A Question On 1/18 AK-47s

Able Archer · Post by **Able Archer** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 1:47 am

Sorry to be a bore but I've got another question to ask about people's opinions on the 25th Anniversary GI Joe AK-47s and whether they are compatible with 1/18 figures, namely the 21st century marine and Japanese infantry I am turning into Cold War African mercenaries and government soldiers. I've really appreciated your help on the SVD and M1 carbine so far!

The AK-47s I am particularly interested in are here:

http://www.joebattlelines.com/images/re ... s2ak47.jpg

and the one that comes with the 2008 wave 5 Snow Serpent here:

http://www.joebattlelines.com/reviews/t ... rpent1.htm

Really appreciate your opinions, especially if you've seen them up close or have them and can compare them to 1/18 scale weapons.
Again I know marauder inc does them but I am particularly interested in these one's because they have trigger guards with them.

Ta-152 · Post by **Ta-152** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 6:34 am

Either one should work. It should be noted that The Baroness doesn't come with that AK.

I dunno why you'd let the lack of a trigger/guard bother you, though, as it's not likely to be noticed, and it may just work better in the figures hands.

Plus i'd hate to have to go and buy an army of Snow Serpents for their AKs. Not the cheapest endeavor especially given the alternatives.

Able Archer · Post by **Able Archer** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 8:51 am

Yes I know but I just saw a whole lot of the black AK-47s (about 10) for sale on ebay the other day and I liked the mould a little better than the marauder one. I suppose I could just customise the marauder one's myself but I just like having weapons with trigger guards to display in the background sometimes.
I know the Baroness figure does not come with one but thats the only decent picture I could find of it. In fact I don't actually know which figure the black Joe AK-47 comes with (maybe someone here knows) but as I said I just saw a whole lot on ebay the other day and thought that would be quite a good little purchase if they were in 1/18 scale.
Thanks for the advice Ta-152, I'll keep iti n mind and I don't think I'll be buying dozens of snow serpents! Hahah if only I had that sort of crazy cash for my defence budget! I'm more of a strictly 1/18 guy anyway, with 21st and bbi being my ranges of choice rather than Joes. Still I have been interested in some of the weapons and accessories they've put out in the 25th anniversary line.

Post by **aferguson** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 12:38 pm

doesn't Marauder make an AK-47?

CENT-ONE · Post by **CENT-ONE** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 12:49 pm

There were those rubbery ones that came with the Indy Russian Figures as well.

The snow serpent version is pretty nice and feels to scale. The one you've shown with the baroness is a little chunky and clunky imho.

I think the 21st NVA figures had one that was nice.

There was a bayonet one with the early 2000's era Joe Neo-Viper figures

popeye357 · Post by **popeye357** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 1:00 pm

The 21st Japanese wouldnt carry AK's they'd have bolt action Arisakas.

Ta-152 · Post by **Ta-152** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 1:15 pm

He's turning them into Cold War-era mercs.

I wouldn't suggest the Neo Viper AK, the stock is pretty wide.

Jesse James · Post by **Jesse James** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 1:42 pm

I can't recommend AK's from Marauder Inc. enough. Removable clips rock.

vmf214 · Post by **vmf214** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 2:23 pm

Jesse James wrote:I can't recommend AK's from Marauder Inc. enough. Removable clips rock.

Agreed!

flyboy_fx · Post by **flyboy_fx** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 2:53 pm

are they the bendy plastic?

Jesse James · Post by **Jesse James** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:25 pm

I know the owner... Marauder Inc.'s gear is all injection-molded plastic. No resins and whatnot. The plastics are a fairly stiff/rigid type, similar to vintage Star Wars weaponry. They'll snap if you try to flex them too much.

Modern weapons to toys usually are flexible for "safety" reasons. Some companies have their own higher standards while others (21st for instance) went with purely rigid guns and whatnot, and passed teh more minimum standards.

The SW line is improving the "bendy" weapon issue more and more, which is nice to see. Marauder's are not intended for children though, so they're pretty rigid/detailed little bits.

My personal fav is the M4 with its many, many, many, many, many configurations.

I also have several of the "mini-gun" for my squad gunner Clones too... The M4 though, it's a work of art.

