Combloc
Stop Negassing me!!!!!
It was the Cold War and I was brought up being told commie equipment was junk. But I was a kid and the Soviets were more a mystery than a monster and kids are always curious about a mystery. Then Red Dawn came out and I was hooked. I was so absolutely fascinated, I wanted to be the first kid on my block with an AKM. Thanks to my paper route and an understanding Mother, I was. It was a Chicom Type 56 with a stamped receiver and an underfolding stock. I quickly discovered that, in the rifle department at least, commie equipment was actually pretty nice! Sure, it was a little crudely built but, where it counted, it was EXTREMELY well made. Over 35 years and 10,000 rounds later, I still have that little buddy and it's the last rifle I'd ever sell:
I say, that was $313.95 well spent!
Well, as we get older, we tend to think more deeply, see things more objectively, and evaluate more effectively. Once the wall fell and Warsaw Pact stuff became widely available, we all learned that their weapons were vastly better made than we were told growing up. Yes, the "enemy" military doctrine, and technological level differed from the West and their equipment reflected that, but at a basic manufacturing level, their firearms were just as well made as anything we fielded. In fact, an argument can be made that some of their individual weapons actually surpassed ours depending on the combat environment. But that's an argument for another time and I'm off topic.
As I got older and my collection grew, I formed a hierarchy of Warsaw Pact firearms in my mind. At the top of the list for collectability, Soviet made stuff is always going to be at the top of the heap. Of course, there are many variables to consider, but speaking in broad strokes, it's Soviet.
Now, for value, it gets all jumbled up real fast. For example, with the exception of an as issued 1949 Soviet SKS, an East German SKS is going to bring stupid money compared to any other Warsaw Pact example. However, beyond "can I afford it?" I rarely consider monetary value when looking at things. For me, this hobby isn't about money, it's about fun so I tend to stay away from "value" conversations.
One of my favorite things to look at when considering the various countries is Quality of finish. This is not to be confused with Quality of build. As far as I'm concerned, ALL of the Warsaw folk made durable, reliable and acceptably accurate firearms but the fact is, the finish varied greatly. In my experience, the two countries that really stood out above the rest with regards to fit and finish in the Warsaw Pact were the East Germany and Poland, especially in the earlier years. In fact, I had my Polish RPD out for inspection today and it's what prompted me to write this. So let's take a look at what I'm blathering on about.
This isn't meant to be one of my in-depth essays on a particular firearm although I'd like to get around to that for this rifle one day. Instead, it's just a casual look at how "pretty" this old clunker is. Of all my commie rifles, this example exhibits, by far, the finest bluing, best machining, and obvious attention to detail during assembly. I mean, you can tell that everyone involved in its manufacture actually cared about the end product. This particular RPD started life back in 1960 and must have gone straight from the factory in Radom into deep storage where it sat until it was sold off as scrap to God knows who until finally being imported into the US in the early 2000's. A Class II manufacturer guy I know bought a small number of these as parts sets with the intention of building a couple as full-auto's and selling the rest off as semi-auto's. He was kind enough to let me look through all of them and pick the one I wanted before he offered them to anyone else. As stated, it appeared to be unissued. It was also 100% matching down to the smallest numbered part (and the Poles numbered LOTS and LOTS of parts). What I'm trying to get at here is that I had/have absolutely no doubt that what I was buying had factory original finish on it so it would make a good reference example for what one was supposed to look like factory fresh in 1960. So, let's check out some of the details. I think you'll agree when I tell you it has an almost commercial finish.
I want to say I bought this back in 2010 but I'm not certain. I do know I've had it for well over a decade now:
While I've had this out to the range a number of times, I mainly bought it simply because I wanted it. I can't tell you how many rounds it's had through it since being reactivated without looking through my book but it's probably close to 1000 at this point. It had some teething problems at first but I generally worked them out. Stoppages were never the problem. The problem was, as it always is with RPD semi-auto conversions, light primer strikes. Without going into all the minutia, that problem was mostly solved and I only occasionally get a light primer strike when using old Chinese ammo with it's very hard primers. These are toys, not weapons of war.
