Just Finished Printing a New Translated French Manual

[Combloc]

This one is the provisional manual for the MAS 49 rifle. Printed in 1950, it was used when the rifle was first coming into service until the mass produced manual came out in 1951. I'm now producing these completely inhouse and I'm also using 65lb cardstock for the covers. Although it's a heavier weight cover than the original, it feels much more substantial in hand and I think it just makes the whole thing more polished. Measuring 4 5/8" x 7 5/8", it's 16 pages and 4 fold out plates. The more of these I make, the more fun I'm having. I especially enjoy all of the little gems of information I find when translating them.

Front cover:


Back Cover:





Example of text:


Plate I:




Also, I'm just finishing up the 7th Edition of the Model 1950 Pistol manual and well into the 3rd Edition of the MAS 36 Rifle manual. This is FUN!

 

[FrankOceanXray]

Incredible. The fun you are having is evident in the quality product you have made.

Fascinating man you are.

 

[Combloc]

Thank you sir! However, I'd say more "odd" than "fascinating".

How'd you spend your Sunday night?

Playing with a paper cutter and collating paper. It was a blast!

 

[mawkie]

Serious focus is using MAS 49 magazines for paperweights! Good job!

 

[Combloc]

LOL. Thanks!

I sold a number of these today and I'll be making another shipment to APEX as soon as I finish two more I have in the works.

 

[Combloc]

The 1963 6th Edition of the Model 1950 turned out very nice! It's 20 pages with 8 illustrations and, like the original, is pocket sized so it'll stow in your gear easily. I've just finished the 7th edition too but I haven't trimmed it to size yet. I'll post that one too once it's ready for prime time.

 

[Combloc]

A couple more under the belt now:

First is the 7th Edition of the Model 1950 Pistol issue manual. One was to be issued with each pistol. 19 pages with 7 illustrations:


Translation:


Original:




Next is the 3rd Edition issue manual for the MAS 1936, the MAS 1936 CR 39, and MAS 1936-51 rifles. 21 pages and 5 illustrations, it explains, ss you would expect, the use and care of the rifles and includes such interesting things as disassembly, cleaning, and the numerical characteristics of each (length, weight, length of barrel, etc.). It also goes into some detail about the use of the grenade sight on the 39-51 rifle and has several tables regarding same. It's a neat little manual!


Original:


Translation:

 

[Combloc]

I just finished another one up this evening. This time it's the 1964 edition training manual on the MAS 1949-56. As with the training manual for the Model 1950 pistol I did a little while back, this goes into considerably more detail than the standard operator's manual issued with each rifle. Topics include, among others, Numerical Information, descriptions of the parts making up various assemblies (e.g. magazine, bolt, barrel, etc.), Ammunition, Packing, Disassembly and Reassembly, Operation (detailed analysis of function), Incidents While Firing, Accessories, Sight Adjustment, Maintenance, the Model 1953 Rifle Scope and adjustment, the Grenade Launching Device, Night Sight Device, and an overview of the infra-red night vision scope Type DI PT 5 A or 5B night vision scope. Overall, the manual is 43 pages with 30 pictures/illustrations and 2 tables.

A few pictures showing an original compared to my reproduction:



Pages 12-13:




Pages 16-17:




Pages 22-23:




This is the tenth (I think) French manual I've translated so far and I'm currently working on the next one. As this project moves along, I'm always learning something new and fascinating, at least to my pea brain anyway! I hope you enjoy and I'll post the next one when it's done.

 

[Combloc]

Today, I finished the English translation of the 29 page French Army Technical Guide for the model F1 scope and printed a test shot. I still have a little proofreading to do over the weekend but it'll be ready for final printing by the middle of next week. This test print just has a plain paper cover but the final version will have a proper cardstock one. If you bought one of the recently imported J8's, it most likely came with a photocopy of this same manual. However, Scrome simply removed the original cover and title page and replaced them with a cover bearing their logo and a picture of the scope:


BUT, they screwed up and removed an entire page from the manual and replaced it with a duplicate of a page from later on in the manual. So, you end up with two of one page and zero of another! I've rectified that in my manual.

Also, there is an English language video online that attempts to explain how the range finding features of the reticle work but it's completely inaccurate. To site just one example, the curved stadiametric lines are not there to "draw your eye to the center of the scope". In reality, they are used for range finding. In fact, there are 4 scales built into the reticle and the manual explains how each is used.

Here's the table of contents showing just what is covered in the manual:


Lastly, here's a picture of pages 12-13 showing you three of the 18 included illustrations:


So, if you bought one of the neato J8 scopes calibrated for use on your FR F2 or, if you have the version of the J8 designed for the .50 F1 sniper rifle, this little booklet will tell you all you need to know about sighting it in, using it, and caring for it.