Re: ANH Hero DL-44 Discussion
Too bad MGC doesn't make them any more. Anybody know what happened to them?
MGC went bankrupt in the 90's, started over again as "New MGC" and ceased to be once again in 2007. During that time, they produced mostly Colt 1911 variants.
MGC did announce new releases in 2009 :confused as a 50th anniversary thing. All production ceased in 2010.
"Modern" MGC Broomhandle replicas would not be interesting to us anyway - Japan's current legislation doesn't allow full metal replicas. Those were manufactured between the 60's - late 80's. MGC's last model guns were made of mainly "heavy" ABS. Model guns in the 60's were sometimes made of steel, but legislatory changes forced the manufacturers to gradually start using softer alloys. And no, there were no steel Mausers made to my knowledge...
The old MGC Mausers can also be found under the name RMI. RMI - Replica Models Inc. - was a company that was created for overseas sales, as MGC wasn't allowed to use their own brand outside Japan.
The early Mausers were either dummy guns or paper cap firing, while the later (80's) versions are full-fledged plug fire cap guns. PFC guns - most likely used in ESB and ROTJ - are recognized by the backwards-sitting firing pin in the chamber (PFC caps are ignited in the front, "bullet" part). Early MGC Mausers have generally no logos or proof marks, only "JAPAN" stamped underneath the mag.
The MGC tools were sold to various makers. Japan replica company KSC bought a lot of them.
In a way, model guns are like Graflex and MPP flash guns; there is a considerable community out there that collects and cherishes them, and the old metal model guns are slowly becoming scarce. A lot of MGC Mausers and Sterlings have been "destroyed" by Star Wars prop replica builders... model gun collectors are not too keen on someone hacking off the barrels of their babies. With that in mind, the Denix is not a bad base for DL-44's (heck, even the MR Solo ANH is based on a Denix). It's cheap, it's currently mass-produced and therefore accessible. It's not too hard to pimp a Denix to a satisfactory level of "accuracy".
Making a blaster kit fit for the MGC is the extravagant alternative, producing a kit for the Denix is the way to make it available to a larger extent.