Anywho, the above pictures only show you that we're looking at an RPD; they don't show you what I'm talking about. For that, we need to get up close and look at some details.
Let's start with the rear sight:
Notice how neatly the numbers are stamped, the 50m increments, and how nicely all of the graduations are filled in with red paint. At the back is a micrometer adjustment knob for windage wan protective ears to keep the windage adjustment where you set it. In front of the sight is a round bit that is used to hold the top cover in place on its hinge. Look very carefully between this bit and the front of the rear sight and you'll just barely see two rivetsthat have been ground perfectly smooth and blued over. Nice! Also, notice all of the various finely machined angles on the sight base, and elevation slider. I didn't take a picture of it but the rear of the sight has an index mark while the base has a number of hash marks so that you can track your windage adjustment. All of these marks are also nicely filled with red paint.
The rear of the front sight showing the beautiful machining employed to give such an elegant radius. It's course windage adjustable by loosening the nut.
Also notice how the protective ears become thinner as they rise. None of this was necessary for a squad automatic weapon to do its job but someone was taking pride in their work.
A view through the side of the front sight illustrating the fine machining:
the top of the left bipod leg showing the rivet ground smooth:
This is one of the few exterior places where you can actually see the grind marks.
Rear of the stamped top cover showing an almost black chrome finish:
I added the white paint to show off how nicely the markings were done. I have a feeling they were engraved instead of stamped.
Left and right views of the gas block:
This rifle still has the original barrel. I think these pictures pretty much speak for themselves.
Front mounting point for the gas tube:
This also serves as the sling swivel and cleaning rod storage socket. Again, commercial Quality machining and bluing.
Rear gas tube mount and front of handguards:
The wood was not lacquered, only oiled and both halves are pencil numbered to the rifle on the inside. When I first bought it, the wood was very light, indicating that it had been stored in a crate with no real exposure to air. Unfortunately, they have darkened considerably over time.
The barrel has quite a few inspection stamps. Here are a couple examples showing how well struck they are:
So shiny!
Stock ferrule:
Knurling on charging handle:
I have one more post to do showing the neato cleaning kit and some internals. I'll be back in a bit.
I say, that was $313.95 well spent!
Well, as we get older, we tend to think more deeply, see things more objectively, and evaluate more effectively. Once the wall fell and Warsaw Pact stuff became widely available, we all learned that their weapons were vastly better made than we were told growing up. Yes, the "enemy" military doctrine, and technological level differed from the West and their equipment reflected that, but at a basic manufacturing level, their firearms were just as well made as anything we fielded. In fact, an argument can be made that some of their individual weapons actually surpassed ours depending on the combat environment. But that's an argument for another time and I'm off topic.
As I got older and my collection grew, I formed a hierarchy of Warsaw Pact firearms in my mind. At the top of the list for collectability, Soviet made stuff is always going to be at the top of the heap. Of course, there are many variables to consider, but speaking in broad strokes, it's Soviet.
Now, for value, it gets all jumbled up real fast. For example, with the exception of an as issued 1949 Soviet SKS, an East German SKS is going to bring stupid money compared to any other Warsaw Pact example. However, beyond "can I afford it?" I rarely consider monetary value when looking at things. For me, this hobby isn't about money, it's about fun so I tend to stay away from "value" conversations.
One of my favorite things to look at when considering the various countries is Quality of finish. This is not to be confused with Quality of build. As far as I'm concerned, ALL of the Warsaw folk made durable, reliable and acceptably accurate firearms but the fact is, the finish varied greatly. In my experience, the two countries that really stood out above the rest with regards to fit and finish in the Warsaw Pact were the East Germany and Poland, especially in the earlier years. In fact, I had my Polish RPD out for inspection today and it's what prompted me to write this. So let's take a look at what I'm blathering on about.
