Sten Mk5: Folding stock experimental model

On a Facebook group a few months ago, someone shared a picture of something I had never seen before. As time has gone by, it has become rare for this to happen to me in the world of firearms.

Yes, that is a Sten Mk5. Yes he is shooting it around a corner using a folding stock.

Although it’s not really practical for airsoft, where shooting without looking (blind fire) is a banned practice, it was such a distinctive and interesting idea it had to happen. This is what a Cornershot carbine looks like in the late 1940s.

At first glance, it looks like a standard Sten Mk5. I turned down the barrel to make it slimmer and more shaped like the original.

From the side, you can see the slightly longer joint for the buttstock.

The wood pattern is pretty much identical.

The swivel function is controlled with the silver button. This is depressed, the stock is swivelled 90º one way or another and the spring-loaded button locks into place. At the same time, the foregrip is loosened with the thumbscrew, moved into place and tightened down. This is one area where I have deviated from the original which used a hex nut: carrying a spanner around in the field wouldn’t be practical.

You will notice that there is no prism sight on this. I looked into getting a pentaprism as used by the original, but the cost would have nigh-on tripled the price of the build.

To round off: a couple of views of it folded different ways.

 

So far as I can tell these were never properly trialled beyond the one prototype. I imagine that managing recoil and maintaining a sight picture would have been tricky, the prism would have been expensive and limited the soldier’s field of view.

If any reader has any information on these carbines, better quality original photos or recognises the magazine the snippets above have been taken from I would be very much obliged if you would get in touch on the email below.

If you are interested in this build you can see the rest of the project here. If you have an idea of your own, drop us a line on enquiries.vintageairsoft@gmail.com to discuss. ‘Like’ our Facebook page or follow the blog to get regular updates on projects and interesting videos and articles.

 

Don’t forget you can buy VA products on the website where this will be available. 

Webley MkVI Buttstock Complete

You can see the build post for this product HERE if you’re interested!

This buttstock is strongly based on the model available for the original Webley MkVI.

The stock is made entirely of steel and real, solid walnut.

The steel is oil blued and the wood has been finished with danish oil, followed by a protective layer of hardwax oil.

The only real aesthetic improvement would be to make the remaining standard grip a brass colour, which it was with the original when the buttstock was attached.

If you would like a stock like this for your own or you have a great idea for an accessory, drop us a line on enquiries.vintageairsoft@gmail.com to discuss or get in touch on Facebook!

You can also buy many of our finished products in our Etsy store.

Webley MkVI Buttstock (build)

Those of you who have been following Vintage Airsoft for a while know that the Webley MkVI is a firm favourite. So far, we’ve made replacement shells, shotgun shells and added a hop unit.

There are still a few accessories to complete however, namely the removable butt stock which allowed the pistol to be used as a carbine and the Pritchard-Greener bayonet. The latter of these are rare, with no recorded use in combat, the former however was common enough.

The practice of producing a butt stock to fit pistols was commonplace among manufacturers from the introduction of revolvers. It allowed the shooter to make the most of a pistol cartridge out to ranges that would be quite difficult to achieve useful accuracy by hand only. A more commonly recognised use of this idea is the Artillery Lugers, issued by Germany to troops not wanting the bulk of a full rifle but needing something easier to use than a pistol. Essentially, this is the fore-runner to what in current Western parlance is called the PDW or Personal Defence Weapon.

Firstly, a digital design to work out what needed to go where. This could then be printed out to check the proportions were correct.

This would then be converted into steel in a batch of laser cuttings.

It is made up of three layers to make the shape without having to perform milling operations. The thickest inner layer (4mm) is chamfered on both sides around most of the length to allow deep penetration of the joining weld.

You can see in the photograph below the two screws full-length protruding from the grip. These run through two corresponding holes drilled in the butt of the pistol itself, which is the only modification required to fit this unit.

These, along with the excess weld can be ground down to a smooth finish. It can then be laid out on the wood for the stock and drawn round, using the screws at the back as reference points. The excess material can then be removed.

Once the parts were all in place, they could be separated and finished. The surface of the metalwork was gone over with a sanding drum for a smooth finish, then slightly oil blued to achieve a similar finish to the original.

The walnut stock itself took a thick coat of danish oil. Several more will be applied before it is complete along with a coat of hardwax oil to give it a tough, wear-resistant finish.

 

Photos of the finished product to follow!

 

If this post has inspired you to want a custom gun of your own or has given you a great idea for an accessory, drop us a line on enquiries.vintageairsoft@gmail.com to discuss or get in touch on Facebook!

You can also buy many of our finished products in our Etsy store.