 Join our Discord!
|
| If you have been locked out of your account you can request a password reset here. |
Type 56 assault rifle
The Type 56 assault rifle is the Chinese clone of the Soviet AK-47 rifle. It was China's service rifle from 1956 to the adoption of the QBZ-95 in around 1997, and is the most produced variant of the AK rifle in the world.
The Type 56 is the most commonly used AK variant in American film and television productions. This came about because China exported civilian AK variants (both Type 56 patterened and less commonly Soviet AK patterened) to the West in large numbers during the 1980s, primarily by the export companies Norinco (not to be confused with Norinco Group) and Poly Technologies. Most American movie prop rental houses had dozens if not hundreds of Type 56s, usually semi-automatic civilian versions, in many cases converted to full-auto by Class III manufacturers.
The easiest way to distinguish a Type 56 variant is its front sight: Type 56s have a distinctive full-circle ("hooded") front sight that no other AKs (excluding the Romanian Draco Pistol carbines) have.
Note: IMFDB previously incorrectly prefixed this weapon's name with "Norinco", under the false assumption that it was manufactured by Norinco or Norinco Group. Editors should not prefix this weapon's name with Norinco, and should remove them when they appear, as this weapon was not manufactured by Norinco or Norinco Group.
Type 56 (7.62x39mm)
Type 56
The Type 56 designates the original fixed stock variant of the Chinese AK. Historically, most Type 56s were manufactured by Factory 626 in Heilongjiang, whose weapons featured a "triangle 66" roll mark (confusingly suggesting that they were manufactured by the nonexistent "Factory 66"). Numerous other Chinese state factories besides Factory 626 also manufactured the Type 56.
In America, prior to the wave of Chinese gun exports in the 1980s, small numbers of military Type 56s were brought to America as trophies from the Vietnam War. Prior to 1982, importing military equipment from communist nations was illegal at the federal level in the United States. In 1983 the list of prohibited countries from which to receive weapons from (for the civilian market) was amended due to special trade agreements signed between the USA and China & Yugoslavia, opening America to AK and SKS imports until the 1989 import ban under then-President George H.W. Bush. At that time he directed the ATF to redefine the 'sporting purpose' clause of the Gun Control Act of 1968 to limit 'military style' semi automatic weapons. This was a redefinition of an existing law, no new law was created, until Congress in 1990 passed a bill that prohibited reassembling imported weapons into identical versions after import (the 922R compliance section). During the early 1990s AKs and SKS rifles were still being imported with various parts removed (bayonet lugs, threaded muzzles, etc) to comply as being 'post ban weapons'. The vast majority of American movie armories AKs came from this time span. During the Clinton Administration a near total ban was enacted on the import of all firearms from China, except a very small selection of historical style firearms (double barreled shotguns, pump action shotguns, manually operated rifles, etc). This ban was eased initially during the George W. Bush Administration, but then re-instituted in 2005 after Norinco was caught trying to import weapons that were not approved for the US Market.
Most fixed-stock Type 56 rifles have an under-folding spike bayonet, nicknamed "pig sticker"; this rifle is often seen in movies about the Vietnam War, and is correct for NVA throughout most of the conflict. Quite a few of the Type 56s seen in American movies also have AKM-style slant compensators fitted; this was a common feature on semi-auto Type 56s exported to the U.S., but not the full-auto military model.
The "M22" is an early export version of the Type 56 produced and exported up to the mid-1960s, featuring no factory markings on the receiver and an "M22" code in their place instead. It was specifically created to export the Type 56 while minimizing its connections to China, and several other Chinese export firearms were "sanitized" this way; these include the "M7" for the Type 56 RPG, the "M20" for the Type 54 pistol, and the "M21" for the Type 56 carbine. The "M22" was exported in large numbers to Vietnam during the Vietnam War, and "M22" Type 56s in the United States are usually war trophies from the Vietnam War.
In the United States, other import names used for the Type 56 include "56S", "AK47S", or "AKS47".
Export Type 56 models usually have selector markings marked using Latin alphabet, with L (pinyin acronym for 連, lián, meaning "continuous [fire]") for full-auto and D (pinyin acronym for 單, dān, meaning "single [fire]") for semi-auto.
