G43 project anyone?

theres been a few projects....from memory its the cost of the stocks and metalwork that make it hard, that and the slimness of the stock to take the M14 motor etc .

I should think that repro stocks could be made for airsoft quite easily. A lot, if not all, of the originals were laminated wood - Would be easy to incorporate wiring/battery channels in a new-build stock.

If you make your stock in 2 halves as I have done with my PPSH41 then yes it can be done but I don't love the amount of wood you have to remove around that hand grip on the M14 motor, this is why the plastic stocks can look more realistic around the hand grip in terms of dimension.
So an option is to use and modify a plastic stock as Barry did for the Russian game.

If you cut up some tin soup cans for the metal you could solder up a cover to go over the M14 mag and probably hammer the ribs into it with a chisel over some wood.

Thanks!

Which stock would you consider more fitting for conversion for such a project? I'm not at all familiar with AEGs using "wood" or real wood stocks.

There is an old thread on the M14 to G43 conversion
http://www.ww2airsoft.org.uk/php/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=3829

and I believe Warren at Shoot n Scoot is doing a kit as well
http://www.ww2airsoft.org.uk/php/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=10410

Thank you so much!
I tried a search for G43 before posting the thread but nothing came up.
Will be doing some reading

I tried a search for G43 before posting the thread but nothing came up.

Not your fault - forum searches for three (or less) letter words won't work as they aren't indexed. This means a search for "G43" for example will give no result unfortunately.

I think the wooden parts could be made from scratch. Yes It would take a while with hand tools especially, but certainly doable and not too taxing.

Maybe you should look into white or pot metal castings for the receiver and other "steel" parts?? From doing a VSR conversion, I know that the dboys Kar98K receiver is a lower grade aluminium alloy that melts under the heat of a butane flame, so dont see why it wouldnt be possible to use a similiar alloy for your own castings. You can get DIY kits online.

I'm sure you'd be much happier with the result if you pulled it off, rather than going down the plastic resin route

Its worth considering at least and weighing it up.

If you make your stock in 2 halves as I have done with my PPSH41 then yes it can be done but I don't love the amount of wood you have to remove around that hand grip on the M14 motor, this is why the plastic stocks can look more realistic around the hand grip in terms of dimension.
So an option is to use and modify a plastic stock as Barry did for the Russian game.

If you cut up some tin soup cans for the metal you could solder up a cover to go over the M14 mag and probably hammer the ribs into it with a chisel over some wood.

And what I did for my MP28...although that was based on a MP40 so no motor to hide !

you can get repro laminated stocks - but they're over 200 EUR

[link]http://fox-military.com/en/stock.php?id_produkt=10[/link]

Guys
Thank you for all the links, suggestions and input.
I love the repro stocks but I guess I'll be facing the same problem of very thin wood left.
What would one consider the "minimum" acceptable thickness to be able to play with the gun without fear of breaking, in your experience? I'm guessing the whole point of making the stock in 2 pieces is precisely this, right?
Casting the upper part in metal should be no problem provided I can find a "prototype" to take a casting of.

I'm getting more and more this sinking feeling in my stomach that I'm about to bite so much more than I can chew...

The HP PPSH has a wooden stock and that gun uses the same V7 gearbox as the CYMA/AGM M14.

So if you look at the grip area on a HP PPSH stock then that will maybe give you an idea of how thin a stock you will be able to get away with.

You'll notice the difference betwen the real steel and the HP one below:

Thicker stocked HP

Thinner stocked RS

It isnt all that noticeable and anyway, the fact you'll have an all wood and metal airsoft Gewehr 43 would be impressive to anyone who seen it. Its very existance will beat any potential criticisms to a pulp

Furthermore, someone who fitted the same gearbox into a RS M1 Garand stock said that he removed some lugs from the motor cradle. This meant that they could cut it even finer!

Maybe the ARES PPSH-41 gearbox would be a better choice for a G43?

The motor is located under the gearbox, as you can see on the pictures the pistol grip is slim like the real PPSH-41

I think with all these things it depends how fussy you are. I was just going to do a replacement wood look top handguard for my M14 and maybe cut down a few mags and call it a G43. With a different replacement handguard and a removable perforated metal bit for the barrel it will do double duty as an SVT 40, plus scope, an AVT 40.

I don't think my gun modifying skills are up to anything else.

Cheers
Martin

this is not a project for the fainthearted, Ive spent about 2 years trying to make one of these and almost a grand .... as have a few others.
the main problem is the motor the nozzle on the m14 motor is about 5mm toohigh to line up the barrel. getting the top bits to fit is also difficult ive made a zillion moulds. warren has a g43v top section - another way to do it is to ectend the stock of an m14 but the magwell would be wrong. ANothe option is to use thegearbox from a sten as the tappet plate has been modded to take an ak nozzle.
ive seen one being made with a classic army m14 gearbox on which the motor can be modified to be parallel with the gearbox.

Its a real can of worms, and ive wrecked two stocks.... good luck if i can help please get in touch