fake snail drum?

xfactor9169 · 06-28-2009, 12:50 PM

I have a snail drum that i found in my grandfathers closet. I think it might be fake because it has no serial numbers on it. How can i tell if its real? The only markings i can see are on top of the drum. The markings are "'68" over a weird three line symbol with 1015 below it. Also a crown with MGC below it is also marked. Can anyone help me identify this and figure out what its for or if its real?

xfactor9169 · 06-28-2009, 12:51 PM

please email me at xfactor1@ku.edu if you know anything about this drum. I dont check my inbox here. Thanks

Vlim · 06-28-2009, 01:05 PM

Well, not really a fake but a reproduction with a limited magazine capacity. Looks like a drum for the Japanes repro-artilleries.

xfactor9169 · 06-28-2009, 01:07 PM

any value to it? would anyone find a use for it?

sheepherder · 06-28-2009, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vlim

Looks like a drum for the Japanes repro-artilleries.

From his grandfathers closet???

Have you tried loadin' 'er up and lettin' 'em rip???

sheepherder · 06-28-2009, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xfactor9169

would anyone find a use for it?

Well, I've got a fake Artillery...

(But then I'd have to find a fake shoulder stock...)

Vlim · 06-28-2009, 04:00 PM

Postino, no problem. Just follow this link:

http://www.soldat.com/Collection%20Sale.htm

There's a similar set for sale.

sheepherder · 06-28-2009, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vlim

Postino, no problem. Just follow this link:

http://www.soldat.com/Collection%20Sale.htm

There's a similar set for sale.

So there is...and Vlim has made a match...

Vlim - What Japanese MFG made those, back in the '60's??? Is the snail drum mag functional???

Edward Tinker · 06-28-2009, 04:30 PM

No, the stick part of the drum will hold 5 or 6 rounds I beleive.

Ed

sheepherder · 06-28-2009, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edward Tinker

No, the stick part of the drum will hold 5 or 6 rounds I beleive.

Ed

Well, shoot, in that case, you could pop-rivet a cat food can to a Mec-Gar and fool all your friends...and half of GB, too...

George Anderson · 06-28-2009, 05:49 PM

It's a freakin toy made to go with the Jap made toys of the sixties and seventies. They made stocks also.

Gibcity · 06-28-2009, 06:36 PM

George is correct!

This was made for a "toy" cap cartridge gun.
MGC stands for Model Gun Corporation.

alvin · 06-28-2009, 10:15 PM

Toy is very popular in Japan. Well made, especially when it's Imperial Japanese stuffs.

First glance on this Type 99 rifle .... what? 100% NIB

PhilOhio · 06-29-2009, 11:39 AM

As Gibcity notes, these were made by the Model Gun Corporation of Japan. But by no means were any of their many products "toys", or marketed as such. Their customers were almost all adults, and most of them Japanese collectors who were unable to buy the real thing at home.

MGC's practice was to disassemble a real firearm, measure all parts (to the thousandth), and duplicate most of the non-critical parts exactly, or almost so. I'm sure they did the same thing with the snail drum, although they would have used a weak spring to feed their inert solid brass high-powered cap firing 9mm cartridges. These would actually function a replica gun in blowback mode. Their SMGs functrioned on full auto.

MGC was about the best manufacturer of these replicas, which had their hay day in the '60s and '70. All their guns were metal, most zinc alloy but some steel. They were built to exact dimensions. Some of the magazines are interchangeable with the real thing. Numrich's marketed their 39-round Thompson drums to be used in real Thompsons here. I have one of the MGC 1921 Thompson replicas which I bought in Tokyo around 1970, along with a few other MGC replicas.

Lay any of these beside the real thing and you may be unable to tell which is which; they are that good; not "toys".

If you think the MGC replicas are toys, price them on the Internet sometime, and try competing with collector bidders.

Although I believe MGC is no longer in business, other Japanese manufacturers make some extremely good replicas of just about every kind of firearm as airsoft guns, but all are plastic and the quality and durability is just not the same as what came out of Japan 40 years ago.

Xfactor9169, hold onto that snail drum replica. It is worth significant money, cannot be replaced, few were made, and MGC is out of business. There are dedicated MGC collectors. Keep it clean and oiled/preserved; ain't no "toy".

Matter of fact, many years ago ATF decided some of their replica submachineguns were so easily converted to the real thing that they were banned from further importation...because some had been converted in California, as I recall.