Check out Marauder Inc. for anything you need/want though. It's cheap too... I'm always shocked what you can get for little cash there. Plus you can order individual Power Team Elite accessories as well... I've ordered folding chairs, laptops, and hedgehogs.

EDIT: By the way, stock up on MG-34's... You'll be real glad you did. With a little paintwork, they arm up the German figures really well IMO. They also arm up SW Sandtrooper/Stormtrooper figures pretty well with their "rifles".

popeye357 · Post by **popeye357** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:29 pm

Sorry, didnt read the whole post...carry on then!!

Jesse James · Post by **Jesse James** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 4:06 pm

Here's Marauder's M4, for the curious...

Tell me that isn't one of the coolest accessories ever for a figure!?

I gave mine to my fav modern figure on the shelves. He needed an upgrade bad.

And here are some Marauder Inc. AK's:

Also I got one of these so my modern enemies had some kind of a squad gunner too:

Good stuff.

Post by **aferguson** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 4:36 pm

Hey Jesse....did you ever take the plunge and get some 1/16 tanks?

Jesse James · Post by **Jesse James** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 5:26 pm

Not yet... With JSI picking up the molds, I'm holding out a bit longer... I was only gonna jump to 1:16 if 1:18 just basically keeled over. So far, it's yet to do that, so I'm playing the waiting game. I don't need to spend the moolah anyway.

I, however, am going to get at least one just for poops and giggles. Something to drive aorund the yard, shoot at the kids with and stuff. I'm not sure which I want though. My favs are Tiger I's and Shermans, but I don't think there is a Sherman (that I've ever seen)... I'm considering something not made in 1:18 too, just so it's at least a little variety too. I do want one to play around with first though.

That reminds me too, I gotta order sets of tracks (the plastic ones) for some projects.

CENT-ONE · Post by **CENT-ONE** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 5:38 pm

well if you pick up an RC Sherman you've gotta have the LCV to go with it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XomSHPHuLes

kduck · Post by **kduck** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 5:54 pm

Jesse James wrote:And here are some Marauder Inc. AK's:

[img]

Those 2 AK's are AK74's. You can tell by the muzzle brake. Just wanted to mention that because depending on the era they might not be appropriate for the figures he has planned. It's odd that those 2 have trigger guards while most of the others don't.

Jesse James · Post by **Jesse James** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 7:58 pm

Yes, some guns have guards and some don't. It' susually a sign of when they were produced, or the toy line produce for... Original Joes don't have trigger fingers separate, etc. The AK-74's I think are later weapons made by the company, but I can't be sure on that. I'm just guessing.

By the way, that landing craft video may be the coolest thing I've ever seen.

If that was for sale, consider me a buyer.

Able Archer · Post by **Able Archer** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 10:53 pm

Thanks for all the advice guys. Knew I could count on you. Well you've convinced me to do it all through Marauder Inc ( I was planing to get a few things through them anyway at some point). Looks like I can just ad the trigger guards myself or customize the AK-74 by cutting down the muzzles break a little bit. I'll probably have to order both.
I also have 2 of the 21st C. AK-47s which are great. I've also made a few myself out of MP-40s and banana clip mags from other weapons. I also plan to get a few bbi CIA operatives at some point and remove the M203 from the AKMS/AK-47 that comes with that figure.

The Japanese marines (especially the tan ones) make great African soldiers/rebels with a little paint work on the face and clothing. You just have to paint up some of their clothing as camo and do a bit of face and hand painting before capping it off with a brown/dirty wash and viola! African soldiers/mercs/rebels/militia/whatever! Some of you modern interest guys could give it a try (if you haven't already) if you wanted to create some Somali militia/pirates, a topic that seems to be thrusting itself into the headlines again.
I might even have a go at making those Arisakas into Simonov SKS rifles.

Again thanks for your help everyone! I'll keep it in mind!

ParatrooperCarbine · Post by **ParatrooperCarbine** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 6:11 am

I have the Marauder versions with the removeable mags. Those are my favorites by far.

2nd choice is the black version that came with the Scarred/Cobra officer/Crimson Guard 2-pack.

These two are good enough that I wouldn't bother with any others except perhaps the IJ ones, only for the wood coloring.