I've always terned down offer's in the past to make another Bren as it was just too time consuming to make and the £1000 price tag would put people off , however there now appears to be a short cut in the form of the ZB26 that is now on the market , the plan was to use one as the basis of a mk1 Bren but before I even got started the cat got out of the bag and now it appears I'm doing one straight away and duplicating every part to be used to convert a second one at a slightly later date .
The receiver will be milled to accept Bren mags , the mags gutted and fitted into Bren mag casings ,sight moved to correct position ,barrel and gas system replaced and the stock replaced .
This build will be in stages as I had already committed to another job beforehand but that is currently stalled while parts are gathered ,so I'll make a start then stop to do the other job then go on and finish it later .
I now probably have enough on to keep me going for the rest of the year so unfortunately it will just be the two I'm doing for now , its possible that at a later date I may do more but not for now .
armoury
m1a1 Thompson,sten mk2,mp40,stg44,sterling,mk2 bren gun,lee Enfield no4 mk1,Mauser Kar98, Walther ppk,smith and Weston m10 and Mauser m712
Give me a big enough hammer and a place to stand and I could fix the world.
i'll kill a man in a fair fight or if i think he's going to start a fair fight or over a woman or.......
a problem shared is a problem halved ,but an advantage shared is no advantage at all
if a job's not worth doing then its certainly not worth doing well
Two new Brens!!!? 
This is very exciting news! I'm looking forward to seeing the results (on the forum and in the field) 
I am excite!
An airsoft Bren would be a dream come true!
Regards,
Ralph
Things I plan to do and thing's I can't change
Although superficially the zib and bren are very similar there are a number of differences that either need altering or must be accepted as unavoidable compromises .
There is a vertical rib on the right side of the mag well that I would have liked to mill flat , unfortunately to save weigh or metal during casting it is hollow on the inside so I can't ,there are a number of places where the bren has additional thickness such as the lip of the mag well ,this will be done .
Probably the biggest bug is the stock , the original is cracked and altogether the wrong shape for a mk1 ,further the metal slide for the cocking handle has been made too low on the zib so I cannot fit a genuine stock even if I could find one as the slide would not line up with the cocking handle so I'm going to have to make up a custom mk1 stock from scratch .there are also two lugs lust above the front of the trigger guard that need to go , at the moment they are part of the gearbox mounting system that has a bolt through , I have plans to change the position of the mounting so the lugs can go .
Another thing will be the finish , I just don't dare try to weld onto the receiver as I'm in no way sure its aluminium not pot metal so I'll have to screw or rivet additional metalwork in place ,then hide the screws/rivets and that means paint for the receiver ,the barrel and gas block will be fabricated steel so can be blue'd or painted chrome or even chromed if the budget wishes to stretch that far and I will either be fabricating bipods or using genuine ones so they will look metal finish as well .
One other thing will be the rear sight , it will be moved back to the correct position and the sight leaf made to protrude to the rear rather than the front as the zib does , I'll probably have to make up a new leaf and arm ,the current position for the sight will be milled on the receiver to look like the optional sniper scope mounting point ,it will be cosmetic only as I very much doubt it will actually be wide enough to fit the real sight but as they are like dodo's teeth to find and cost a kidney ,a lung ,an arm and both legs I think its a moot point .
armoury
m1a1 Thompson,sten mk2,mp40,stg44,sterling,mk2 bren gun,lee Enfield no4 mk1,Mauser Kar98, Walther ppk,smith and Weston m10 and Mauser m712
Give me a big enough hammer and a place to stand and I could fix the world.
i'll kill a man in a fair fight or if i think he's going to start a fair fight or over a woman or.......
a problem shared is a problem halved ,but an advantage shared is no advantage at all
if a job's not worth doing then its certainly not worth doing well
I will watch this with much antici..... pation.
Similar plans but less real steel parts (damn goverment!)
