ANH Hero DL-44 Discussion - Three ANH Greeblies Found

[Gregatron]

Yeah, the base Denix I bought was Field Marshall’s, with the mods he does. I took it a few steps further by reshaping the trigger, hammer, bolt, and other parts, adding the bull barrel (screw-on, not sleeve), as well as removing the screw connecting the upper and lower and filling/sanding/painting the other connecting pins after final assembly. The final product can’t be disassembled easily (JB Weld helps hold the two halves together, along with the remaining pins in the body), but it looks pretty spot-on.

For what it is, the Denix is a good, cheap alternative to something like those fabulous new FM replica Mausers. About the only complaint I have with mine is the fixed slider on the sight.

 

[Inquisitor Peregrinus]

Sorry for the lengthy post; it's been a while since I've been active and just want to get back into the swing of things!

Nice feeling isn't it?

 

[MastahBlastah]

I'll shamelessly chime in with my modded Denix GK!

 

[Vanitas]

It is! And thanks chubsANDdoggers, I worked hard to get the trigger looking right. Following kpax's suggestions I actually bent it a little as I filed it to shape, though what helps a lot is modifying the length of the internal hinge so the trigger leans further forward, if that makes any sense. I also rounded off the front a bit so it doesn't feel "flat". But what I still need to do it fill the trigger hole/slot in the Denix's lower receiver with JB weld and file a new notch myself; this is because thinned the Denix trigger out quite substantially so it's now pinned loosely in the hole which is too wide. I'll get to that soon, with any luck.

And great GK there Mastah! I still gotta build one sooner or later myself; I've been putting it off XD

 

[chubsANDdoggers]

Vanitas i love seeing things for the first time through others amazing work! I never noticed this detail before. This mod here that you did has gotten me very excited to try it myself. How did you go about doing that? Dremel it down, add some filler and then sand it smooth?? It totally transforms the denix. Great eye!

 

[Vanitas]

Vanitas i love seeing things for the first time through others amazing work! I never noticed this detail before. This mod here that you did has gotten me very excited to try it myself. How did you go about doing that? Dremel it down, add some filler and then sand it smooth?? It totally transforms the denix. Great eye!

Do you mean the trigger guard blending? If so, then yeah the Denix needs correcting - on it they just shoot straight into the lower receiver without any taper. I hand filed mine using a set of needle files, although I'm sure you could do much of it using a dremel and a steady hand. More or less just go slow and follow the basic shape of a real mauser; I primarily used my MR Elite Edition for reference.

The red line indicating about where material needs to be removed/beveled (it's curved, not a flat chamfer), with the blue line showing about what the curve of the edge should be shaped like when it's done. It's tricky to get right.

 

[Davy Jones]

I tried this mod myself. I didn't use filler but I reshaped the whole area around trigger.
Not perfect, but makes me hate the Denix less.

 

[chubsANDdoggers]

Do you mean the trigger guard blending? If so, then yeah the Denix needs correcting

Ya that’s exactly what I’m looking at. I had the MR Luke bespin but it’s more shaped like an MGC than a real c96. I looked at the MR EE and it also looks more like an MGC but you’ve captured the look of a real Mauser with that mod. Definitely goin to try my hand at that! Thanks for sharing. I’ve modified pretty much every part of the denix but have overlooked that part every time. Probably cause I’ve never had a real c96 only a denix and MGC’s to draw from. I have a resin casting of a real Mauser. Goin to have to dig that one out and have a close look..

 

[chubsANDdoggers]

I tried this mod myself. I didn't use filler but I reshaped the whole area around trigger.
Not perfect, but makes me hate the Denix less.

ya that looks great. Without the filler it more resembles an MGC but it’s a definite improvement for sure! Great work. Again very excited to try this one out. I’ve put all the Mausers together in this one pic to have good comparison look. Depending on the DL-44 you are going for will reflect just how much you modify it..

 

[Vanitas]

Ya that’s exactly what I’m looking at. I had the MR Luke bespin but it’s more shaped like an MGC than a real c96. I looked at the MR EE and it also looks more like an MGC but you’ve captured the look of a real Mauser with that mod. Definitely goin to try my hand at that! Thanks for sharing. I’ve modified pretty much every part of the denix but have overlooked that part every time. Probably cause I’ve never had a real c96 only a denix and MGC’s to draw from. I have a resin casting of a real Mauser. Goin to have to dig that one out and have a close look..