This isn't meant to be one of my in-depth essays on a particular firearm although I'd like to get around to that for this rifle one day. Instead, it's just a casual look at how "pretty" this old clunker is. Of all my commie rifles, this example exhibits, by far, the finest bluing, best machining, and obvious attention to detail during assembly. I mean, you can tell that everyone involved in its manufacture actually cared about the end product. This particular RPD started life back in 1960 and must have gone straight from the factory in Radom into deep storage where it sat until it was sold off as scrap to God knows who until finally being imported into the US in the early 2000's. A Class II manufacturer guy I know bought a small number of these as parts sets with the intention of building a couple as full-auto's and selling the rest off as semi-auto's. He was kind enough to let me look through all of them and pick the one I wanted before he offered them to anyone else. As stated, it appeared to be unissued. It was also 100% matching down to the smallest numbered part (and the Poles numbered LOTS and LOTS of parts). What I'm trying to get at here is that I had/have absolutely no doubt that what I was buying had factory original finish on it so it would make a good reference example for what one was supposed to look like factory fresh in 1960. So, let's check out some of the details. I think you'll agree when I tell you it has an almost commercial finish.
I want to say I bought this back in 2010 but I'm not certain. I do know I've had it for well over a decade now:
While I've had this out to the range a number of times, I mainly bought it simply because I wanted it. I can't tell you how many rounds it's had through it since being reactivated without looking through my book but it's probably close to 1000 at this point. It had some teething problems at first but I generally worked them out. Stoppages were never the problem. The problem was, as it always is with RPD semi-auto conversions, light primer strikes. Without going into all the minutia, that problem was mostly solved and I only occasionally get a light primer strike when using old Chinese ammo with it's very hard primers. These are toys, not weapons of war.
Anywho, the above pictures only show you that we're looking at an RPD; they don't show you what I'm talking about. For that, we need to get up close and look at some details.
Let's start with the rear sight:
Notice how neatly the numbers are stamped, the 50m increments, and how nicely all of the graduations are filled in with red paint. At the back is a micrometer adjustment knob for windage wan protective ears to keep the windage adjustment where you set it. In front of the sight is a round bit that is used to hold the top cover in place on its hinge. Look very carefully between this bit and the front of the rear sight and you'll just barely see two rivetsthat have been ground perfectly smooth and blued over. Nice! Also, notice all of the various finely machined angles on the sight base, and elevation slider. I didn't take a picture of it but the rear of the sight has an index mark while the base has a number of hash marks so that you can track your windage adjustment. All of these marks are also nicely filled with red paint.
The rear of the front sight showing the beautiful machining employed to give such an elegant radius. It's course windage adjustable by loosening the nut.
Also notice how the protective ears become thinner as they rise. None of this was necessary for a squad automatic weapon to do its job but someone was taking pride in their work.
A view through the side of the front sight illustrating the fine machining:
the top of the left bipod leg showing the rivet ground smooth:
This is one of the few exterior places where you can actually see the grind marks.
Rear of the stamped top cover showing an almost black chrome finish:
I added the white paint to show off how nicely the markings were done. I have a feeling they were engraved instead of stamped.
Left and right views of the gas block:
This rifle still has the original barrel. I think these pictures pretty much speak for themselves.
Front mounting point for the gas tube:
This also serves as the sling swivel and cleaning rod storage socket. Again, commercial Quality machining and bluing.
Rear gas tube mount and front of handguards:
The wood was not lacquered, only oiled and both halves are pencil numbered to the rifle on the inside. When I first bought it, the wood was very light, indicating that it had been stored in a crate with no real exposure to air. Unfortunately, they have darkened considerably over time.
The barrel has quite a few inspection stamps. Here are a couple examples showing how well struck they are:
So shiny!
Stock ferrule:
Knurling on charging handle:
I have one more post to do showing the neato cleaning kit and some internals. I'll be back in a bit.
