VoPo With a Fun Mix of Markings and Parts

[Wilhelm]

I have a soft spot for these old clunkers and pick them up as often as I see them at a decent price. This one has some fun things about it so I gave it a home some years ago. A nice bonus is the fact that it wasn't import marked.

First off is a general view:






Unfortunately, the FXO magazine doesn't match but I think it's been given the Eastie treatment. They left the markings alone on the body:





I didn't take a picture of the spine but it has a "1" etched into it at the bottom just as I have seen on some other DDR reworked magazines.

Here's the base:



I'm far from a P08 expert. Should the base on an proper FXO be aluminum or bakelite?


The barrel is East German:




The slide is dated 1940. It has a nice crisp date on it and they thoughtfully didn't strike out the original proofs either:






Interestingly, they stamped over the original serial number instead of "x"ing out the old one. It looks like it was 451 originally:




The typical "x" mark on the frame was placed on an interesting spot:



Additionally, the Police sunburst was placed in a spot that's hidden when the pistol is assembled:




The toggle is a typical DWM that had the serial scrubbed and restamped. Nothing out of the ordinary there so I didn't photograph it. However, the breech block pin was staked in place. I've never seen that before. Have any of you guys?





In the above picture, you can see an Eastie Crown/N on the breechblock. The only other mark on it is a "22" on the rear:



Maybe that part was DDR produced?


The last thing I have questions about is the side plate. First, what is the notch shown below cut out of the top for??





Second, the plate is rather roughly made and devoid of stamps. It also doesn't look scrubbed. Is that a DDR sourced part?








Tell me what you guys think please. Whatever the case of who made what and when, it's another fun Eastie to have and one that I'm sure it will perform well at the range for many years to come!


P.S. Also, if you have its matching magazine, hit me up and we'll work out a deal.

[Sergio Natali]

Some red criminal staked in place the breech block pin, really awful, I don't think I've ever seen that before either.

Sergio

[Wilhelm]

Oh that doesn't bother me at all. I just wonder why they did it. There are always new things to see with Eastie reworks. That's part of the fun!

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by Wilhelm

The last thing I have questions about is the side plate. First, what is the notch shown below cut out of the top for??

Possibly for a Schiwy safety? I've never seen a pic of the top of the sideplate, but IIRC the Schiwy sideplate had a cutout...

I also like the VoPo/RC pistols. (I have a VoPo/RC P38).

It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to know that they were in use decades after the war ended...Maybe by an officer looking toward the American side of Checkpoint Charlie, looking through his Zeiss field glasses and wondering if the cigarettes really tasted better on the other side...