Is the AK-47 or AK-74 found more in Third World Countries and Militias such as Asia, South America and Africa? Could any other gun, such as the M-16A1, FN-FAL, RPK, G3, or RPD and RPK be used instead?

Has the 5.45mm AK-74 made much of an impact on Militias and Third World Armies?

Thanks.

Neither. AKM.

I agree with Robert about the AK-47's- a lot of them are actually AKM's. However, the G3 is widely used around the world- several nations in Africa use it widely and the FN-FAL was also quite prevalent for a time but appears to have faded from widespread use now. AK variants are, as far as I know, used today by Uganda, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Niger, Chad, Nigeria to name just some. Kenya use the G3.
RPD's and RPK's are found in armies which operate Russian assault rifles, they are very common.

Also, since the collapse of Yugolsavia and the Warsaw Pact a lot of non-Russian AK variants (Hungarian AMD-65s, Hungarian AKM 63, Romanian PM md63, Romanian Model 1986, Romanian AIM, Czech Vz58, Yugoslav M70, Bulgarian AK) were sold off and you can see some examples of these in use by various armies.
I've seen a lot of pictures of them being used by the Afghan Police- I'm not sure if there is a plan to normalise the use of their weapons- if I may ask Robert- was there a particular reason why a lot of the Afghan Police were using AMD-65s?

Also- a lot of the African militaries I spoke of use the Chinese Type 56 (Uganda for instance) instead of the Russian AK. Egypt also made an AK called the Misr,the Iraqis made their own M70 copy called the Tabuk and the Iranians made a Type 56 copy called the KL 7.62 (at least I think thats what its called), Ehtiopia also make a copy of the Type 56 called the Et-97 as do Sudan and theirs is the MAZ.

In Asia the AK is also fairly prevalent- in Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Burma, Mongolia etc. The Indians, I think, still use the FN-FAL but they use a few other weapons too and are transitioning their weapons at the minute. The Chinese for the most part use the Type 86 now, the ROK I think still uses a 5.56mm Daewoo rifle.

Militias and non-state forces are always unknown factors though- they can use some pretty weird stuff- in Nepal several Napoleonic-era muskets have turned up still in use and in several places in Afghanistan various Mk.s of SMLE's and WW2 Enfields have shown up still being used.

Hope this helps you out a bit Peter.

Ooops...forgot to say about the AK-74 being used- its impact in the 3rd world is not very great at all. The AKS-74U is common in some places and among special troops in a few third world countries. I know Syria widely uses the 74 (mostly AKS-74 I think) but I'm not sure it could be classed as 3rd world. Many of the former Soviet Republics also use the 74 (usually the AKS) but very few others in large numbers.

Thank you, Rob and Karl!

So...if i were to chose, should I buy the DML AK-47 or DML AK-74 Weapons Set, or should I go with the Tank Models AKMs instead? Naturally, I want to purchase the proper guns without spending a lot.

Tank has 1/35 AKMs "Early" and "Late" versions...which ones should I purchase? Also, is the underbarrel grenade launcher common in Militias and 3rd World Countries? How about AK scopes or Dragunov sniper rifles as the DML AK sets come with?

Thanks again!

Doesn't Daewoo also make cars and electronics? And weapons too? Is there anything they don't make? (Apparently model kits!)

Growing up in Beirut during the civil war in the 70's, I can say that No.1 is the AKM.. it was just called "Klashinkof".. then there were a lot of FAls and G3s... M16s also became popular after many of the army armories were raided.. then we saw a lot of really weird weapons.. things that looked the the old Sten.. I remember seeing many Bren guns (the ones with the magazine that fits on top).. but like I said, this was way back in the 70's!

Hisham

Peter- I don't think I've actually seen the DML AK up close before, I always use TANK models for my AKs and I would advise, if you want to go with TANK, to go for their early AKM's- for their 74's it depends on who you want using them- Russian troops tend to now use the later models whereas the earlier models would probably be likely used elsewhere.

I can't say I've seen many third world countries use the GP-25- since a lot of them use non-Russian AK's like the Type 56. I don't actually think the GP-25 could even be made to fit the Type 56 especially as it has a permanently fitted bayonet that folds up under the end of the barrel- it would have to removed before even thinking of mounting a grenade launcher. I know the Poles fitted an underbarrel grenade launcher to a modified AKM they called the PMKM- the launcher is called the Kbk-g Wz 1974 and is essentially a long tube. That being said I don't recall ever seeing a Type 56 fitted with an underbarrel launcher.