Ah, no worries then! And yeah, I think the MR Luke ESB blaster was modeled off a real Mauser with minor tweaks to make it look more like a MGC. I've got an Aluminum cast of a real C-96 in addition to having a plastic MGC (and the Han ANH Elite Edition), so I've got a good amount of reference material to draw from. What I wouldn't give to get back the MGC I sold to Scottjua a while back though!

A couple other areas I cranked on pretty heavily are the ejection port scallops; with sanding drums (3/4" and 1 & 1/2") you can correct the shape of the curvatures and match them more closely to a real C-96.

Another thing I've worked on that may be worth your time is getting the Denix's slide to sit higher. It's difficult to explain properly, but on the Denix's upper reciever there are "rails" that the notches in the slide rest on that determine the slide's height. Unfortunately in the Denix they are too "low" (when upright), and this forces the front of the slide to angle downwards. I raised it a bit with some needle files and it helps a lot (though a mill would make short work of it much easier).

(The green line shows how the slide slopes downwards without modification, blue is where it should be at; the red is about the height of the internal "rail", and the yellow is about mow much it needs to be shaved down. Material also needs to be added to the Denix's internal part that fits between the upper and lower reciever so that the now-higher slide is "pushed" up, otherwise it will still float too low.)

 

[chubsANDdoggers]

Vanitas thats the old denix fyi. They have raised the slide a bit on the newer model so that’s helpful already. Messing with the scallops makes me a bit nervous as they are symmetrical to each other. Not sure if that’s worth losing to get them deeper?? A dremel and a mini mill is all I have to work with. If I could cut into it evenly I’d be even more willing to try I think

 

[Pedro]

I did the sanding drum on the scallops thing. It’s not as risky as it seems.

Did they really raise the rails on the new mold? I’ve been buying up old ones because I like the 2 part sight and lack of embossed markings. I’d rather rejoice than fill haha!

 

[Vanitas]

Yeah, it's pretty easy to get. Usually you can buy a whole kit (something like this) and you can correct them in just a few minutes with only a drill

And I didn't know they raised the rails on the new one! I only have the older Denix, I've yet to buy one of the "newer" models - maybe I'll look into one in the future

 

[chubsANDdoggers]

Vanitas & Pedro yes they definitely did something and I believe it was raised. I used to glue the extraction mark I designed up onto the slide but with the new denix their isnt enough space when pulled back. It’s a tight fit and I now have to mill in the extarctor which obviously improves the over all look anyhow. So really it’s a win win..

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Really improves the “look” for sure but it’s mostly cause of how the new denix is built. The trigger is also a little different so you will have to add some filler on the back I believe as well. I have an old denix trigger and I’ll compare the two to see if there is any difference. As far as the slide goes I always glued it down anyhow so it would not flop around. If you toggle through a couple of those posts i also shared some of the other mods I do. But adding that latest mod I noticed you did I think will be a huge improvement. So with the scallops you simply use the appropriate sized sanding wheel?? Is that what u mean by easy.. simply by using the right sized diameter?? Still kind of makes me nervous but I have a beater denix I broke I can play with

 

[chubsANDdoggers]

Here u can see how high the new rail actually sits. I also photoshopped in that new mod to see how it will look.

.

 

[chubsANDdoggers]

So I’ve been looking at those pics of a real Mauser compared to the new denix and I think it’s a lot less mods than realized? I think it just needs to be flattened in the middle and shaved away on each side. You might even be able to get away with just the one middle mod? I did an overlay and you can see the lines you drew are not that far off the denix itself. You can also see the rail on the new denix lines up as well..

 

[Vanitas]

So I’ve been looking at those pics of a real Mauser compared to the new denix and I think it’s a lot less mods than realized? I think it just needs to be flattened in the middle and shaved away on each side. You might even be able to get away with just the one middle mod? I did an overlay and you can see the lines you drew are not that far off the denix itself. You can also see the rail on the new denix lines up as well..

View attachment 1082692View attachment 1082693

Yeah, most of the material there isnt too far off from the actual thing, but the shape still needs to be refined a good deal. I think it was the 1 & 1/2" drum for the front scallop, and a 3/4" drum sander for the back.

Here's a quick picture of how mine turned out, for reference.

 

[chubsANDdoggers]

I appreciate you pointing that out. Just got a new denix in and I’m going to take a good look and compare it to the c96 casting I have as well. It’s always fun to discover new ways to improve the base

 

[chubsANDdoggers]

It definitely improves the look for sure..

 

[Vanitas]

Just be careful! Taking material off is easy, adding it back on not so much. Practice on a scrapper Denix lower first; I learned that the hard way. Also; this area isn't flat but has a distinct curve to it, so don't just make it a flat bevel.