Pineapple BFG

Just seen on the most realiable WW2 Site........

Do some forum searches...

Just seen on the most realiable WW2 Site........

Do some forum searches...

sorry my Sarcasm powers must be losing power

Okay, many other forum users and vistors might have missed the sarcasm too and taken it for face value - and we wouldn't want that would we?

Well, a few years ago on discovering the handle and top on a resin replica grenade was a working bit of kit (spring loaded firing pin and fly off handle from military smoke grenades and the like) I though it would be a great idea to drop a 9mm blank into it. I carefully bored out the resin, dropped the blank in and screwed the mechanism back on. Cool! Then it dawned on me that there was no fuse and that the second I let go the cap would fire, probably not even having left my hand.

Okay, many other forum users and vistors might have missed the sarcasm too and taken it for face value - and we wouldn't want that would we?

Well, a few years ago on discovering the handle and top on a resin replica grenade was a working bit of kit (spring loaded firing pin and fly off handle from military smoke grenades and the like) I though it would be a great idea to drop a 9mm blank into it. I carefully bored out the resin, dropped the blank in and screwed the mechanism back on. Cool! Then it dawned on me that there was no fuse and that the second I let go the cap would fire, probably not even having left my hand.

sounds like an intresting tale, we will have to be carefull then if we start tinkering with grenades!! I am surprised that there isnt a WW2 BFG kicking around yet, as they would sell more that the horrible looking Dyntax grenade. Although saying that they are big and ugly for a reason and thats to protect the internal parts inside. I might give WW2 guns a go although there is another one on modelguns.com. But wasnt that the sister site of ww2 guns? http://www.modelguns-worldwide.com/grenades.htm Not sure tbh or maybe il just be a good boy and wait for some decent grenades to come out as the Thunder Grenade seems pointless. As ur spending £1 a time just to re use it, instead of a few pennies like the BFG, and the BFG sounds better too!

To be honest I think any grenade you have to retrieve is a waste of time and money. I have two Dynatek grenades that I used to use on open days when you could go back after a half hour game and find them (hopefully, if you don't lose it someone may appropriate it). But I've never used them for WW2 games. Not because it doesn't look right but because you can't thrown 'em and it is completely rubbish asking an enemy for your grenade back. They are just about usable in CQB (I remember Yith used them at UCAP) but again you have the problem of finding them (and remembering exactly where they went when you go back in an hour or two to find them). All in all, chuckable pyro is the way to go IMHO. Losing a £70+ grenade (or even $30 in this case) makes you cry - ask Gadge!

Okay...
#1 these things are not BFGs
#2 they are shit
#3 they are shit

Have you understood?

Don't buy them...

The reason... well firstly they do not fire blanks, they fire caps. Which are about as loud as a party popper. Your enemy won't know they've been killed.

Secondly, they work much in the same way as chomley's experiment... i.e. they will go off in your hand.

To counter this they have an ingenious (but crap) little bit of rubber which holds the spoon (handle) on until it hits something hard enough to dislodge the handle.

So yes, they're not timed, they're impact grenades. Sounds good? ... wrong... it's bad.

To set them off they need to be chucked with some force at something hard... mostly... they can go off on soft stuff, usually when you least expect it, or sometimes just as they leave your hand. So this makes them unreliable and only really any good in CQB/urban.

However... someone didn't really think this out and the material they are made from is rubbish plastic... this means when they hit something hard (which they need to do to work) they will crack... break and after a few uses they will be in small pieces.

The reason I know? Because I tried them as a cheap alternative to BFGs a few years ago. I still have the bits which I managed to collect after they broke into pieces.

As for BFGs... they are superb for CQB or urban. Basically because they have a VERY fast fuse (but not instant). The enemy will be unable to hide before they go off as they can with disposable pyro. I would never change back to normal pyro for those purposes and have never lost one whilst playing CQB/Urban (and I've used them a hell of a lot). The only time I have lost one is in a wood, so don't even bother trying BFGs there. This does mean they're fairly useless for WWII games as most are woodland based. But I got my use out of them several years ago when I used to play in urban almost every weekend.

Oh and BFGs look like they do because they were never designed for airsoft or re-enacting. They are proper training grenades used by professionals. That's also why they're expensive and work well.