I have seen pictures of various militias using the GP-25 though, among Russian made AK's it is not an uncommon sight.
As for actual sights they don't appear much on AKs in the third world or militias. Dragunovs are pretty common among militias and third world countries though.

Biggles- Yes it is weird that Daewoo also produce guns- I have some of their electronic stuff in my house. I actually think Al Pacino's character in the film 'Heat' used a Daewoo K2 in the big shoot-out at the bank- a rather strange choice if that is what it was!

Hisham- Yeah, there are loads of pictures from Lebanon back during the Civil War of all sides using various assault rifles from M16s to AK's and everything in between! I must say M16s pop up in militia hands from time to time and they are also used widely across the world in all sorts of military forces including in the third world- but it is usually in relatively small numbers to arm particular parts of those military forces (usually the M16A2 version).

Also- I must correct a mistake I made earlier- the PLA doesn't use the Type 86- not sure why I mentioned the 86 actually ! They mostly use the bull-pup layout QBZ-95 (which can also be called the Type-95 (SO MANY TYPES!!! ) ) and its Q-based variants (there's an SMG, LMG and a Marksman's rifle in the family of variants). That being said they are still in a period of primary weapon transition among their forces with older weapons like the Type 81 being steadily replaced among their units. Various arms of the PLA also use a conventional-layout rifle called the QBZ-03 (Type 03)- most notably their paratroopers.

I got both of Dragon's AK weapon sets and I'd say they're definitely worth getting.

Here's one close up from set "AK-47/74 Family" set (the first one that has mainly 7,62xm9mm rifles).
Labelled as "AK-47 Type III" on the sprue:



Here's Tank's item "A-122 7,62 AK-47" for comparison:

One seems to get more AKs out of the DML sets for a little more than the price of a TANK set. I believe one gets four TANK AKs and one could get 20+ DML AKs for a few more dollars.

So the AKM is 7.62mm which would mean DML's 1/35 AK-47 Part 1 set and not the DML AK-74 Part 2 set. Is that true Eetu? I could buy both DML AK sets, but if I had a choice of only one, which DML AK set do you recommend?

Thanks again!

Pete, I would suggest going with the resin TANK offerings. Dragon set is good, but it cannot compare to resin AKs.

Mario

what US dealers sell "TANK.ru" products?

I would say if you are going for the DML kit to go for the AK-47s and AKMs. I have to agree with Mario about the TANK offerings in resin- they are superior to the Dragon kits as far as I can see in the photos. (Also Zvezda do a Soviet Paratroopers in Afghanistan figure kit in 1/35 that has excellent Soviet weapons including a Dragunov, RPK and several AKS-74s- they are excellent mouldings- probably the finest in plastic I've seen but unfortunately there are no AK-47s or AKMs in the kit ).

ColoradoMiniatures seems to sell TANK products. Alas, they used to have website photos, but not anymore. You can see the TANK guns by doing a web image search.

Thanks for the answers everyone, especially saying that the TANK resin guns seem superior to the DML ones. I would have never suspected that.

To see pics of TANK sets before ordering, check here..

http://www.soga-miniatures.com/index.php?categoryID=785

or here..

http://models-hobby.com/index.php?cat=2&filter_id=1

The pics will help you decide... and if you ever decide to buy from either these stores, I can vouch for their good quick service.

Hope this helps
Hisham

Good opportunity for me to ask.. I'm trying to look for stuff for a dio of Egyptian riot police facing protesters.. for the police, I'm going to use Zveada's Russian Antiterrorist Unit.. the uniforms are not identical, but they're very close to the new uniforms the riot police here bought.

As for weapons, I'm looking for shotguns.. that's mostly what they've been using.. although I'm not sure what gauge.. but any shotgun will be close enough... any ideas where I can find shotguns?

Hisham

Simple answer - I don't know. When I was there, the ANA had a hodge podge of gear and were issued Romanian AKM's. I did not work with ANP but my guess is that is what was donated to them at the time.

The only 1/35 shotguns I know of are the DML ones...the "Fire Support Weapons Set" comes with M870 Mossbergs, the SEAL Set the M4 Benelli, and the Police Sets the pump-action and short-barreled shotguns. Perhaps Live-Resin will release shotguns one day.

I don't know of any resin shotguns offhand.

Thanks for getting back to me on that Robert .

Hisham,

There is a company called Peddinghaus. They do a set called 'British, Russian & German riot firearms' I don't know if that will have anything?

Paul

Thanks for the tip, Peter and Paul.. I'll look for those and see what I can find.

Hisham