1:72 MAT 49 Submachine Gun with Folded Magazine

MAT 49 submachine gun with the magazine folded (1:72, Firma49)

A modeling accessory from the Czech maker Firma49: the French MAT 49 submachine gun reduced to the smallest of the scales offered, 1:72. It is not a kit but a small single weapon for a soldier figure or for the armament of a vehicle and a diorama. Even in such a small scale, printing can render the front sight and the outline of the magazine, of a kind that is not done in injection-molded plastic; the weapons packed with kits in 1:72 tend to be only roughly suggested, or absent altogether. And yet the right period weapon is enough to bring a small figure, and the whole scene, to life at once. This is at the same time the finest and the most fragile of the three scales offered: the part is genuinely tiny.

Use

• Place the weapon in a figure's hands, or distribute it among the armament and gear in a diorama.
• Cut the part off the print supports very carefully with a sharp scalpel, as in 1:72 scale it is extremely small and easily damaged.
• Clean up the surface after cutting only lightly, wet and with respiratory protection.
• Glue it with cyanoacrylate glue (super glue); cement for plastic does not hold on this material.
• Apply a primer before painting; darken the metal body with a dark steel and carefully bring out the finest edges with a dry brush.

Who the accessory is for

For modelers and diorama builders in 1:72 scale who want to equip small figures with an authentic period weapon. The MAT 49 suits postwar scenes with the French army. Firma49 also offers the same submachine gun in 1:35 and 1:48 scale; choose the variant according to the scale of your figures. This smallest version is the finest and the most fragile, and we recommend working with it to more experienced modelers with a steady hand. Small figures, further Firma49 gear and modeling paints will complete the scene.

The accessory is supplied unassembled and unpainted. Paints, glue and figures are not included in the package. Small printed parts are especially fragile; use a respirator and ventilate when sanding.