Fuse and Paint for WWI French F1 Grenade

[peregrinvs]

Hi,

I've just acquired a relic F1 body as it was cheap and looked like it would clean up well. I have a few questions:

How easy is it to get a fuse? What do they typically cost? Are repros available?

Also;

I believe the original paint colour for these was pale blue - can anyone suggest an 'off the shelf' model paint equivalent?

Many thanks,:tinysmile_grin_t:

Mark

 

[paul the grenade]

hi. i have a spare lead fuze for the f1 missing the brass cover. its yours if you want it.
as for colour ive seen french ordnance in various shades of blue so i dont think it matters to much about an exact match.
heres an original pear gren for a colour reference.
cheers, paul.

 

[peregrinvs]

Thanks for that - you have a PM.

How about Humbrol WWI Blue?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Humbrol-Enamel-Paint-109-Blue/dp/B002DBQK0S

Cheers,
Mark

 

[paul the grenade]

That looks ok to me Mark.
Cheers, Paul.

 

[peregrinvs]

A little update. It's currently sitting in a bath of Deox-C rust remover and what appears to be some traces of red paint have appeared in the cracks. Does this suggest it was a practice grenade? Can anyone point me in the direction of the correct colour?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[paul the grenade]

same story again mark. The red would have been a variety of shades.
heres a few red french grens.
Cheers, Paul.

 

[peregrinvs]

Just a quick public note of thanks to Paul for very kindly sending me a fuse for my F1. A real gent!:angel:

I think on reflection I shall give it a blue HE paintjob. Off to the modelshop...

Cheers,

Mark

 

[peregrinvs]

Hi,

Apologies for the delay, but I attach some before, during and after pictures of cleaning and repainting the relic F1 grenade.

As you can see, the fuse that Paul the Grenade was kind enough to send me doesn't screw in fully and I haven't tried to force it. Does anyone know if there is an 'off the peg' thread cutter that would clean out the threads in the grenade body?

The paint colour is currently a bit bright, so I have left it where the sun can get at it and hopefully naturally fade it down a bit.

Cheers,

Mark

 

[Mannlicher]

If i remember correctly, a 14mm thread cutter should do the trick. I've used on on several F1 bodies without problems. But you have to be sure that the threads on the fuze and the body match.

 

[peregrinvs]

But you have to be sure that the threads on the fuze and the body match.

Ah, that could be the problem. The fuse may be slightly larger than the body. I'd assumed they'd all be the same.

 

[Mannlicher]

If you're sure that this kind of fuse was used along with this kind of body, take a caliper and measure the fuze threads. Then buy a suitable thread cutter and rethread the body. Just my 2 cents... :smile:

 

[super7]

Mark, there should be rooom between body and fuze for a leather washer of 2 mm thick.

Regards, Jan

http://www.westernfront.nl

 

[peregrinvs]

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread, but I gave away the grenade casing in this thread* but still have the fuse. One good turn deserves another, so the first person to PM me with a UK address can have the fuse gratis.

Cheers,
Mark


*A 'Secret Santa' present for a friend at work who's into military war gaming. He was pleased with it.