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Deer Hunter | Robert De Niro | Michael | 1978 | |
| Christopher Walken | Nick | |||
| Apocalypse Now | N.V.A. soldiers | 1979 | ||
| Viet-Cong | ||||
| Kurtz's men | With & without jungle-taped magazines | |||
| French colonialists | With & without pig-sticker bayonets | |||
| The Year of Living Dangerously | Indonesian soldiers | Type 56, with and without pig-sticker bayonets | 1982 | |
| Uncommon Valor | Kwan Hi Lim | Jiang | 1983 | |
| Octopussy | Soviet soldiers | Type 56, milled receiver without pig-sticker bayonet | 1983 | |
| Border guards | ||||
| Code Name: Wild Geese | General Khan's soldiers | 1984 | ||
| Water | Stefan Kalipha | Cuban | 1985 | |
| Alan Igbon | Cuban | |||
| Chris Tummings | Garfield Cooper | |||
| Michael Caine | Baxter Thwaites | |||
| Wheels of Fire | Scourge's Men | 1985 | ||
| Latino | FSLN soldiers and villagers | 1985 | ||
| Commando Leopard | Rebels | 1985 | ||
| Coordinates of Death (Koordinaty smerti) | Viet Cong guerrillas | With pig-sticker bayonets | 1985 | |
| Volunteers | People's Army soldiers | 1985 | ||
| Platoon | Charlie Sheen | Pvt. Chris Taylor | With pig-sticker bayonet | 1986 |
| Tom Berenger | SSgt. Robert Barnes | |||
| N.V.A. soldiers | ||||
| Viet-Cong | ||||
| Big Trouble in Little China | Wing Kong gang members | Type 56, with AKM muzzle brakes | 1986 | |
| Return of the Killer Tomatoes | "Tomato men" soldiers | Semi-auto Type 56S | 1988 | |
| Rambo III | Afghan Mujahideen | 1988 | ||
| Dead Bang | Mickey Jones | Sleepy | 1989 | |
| L.A. Bounty | Cavanaugh´s men | 1989 | ||
| Code Name Coq Rouge | Stellan Skarsgård | Carl Hamilton | Type 56, milled receiver without pig-sticker bayonet | 1989 |
| Nick Burnell | Meyer | |||
| Israeli terrorists | ||||
| PLO guard | ||||
| Boy on the beach | ||||
| The Iron Triangle | Liem Whatley | Ho | Type 56, with pig-sticker bayonet | 1989 |
| Viet-Cong | ||||
| Born on the Fourth of July | NVA soldiers | Type 56 with pig-sticker bayonet | 1989 | |
| UHF | Villain | 1989 | ||
| Navy SEALs | Nicholas Kadi | Ben Shaheedis | 1990 | |
| Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection | Ramon Cota's men | Type 56, with pig-sticker bayonet | 1990 | |
| RoboCop 2 | Thomas Rosales Jr. | Chet | Type 56, with AK-74 muzzle brake | 1990 |
| Nuke cartel thugs | with & without bakelite magazines and AK-74 muzzle brakes | |||
| The Hunt for Red October | Soviet Naval Infantryman | 1990 | ||
| Enemy | Peter Fonda | Ken Andrews | 1990 | |
| Tia Carrere | Mai Chang | |||
| Felindo Obach | Sgt. Tuong | |||
| Vietcong, Vienamese soldiers | ||||
| Bullet in the Head | Waise Lee | Little Wing | 1990 | |
| Tony Leung Chiu Wai | Ah Bee | |||
| Jacky Cheung | Fai | |||
| N.V.A. soldiers | ||||
| Viet-Cong guerrillas | ||||
| Afghan Breakdown | Afghan Mujaheddin | Type 56, with pig-sticker bayonet | 1991 | |
| In the Line of Duty 6: Forbidden Arsenal | Mobster | 1991 | ||
| Rapid Fire | Guards | 1992 | ||
| Freejack | Emilio Estevez | Alex Furlong | 1992 | |
| Mercenaries | ||||
| Martial Outlaw | Rodchenko's henchman | 1993 | ||
| Crime Story (1993) | Robber | with AKM muzzle brake | 1993 | |
| Bad Blood | Chang's henchmen | 1994 | ||
| In the Army Now | Lori Petty | Pvt. Christine Jones | Type 56, with AKM muzzle brake | 1994 |
| Libyan Army soldiers | ||||
| Steel Frontier | Stacie Foster | Sarah | 1995 | |
| Kane Hodder | Kinton | |||
| mercenaries | ||||
| GoldenEye | Russian soldiers | Made to look like AK-74 and AKS-74 | 1995 | |
| Janus soldiers | ||||
| Soldier Boyz | Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa | Vinh Moc | 1995 | |
| Jacqueline Obradors | Vasquez | With pig-sticker bayonet | ||
| Demetrius Navarro | Lopez | |||
| Vinh Moc's soldiers | With & without pig-sticker bayonets | |||
| Dead Presidents | N.V.A. soldiers | 1995 | ||
| The Island of Dr. Moreau | Daniel Rigney | Hyena-Swine | 1996 | |
| David Thewlis | Edward Douglas | |||
| Mercenary | Martin Kove | Phoenix | 1996 | |
| Lindsey Ginter | Klinge | |||
| Patricia Skeriotis | Kurdish Woman | |||
| Olivier Gruner | 'Hawk' | |||
| John Ritter | Jonas Ambler | |||
| Nomads, Phoenix mercenary | ||||
| Courage Under Fire | Iraqi soldiers | 1996 | ||
| Cat's Eye | King's soldier | 1997 | ||
| Dangerous Ground | Elizabeth Hurley | Karen | 1997 | |
| Belly | Jamaicans | With AKM-style and AK-74-style muzzle brakes and red dot sights | 1998 | |
| Black Dog | Gabriel Casseus | Sonny | 1998 | |
| K-911 | Vincent Castellanos | Harry Stripe | 1999 | |
| Black Hawk Down | Somali militiamen | with & without pig-sticker bayonets | 2001 | |
| Route 666 | Russian mobster | 2001 | ||
| The Missing Gun | Jiang Wen | Ma Shan | in his memories | 2002 |
| Belly of the Beast | Kidnappers, Abu Karaf fighers | 2003 | ||
| Tears of the Sun | Militia fighters | 2003 | ||
| Cameroon border guards | ||||
| Refugees | Type 56, with & without pig-sticker bayonet | |||
| Innocent Voices | Carlos Padilla | Chava | Type 56 | 2004 |
| Salvadoran guerrillas | ||||
