"Madsen Machine Gun" Topic

Does anyone know if a 28mm (or 25mm) manufacturer who produces a Madsen machine gun? This was used (among other times) by the German army in the First World War, particularly in the period before the MG08/15 became more widely available.

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I have looked everywhere I can think of on the Net to track one down, but I can't find one in 28mm/25mm. I was looking for one to try and replace a lewis gun on a German LMG team. If all fails, I'll be having a go with plastic rod and card!

Many thanks in advance for any replies, Guys.

From what I remember, the Germans did capture and use a lot of Lewis guns so it isn't unrealistic at all. But good luck finding your figure!

Old Glory I believe makes them in 28mm

Many/most of the Madsen equipped units were destroyed on the Somme, but captured Lewis guns were widely used later in the war, after being rechambered for German ammo. If you really want to do one, maybe a 28mm Bren gun would be a reasonable substitute?

I'm sorry spoke to soon I tjhought they did make one but it is the Benet Mercier.

This is a long-standing complaint of mine! The Madsen was used in the Russo-Japanese War, WWI, numerous interwar conflicts, and WWII. Some were used by Brazilian paramilitaries until just recently. I keep hoping that the interest in VBCW might throw some up…

HLBS used to make Austrians with Madsens, and now-defunct Valkyrie Miniatures did Norwegians. I've faked them up using DTs from The Assault Group, snipping off the circular edges of the pan, and adding a magazine and charging lever. You could also go with any of the many loose Brens or use one of Artizan Designs' French Foreign Legion armed with the FM24/29: feller on the right could be headswapped: link

Thank you for all the very helpful comments – I really appreciate them. I have a few German LMG teams in 28mm (Great War Miniatures, Renegade) equipped with captured Lewis Guns, but the thing which really intrigued me about the Madsen was one of the references in Stephen Bull's (excellent) book "German Assault Troops of the First World War: Stosstrupptaktik". Dr. Bull says the following on page 104 : "The few Madsen equipped Musketen units, for example, are recorded as being used essentially in a 'back stop' defensive role during the battle of the Somme – the four-man teams being deployed just behind the front line to cover vulnerable gaps".

This is exactly the point Martin mentions above, and was what I was interested in trying to recreate in a game. I could just use a captured Lewis gun team, but hey … the Madsen is a little different and quite characterful. The use of small Madsen armed teams seems to be quite an innovative tactical development for the time, mirror what the British were doing with Lewis gun teams.

What I wasn't prepared for was finding out, as Jeff mentions, that the Madsen was only recently retired. There are some remarkable photos and some very interesting comments on the thread below, featuring the use by the Brazilian police of Madsens (albeit from the 1930s).

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Thanks again for the leads with converted bren guns, FM24/29s and the like. I'll follow them up and let you know where I get to!!

As Jeff mentions, Valkyrie Miniatures made these for their Norwegian range. A very nice set and a good Madsen, prone and standing. Luckily I bought a couple extra.

Why did this company go out of business. It lasted only a few months, it seems. Less than a year. Where are the molds? Any one from Norway reading this who can check up on the company. My last link to the company was
m.kkounnous@btinternet.com

Here is my contingent, volunteers in the VBCW. I have one each of the entire range. Madsens are front row to right of officer with raised hand, and third row from front on far left, prone..

Every time someone raises the question of what individual weapons to make for some line, I always suggest the Madsen. I have been hoping Lon from Brigade would do these, either loose, or with some range.

Hello! Sidney and Bob : the reason people stop producing is usually simply because there are not enough of you guys buying…

I for one am a very small producer do everything by myself and from Portugal you can imagine how hard it is to sell.
Only in the UK and the US things get better as they have more enthusiasts and several shows, events etc.

Some time ago someone asked for Norwegians on Guild but I just cant produce an entire range for … 1 guy!

And I do have the Madsen master made and waiting as it was used by the Portuguese army till 1975!

If you can round up 15 plus friends that share a taste for this or that army you can suggest to a company like mine!and perhaps I might consider it,but just remember one thing is for certain : people might ask and wish to buy Japanese,Norwegians,Italian,French etc.but in the end they come out of the shop with … more Germans!LOL it's true to the dismay of the shop keeper and producers alike!
LOL !!!

@Bob – thanks so much for posting the wonderful picture of your Norwegians. They look fantastic. I'd sadly not even realised these chaps were available, or I'd have bought some when they were around.

@Mr Gothic Line – thanks for the post! I can only sympathise with you about people wanting more Germans! It must be really frustrating. It's also very decent of you to even consider bringing out a stand alone Madsen for us gamers who like swapping weapons and converting figures.
I'm sure (for what it's worth) that it would sell quite well – particularly if it was on a small sprue with say some other less usual weapons which are not available from other manufacturers at present. So, for example if you made a German World War One sprue, you might have (i) a Madsen, (ii) a "broom-handled" c96 Mauser pistol, (iii) a MP18 Bergmann machine pistol; and (iv) a flare pistol. Just top-of-my-head examples, but I can think of such a sprue being attractive to a lot of gamers (Great War, InterWar, Pulp, and so on).

