselves but I think that is more of a long term option.

So if anyone else is interested in making a group purchase and or can store weapons come back to me on this thread or on PM if you are shy.

As far as group purchases go, i don't think as PBI, we currently have (or, in the scheme of things ever will have) a large enough member base to make a centrally purchased 'armoury' a reality, except as regards members individually purchasing excess 'lease' items for use within the group at games.

I'm personally quite happy to lend out my own guns and other kit to other players, which ww2 stock at the current time consists of:

2 x MP40's
1 x Thompson,
1 x MP001
1 x SMLE
1 x 2" mortar
and (hopefully!) soon to have a trio of Stens.

I'd love to have the time/money to knock up another bunch of SMLE's/No4's, for group use, but it took several months of work to get the one i've got built, and it still needs more work to get it fully skirmishable, so custom guns are problematic, as well as the cost being prohibitive.

Other kit is, likewise, a bit hit and miss. Webbing, we could pick up for next to nothing, but then again, so can everyone else, and so it's not really worth getting as that's the first thing people go out and get. I'd imagine it'd end up sat in someone's garage, as it'd rarely be needed.

To get a bunch of '49 patt. uniforms, again is worthwhile, but to get enough, in different sizes would cost too much to make it viable, and denisons would be great, but at £100 a pop, is it worth it?

in short, a lovely idea, and could possibly be worth 'chipping in' to a central pot for one off purchases (Major's Vicker's would have been a prime example), but for regular gear, it's probably not worth it.

erm... you'll have 2 stens as I'm buying one of them!

erm... you'll have 2 stens as I'm buying one of them!

well yes, but that's assuming i don't make any more.

Frankly i'd just love a rack of a dozen stens on the wall, in the house.

I think my wife would like that for Christmas,

where were they selling them again?

I think my wife would like that for Christmas,

where were they selling them again?

My missus would quite happily have a rack of Enfields on the wall, but she thinks stens are 'ugly and boring'.

Fortunately we'll have the room when we move that i can have a dedicated militaria/armoury room, so i can store whatever i want.

I'm also allowed a tank when we have a big enough garden to park it in.

i dont mind chipping in a few quid a year for this, i spoke to gadge about clubbing together to buy the 2 RAC helmets that were up for sale a couple of weeks back and buying 2 SOF chinstraps to convert them so PBI had 2 airborne helmets on stock.

Seeing Sgt Heides No.4 not getting much interest got me thinking.

I would have shown immense, and immediate interest if
1. I had the legal doo-hickies to buy a thingumy
2. I had any money... and I don't till January.

So if no one shows any interest till after then I will be very happy.

Have you mentioned this to Sgt Heide? He may make arrangements... I know he'd rather it went to a member of PBI.

I must admit, if i had the money spare, i'd have bought Heide's No4 myself as a pool gun.

Have you mentioned this to Sgt Heide? He may make arrangements... I know he'd rather it went to a member of PBI.

seemed a little mean to say 'I'll buy it if you wait until January'

nah... its common for people to do that... anyway he can always say "no"!

The bad news is that I've arranged to buy Heide's No.4. The good news is that I've asked him to pass it onto one of you chaps at Herbstnebel as I can't do that game. You can argue amongst yourselves as to who gets to play with it. The only proviso is the ol' - You Bend It, You Mend It rule Same thing applies for Op. Lightning as I'll be playing the part of "Lone German sentry awaiting knife death by Commando". I'll take it home with me at the end of that game. So everyone's a winner - sort of.

Nice one... that's very generous of you!

Clearly I reserve the right to confiscate it should the Germans start losing the game....

Surely if the Germans start losing the game you'd be better of switching sides?

Sounds a bit too Italian for me.

Sounds a bit too Italian for me.

Too Italian is surely an oxymoron... You gun buying fiend you.