| The Corsican File (L'enquête Corse) | Eric Fraticelli | Figoli "Le Piaf" | 2004 | |
| Hotel Rwanda | Tutsi rebel | 2004 | ||
| District B13 (Banlieue 13) | Guard | Type 56, with & without AKM muzzle brake | 2004 | |
| Sky Fighters | Terrorists | 2005 | ||
| In Her Line of Fire | The rebels | 2006 | ||
| No Country for Old Men | 2007 | |||
| Invisible Target | Andy On | Tien Yeng-Yee | with laser aiming device | 2007 |
| Vincent Sze | Tien Yeng Chi | |||
| Skinwalkers | Sarah Carter | Katherine | 2007 | |
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Soviet soldiers | 2008 | ||
| Rambo | Graham McTavish | Lewis | 2008 | |
| The Kite Runner | Taliban fighters | 2008 | ||
| Soviet soldiers | ||||
| Crossfire (Les Insoumis) | Gangster with a face paints | 2008 | ||
| War, Inc. | Turaqi militia | 2008 | ||
| Balibo | Indonesian soldiers | 2009 | ||
| A Dangerous Man | Jesse Hutch | Sergey | Type 56 | 2009 |
| Steven Seagal | Shane | |||
| Vitaly Kravchenko | Vlad | |||
| Russian thugs | ||||
| Kandahar Break | Tribesmen | Type 56, with underfolding bayonet | 2009 | |
| Taliban fighters | ||||
| Anti-Taliban fighters | ||||
| Across the Line: The Exodus of Charlie Wright | thugs | 2010 | ||
| Outside the Law | Vietminh | anachronistic | 2010 | |
| Salt | North Korean soldiers | 2010 | ||
| Kandahar | Taliban fighters | with and without under-folding bayonets | 2010 | |
| Red State | Nicholas Braun | Billy-Ray | Type 56 - made to look like AKM | 2011 |
| Melissa Leo | Sara | |||
| James Parks | Mordechai | |||
| Jennifer Schwalbach Smith | Esther | |||
| The Guard | 2011 | |||
| Memorial Day | Iraqi Security Forces | 2011 | ||
| Largo Winch II | Nirut Sirichanya | General Kyaw Min | 2011 | |
| Burmese soldiers | ||||
| Killer Elite | Fighters | early variant with milled receiver | 2011 | |
| Machine Gun Preacher | LRA and SPLA troops | w/ pig-sticker bayonet | 2011 | |
| R2B: Return to Base | North Korean soldiers | 2012 | ||
| Red Dawn | Josh Hutcherson | Robert Kitner | 2012 | |
| Osombie | 2012 | |||
| Captain Phillips | Somali pirates | with & without jungle-taped magazines | 2013 | |
| Skin Trade | Dolph Lundgren | Nick Cassidy | 2015 | |
| Dragovic's henchmen | ||||
| Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe | Mark Chao | Hu Bayi | 2015 | |
| Rhydian Vaughan | Chen Dong | |||
| Yan Tang | Weiwei | |||
| Li Feng | Fat Wang Kaixuan | |||
| Group of explorers | ||||
| Wolf Warrior | Ming Deng's troops | 2015 | ||
| Jing Wu | Leng Feng | Type 56 | ||
| Karate Kill | Capital Messiah member | 2016 | ||
| Whiskey Tango Foxtrot | Tina Fey | Kim Baker | 2016 | |
| Alfred Molina | Ali Massoud Sadiq | |||
| Suicide Squad | Jared Leto | The Joker | 2016 | |
| Wolf Warrior 2 | Jing Wu | Leng Feng | Type 56 | 2017 |
| The Mummy | tribal fighters | 2017 | ||
| American Assassin | terrorists | 2017 | ||
| Sicario 2: Soldado | cartel soldiers | 2018 | ||
| Project Gutenberg | Chow Yun-Fat | Ng "Painter" Fuk-sang | Dual-wielded | 2018 |
| Aaron Kwok | Lee Man | |||
| Merlin Guerilla soldiers | ||||
| Rambo: Last Blood | cartel soldiers | 2019 | ||
| Black Widow | seen in arsenal | 2021 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes/Episode | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The A-Team | 1983 - 1988 | |||
| Blott on the Landscape | David Suchet | Blott | 1985 | |
| East German soldiers | ||||
| MacGyver (1985) - Season 1 | Various characters | Type 56 with slant compensator / featured in 9 out of 22 episodes | 1985-1986 | |
| Tour of Duty | Vit Cng | 1987 - 1989 | ||
| Tour of Duty | NVA soldiers | 1987 - 1989 | ||
| Seven Days | 1998 - 2001 | |||
| Tremors: The Series | Victor Browne | Tyler Reed | "Shriek & Destroy" | 2003 |
| Criminal Minds - Season 2 | Somali militiamen | "Distress" (S2E17) | 2007 | |
| Sea Patrol | Various rebels and mercenaries | 2007 - 2010 | ||
| Sanctuary | 2007 - | |||
| Falling Skies | Resistance fighters | Type 56 | 2011 - | |
| Jon Benjamin Has a Van | Guatemalan troops | Type 56, "Border" (S01E01) | 2011 | |
| Breaking Bad - Season 5 | Jonathan Banks | Michael Ehrmantraut | "Say My Name" (S5E07) | 2012 |
| The Walking Dead - Season 3 | Travis Love | Shumpert the Bowman | "Made to Suffer" (S3E08), "The Suicide King" (S3E09), "Home" (S3E10), "I Ain't a Judas" (S3E11), "Prey" (S3E14), "This Sorrowful Life" (S3E15), "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16) | 2012-2013 |
| William Tokarsky | Woodbury guard | "Made to Suffer" (S3E08) | ||
| uncredited | Woodbury guard | "Made to Suffer" (S3E08) | ||
| Melissa Ponzio | Karen | "Home" (S3E10), "I Ain't a Judas" (S3E11) | ||
| Joseph Setticase | Woodbury Soldier | "Prey" (S3E14) | ||
| Jeff Galpin | Woodbury Soldier | "This Sorrowful Life" (S3E15) | ||
| Brendon Cornwell | Woodbury Soldier | "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16) | ||
| Continuum - Season 2 | "Second Chances" (E01) | 2013 | ||
| The Walking Dead - Season 4 | Alanna Masterson | Tara Chambler | "Too Far Gone" (S4E08) | 2013-2014 |