I agree with everything u said there yith, my friend has had 2 and he marks his with a Happy smiley face on them so they know that they are his. He has never lost any of them or even the pins! I do like the way the normal BFG's work, it just annoys me with a growing WW2 airsoft market that they havent made one. I might try and get a second hand one and try adapt it into a Replica Metal Pineapple grenade, as i understand the basis of they work is with springs inside. Although i dont want to end up like Chomley otherwise i might not be able to do this anymore

Stuart

Stuart, I think you'll really struggle to make a dynatex look like a wwii pineapple grenade. For a start anything stuck on the outside will just get knocked off when you throw it. They're very heavy things.

Of course, if you're super-skilled with metal work you may have a hope. If that's the case, good luck!

For 2nd hand ones try this guy... http://www.taskforcetactical.com/index.html
Drop him an email...

Oh I am sure that the reason why they haven't made a WWII one is that they're not targeted at us or airsoft at all, so they are not aware that there is a WWII market!

..when you throw it. They're very heavy things.

That's the thing though - you can't throw them. Roll them, toss carefully underarm, post them through a bunker slit even but throwing is out of the question so you have to be close. As you say, CQB games are ideal.

BTW, I had streaming fluorescent orange ribbons attached to mine so I couldn't lose them in woodland games. Heh, I still had to do some searching at times though! The only reason I have kept mine is the hope of making use of 12 gauge but I can't remember the last time I bothered to make use of them.

Yith, i think what i said came out wrong. Sorry for that. What i meant was to bore a hole into a replica pineapple grenade bigger enough to fit the BFG spring and rest of internals inside. Having said that you will need a lot of trial and error on the springs as i seriously doubt you will be able to get a 8 second fuse. (but i would be happy with 3! )

Also the website you linked me seems unfinished. Have you used these peeps before. As they dont even have a product list of what they sell or even prices.

Well a replica pineapple grenade is a lot smaller than a BFG so I think you'll really struggle to get the internals in. Plus the spoon mech of a BFG is on the side of the grenade, not on the top like a pineapple.

As for that website, yes they are very good. Contact them by email and talk to Mark. He has sold me several 2nd hand BFGs in the past, which I still use and also repaired them several times for free.

Chomley, by "throwing", I of course meant underarm...

Maybe a No36 would be a better candidate - especially if you use the bottom plug for access.

Maybe, I'm still not sure they're big enough... Plus remember the screw top for the blank...

Also remember you are dealing with explosives here... so you'll need to make it very safe...

Heh, I'm missing a trick here. Rather than stuffed away in my garage unused make me an offer Stu!

How about these as alternatives -

http://shop.ehobbyasia.com/deep-fire-mk2-gas-grenade.html

http://shop.ehobbyasia.com/hakkotsu-thunder-b-co2-airsoft-grenade-set.html
Not hear too many good things about these but someone may like them.

This looks fun -

http://shop.ehobbyasia.com/snicker-360-gas-powered-mkii-grenade.html

How do the timers on the BFGs work ?

I've done a lot of work with high density form, rubber and latex casting and I have been looking at making some happily safely throwable grenades. I could do them so they had a space to mount a spring activated blank in them, but I can't work out how to make a mechanism that will give you a delay of a few seconds after you pull the pin.

I know some are impact triggered but I'm not sure about the timed ones. How would making something like this go with firearms laws though? I know that blank firing guns are fine (don't think that you need a defece to have them either) but this may stray into some sort of manufacture situation.

I don't think you'd want to fire a blank in anything that wasn't made of turned metal. Probably not even cast.

Don't mess with blanks if you don't know what you're doing. They really are dangerous.

Even if you think it's safe, the site owner has to assess the risk for insurance purposes... personally I'd not allow any home-made blank firing device on my site (if I had one). Certainly not one designed to be thrown near a player.

How do the timers on the BFGs work ?

BFGs work on a simple oil damped system. Primed by pushing down with a small rod on the plunger/firing pin against the firing pin spring and locked in place with a regular grenade pin. To use pull the pin whilst gripping the safety handle. Once released the firing pin is launched towards the cap but under oil-damped resistance (giving a short delay) until at the last moment it kicks free of resistance and strikes the cap. The enclosure and moving parts are simple and robust, so durable and fit for purpose.

I don't think there are any legal issues other than normal H&S, as Yith points out.