Lewis Gun magazines-does anyone make them in 1/72?

[Vulcanicity]

Hiya,

 

Does anyone know if once can buy such a thing as aftermarket Lewis magazines? Not the guns, just the spare drums. I need about 20 in 1/72 and was wondering if any companies made such a deeply useful thing?

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Vulcancity... correct me if im wrong. Lewis magizines are the round drums that mount on top of the guns. I remember reading about 25 yrs ago (showing my age). Someone re-created the drums in 1/35th scale for an armor build out of stamped discs layered 3 on-top of each other. Two slightly larger ones sandwiching a smaller disc with groves cut in it. Could you not try something like that ? 1/35th twice the size of 1/72nd roughly. I would think it might work. 

[Ed Russell]

They are pretty small in 1/72... look at the second picture here...

I think we made the masters with a punch and die more-or-less using the technique described above.

[Courageous]

As Ed said. Or you can just cut scale slices off plastic rod of the right diameter...not worth doing much more. 

[Selwyn]

14 hours ago, Vulcanicity said:

Hiya,

 

Does anyone know if once can buy such a thing as aftermarket Lewis magazines? Not the guns, just the spare drums. I need about 20 in 1/72 and was wondering if any companies made such a deeply useful thing?

Please note that here are two types of Lewis gun magazines (47 and 97 rounds) the  97 round version is much deeper in profile than the 47rnd version. The magazines are very detailed with many annular ribs  so just cutting a slice off a rod may not cut the mustard. A lot of people confuse the Lewis gun magazines with the Vickers  K gun (VGO) magazine  which was a different item much plainer in detail. (They also frequently get the guns mixed up as well!)

 a 97 round mag - http://www.deactivated-guns.co.uk/detail/Lewis_gun_aircraft_magazine.htm - 

a 47  round mag - scroll down for details http://www.allworldwars.com/Lewis-Automatic-Machine-Gun-1916.html

Don't confuse with this - http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?31992-Vickers-k-gun-magazine

 

Lewis guns were very rarely used on WW2 RAF aircraft having been superceded in use in the mid 30's by the Vickers K which was the RAF standard free gun (i.e. not turret mounted)  for WW2.

 

 

Selwyn

Edited August 16, 2017 by Selwyn

[Ed Russell]

I think a punch and die will give a better result than slicing rods, which I can never get uniform. Some vertical strokes with an appropriate file should give the impression of the ribs.

The impressed Empires certainly did have Lewis guns - they were retrieved from storage, having come from scrapped Westland Wapitis. I'm sure the crews would have preferred 97-round magazines but the Wapitis appeared to have carried the small ones. The guys who re-armed their Empire with 0.50 Brownings had the right idea.

[Wm Blecky]

If you can find them, at one time Roseparts did a set of resin guns.  More recent and possibly available, MiniWorld does/did a Mk.III Lewis gun in metal:

 

 

Perhaps you could make a mold of the ammo drum and cast some out of resin.

[Procopius]

Not aftermarket, but the 1/72 Roden SE5a has one or two spare drums.

[Vulcanicity]

Thanks folks! This is for a 1:72 Heyford and Stranraer, the AP documentation for both of which specifies Lewis III guns and copious spare magazines - the Heyford rear gunner's cockpit/ventral turret area has at least seven scattered around on various mounting pegs! Probably the wrong sub-forum but both types just about made it into WW2!

I hadn't realised that there were two sizes of magazines, but I'm pretty sure that the 97-rounder is what was used here. I think I will have to just make some, but thanks Procopius for the tip-off re. SE5A - I might raid my kit for a couple of the more visible magazines!

[Graham Boak]

The Avis/AModel kits of Hart variants provide a number of spare magazines - I would not care to guess at which gun is intended without closer investigation.

[Dads203]

Hannants stock the metal Lewis guns, I bought a few for some future projects and they are stunning.  I'd use milliput to take a mould of the mags and then crash mould some heated sprue into the cured milliput to make the spare mags.

 

https://www.hannants.co.uk/search/index.php?adv=1&product_category_id=&product_division_id=&manufacturer_id=362409&product_type_id=&code=&scale_id=956&keyword_search=&setPerPage=25&sort=0&search_direction=0&save_search_name=&save_search=

 

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/MINA7209

 

HTH

 

Dan 

[Wm Blecky]

8 hours ago, Dads203 said:

Hannants stock the metal Lewis guns, I bought a few for some future projects and they are stunning.  I'd use milliput to take a mould of the mags and then crash mould some heated sprue into the cured milliput to make the spare mags.

 

https://www.hannants.co.uk/search/index.php?adv=1&product_category_id=&product_division_id=&manufacturer_id=362409&product_type_id=&code=&scale_id=956&keyword_search=&setPerPage=25&sort=0&search_direction=0&save_search_name=&save_search=

 

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/MINA7209

 

HTH

 

Dan 

Dan, I like your idea of crash (smash) moulding the magazines, but would you not be worried that the Milliput might not want to release easily from the magazine? or perhaps would leave residue that could be a pain in the @$$ to remove?