| Uncredited | Terminus inhabitant | "A" (S4E16) | ||
| Joe Foley | Terminus inhabitant | w/dark plum polymer furniture; "A" (S4E16) | ||
| The Walking Dead - Season 5 | Terminus inhabitants | "No Sanctuary" (S5E01) | 2014-2015 | |
| Chuck Steak | Terminus inhabitant | |||
| Aaron Tarver | Terminus inhabitant | |||
| Preston Baker | Terminus inhabitant | |||
| Jennifer Badger | Terminus inhabitant | |||
| Duke Jackson | Terminus inhabitant | |||
| Chris Critter Antonucci | Terminus inhabitant | w/dark plum polymer furniture; "No Sanctuary" (S5E01) | ||
| Andrew Lincoln | Rick Grimes | w/dark plum polymer furniture; "No Sanctuary" (S5E01) | ||
| Michael Cudlitz | Sgt. Abraham Ford | w/dark plum polymer furniture; "No Sanctuary" (S5E01) | ||
| Andrew J. West | Gareth | Type 56 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Four Walls and a Roof" (S5E03) | ||
| Chris Coy | Martin | Type 56 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Four Walls and a Roof" (S5E03) | ||
| April Billingsley | Theresa | Type 56 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Four Walls and a Roof" (S5E03) | ||
| Benjamin Papac | Albert | Type 56 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Four Walls and a Roof" (S5E03) | ||
| Norman Reedus | Daryl Dixon | Type 56 fitted with a Dark Plum Polymer Furniture & AKM-style slanted compensator; "Crossed" (S5E07), "Them" (S5E10) | ||
| Jason Douglas | Tobin | Type 56 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Spend" (S5E14) | ||
| Steven Yeun | Glenn Rhee | Type 56 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Spend" (S5E14) | ||
| Banshee - Season 2 | Rabbit's men | Episode 10 | 2014 | |
| Tyrant | Abbudinian soldiers | Episode 1; Type 56 | 2014 | |
| The Walking Dead - Season 6 | Andrew Lincoln | Rick Grimes | Type 56 fitted with Dark Plum Polymer Furniture & AKM-style slanted compensator | 2015-2016 |
| Jason Douglas | Tobin | Type 56 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "First Time Again" (S6E01) | ||
| Unknown | Savior Member | Type 56 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Always Accountable" (S6E06) | ||
| Austin Nichols | Spencer Monroe | Type 56 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Heads Up" (S6E07) | ||
| various | At least 2 unnamed Savior Members | Type 56 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator in an after credits scene; "Start to Finish" (S6E08), "No Way Out" (S6E09) | ||
| various | Savior Member | Type 56 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Twice As Far" (S6E14) | ||
| Norman Reedus | Daryl Dixon | Type 56 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Twice As Far" (S6E14) | ||
| various | Savior Members | Type 56 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Last Day on Earth" (S6E16) | ||
| The Walking Dead - Season 7 | Norman Reedus | Daryl Dixon | Type 56 fitted with wood furniture, AIM Handguard & AKM-style slant compensator; ”The First Day of the Rest of Your Lives" (S7E16) | 2017 |
| Andrew Lincoln | Rick Grimes | Type 56 fitted with wood furniture & slant compensator; "The First Day of the Rest of Your Lives" (S7E16) | ||
| Cooper Andrews | Jerry | Type 56 fitted with dark plum polymer furniture & slant compensator; "The First Day of the Rest of Your Lives (S7E16) | ||
| Unknown | Savior Member | Type 56 fitted with dark plum polymer furniture & slant compensator; " The First Day of the Rest of Your Lives" (S7E16) | ||
| The Man in the High Castle | Joel de la Fuente | Chief Inspector Kido | 2019 | |
| The Walking Dead: World Beyond - Season 1 | "Brave" (S1E01) | 2020 | ||
| Tulsa King | various characters | 2022 | ||
| Fear the Walking Dead - Season 7 | Tower Ranger | Stunt Replica; "Mourning Cloak" (S7E10) | 2022 | |
| Secret Invasion | Skrull Rebel | w/black synthetic furniture; "Beloved" (S1E04) | 2023 |
Video Games
| Title | Appears as | Mods | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jurassic Park: Trespasser | "Kalashnikov" | 1998 | ||
| Project IGI: I'm Going In | "AK-47" | 2000 | ||
| Global Operations | "AK-47" | 2000 | ||
| Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror | "AK47" | 2002 | ||
| Project IGI 2: Covert Strike | "AK-47" | 2003 | ||
| Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne | "Kalashnikov" | 2003 | ||
| Battlefield: Vietnam | "AK-47" | w/ underfolding "pig sticker" bayonet | 2004 | |
| Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | "AK47" | 2004 | ||
| Conflict: Vietnam | 2004 | |||
| 7.62 High Calibre | "Type 56" | w/ various attachments | 2008 | |
| Tomb Raider: Underworld | not usable | 2008 | ||
| Delta Force: Xtreme 2 | "AK47" | 2009 | ||
| The Godfather II | 2009 | |||
| Rainbow Six Siege | Unusable | 2015 | ||
| Rising Storm 2: Vietnam | Type 56; with under-folding bayonet | 2017 |
Anime
| Title | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gunslinger Girl | Padania Terrorists | 2003 |
Type 56-1
.JPG)
The Type 56-1 is the under-folding stocked variant of the Type 56.