06-28-2009, 12:50 PM	#1
xfactor9169 User Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 17 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	fake snail drum? I have a snail drum that i found in my grandfathers closet. I think it might be fake because it has no serial numbers on it. How can i tell if its real? The only markings i can see are on top of the drum. The markings are "'68" over a weird three line symbol with 1015 below it. Also a crown with MGC below it is also marked. Can anyone help me identify this and figure out what its for or if its real? Attached Thumbnails

06-28-2009, 04:30 PM	#9
Edward Tinker Super Moderator Eternal Lifer LugerForum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: North of Spokane, WA Posts: 15,911 Thanks: 1,986 Thanked 4,502 Times in 2,077 Posts	No, the stick part of the drum will hold 5 or 6 rounds I beleive. Ed __________________ Edward Tinker ************ Co-Author of Police Lugers - Co-Author of Simson Lugers Author of Veteran Bring Backs Vol I, Vol II, Vol III and Vol IV

06-28-2009, 10:15 PM	#13
alvin User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: US Posts: 3,843 Thanks: 132 Thanked 729 Times in 438 Posts	Toy is very popular in Japan. Well made, especially when it's Imperial Japanese stuffs. First glance on this Type 99 rifle .... what? 100% NIB Attached Thumbnails

06-28-2009, 12:51 PM	#2
xfactor9169 User Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 17 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	please email me at xfactor1@ku.edu if you know anything about this drum. I dont check my inbox here. Thanks

06-28-2009, 01:05 PM	#3
Vlim Moderator Lifetime LugerForum Patron Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Europe Posts: 5,034 Thanks: 1,020 Thanked 3,882 Times in 1,186 Posts	Well, not really a fake but a reproduction with a limited magazine capacity. Looks like a drum for the Japanes repro-artilleries.

06-28-2009, 01:07 PM	#4
xfactor9169 User Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 17 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	any value to it? would anyone find a use for it?

06-28-2009, 04:00 PM	#7
Vlim Moderator Lifetime LugerForum Patron Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Europe Posts: 5,034 Thanks: 1,020 Thanked 3,882 Times in 1,186 Posts	Postino, no problem. Just follow this link: http://www.soldat.com/Collection%20Sale.htm There's a similar set for sale.

06-28-2009, 05:49 PM	#11
George Anderson Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: VA Posts: 3,592 Thanks: 1,771 Thanked 2,527 Times in 786 Posts	It's a freakin toy made to go with the Jap made toys of the sixties and seventies. They made stocks also.

06-28-2009, 06:36 PM	#12
Gibcity User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: New Jersey Posts: 29 Thanks: 9 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	George is correct! This was made for a "toy" cap cartridge gun. MGC stands for Model Gun Corporation.

06-29-2009, 11:39 AM	#14
PhilOhio User Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Ohio Posts: 145 Thanks: 5 Thanked 17 Times in 14 Posts	As Gibcity notes, these were made by the Model Gun Corporation of Japan. But by no means were any of their many products "toys", or marketed as such. Their customers were almost all adults, and most of them Japanese collectors who were unable to buy the real thing at home. MGC's practice was to disassemble a real firearm, measure all parts (to the thousandth), and duplicate most of the non-critical parts exactly, or almost so. I'm sure they did the same thing with the snail drum, although they would have used a weak spring to feed their inert solid brass high-powered cap firing 9mm cartridges. These would actually function a replica gun in blowback mode. Their SMGs functrioned on full auto. MGC was about the best manufacturer of these replicas, which had their hay day in the '60s and '70. All their guns were metal, most zinc alloy but some steel. They were built to exact dimensions. Some of the magazines are interchangeable with the real thing. Numrich's marketed their 39-round Thompson drums to be used in real Thompsons here. I have one of the MGC 1921 Thompson replicas which I bought in Tokyo around 1970, along with a few other MGC replicas. Lay any of these beside the real thing and you may be unable to tell which is which; they are that good; not "toys". If you think the MGC replicas are toys, price them on the Internet sometime, and try competing with collector bidders. Although I believe MGC is no longer in business, other Japanese manufacturers make some extremely good replicas of just about every kind of firearm as airsoft guns, but all are plastic and the quality and durability is just not the same as what came out of Japan 40 years ago. Xfactor9169, hold onto that snail drum replica. It is worth significant money, cannot be replaced, few were made, and MGC is out of business. There are dedicated MGC collectors. Keep it clean and oiled/preserved; ain't no "toy". Matter of fact, many years ago ATF decided some of their replica submachineguns were so easily converted to the real thing that they were banned from further importation...because some had been converted in California, as I recall.