Model gun
Model guns are designed to enjoy realistic gun-like features such as the sound of gunpowder and blowback action, but since they have no shooting capability, they are enjoyed as collectible toy guns.
I first got to know about model guns when I was in junior high school.
I remember it was because one of my classmates (I still remember his name) brought a model gun to school.
Until then, since I’d never seen or heard of model guns, I remember being really fascinated.
I think that model gun was probably the ABS resin S&W 44 Magnum made by MGC.
I still vividly remember playing with a model gun that could fire (since it was a model gun, it didn’t actually shoot bullets) behind the school building during lunch break.
At the time, we’d take the gunpowder part from toy gun caps and put it into cartridges to fire.
Later, I remember somebody else bringing in the metallic 44 Auto Mag and the Colt Single Action.
There was a mischievous kid who put multiple gunpowder caps into the 44 AutoMag and fired it. Well, you could imagine what happened. It didn’t just blow back, the barrel and slide flew off.
I remember that the Walther P38 was one of the most popular model guns from that time. This was due to the influence of Lupin the Third which was airing at the time. And, maybe it was just me, but I think the longer barrel models were more popular than the S&W M19 (which we called the .44 Magnum at the time..), which was Jigen’s favorite gun. The first S&W 44 Magnum model gun I saw also had an 8 1/2-inch barrel.
Other popular models were also the 44 AutoMag and the Ruger Super Blackhawk (10-inch), both used in the manga ”Doberman Detective” (original story: Son Buron, manga: Shinji Hiramatsu).
As a child, I thought these two guns were big and cool.
In addition to the popular model guns mentioned above, another model gun I really liked was the Luger P08. I was oddly obsessed with that gun’s inchworm-like movement.
The first model gun I bought myself was the ABS resin Luger P08 made from MGC.
Also, the Japanese-made Nambu Type 14 was another favorite gun of mine.
I remember that the Walther P38 was hard to buy at the time because online stores didn’t exist.
I asked my parents to buy it for me with an advance on my allowance, but I also remember that they only bought grilled squid or Takoyaki whenever they went out.
And then, when I finally got the chance to go to the shop (located in the city), I had to check my cash on hand (I retuned home because all my money was spent for buying this model gun), but I remember buying the Walther P38. The first Walther P38 I bought is now just the frame and slide.
However, I still have the MGC Walther P38 I bought later, though it doesn’t function anymore because it was re-plated. I also have the Marushin Walther P38 I bought much later.
I don’t know much about guns, but I’d like to post about each model gun on my blog.
Thanks.