I can appreciate that would have some up front costs. Have you thought about asking people to pre-order and maybe even pay all (or a proportion) in advance with a refundable PayPal deposit (money back if not enough people pre-order)? These suggestions may not work for you (I can understand that – it IS an amount of hassle for a small business), but I thought it was the least I could do on behalf of Madsen enthusiasts to mention it!

Sidney

Thank you Sidney,the Madsen MG is ready but only in master did not made it to the molds yet.

The Germans by GothicLine will be out this October!I will have DAK,Grenadiers,Classic Whermacht, and all the personalities and generals you can imagine(some of these are already available).

I did make loads of Japanese but turns out it's one of those things people like to ask for but then…LOL

Like I did say before I just wish people would organize them selves in groups of 10-15 elements and then ask for uncommon ranges etc.this just might work better!

Gui

There's a manufacturer of accessories for aircraft models who makes one in 1/72. Might do. They do all kinds of exotic machine guns. I'll try to find the name.

Sidney

Bob and others did ask for a Madsen for the Austrians, it is "on the list". It was rarely used though compared to other weapons. The Germans did seem to make more use of it in WW1 (I have yet to see a picture of Austrians with the weapon in service although I have seen one of Germans using it. A customer kindly sent a photocopy)

An email exchange on this and a couple of the other bits you mention could push this "up the list" as we start on phase two of the Austrian range and the first of the Mountain troops in the very near future.

kind regards
Rob
scarabminiatures.com
warandconquest.co.uk

Thanks again to everyone who's replied.

@Rob – thank you! I didn't trouble you with the request as I know you have your hands full with "War and Conquest" at present. But it's great news that you are considering producing a Madsen machine gun (or at least that it's on the "to do" list). From what I've seen, I'd agree that the Germans appear to have been more regular users than the Austrians – there's a super picture of a German Musketen troops with a Madsen around Beaumont Hamel which seems to appear in quite a few books (for example).

Scarab Miniatures (Rob) are you going to be at SELWEG ???

Gothic…….Hi
Please get in touch with me either here or via email please we should have a chat
Barry…Timeline-Miniatures
barrycarter70@hotmail.com

Try Aero Club. They make 1/72 scale accessories for model aircraft. Lot's of different machine guns.

Email sent isaanmini!!! and by the way Sidney the Madsen might be ready and casted next week!!!

Does anyone have any information on how the Madsen units were organised on the Somme? I have read of 'Madsen equipped units' before but am unsure what this means. Were they distributed like the Lewis or MG08/15 with one or two per platoon or something else? The descriptions I've read seem to suggest a higher allocation but I can't find any details.
I also realise that the WWI German army had very fluid organisation at the lower levels and it was pretty much left up to the company CO how he organised his troops.

The Madsen units were two battalions of Musketen. The Madsen was not distributed like Lewis or (later) MG08/15 (which did not appear until after the Somme). Essentially, the Musketen battalions were LMG units, not infantry units with a few LMGs. I will have to check on the precise TO&E but after the Somme the Madsens were replaced with Lewis guns, as illustrated on this site:

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Robert

The two Musketen Bataillone were established in late 1915. Each company was armed with 30 Madsens. After re-arming with Lewis guns, these two units were later converted into sharpshooter machine gun detachments. This would suggest that the Lewis guns were then replaced with MG 08s. The information is taken from Cron's book 'Imperial German Army 1914-1918: Organisation, Structure, Orders of Battle'.

Robert

Apologies if I am the last one to realise it, but Company B do a 28mm/ 1:56th scale Madsen machine gun:

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As I was hunting high and low for one about a year ago, I was pretty excited when I found this. I've sent off for a pack, together with some Lewis Guns. Hope this helps anyone who's also been searching…

Sidney

Useful for the Mexican Revolution too.

The Madsen was also a popular light machine gun with the Chinese warlords during the 1920s, so much so it was bootleg copied as the Rex or Rexer in China like the Mauser rifle.

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

The Madsen was also used in the Spanish Civil War.
It was either the Danish model 1903 in 7.92mm or a Czech copy.

I lost track of this thread when the new Company B Madsen was released. This is is very nice piece. The Dutch Colonial forces used them, so I made this conversion from the Pulp Figures new German colonial range.

Painted by Fernando Enterprises in Sri Lanka

While Madsens don't seem to have been too common in WW1, they were very widespread and in almost every caliber imaginable. Some fellow WW1 reenactors use a Madsen for Russian, German, and Austrian impressions. I've found references to Madsens in 6.5mm Carcano for Italian service (no pictures yet, but I think they may have been used by cavalry forces).

I'll need to double check my source when I get home, but there might be a photo of Austrians with a Madsen in part 2 of Uomini e Mitragliatrici.

Now I need to add a Madsen or two to my Mexican Revolution collection. I found a picture of one being used by Cadets from the Mexican Military College.

Great MexRev site
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Not interwar but could be.