Dont worry I know im on WWII forum
I was just thinking about converting my Denix replica 1776 Brown Bess to airsoft and was wondering what sort of donor gun I would need. I know its not what your used to but some of your conversions and modifications are the best ive seen so any help would be gladly appreciated.
Dont worry I know im on WWII forum
I was just thinking about converting my Denix replica 1776 Brown Bess to airsoft and was wondering what sort of donor gun I would need. I know its not what your used to but some of your conversions and modifications are the best ive seen so any help would be gladly appreciated.
that's a tricky one! I did consider something similar, using a pump action shotgun as the donor gun, and attaching the 'pump' action to reload directly to the ramrod. It meant that after firing, you had to stand the gun up, grab the ramrod, then lift it up and push it back down to re-load and cock the gun for the next shot.
It never got past the planning stages i'm afraid though!
I would have thought that a gas shotgun mechanism like a trench broom or something like it would work well. It has a hammer which could be adapted cosmetically to look like that of a flintlock and you could hide the cartridge system somewhere in something the size of a Brown Bess. Or even a single action gas revolver mechanism. I think the key to a musket is having a hammer which locks back in order to be fired and really, a revolver or other similar workings is the only realistic option.
When I want your opinion - I'll tell you what it is!
yeah... say the BELL M10 revolver.
Gas in the grip. Hammer to fire it down the barrel...
Take off the cylinder and have a hop rubber at the end of the barrel next to the gas port
Then you have to load the bb down the barrel, cock and fire... hehe
Would require a fair bit of engineering...
thanks, Ive got a few good ideas 
Sounds interesting - keep us posted on how you get on.
Some people might recall I suggested Napoleonic airsofting some time ago....
well I never....I have a load of kit too-2 sets French and one highlander. Plus -when I ask for them back a Perdy Charleville and Bess -BP those so no airsoft with that..... It would be very different anyway.
http://airsoftupgrade.free.fr/1777_2.htm
looks really good.
The idea of standing about 50 feet from the French airsofters to give platoon firings fills me with misgivings!!! However....playing at 95th Rifles would be interesting!
Sounds interesting - keep us posted on how you get on.
Some people might recall I suggested Napoleonic airsofting some time ago....
LOL i think that was some1 taking the piss out of my Thompson chest rig looking like a napoleonic era tunic!
hmm that conversion job looked heap big difficult! There are shorter cuts than that I'm sure. Henry Kranks do non firing muskets and I'm sure Denix do some display jobs too. If you did contemplate doing it French voltigeurs and dragoons plus odd gendarme against 95th and guerillas would work quite well
As for kit, hmm voltigeurs often wore their undress jacket (well waistcoat) known as a gilet, for line this was white with often blue cuffs although some units had white and the odd one red cuffs. You could quite easily get a make do with a converted waiters jacket. Legere had blue jackets same style. If you wanted to dress it up with epaulettes -red for grenadiers, green and yellow for voltigeurs. Headware? Well shako in a cover would be relatively easy or a bonnet de police (side cap) again as a make do maybe dye an RAF one... trousers-bakers trousers will do short term. Belts? Fusiliers had one belt that supported the giberne (cartridge pouch) and the bayonet, flank companies (grenadiers/voltigeurs) plus fusilier NCOs (caporaux and above) had another strap carrying the short sword (which was a pile of crap) -the sabre briquet and the bayonet. Other kit-some form of water bottle and you're done. If you were that bothered you could also have gaiters etc.
British? Well bit harder...however the Napoleonic Associations 95th Rifles when they were around in the early 1980s actually wore converted Nottingham bus drivers uniforms-honest its true I was there and knew all of them. So why not do same? The problem with doing Brits is that they would always be in the uniform jacket so its slightly more difficult than French. If you wanted to do LI or line -say 9th Norfolks, 45th Notts etc then you need a red jacket and crossbelts-I suppose the nearest short cut would be a red fleece although thats going to look pants really. Again though trouser wise you'd be ok with bakers kecks-for something different dye them a mucky brown, or light blue or a greyish colour.
Website here (including a couple articles someone you all may know had written)(that being me) www.85eme.org has links to redcoat units and others....
oooh i like the look of that there musket lads, and we,l excuse him for doing some thing french 
i recon this could be a lot of fun, i used to do a short game at the hill years ago limiting players to a shot every 10 seconds, grate fun,
be grate to make if 4 shot a minit and 2-3 for the french,
team shoot and scoot, TL
remember though-no camouflage!!!!! Bright colours and at close range too! Hehehehe operate (when skirmishing) in teams of two-one firing and one with one down the spout. You'd also have a ready reserve
Basic principles of skirmish are:
Company of 100 (British), 140 (French) typically reduced due to stragglers, sick etc usually to around 60 or so Brit and 90 for French. Each company had 2 platoons and a small HQ of Captain, sergt major, orderly and drummers (LI MIGHT have buglers/hornists). One platoon would stand in reserve around 100 yards back. Other platoon would go forwards of which half would form an immediate reserve and other half go forwards and skirmish-so for Brits you could be talking around 16 skirmishing in 8 pairs...This lot being controlled by the platoons subletern and sergeant.
However as with life extemporise....
oh other nice units to consider:
Light Dragoons (Brit)- blue laced jackets and tarleton helmets-if Hussar would have a fur busby instead. Staff Corps Cavalry -same short jacket as LD but in red and also with tarelton helmet (those chaps were a right old mix of folk and included Spanish and Portuguese as well as usual Brits and Germans)
French dragoons- green jackets with take your pick of plastron facings (even pink!) plus brass helmet, Chasseurs (French light dragoons) also had simple green jackets and shakos.
Chasseurs de Montagne-French mountain infantry-had brown uniforms with sky blue facings...
whole heap of units-heck even monks got involved in the fighting as the French were considered godless as Napoleon had abolished the Inquisition!
Good luck anyone that does do it!
remember though-no camouflage!!!!! Bright colours and at close range
Sounds like the turn-out at a CiA Social 
yup certainly would be! Have a look at the mamelukes...now that was one seriously wackey cavalry unit-attached to the Chasseurs a Cheval de la Garde (who wore superbly expensive gold laced green uniforms) the Mamelukes wore embroidered silk shirts, super large pantaloons and turbans-usually carried a musketoon-blunderbuss affair and as many pistols and swords as they could manage!
found these chaps, quite good prices, and a good start point for uniforms,
you can get then from the US for cheeper to 
http://www.joke.co.uk/showPart_largeDD.asp?part=60761 for french infantry,, £55
http://www.joke.co.uk/showPart_largeDD.asp?part=30058 for the jacket only, british £30
team shoot and scoot, TL
