 Introduction:
The P38 (1938) was used by the German military during the second
World War as a successor/alternative to the existing Luger 08
(1908). The P38 is still in use by the German military under the
name of the P1 although it is slowly (nothing moves fast in the
German military) being phased out and replaced by the H&K
P8. I wanted the P38 as it is going to come in handy for the WW2 game at Dragon Valley and because the German military holster for the P38 is fully enclosed. From now on the P8 (open/speed draw holsters only) is not going into the field on rainy muddy days. In the box: The gun comes in the standard cardboard box and is supplied with one magazine, an allen key and about 20 rounds of ammunition. First impressions of the gun are very positive. Although all major parts are made from plastic, the feel and weight are good thanks to some juicy weights in the grip and the finish is clean. The P38 is a very 'curvy' gun and the contours have been molded well with no obvious seams. There are also ample second World War markings (no swastikas) on the slide and front barrel section of the gun (see pix).
On the cardboard box is a HUGE sticker stating that only 134A gas should be used. Luckily in some deep dark corner there was a bottle of Abbey Predator gas kicking about which came in handy for initial firing. The blowback action was adequate to lacklustre while the BB velocity was 270fps with 0.2g Excel BBs. On Green Gas though, this gun really comes into its own. The kick this little beast can give you is truly surprising. Aim once and pull the trigger until the gun goes 'click' will not work once this beauty has some Green Gas in it. After each shot the blowback will take you off target and aiming is required for each shot. Not really surprising considering the fps jump up to around 350!
The hop is adjusted with a little screw on top of the outer barrel in the direction of the inner barrel (marked D) and can be adjusted with the little allen key supplied. After much turning twisting and firing some joy can be had which puts the efficiency of the hop squarely between the Western Arms Infinity (what hop?) and the KSC Glock (perfect hop!). Adjusting it is a doddle and with some tinkering and another thirty mags it should be right.
Assembly happens the other way round where the barrel is placed into the slide and the whole thing is shoved on the lower receiver. You might have to push the metal part (marked A) up and be careful as a part on the lower receiver (marked B) can sometimes stick up. The recoil springs (marked C) have little grooves in which they are held and generally do not pose a problem. Build quality: The construction of the gun is adequate. A few pieces are metal like the trigger and the hammer. The plastic slide and the lower receiver are ,however, reinforced with metal rails where the two of them meet. A metal kit would be a nice addition but I don't think that one will be available in a hurry. The weakest part of the gun is probably the front barrel which is to some extent separate from the lower receiver and from the slide. Since it is not supported other than at the base it strikes me as being somewhat vulnerable although it has fared well up to now. As with every gun this Maruzen P38 has a couple of niggling issues. The first is that the plastic handle covers have a little bit of play when the trigger is pulled. The hammer spring is located in the handle as are a couple of metal weights. When the trigger is pulled the hammer spring tenses and the plastic covers flex which gives a slight feeling of instability to the whole enterprise. When the two grips are taken off, there are two holes on the bottom of the plastic grips which allow for a pin to be inserted, which will fix this problem. The second issue concerns the mags. Because they are so slim and because the valve is quite big it can and does get knocked accidentally by the mag release and by various fingers during loading. Once again, it is not a huge problem but something to be aware off.
Comment on this review in the forums Last modified: Wednesday, July 2, 2003 9:15 PM Copyright 2003 ArniesAirsoft
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