My WWII Ordnance Restorations UPDATED September 2018

Demilitarized vehicle weapons and static display accessories
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Quest Master
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My WWII Ordnance Restorations UPDATED September 2018

Post by Quest Master » Mon May 02, 2016 8:19 am

I figured I'd start a thread containing all my ordnance restorations. I have another in the Artillery Forum for the really large stuff:
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=271934
Recent restoration project: The WWII replica WWII M87 2.36" Bazooka Rocket Tubes were made by RobL. I made the yellow sealing tapes for the tubes and marked them to match the WWII M6A1 2.36" Rocket that I also restored. Also shown is a WWII M6A3 2.36" Rocket that I restored. The rockets were crushed glass blasted down to bare metal and painted by me. I also made the stencils. The Bazooka Rocket bags are original: the two color transitional webbing was made by MEESE, INC 1944 and the later Olive Drab #7 bag was made by BEAUMONT'S 1945. Enjoy! :)
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Last edited by Quest Master on Tue Sep 18, 2018 3:58 am, edited 6 times in total.
Thanks,
Van
Kosovo, Afghanistan (x2) and Iraq Campaign Veteran
"If the DUKW was introduced in 1944 it would have been called a FUKW."
45 GMC DUKW (105mm)
42 Ford GPW
44 Willys MB
44 Clark CA-1
43 Studebaker T-24
42 Harley WLA
44 Cushman 53
42 Willys MBT
44 Columbia F-92L
43 Huffman G-519


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Quest Master
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Re: My WWII Ordnance Restorations

Post by Quest Master » Mon May 02, 2016 8:20 am

Another side project, I purchased these replica WWII Mk II Hand Grenade M41 fiber tubes from RobL a while ago. To add a little more detail, I made the sealing tape for them. Also shown is an original WWII Mk. II (inert) Fragmentation Hand Grenade that I restored. Enjoy! :)
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Thanks,
Van
Kosovo, Afghanistan (x2) and Iraq Campaign Veteran
"If the DUKW was introduced in 1944 it would have been called a FUKW."
45 GMC DUKW (105mm)
42 Ford GPW
44 Willys MB
44 Clark CA-1
43 Studebaker T-24
42 Harley WLA
44 Cushman 53
42 Willys MBT
44 Columbia F-92L
43 Huffman G-519

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Quest Master
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Re: My WWII Ordnance Restorations

Post by Quest Master » Mon May 02, 2016 8:23 am

Another previous restoration was five WWII U.S. M1A1 Mines with the crate. The mines are the practice version that were found a few years ago, left over from the desert training in California from early WWII. All were very rusted. I sand blasted them down to bare metal, filled the pitting, welded the holes closed on the sides and painted them as the HE version of the M1A1 as well as adding the stencil details. The crate was found as a flower box and was painted blue. I sanded the whole thing down to bare wood replaced the markings on the sides and ends. The internal fuze box and dividers were fabricated to fit inside of the crate. It took quite a bit of time.
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I also restored two WWII U.S. early M1 Mines. Enjoy! :)
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Thanks,
Van
Kosovo, Afghanistan (x2) and Iraq Campaign Veteran
"If the DUKW was introduced in 1944 it would have been called a FUKW."
45 GMC DUKW (105mm)
42 Ford GPW
44 Willys MB
44 Clark CA-1
43 Studebaker T-24
42 Harley WLA
44 Cushman 53
42 Willys MBT
44 Columbia F-92L
43 Huffman G-519

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Re: My WWII Ordnance Restorations

Post by wreckless » Mon May 02, 2016 9:03 am

Your attention to detail is to be applauded. Very nice work. Too nice. Shipped items would be scuffed up a bit after travelling by crate.
Rob
Jersey Wrecking Crew
1943 Ford GPW G503

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Quest Master
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Re: My WWII Ordnance Restorations