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Park is Mine | Jong Soo Park | Tran Chan Dinh | 1985 | |
| Bad Taste | Aliens | 1987 | ||
| Rambo III | Sasson Gabai | Mousa | 1988 | |
| Afghan Mujahideen | ||||
| Casualties of War | Viet Cong guerrillas | 1989 | ||
| The Killer | Danny Lee | Inspector Li Ying | 1989 | |
| RoboCop 2 | Nuke cartel thugs | 1990 | ||
| Revenge (1990) | Miguel Ferrer | Amador | 1990 | |
| Boyz N The Hood | Baldwin C. Sykes | Monster | 1991 | |
| Hard Boiled | Johnny Wong's thugs | 1992 | ||
| Beyond the Law | Ed Adams | Dirt | with AKM muzzle brake | 1992 |
| Curacao | A terrorist | 1993 | ||
| Enemy Gold | Julie Strain | Jewel Panther | with slanted muzzle brake | 1993 |
| Ron Browning | Slash | |||
| Clear and Present Danger | Colombian cartel gunmen | 1994 | ||
| In the Army Now | Libyan Army soldier | made to look like AK-74 | 1994 | |
| Dead Weekend | TWF soldiers | 1995 | ||
| GoldenEye | Pierce Brosnan | James Bond | made to look like AKS-74 | 1995 |
| Sean Bean | Alec Trevelyan | |||
| Famke Janssen | Xenia Onatopp | |||
| Top Dog | Neo Nazi terrorists | with AKM-style muzzle brakes | 1995 | |
| Soldier Boyz | A criminal | 1995 | ||
| Heat | Danny Trejo | Trejo | with AKM muzzle brake | 1995 |
| Courage Under Fire | Iraqi soldiers | 1996 | ||
| The Devil's Own | Brad Pitt | Frankie Maguire | 1997 | |
| Air Force One | Rebel soldiers | 1997 | ||
| Belly | Louie Rankin | Lennox | nickel-plated with fake ivory furniture | 1998 |
| Big Money Hustlas | Stefan Kudek | Dr. Dinglenut | nickel-plated with fake ivory furniture, Romanian AIM-style grip, AKM-style slant compensator | 2000 |
| 24 Hours (24 chasa) | Spetznaz GRU operator, various police officiers, hitman | 2000 | ||
| Black Hawk Down | Somali militiamen | with & without pig-sticker bayonets | 2001 | |
| Christmas Rush | Ghost Dragons gangster | 2002 | ||
| Outside the Law | Delgado's bodyguards, Peyton's hecnhman | with black furniture | 2002 | |
| Die Another Day | North Korean soldiers | 2002 | ||
| North Korean commando | made to look like AKS-74 | |||
| Tears of the Sun | Militia fighters | 2003 | ||
| Typhoon | Pirates | 2005 | ||
| A Bittersweet Life | Thugs | 2005 | ||
| Stealth | Tajikistani terrorists | with lengthened barrel | 2005 | |
| Batman Begins | Chinese soldiers | 2005 | ||
| Munich | Black September terrorists | 2005 | ||
| PLO gunmen | ||||
| Israeli commandos | ||||
| Sahara | Matthew McConaughey | Dirk Pitt | 2005 | |
| Malian Soldiers | ||||
| Lord of War | Weston Cage | Mechanic | with AKM receiver cover | 2005 |
| Soviet soldiers | ||||
| Afghan Mujahideen | ||||
| Seen on wall, with nickel finish, AKM muzzle brake, ivory furniture, and AIMS handguard | ||||
| R.U.F. rebels | ||||
| Blood Diamond | Kagiso Kuypers | Dia Vandy | 2006 | |
| R.U.F. rebels | ||||
| Sierra Leone Army soldiers | ||||
| Battle for Haditha | Falah Falyeh | Ahmad | 2007 | |
| Oliver Bytrus | Jafar | |||
| Iraqi Army soldiers | ||||
| Iraqi civilians | ||||
| Hot Fuzz | Crackhead | 2007 | ||
| No Country for Old Men | 2007 | |||
| Invisible Target | Vincent Sze | Tien Yeng Chi | 2007 | |
| Mei Wang Xue | Tien Yeng Yan | |||
| Outlaw | Lennie James | Cedric Munroe | 2007 | |
| Sean Bean | Danny Bryant | |||
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Soviet soldiers | 2008 | ||
| Body of Lies | Iraqi insurgents | 2008 | ||
| The Kite Runner | Taliban fighters | 2008 | ||
| Soviet soldiers | ||||
| 31 North 62 East | Terrorists | 2009 | ||
| Kandahar Break | Tribesman | with smooth orange magazine | 2009 | |
| Afghan National Army soldiers | ||||
| Big Money Rustlas | Violent J | Big Baby Chips | 2010 | |
| Monoxide | Dusty Poot | |||
| Jumpsteady | Hack Benjamin | |||
| Angel of Evil | Kim Rossi Stuart | Renato Vallanzasca | 2010 | |
| Filippo Timi | Enzo | |||
| Moritz Bleibtreu | Sergio | |||
| Paolo Mazzarelli | Beppe | |||
| Elephant White | Kevin Bacon | Jimmy | modified with picatinny rails and composite grips | 2010 |
| Green Zone | Matt Damon | Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller | 2010 | |
| Iraqi gunmen | ||||
| Red State | Believers | Made to look like AKMS | 2011 | |
| Machine Gun Preacher | Gerard Butler | Sam Childers | 2011 | |
| LRA and SPLA troops | ||||
| Johnny English Reborn | Mozambique guard | 2011 | ||
| Guardian Angel (Schutzengel) | Assailant | with green handguard | 2012 | |
