I want to buy a German pistol.
I dont care about blowback or other fads.
I just want a solid pistol with no or few vices.
Obviously recommendations should be available, not out of production.
aka Stigroadie
AFRA
better by design
"Truth is a shining goddess, always veiled, always distant, never wholly approachable, but worthy of all the devotion of which the human spirit is capable. "
Personally I have been very happy with my Marushin P38. Thats Marushin, not Maruzen. It's a non-blow back so has few moving parts and very little to go wrong. Gas consumption is also excellent, I can usually put a minimum of 3 reloads of BB's into the mag for every 1 gas fill. It shoots single or double action although it tends to shoot with a bit more power using single action. Also has adjustable hop-up.
The negatives? They are plastic not metal, but have a decent enough finish and good markings. The grips are rather plasticy and you can't get spare mags for them. You will also probably need to order from a Hong Kong store as I don't know of anyone who stocks them in the uk.
In summary, good value and reliable!
Review here: [link]http://www.justpistols.co.uk/p38.htm[/link]
“I wanted to come to the Volga at a specific location at a specific city. By chance it carries the name of Stalin himself. So don’t think I marched there for this reason – it could carry another name – but because there is a very important goal... this goal I wanted to take – and you know – we are very modest, we have it already."
Adolf Hitler, November 1942
"Comrades, Red Army men, commanders and political workers, men and women guerrillas! It is on your perseverance, staunchness, fighting skill and readiness to discharge your duty to the country that the defeat of the German-fascist army and the liberation of the Soviet land from the Hitlerite invaders depend! We can and must clear the Soviet land of Hitlerite vermin."
Joseph Stalin, November 1942
I've owned the Maruzen p38 and now own a 4 inch WE P08.
The Maruzen P38 is constructed of some metal and the upper slide was plastic. The screws came away from the plastic slide and knackered the lot on mine, so I gave it away to someone for spare parts. While it was working it reached out to maybe 30m on a good day.
The WE luger has an alloy mechanism and my gun doesn't shoot as far as the p38 did. The WE P08 has a strange trigger pull. Sometimes it feels like there is a delay from pulling the trigger and it firing?!
That's it. I was going to say it depends whether you'd want plastic & range or metal & durability, but Ive heard some people's P08s can shoot a lot further than 30m. Not mine 
AGM MP40 - AGM STG44 - CYMA Thompson M1A1 - WE P08 4 inch - Marushin M1 Carbine GBB - AGM Sten MkII
The vice that every gas pistol seems to have is crappy reliability once you're in the field. A few hours of being shaken about and they all fail at the critical moment.
The snap shooting exercise at the Milton Hall battle school event was a comical demonstration of the universal rubbishness of bb handguns
My Western Arms 1911, which is a thing of beauty and lovely to fire in the back garden, is the same gun that has me screaming "work, you bastard!" as the enemy closes in 
The most reliable pistol I have had is my TM 1911. Completely unmodified and 2nd hand it seems to always work, even when moderately cold.
The worst was my KSC 1911, so crap I can't even in all conscience sell it. except as a holster filler, so I still have it for public re-enactments. 2nd worse was the WE 1911, which is long gone...
I'm quite surprised there doesn't seem to be a "perfect" german pistol, there always seemed to be plenty of choice to me?
I've had a Maruzen and Marushin P38. Both were nice guns but, the WE Luger is, pound for pound, better in my opinion. It's great value, full metal, mags are readily available and it shoots nicely (I shot Barrie from 50 metres with mine at Bryansk!). Also, it's just so iconic.
When I want your opinion - I'll tell you what it is!
I've resurrected my WE Browning Hi Power for now. In January it was a nightmare of venting valves and frozen seals. Yesterday it was a joy to shoot.
aka Stigroadie
AFRA
better by design
"Truth is a shining goddess, always veiled, always distant, never wholly approachable, but worthy of all the devotion of which the human spirit is capable. "
The most reliable pistol I have had is my TM 1911. Completely unmodified and 2nd hand it seems to always work, even when moderately cold.
Same, though I got mine new. I've had 30m+ kills in -1C .
Someone once asked if it was any good, and why I'd not modded it. I drew it, pointed, fired, and hit the 30m target (12inch square). "That's why..."