Well now the Sten guns are done its back to the Bren gun's ,I hadn't forgotten Simon just delayed by details ,nothing to show yet but just a heads up that this is now on again.
armoury
m1a1 Thompson,sten mk2,mp40,stg44,sterling,mk2 bren gun,lee Enfield no4 mk1,Mauser Kar98, Walther ppk,smith and Weston m10 and Mauser m712
Give me a big enough hammer and a place to stand and I could fix the world.
i'll kill a man in a fair fight or if i think he's going to start a fair fight or over a woman or.......
a problem shared is a problem halved ,but an advantage shared is no advantage at all
if a job's not worth doing then its certainly not worth doing well
Gavin the ZB-26 - Bren conversion sounds really good. I have had thoughts of doing one myself but have so many projects on the go.
Personally I wouldn't change the stock / cocking mech. As for me to make it "Bren Like" would be curved mags and changing the barrell / gas block system ( i surpose the bipod would need to be moved or new too if changing its mounting position) but if you did a DIY Barrel kit I would buy one. 
I've been comparing the Bren and the ZB and come to the conclusion there'd be so little of the ZB left (pistol grip, mag well/release, rear sight) I'd be better starting from scratch :/
But I do eagerly await your progress.
Pretty much sums it up ,really only the receiver that's left and that needs work ,it could be done easier by just modding the receiver lip to take bren mags and do a barrel/gas system replacement ,just accept the rest but that's not what Simon wants .
armoury
m1a1 Thompson,sten mk2,mp40,stg44,sterling,mk2 bren gun,lee Enfield no4 mk1,Mauser Kar98, Walther ppk,smith and Weston m10 and Mauser m712
Give me a big enough hammer and a place to stand and I could fix the world.
i'll kill a man in a fair fight or if i think he's going to start a fair fight or over a woman or.......
a problem shared is a problem halved ,but an advantage shared is no advantage at all
if a job's not worth doing then its certainly not worth doing well
Top Man! Looking forward to it. Do you think we should also look at the internals as well? I've just had my SLR Lonexed to the max, so I'd be up for uprating any pew pew bits as well.
I'm a hero with coward's legs.
As the gearbox gave out last time you used it I have to open it anyway to fix it I can have a nosey and recommend any bits needed while I'm in there .
armoury
m1a1 Thompson,sten mk2,mp40,stg44,sterling,mk2 bren gun,lee Enfield no4 mk1,Mauser Kar98, Walther ppk,smith and Weston m10 and Mauser m712
Give me a big enough hammer and a place to stand and I could fix the world.
i'll kill a man in a fair fight or if i think he's going to start a fair fight or over a woman or.......
a problem shared is a problem halved ,but an advantage shared is no advantage at all
if a job's not worth doing then its certainly not worth doing well
Splendid
I'm a hero with coward's legs.
OK I've made the decision to start at the front with the under barrel gas system ,the plan is to use a single bar of aluminium that will be turned and milled into shape and will slot into place on the front of the main receiver as the original zb gas system did ,I'll have to mill the receiver flat on the front as its machined slightly conical on the zb ,so its start ordering metal time ,Simon has already paid up front for the project to begin , Chris and the other customer could you PM me to pay for material costs or to cancel the order ,then I can order the materials to begin .if you would rather the gas system was steel please let me know but as I own an alp steel Bren and have carried it all day ,I'd recommend making it as light as possible ,the receiver is aluminium anyway so its all going to have to be painted to match anyway .
armoury
m1a1 Thompson,sten mk2,mp40,stg44,sterling,mk2 bren gun,lee Enfield no4 mk1,Mauser Kar98, Walther ppk,smith and Weston m10 and Mauser m712
Give me a big enough hammer and a place to stand and I could fix the world.
i'll kill a man in a fair fight or if i think he's going to start a fair fight or over a woman or.......
a problem shared is a problem halved ,but an advantage shared is no advantage at all
if a job's not worth doing then its certainly not worth doing well
One monstrous 63.5 mm by 800 mm long solid aluminium round bar ordered ,enough to make two front under barrel gas systems ,the down side is I have to cut it to the correct length by hand ,with a hack saw ,probably take 30min per cut if the blade is sharp ,oh well I need the exercise I guess .
armoury
m1a1 Thompson,sten mk2,mp40,stg44,sterling,mk2 bren gun,lee Enfield no4 mk1,Mauser Kar98, Walther ppk,smith and Weston m10 and Mauser m712
Give me a big enough hammer and a place to stand and I could fix the world.
i'll kill a man in a fair fight or if i think he's going to start a fair fight or over a woman or.......
a problem shared is a problem halved ,but an advantage shared is no advantage at all
if a job's not worth doing then its certainly not worth doing well
the down side is I have to cut it to the correct length by hand ,with a hack saw ,probably take 30min per cut if the blade is sharp ,oh well I need the exercise I guess .
