Artist's commentary
Chi-Com Type 56 Assault Rifle
Crayola colored pencil, Micron Ink Pens, Cropping and minor adjustment in photoshop CS4
The famous Russian AK-47 was first fielded by the Soviet Union in 1949 by the airborne and motorized units of the red army. That same year, the communists under Mao seized control of mainland China. The new Chinese Communist government wasted no time in trying to standardize on the latest soviet weaponry they could get their hands on. In 1956, production of the AK-47 began in China- named the "Type 56 Rifle" after the year of it's introduction into Chinese service. The Soviet SKS was called the "Type 56 carbine" for whatever reason. Chinese AK-47s first produced featured a Type 3 milled receiver and differed from their soviet-made counterparts in a few minor details. The front sight was a full hooded sight post, unlike Russian and Warsaw pack AKs that had a semi-circular "ear" around the front site post. The stocks featured local Chinese hardwood often differing in color from Russian made AKs, and the markings were obviously different. Many Chinese Type 56 Rifles (but not all) featured a folding spike bayonet as seen here. Here, it is shown with a spare 30 round magazine, 7.62x39mm ammo, and a canvas chest pouch rig as infamously worn by the NVA and Viet-Cong during the Vietnam War. This type 56 configuration would have seen wide use during the Vietnam war.
Many Type 56 AK Rifles were marked "M22" for export and lacked Chinese character markings. The "M22" did not have a spike bayonet but had a lug for a traditional blade bayonet. The Type 56-1 was a type 56 with an underfolding metal stock similar to the German MP-40 submachine gun and used on folding-stock Soviet AKs. The Type 56-1 had no spike bayonet and no provision for a blade bayonet mount.
Update 3-26-20: Adjusted color darkness for black areas and resized front half via lasso tool in Photoshop