advice needed: Leica Frankenstein body?

[buzzardkid]

Hi, can anyone tell what parts this camera (http://cgi.ebay.nl/Leica-II-Leitz-SUMMAR-2-5cm-Tasche_W0QQitemZ7511650906QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDE_El ektronik_Computer_Foto_Camcorder_AnalogeKameras_PM ?hash=item7511650906&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A4%7C65%3A1%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318#eb ayphotohosting) was made up off?

I can't get it out of my head I've seen the bottom plate attaching notch before, but the 300 Leica Copies book does not show any such camera...

Top seems Leica though... front rim on viewfinder window definitely doesn't...

Any tips welcome, I'm trying to figure out how much of the 'wartime shooter' story is actually true...

[sevo]

Looks like a FED 1a/b with Leica makeup to me. These fakes supposedly surfaced on the black market in Poland and the Ukraine during WWII and were usually sold to German occupant soldiers, so that part of the sellers lies might be somewhat true.

[ZorkiKat]

It looks like a look-a-leica project.

The viewfinder detail is the most Leica-like of all. But the rest not so much. The chrome seems to have been stripped to expose the brass base. And the fancy leather covering resembles the one used in many faked Leicas. BTW, the red leather trim + yellow metal appears too 'luxus'.. :D

[buzzardkid]

My main point of interest is this shot:

http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/8822/naamloosiq7.jpg


I do not believe it was meant to look like a Leica Luxus, no one in their right mind would have left it at this, since half the chrome was still on.

If I had to take a guess, I'd say it probably started out as a Leica, possibly a Kriegsberichter camera, and was taken by a Russian soldier as a war trophy. Over time, when something broke, it had to be replaced with FED or Zorki or other makers' fitting parts.

It would be interesting to know whether the interior mechanism is Leica or other. The top housing dates back to a 1933 batch of 900 chrome Leica II cameras.

Since I'm trying to figure out what kind of bottom plate notch this is. It is not a FED or Zorki as far as I can tell, but I have seen it before. Just cannot find it anywhere on the net at the moment.

Anyone seen this kind of bottom plate? And what about the screw mount in place of the accessory shoe? Anyone with a story on this modification?

Facts preferred to speculation here!



http://img122.imageshack.us/my.php?image=naamloosiq7.jpg

[xayraa33]

the top rf/vf plate looks to be real Leica II, the body might be real Leica from the shutter release button, but until it is examined in real life , i would not bet my money on it.

it looks like it is missing the base plate, and the cut out in the lizard skin covering at the end, gives the false impression of a barnack type base plate.

lens is a real Leitz Summar.

[Leigh Youdale]

If you compare it to the photos here <http://www.cameraquest.com/leica2.htm> it appears the film advance knob sits higher than the genuine article - looks more like the knob from the IIIf. Doesn't prove anything really. The baseplate pin is definitely odd, though, and you can see the three screws that once held the shoe to the top plate have been removed and that odd spigot-thing inserted. Whatever it is/was it's been butchered at some time in its life and is probably not 100% genuine anything now - even a genuine fake!

[john341]

It looks like a FED 1938 model but the middle front screw in in the wrong place. Can you remove the shutter crate and look for more details..looks like a FED/Leica experiment gone wrong-interesting piece

[buzzardkid]

Bump - Just wondering if a new passer-by in this thread can shed some light on the strange bottom plate, since the camera still is on sale.