| Witching and Bitching (Las brujas de Zugarramurdi) | Mario Casas | Antonio | 2013 | |
| Captain Phillips | Somali pirates | 2013 | ||
| Zulu | Clayton Evertson | Beach thug | 2013 | |
| Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe | Mark Chao | Soldiers | 2015 | |
| Wolf Warrior | Ming Deng's troops | 2015 | ||
| London Has Fallen | Gerard Butler | Mike Banning | 2016 | |
| Mosul | Adam Bessa | Kawa | 2019 | |
| 6 Underground | Turgistanian soldier | 2019 | ||
| Triple Frontier | Pedro Pascal | Francisco "Catfish" Morales | 2019 | |
| OSS 117: From Africa with Love | An arms dealer | 2021 | ||
| Ransomed | Lebanese militias | 2023 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes / Episode | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry's Game | Derek Thompson | Billy Downes | 1982 | |
| Seven Days | 1998 - 2001 | |||
| The Sopranos | Bokeem Woodbine | Massive Genius | Nickel plated; "A Hit is a Hit" (S1E10) | 1999 - 2007 |
| Ultimate Force | Ross Kemp | SSgt. Henry 'Henno' Garvie | 2002 - 2006 | |
| Jamie Draven | Cpl. Jamie Dow | |||
| Tony Curran | Sgt. Pete Twamley | |||
| Miles Anderson | Col. Aidan Dempsey | |||
| Louis Decosta Johnson | Cpl. Dave Woolston | |||
| Heather Peace | Tpr. Becca Gallagher | |||
| Conor Mullen | Omega | |||
| Various terrorists and soldiers | ||||
| Doctor Who (New Series) - Season 2 | Andrew Hayden-Smith | Jake Simmonds | in episodes "Rise of the Cybermen" and "The Age of Steel" | 2006 |
| The Kill Point | Leo Fitzpatrick | "Mr. Mouse" | with AKM slant compensator | 2007 |
| The Kill Point | Adam Cantor | Rocko | with AKM slant compensator | 2007 |
| The Kill Point | Frank Grillo | Albert "Mr. Pig" Roman | with AKM slant compensator | 2007 |
| The Kill Point | One of Deke Quinlan's men | with AKM slant compensator | 2007 | |
| Iris - Season 1 | North Korean terrorists and IRIS mercenaries | 2009 | ||
| Iris - Season 1 | Lee Byung-hun | Kim Hyun-jun | 2009 | |
| Iris - Season 1 | So-yeon Kim | Kim Seon-hwa | 2009 | |
| Falling Skies | Noah Wyle | Tom Mason | 2011 - | |
| Longmire - Season 1 | Lobo Sebastian | Octavio Muara | "The Cancer" (S01E04), plastic magazine, muzzle brake | 2012 |
| The Walking Dead Webisodes: Cold Storage | Seen on the wall; "The Chosen Ones" (S1E03) | 2012 | ||
| The Walking Dead - Season 3 | Norman Reedus | Daryl Dixon | w/CAA Tactical XRS47-SET handguard, continuity error; "When the Dead Come Knocking" (S3E07), "Made to Suffer" (S3E08) | 2012-2013 |
| Steven Yeun | Glenn Rhee | w/CAA Tactical XRS47-SET handguard, continuity error; "Made to Suffer" (S3E08) | ||
| Daniel Thomas May | Allen | w/CAA Tactical XRS47-SET handguard; "Prey" (S3E14), "This Sorrowful Life" (S3E15), "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16) | ||
| Joseph Setticase | Woodbury Soldier | w/CAA Tactical XRS47-SET handguard; "Prey" (S3E14) | ||
| Sonequa Martin-Green | Sasha Williams | w/CAA Tactical XRS47-SET handguard; "Prey" (S3E14) | ||
| The Walking Dead - Season 4 | Uncredited | Martinez's camp survivor | "Dead Weight" (S4E07) | 2013 |
| Larry Vaughn | Martinez's camp survivor | |||
| Steve Bowlin | Martinez's camp survivor | "Too Far Gone" (S4E08) | ||
| Uncredited | Two Martinez's camp survivors | |||
| The Walking Dead - Season 5 | Terminus inhabitant | "No Sanctuary" (S5E01) | 2014 | |
| Chris Burns | Mike | fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Four Walls and a Roof" (S5E03) | ||
| Banshee - Season 2 | Rabbit's men | Episode 10 | 2014 | |
| The Walking Dead - Season 6 | Unknown | Savior Member | fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Start to Finish" (S6E08), "No Way Out" (S6E09) | 2015-2016 |
| G-Rod | Savior Member | fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Not Tomorrow Yet" (S6E12) | ||
| various | Savior Members | fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Last Day on Earth" (S6E16) | ||
| The Walking Dead - Season 7 | Christian Serratos | Rosita Espinosa | fitted with slant compensator & folding stock removed; "The First Day of the Rest of Your Lives" (S7E16) | 2017 |
| Alanna Masterson | Tara Chambler | w/CAA Tactical XRS47-SET handguard & slant compensator; "The First Day of the Rest of Your Lives" (S7E16) | ||
| Sabrina Gennarino | Tamiel | fitted with slant compensator; "The First Day of the Rest of Your Lives" (S7E16) | ||