Post by Quest Master » Mon May 02, 2016 9:38 am

wreckless wrote:Your attention to detail is to be applauded. Very nice work. Too nice. Shipped items would be scuffed up a bit after travelling by crate.
Thank you! And....there are no scuffs....because they haven't been shipped that far! Maybe just a few feet within my shop after they were done. ;)
Thanks,
Van
Kosovo, Afghanistan (x2) and Iraq Campaign Veteran
"If the DUKW was introduced in 1944 it would have been called a FUKW."
45 GMC DUKW (105mm)
42 Ford GPW
44 Willys MB
44 Clark CA-1
43 Studebaker T-24
42 Harley WLA
44 Cushman 53
42 Willys MBT
44 Columbia F-92L
43 Huffman G-519

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Re: My WWII Ordnance Restorations

Post by MP44 » Mon May 02, 2016 10:58 am

Awesome work. I have a bazooka rocket like that that needs a stencil. How did you go about making yours?

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Quest Master
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Re: My WWII Ordnance Restorations

Post by Quest Master » Mon May 02, 2016 12:22 pm

MP44 wrote:Awesome work. I have a bazooka rocket like that that needs a stencil. How did you go about making yours?
Thanks! I do all of my own stencils. I do them various ways, the font and size in MS Word or Powerpoint (depending on the shape), then either silk screen or adhesive backed paper or vinyl for the stencil. There are several vendors that sell stencils. I prefer my own so I can pick the style and lot numbers.
Thanks,
Van
Kosovo, Afghanistan (x2) and Iraq Campaign Veteran
"If the DUKW was introduced in 1944 it would have been called a FUKW."
45 GMC DUKW (105mm)
42 Ford GPW
44 Willys MB
44 Clark CA-1
43 Studebaker T-24
42 Harley WLA
44 Cushman 53
42 Willys MBT
44 Columbia F-92L
43 Huffman G-519

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Re: My WWII Ordnance Restorations

Post by Jayhawkmickey » Mon May 02, 2016 4:46 pm

What type of tape do you use?? I looked everywhere for a cellophane type in yellow and finally found the right size but yours looks fiber reinforced? Also how do you mark yours? Ink didn't stick to mine. Beautiful work, absolutely beautiful! I know just how much work and research goes into remakeing something that the government spent seconds painting. Replicating the font, texture, colors, and all the details . You're an artist.
1943 Willys mb,
WWII First Infantry Recon re-enactor,
WWII pigeon equipment collector.

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Quest Master
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Re: My WWII Ordnance Restorations

Post by Quest Master » Tue May 03, 2016 12:22 pm

Jayhawkmickey wrote:What type of tape do you use?? I looked everywhere for a cellophane type in yellow and finally found the right size but yours looks fiber reinforced? Also how do you mark yours? Ink didn't stick to mine. Beautiful work, absolutely beautiful! I know just how much work and research goes into remakeing something that the government spent seconds painting. Replicating the font, texture, colors, and all the details . You're an artist.
Thanks for the praise. Yes, it has taken quite a bit of R&D (and a bunch of testing) to find a 2" tape and color I found a suitable match for period replicas. The yellow is a bit darker than the photos show. The tape I use mostly cotton, which helps with the ink transfer. Paint does work, but if the tape has any sheen, paint will not necessarily stick correctly. It took quite a bit of trial and error to get my process to a level I was pleased with....so, thank you! :)
Thanks,
Van
Kosovo, Afghanistan (x2) and Iraq Campaign Veteran
"If the DUKW was introduced in 1944 it would have been called a FUKW."
45 GMC DUKW (105mm)
42 Ford GPW
44 Willys MB
44 Clark CA-1
43 Studebaker T-24
42 Harley WLA
44 Cushman 53
42 Willys MBT
44 Columbia F-92L
43 Huffman G-519

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Re: My WWII Ordnance Restorations

Post by Mike McCrea » Wed May 04, 2016 9:30 am

Just fantastic work....
43 GPW
45 GPW
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Re: My WWII Ordnance Restorations