It may even out your arms, depending on how "active" your youth was 
My youth is a rosey memory 
armoury
m1a1 Thompson,sten mk2,mp40,stg44,sterling,mk2 bren gun,lee Enfield no4 mk1,Mauser Kar98, Walther ppk,smith and Weston m10 and Mauser m712
Give me a big enough hammer and a place to stand and I could fix the world.
i'll kill a man in a fair fight or if i think he's going to start a fair fight or over a woman or.......
a problem shared is a problem halved ,but an advantage shared is no advantage at all
if a job's not worth doing then its certainly not worth doing well
A baseball bat size aluminium bar arrived today so work can begin 
armoury
m1a1 Thompson,sten mk2,mp40,stg44,sterling,mk2 bren gun,lee Enfield no4 mk1,Mauser Kar98, Walther ppk,smith and Weston m10 and Mauser m712
Give me a big enough hammer and a place to stand and I could fix the world.
i'll kill a man in a fair fight or if i think he's going to start a fair fight or over a woman or.......
a problem shared is a problem halved ,but an advantage shared is no advantage at all
if a job's not worth doing then its certainly not worth doing well
i had some time so i stripped both the zb 26 and my Bren for measurement . it kind of shows the scale of what needs doing and how much of the zb is going in the bin .
you can also see the bar of aluminium ,its a lovely bit of metal ,rings sweetly like a tuning fork if you tap it ,its the single largest piece of metal i have ever purchased 60mm by 800mm and £50 .
you can also see in the last picture the area that needs milling flat to mate with the new gas system , that will be the first job ,then its on to the big turning and milling jobs ,oh an not to mention having to saw that 60mm diameter bar into two pieces ! it will feel like a jail break .
armoury
m1a1 Thompson,sten mk2,mp40,stg44,sterling,mk2 bren gun,lee Enfield no4 mk1,Mauser Kar98, Walther ppk,smith and Weston m10 and Mauser m712
Give me a big enough hammer and a place to stand and I could fix the world.
i'll kill a man in a fair fight or if i think he's going to start a fair fight or over a woman or.......
a problem shared is a problem halved ,but an advantage shared is no advantage at all
if a job's not worth doing then its certainly not worth doing well
The front end of the lower received is milled flat ,just as well my dentist didn't see it as there are some cavity's in the casting ,nothing structuaraly worrieing in this area but its kind of got me thinking about some of the other bits of milling I had planned further back where the rear site needs moving and the metal is a lot thinner ,oh well I guess I'll burn that bridge when I come to it .
I also cut that mahoosive bar of aluminium into 3 bits ,2 X 300mm lengths for the gas systems and a 200mm bit that I have plans for later to remodel the area around where the barrel is locked into the receiver as that's all wrong for a Bren ,I'll keep the locking/release working as that's a nice feature even if the inner barrel stays in the gun ,I wonder if I could make it so the inner barrel and hop came out too as that would be nice .
Anyway I'm pooped after all the sawing so that's it for today folks .
armoury
m1a1 Thompson,sten mk2,mp40,stg44,sterling,mk2 bren gun,lee Enfield no4 mk1,Mauser Kar98, Walther ppk,smith and Weston m10 and Mauser m712
Give me a big enough hammer and a place to stand and I could fix the world.
i'll kill a man in a fair fight or if i think he's going to start a fair fight or over a woman or.......
a problem shared is a problem halved ,but an advantage shared is no advantage at all
if a job's not worth doing then its certainly not worth doing well
Sounds like it's coming along nicely, I really like the idea of the removable outer/inner barrel and hop assembly. Just saw that you mentioned that there was a vertical rib on the right side of the ZB-26 that you would have liked to mill back, and I thought I'd show you this picture that appears to show a Mk 1 Bren with said vertical rib back in the war. Seems like milling it back wouldn't have been necessary anyway.