| Thomas Francis Murphy | Brion | fitted with dark plum polymer furniture, slant compensator, & folding stock removed; "The First Day of the Rest of Your Lives" (S7E16) | ||
| Fear the Walking Dead - Season 6 | Arlene Cavazos | Pioneer Ranger | Replica; "Welcome to the Club" (S6E02) | 2020-2021 |
| Lauren Alvarez | White Mask Rebel | "Honey" (S6E05) | ||
| Mattison Gotcher | Doomsday Cultist | "The Holding" (S6E11), "Mother" (S6E14) | ||
| Fear the Walking Dead - Season 7 | Former Cultist | "Divine Providence" (S7E14) | 2022 | |
| FUBAR | Arnold Schwarzenegger | Luke Brunner | "Stole Train" (S1E02) | 2023 |
| Monica Barbaro | Emma Brunner | "Stole Train" (S1E02) | ||
| Boro's guards | ||||
| Fear the Walking Dead - Season 8 | Reno Gooch | Troy's Group Member | "Anton" (S8E07) | 2023 |
| Troy's Group Members | "Anton" (S8E07), "Iron Tiger" (S8E08), "Keeping Her Alive" (S8E10) | |||
| Keith Adams | Gearhead Member | Stunt Replica; "Keeping Her Alive" (S8E10) | ||
| Brandon Herron | Troy's Group Member | "Keeping Her Alive" (S8E10) | ||
| Christine Evangelista | Sherry | |||
| The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon - Season 2 | Power of the Living movement Guerriers | Rubber Prop; "Moulin Rouge" (S2E02), "Le Paradis Pour Toi" (S2E04) | 2024 | |
| The Last of Us - Season 2 | WLF soldiers | 2025 |
Video Games
| Title | Appears as | Mods | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rising Storm 2: Vietnam | 2017 | |||
| Military Conflict: Vietnam | 2022 |
Type 56-2
The Type 56-2 is the side-folding stocked variant of the Type 56.
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RoboCop 2 | Nuke cartel thugs | 1990 | ||
| The Berlin File | Abdul's henchmen | with plastic furniture | 2013 | |
| North Korean agent | with AK-74 style muzzle brake and MPi-KMS-72 style side-folding stock | |||
| Seung-beom Ryu | Dong Myung-Soo |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes / Episode | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wynonna Earp | Revenant thug | "The Blade" (S1E04) | 2016 |
Video Games
| Title | Appears as | Mods | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Theft Auto V | "Assault Rifle" | 2013 |
Poly Technologies AKS-762 "Galil Side-Folder"
The AKS-762 is a series of civilian semi-automatic Type 56s exported by Chinese company Poly Technologies Inc. They were some of the first AKs to have been imported into the United States, alongside Egyptian Maadis.
The AKS-762 came in a variety of configurations, including ones identical to military Type 56 setups. One visually distinct variant among them features a basic side-folding stock similar to the Type 56-2 but also the Galil, leading to the nickname "Galil Side-Folder".
In terms of manufacturing, Poly Technologies rifles were manufactured by Factory 416 in Shandong and Factory 386 in Fujian.
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breaking News | Criminal gang | 2004 |
MAK-90
"Post-ban" version of the Type 56, made for import for use as a civilian sporting rifle. As such, the MAK-1990 was manufactured in semi-automatic mode only, the rear sight was ground down and the bayonet lugs were ground off. Most rifles are fitted with a 'thumbhole' stock and were manufactured with both milled and stamped receivers. Originally, these rifles were sold for around $180 and were looked down on as "cheap" rifles, but have since been regarded as fine rifles and have gone up in price greatly.
Specifications
(1990 - 1994)
- Type: Rifle
- Caliber: 7.62x39mm
- Weight: 8.3 lbs (3.7 kg)
- Length: 35.1 in (89.2 cm)
- Barrel length: 16.3 in (41.5 cm)
- Feed System: 10, 30-round box magazine
- Fire Modes: Semi-Auto
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carnosaur 3: Primal Species | Terrorist | 1996 | ||
| Soldier | Arcadia 234 inhabitant | With 10-round magazine | 1998 | |
| God Bless America | Tara Lynne Barr | Roxy | thumbhole stock removed | 2012 |
| Joel Murray | Frank Murdock | |||
| Mike Tristano | Shady gun dealer |
TUL-1
The TUL-1 (Short for "Tự Lực" - self-reliance) is a North Vietnamese weapon based on the Type 56, albeit designed to fit the role of the RPK which also resemble, as the original RPKs couldn't be sent by the Soviet Union due political and covert reasons. The guns were however sometimes assembled from parts of AKMs or similar rifles so a standard design wasn't set.
