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M1928A1 Wood Storage Crates (Green Painted)


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Just today we unloaded a trailer of material that we recently acquired.
In that shipment I have the green wooden crates with M1928A1 stenciled on the ends.
These were the transport method for the Thompson 1928A1 kits that came into the USA from Europe/GB.
Looking at the crates and markings I expect they originated in a country that was formerly part of the USSR.
No pictures yet as these are still on a pallet.
I am not sure how interesting these will be to collectors, and have no idea what they will cost to ship!
The Mosin rifle crates were too long for pallets which was a problem that these do not have.
Has anyone ever used one of these for a display, etc??

Richard

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I will see if I can get some "informal" pictures of them posted on our public FaceBook page.
Right now we are in the process of disassembling the mail order pack & ship area and so its a form of hectic controlled chaos here!
The phones and LAN were down most of the day while we prepared for the demo of some walls.
I will see what we can get up for basic pictures.
If anyone is able they can call my Customer Service and then drive over for a look in the south yard.

Richard

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Are the wood bracket inserts still inside?

I saw some of the inserts in one or 2 of the crates I looked in.

I did not look in all of them.

Most importers remove the wood inserts to make more space for the parts kits that are being shipped.

 

Richard

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I’d be interested in one depending on the cost.

 

I will have to get the weight and dimensions and figure out the best way to ship these and an "average" shipping cost.

I hope to be able to get some of that data today.

 

Richard

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Richard,

I look forward to the pictures. Thank you for letting us know about these crates.

 

This may be a good item to bring to Knob Creek later this year.

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Richard,

I look forward to the pictures. Thank you for letting us know about these crates.

 

This may be a good item to bring to Knob Creek later this year.

 

I don't see me transporting crates to Knob Creek as I just don't have the room in the truck or the booth.

Its the same case with the German AA pedestals, too large a footprint.

Now that I have ammo to bring its really tight on space and weight.

 

Oh, I noticed one crate had a paper label that looks to be written in Russian.

 

Richard

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I have four in my garage. Was going to build enough dummy guns to fill one, displaying that on top of two others.

Cheap Parts kits ran out too fast.....

Three are what appear to be for ten guns each and the fourth is larger, maybe for 12 guns? (A.O. vs Savage?)

Id like to keep one but mught cut the others loose. Will need to think on it a bit.

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I will have to look once we get the crates off the pallet, but I did note a size difference.
It would make seem to make sense that M1928's would need a bit wider box than the M1's due to the wider receiver.
The crate markings will tell the story.
My photographer left early Thursday and was off Friday so no FaceBook photo's yet.

Richard

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Someone here posted pics many years ago of all these crates full of Thompson's in a cave or some such location in Russia, this all before the parts kits started to flow.

I believe I have a pic or two but probably archived here too.

I believe these were/are original shipping crates from Auto Ordnance circa WWII although not sure if they left the factory with green paint or bare wood.

The color looks like what was usually seen on Russian spam cans and gear and might be a bit more yellow/ lighter than USGI olive drab.

 

Anyone here know any more?

Recall those photos?

If not, I'll look and see what I have archived

 

John

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Typically most foreign governments store their 2 line / reserve weapons in crates indoors at depots.
When they decide the guns are "surplus" to their needs they are tendered for sale.
The buyers (in this case US importers) will either ship the guns to the USA to a "bonded warehouse" or Free Trade Zone (FTZ) to be cut up / demilled and disassembled into parts kits.
The majority of importers pay to have the guns cut / demilled and disassembled overseas.
The method of shipping (usually dictated by the place/country they are coming from) weighs heavily on the decision to use the wooden crates the actual guns were stored in. For example if using air freight the space and weight of wood crates makes it too costly to use them.
You can get more cut / demilled and disassembled guns into the original crate than they were built to hold since the receiver is now gone and its all just a lot of parts.
Since space is important that is why most crates show up minus the wood inserts UNLESS they were used to ship complete firearms.
All these guns have to be demilled to BATF imports branch guidance, ALL the parts to be imported have to be on the form 6 (listed by totals).
Its the job of the US Customs to inspect the shipment to ensure the BATF guidance is met and the parts are on the form 6 prior to the shipment being released to enter commerce in the USA.
I believe that US Customs also has to check that the wood has been fumigated?
In recent years there has been concerns about termites and other insects in shipments having wood pallets, crates etc.

I hope the above helps with the understanding why we do not see actual weapons crates very often.
Even when they do make it to the USA most importers don't have the space to store them, so they get used for storing something or they get disposed of.

Fortunately the importer of these Thompson crates took the parts out and stacked the crates in a storage spot with a roof, where they have sat ever since.
I just brought them all up to APEX along with a whole lot of other material.

Richard

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