Post by Quest Master » Wed May 04, 2016 12:06 pm

Mike McCrea wrote:Just fantastic work....
Thanks Mike! :)
Thanks,
Van
Kosovo, Afghanistan (x2) and Iraq Campaign Veteran
"If the DUKW was introduced in 1944 it would have been called a FUKW."
45 GMC DUKW (105mm)
42 Ford GPW
44 Willys MB
44 Clark CA-1
43 Studebaker T-24
42 Harley WLA
44 Cushman 53
42 Willys MBT
44 Columbia F-92L
43 Huffman G-519

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Re: My WWII Ordnance Restorations

Post by Lucky#13 » Wed May 04, 2016 10:33 pm

Very nice! Your attention to detail is magnificent. Funny, but other than the once common dummy pineapple grenade often sold as a novelty, until recent posts here I had not thought about the collectibility of this kind of ordnance. Very cool.

When the dummy pineapples were common in CA, back in the 70s and 80s, I picked up a couple as part of a practical joke on a good friend. We worked at the same gunsmithing shop then, where we built competition 1911s, and one morning he came in with this hysterical story about a dream he had had. You know how the subconscious mind can create the most unreal concepts. So in his dream, he is at a shooting range and gets to conversing with some retired Marine, who was talking of his days in competition. Specifically, this subconscious fancy of a Marine tells him of his experience with the National Match Hand Grenade. We all laughed so hard when he, with proper incredulity, relayed this absurdity, and it gave me inspiration. So for his next birthday, I wrapped up for him a very special gift. I took a dummy pineapple, stamped four opposing flats and many of the sub components with an "NM" mark, and finished it in a proper O.D. paint. We couldn't stop laughing about it for the rest of the day.
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Re: My WWII Ordnance Restorations

Post by Quest Master » Thu May 05, 2016 4:09 am

Thank you for the praise. And coming from a man of your "caliber", it does mean a lot. Your Browning MG's are beautiful craftsmanship as well!!

National Match hand grenade.....now that is FUNNY! :)
Thanks,
Van
Kosovo, Afghanistan (x2) and Iraq Campaign Veteran
"If the DUKW was introduced in 1944 it would have been called a FUKW."
45 GMC DUKW (105mm)
42 Ford GPW
44 Willys MB
44 Clark CA-1
43 Studebaker T-24
42 Harley WLA
44 Cushman 53
42 Willys MBT
44 Columbia F-92L
43 Huffman G-519

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Quest Master
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Re: My WWII Ordnance Restorations

Post by Quest Master » Thu May 05, 2016 8:13 am

This is a combination of some older and newer restoration work that I have done in the past year...just hadn't photographed it all together. :)
Shown here are two WWII M37A1 81mm Fiber Tubes (long) for the WWII M56 or M57 81 Mortar Round that I fabricated from original caps found by Desert Rick. I sand blasted and painted the caps, fabricated the tubes from correct thickness cardboard then wrapped in asphalt impregnated paper with the final touch of the sealing tape. I also fabricated the WWII M36A1 81mm tubes in the clover leaf the same way as well as two WWII M36 81mm tubes. Also shown are three WWII M36A1 81mm tubes made by RobL. The WWII 81mm M57 WP (inert) and five WWII 81mm M43A1 HE (inert) rounds I restored. The WWII early yellow M43A1 and green M43A1 round in the center/right of the photo are original (inert). The M52 and M52B1 fuzes are a mixture of original, restored and two are replicas. I also made the fuze arming wires. Enjoy! :)
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Thanks,
Van
Kosovo, Afghanistan (x2) and Iraq Campaign Veteran
"If the DUKW was introduced in 1944 it would have been called a FUKW."
45 GMC DUKW (105mm)
42 Ford GPW
44 Willys MB
44 Clark CA-1
43 Studebaker T-24
42 Harley WLA
44 Cushman 53
42 Willys MBT
44 Columbia F-92L
43 Huffman G-519

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Re: My WWII Ordnance Restorations

Post by Hammerhead » Sun May 15, 2016 9:19 am

Thanks for sharing your restoration work! Absolutely beautiful finished projects!
1943 White M-3 Halftrack, 1944 CCKW 353, 1945 MB, 1944 Bantam T3,
1945 Ben-Hur 1-ton trailer, MVPA 12610, NRA Life Member


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