The main differences with the RPK include the receiver, the dust cover and the muzzle. Production ended in 1974, after Vietnam started producing the RPK under license. The TUL-1 remains in use in present day, being still issued to the Vietnam People's Army.
Specifications
(1970 - 1974)
- Type: Light machine-gun.
- Calibers: 7.62x39mm M43
- Barrel lengths: 590mm (23.22")
- Length 1040mm (40.94")
- Weight 4.8kg (10.58lbs)
- Capacity: 30-round box magazine, 40-rounds box magazines, AK-47 type magazines (7.62x39mm)
- Fire Modes: Full-auto, Semi-Auto
Video Games
| Title | Appears as | Mods | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military Conflict: Vietnam | 2022 |
Type 84 (5.56x45mm)
Type 84S
The Type 84 is a 5.56x45mm /.223 Remington variant of the Type 56 manufactured entirely for export. The rifles were originally developed as semi-automatic only civilian rifles for the United States market, under the name Type 84S, but small numbers of full-auto military versions were developed later for export to other countries. Other export names include "AKS-223" and "AKS-556".
The Type 84 has six primary variants, each of which has their own "S"-suffixed civilian semi-auto variants:
- Type 84: Standard variant with fixed stock
- Type 84-1: Variant with under-folding stock
- Type 84-2: Variant with side-folding stock
- Type 84-3: Variant with fixed stock and black synthetic furniture
- Type 84-4: Variant with under-folding stock and black synthetic furniture
- Type 84-5: Variant with side-folding stock and black synthetic furniture
The Type 84 was exported and sold with an AK birdcage flash hider and had a deep polished factory blue. It is often seen impersonating the AK-74 in movies and TV shows.
The United States banned the Type 84 and its variants by name in the 1989 Import Ban. They were thus mostly exported to Canada and Australia, and as a result, appeared in television shows or movies that were filmed in those countries.
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hollow Point | Mobsters | w/ Type 56-style bayonets | 1996 | |
| Reindeer Games | . | Seen in the weapons storage compartment of Gabriel's (Gary Sinise) truck | 2000 | |
| Zombieland | Stylish Secret Agent | . | 2009 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes / Episode | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sliders | Russian soldiers | Type 84 & Type 84 Target | 1995-2000 | |
| Millennium | Found in cult warehouse / "Gehenna" | 1996-1999 | ||
| Stargate SG-1 | Seth's followers | "Target" variant / (S03E02) | 1997 - 2007 | |
| Jen Halley | Lieutenant Tolinev | mocked up as AKS-74U / "The Tomb" (S05E08) | ||
| The X-Files - Season 4 | Russian gulag guards | "Target" variant / "Terma" (S4E09) | 1996 | |
| The X-Files - Season 5 | Russian soldiers | "Target" variant / "Patient X" (S5E13) | 1998 | |
| Seven Days | Various military personnel and terrorists | "Peackeepers", "The Fire Last Time" | 1998-2001 | |
| Harsh Realm | A bounty hunter and Cherokee nationalists | (Ep. 2 "Leviathan", Ep. 8 "Cincinnati") | 1999 | |
| The Sopranos | James Gandolfini | Tony | "Two Tonys" (5.01) | 1999-2007 |
| Max Casella | Benny Fazio | |||
| Carl Capotorto | Little Paulie Germani | |||
| Chris Ryan's Strike Back | Iraqi insurgents | Ep. 1, 2 | 2010 |
Anime
| Title | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. 2nd GIG | Dejima refugee sniper | Type 84S Target with scope | 2004-2005 |
Type 84S-1
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Underworld: Evolution | Hungarian police officers | 2006 | ||
| The Interview | North Korean soldier | 2014 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes / Episode | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The X-Files - Season 4 | Russian gulag guards | "Target" variant / "Terma" (S4E09) | 1996 | |
| The X-Files - Season 5 | Russian soldiers | "Target" variant / "Patient X" (S5E13) | 1998 | |
| The X-Files - Season 5 | Brian Markinson | Gary Lambert | "Target" variant / "Folie à Deux" (S5E19) | 1998 |
| Seven Days | Various military personnel and terrorists | "Peackeepers", "The Fire Last Time" | 1998-2001 | |
| Battlestar Galactica | Ryan Robbins | Charlie Connor | Season 3, "Exodus" | 2004-2009 |
Type 84S-2
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Sum of All Fears | Ukrainian soldiers | Fitted with custom muzzle brakes to pass for AKS-74 | 2003 | |
| A Dangerous Man | Byron Lawson | Mao | 2009 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes / Episode | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seven Days | Various military personnel and terrorists | "Peackeepers", "The Fire Last Time" | 1998-2001 | |
| Chris Ryan's Strike Back | Fenar Mohammed-Ali | As'ad | Ep. 1, 2 | 2010 |
| Chris Ryan's Strike Back | Iraqi insurgents | Ep. 1, 2 | 2010 |
AK-2000P
The AK-2000P is a military automatic variant of the Type 84-5 featuring a different synthetic pistol grip, different synthetic handguard, and a different muzzle device. The rifle was designed for the Indonesian police as a cheaper alternative to the AK-101 and AK-102 rifles which they had purchased; the alternative furniture was intended to mimic the Russian AK-100 series furniture.
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Notes / Episode | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Irish | Moro terrorists | S1E4 | 2016 |