PM M1910 - Russian Maxim

We recently announced our first Ostfront game here in South Africa, based around Stalingrad, and as our team lines were drawn up - with admittedly small numbers - I realized one glaring problem: our German side would feature at least 2x MG42's (the new AGM/S&T models), while our Russkie units would be entirely without MG support.

I started looking around at support weapon ideas, and the DP28 was the first MG to come up. I cannot now remember why I passed up on that idea... but the final idea was the Russian Maxim, trolley and all. I started doing some research - the trolley was known as the Sokolov mount, the Maxim was actually a PM M1910, etc etc - and decided to build a copy that was not intended to be a perfect 1:1 replica, but instead a workable look-alike for the game. Past the 10m distance, small details are lost anyway - especially when you have to dodge BB's from the gun!

The tools used in this build:
- DC welder
- 500W grinder
- bench drill
- miscellaneous hand files, pliers, measuring thingies, tea, and 2x 9mm shell casings (as ear protectors)

STEP 01: The gun
The donor gun was a Cyma AKS74, which was stripped of all unnecessary furniture. This process revealed two excellent mounting mechanisms on the gun itself: the big horizontal pin that holds the top of the gas block to the bottom of the barrel trunnion, and the hinge mount at the rear of the receiver where the folding stock attaches.

The Maxim's shell was made from a 101x2mm steel tube and a 75x72x2mm section of square tubing for the cooling shroud and receiver respectively. The front of the receiver section was capped off with a 5mm plate, into which a 25mm hole was drilled for the inner barrel; likewise, the cooling shroud was capped off with two 2m discs that had matching 25mm holes cut in. The inner barrel of the cooling shroud - through which the outer barrel of the stripped-down AK would run - was a 25mm OD pipe.

After that, it was time for the receiver. The AK internals were mounted, receiver and all, inside the Maxim receiver via a horizontal screw running through the aforementioned barrel trunnion pin hole. To access the hop-up and fire selector (you need small fingers for that one), a hatch was cut in the top of the Maxim receiver, and closed off via a 75x150 plate section mounted on a spring-loaded gate hinge. This allows easy access to the top of the AK, while the spring tension ensures that the hatch stays down.

To accept the protruding AK handgrip and magazine release catch, a thinner slot was cut from the bottom of the receiver. The AK internals were positioned inside, and a stopper plate was bolted to the rear of the AK receiver, fixing it quite firmly to the Maxim receiver via the folding stock hinge pin.

Once the AK internals were mounted, the cooling shroud was welded to the Maxim receiver (hence the earlier choice of the 5mm receiver plate), and the rear of the receiver was closed off with a downwards-hinged flap, which provides access to the battery wires. A quick comparison to the ZB26 for scale:

STEP 02: The carriage

With the gun mostly done, it was now time for the Sokolov mount. I needed wheels of about 31cm diameter, and solid enough to withstand the abuse that it would encounter in the field - after a short but fruitless search, I chanced upon the perfect substitute in a pawn shop: 2x 10kg barbells! A nearby scrapyard also provided a suitable handle for the mount, in the form of a 25mm aluminium pipe from what appears to have been a dishcloth drying rack of some sort. (either that, or a very strange antenna unit)

Basic components for the mount:
- 32x2mm square tubing for the base of the carriage
- 25mm solid round bar for the axle
- 25mm U-bolts for the axle clamps
- 350x350x5mm base plate
- 32x2mm round tubing for the towing handles

The axle spacers for the wheels were made from 32x2mm round tubing, welded to 75mm discs that had been cored with a 25mm cutter to fit around the axle. The 75mm discs serve to keep the wheels upright, while the tube lengths attached to them are fixed to the axle via a single screw on the outer edge.

STEP 03: The turret

With the carriage base completed (and bastard heavy!), I skipped the leg attachments and went directly to the turret mounting. The turret rotates around a ball-bearing assembly from the base of a rotating bar stool (no pics, sorry), which served as a connecting layer between the carriage base and the turret base. Turret base was a 200x200x4mm steel plate, with arms welded in to take the gun. The up/down elevation axle is a 8mm rod, still long and uncut in these photos.

(last pic shows an unintended quirk: when you put a standard NATO 7.62mm ammo can under the carriage base - in lieu of legs - it stands perfectly horizontal!)

After that, the shield: 400x400x4mm, with slight roundings on the edges. I refrained from cutting out a sight window, as I still need to finish up the sights. Two sections of angle iron - 20x20mm - are bolted to each side of the gun cut-out, with grooves grinded into the leg that is perpendicular to the shield; these grooves then line up with the elevation axle, and makes the shield readily removable in a pinch. On the turret base, where the shield rests, I welded in small spacer triangles on each side, which make a groove that the shield slips into. This prevents wobbles and general forwards/backwards movement once the shield has been fitted

For the towing legs, a problem had arisen: if the legs are attached in line with the base of the carriage, then the entire mount would point up into the sky when placed on level ground - which has obvious problems when trying to ensure a smooth left/right traverse of the turret (unless you are engaging targets above your own position). The original Sokolov solved this by having a curved, half-circle base, along with a towing handle that dips down at the end as well; for my build, the solution was to weld in legs - 32x32x2mm - reinforced by plates that came together at the bottom of each leg to create a U-shaped position for the 32mm round tubing handle to fit in.

(the assembly pictured above weighs 13kg, for perspective...)

STEP 04: The sights

Sights - still a WIP - were started at the rear, with a basic ladder sight taking shape from 12x3mm flat bar, a 10mm bullet hinge, and some offcut 2mm plate from the receiver. This will get finished and fixed into place once I have ranged and calibrated the gun itself.

(the ladder sight will remain detachable, for transport/stowage)

STEP 05: Show off

After that, the trailer was finished by adding on the towing handles - 32x2mm round tubing, sized at 640mm - and connecting them with the aluminium handle from the scrapyard. The finished* product (barring the sights and the paint job) looks as such:

(last pic shows scale of trailer compared to Jerry can and a K98)

All in all, a very satisfying experience to build, with the finishing touches now being applied over the next week. As stated initially, this was NOT intended as a 1:1 replica - so yes, I am aware that there are some differences to the real PM M1910. These will hopefully also be addressed over the next week or two

Some stats on the build to date:
- Time taken: started 22 May, finished last assembly on 5 June
- Total weight: 45kg ++
- Cost: less than 50 quid in steel (R1,000 local currency)