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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.
Type 56
Norinco 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. The primary manufacturer of the gun today is Norinco Group.
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 Bush. The vast majority of American movie armories AKs came from this time span.
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 Type 56 is sometimes called the "M22" in the United States, as early exported versions were "sanitized" and made with no factory markings, and instead feature an "M22" code on the side of the receiver where Chinese factory markings would be. Other import names 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 | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Widow | seen in arsenal | 2021 | ||
| Rambo: Last Blood | cartel soldiers | 2019 | ||
| Sicario 2: Soldado | cartel soldiers | 2018 | ||
| American Assassin | terrorists | 2017 | ||
| The Mummy | tribal fighters | 2017 | ||
| Wolf Warriors 2 | Jing Wu | Leng Feng | Type 56 | 2017 |
| Suicide Squad | Jared Leto | The Joker | 2016 | |
| Whiskey Tango Foxtrot | Tina Fey | Kim Baker | 2016 | |
| Alfred Molina | Ali Massoud Sadiq | |||
| Karate Kill | Capital Messiah member | 2016 | ||
| Wolf Warriors | Ming Deng's troops | 2015 | ||
| Jing Wu | Leng Feng | Type 56 | ||
| 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 | ||||
| Skin Trade | Dolph Lundgren | Nick Cassidy | 2015 | |
| Dragovic's henchmen | ||||
| Captain Phillips | Somali pirates | with & without jungle-taped magazines | 2013 | |
| Osombie | 2012 | |||
| Red Dawn | Josh Hutcherson | Robert Kitner | 2012 | |
| R2B: Return to Base | North Korean soldiers | 2012 | ||
| Machine Gun Preacher | LRA and SPLA troops | w/ pig-sticker bayonet | 2011 | |
| Killer Elite | Fighters | early variant with milled receiver | 2011 | |
| Largo Winch II | Nirut Sirichanya | General Kyaw Min | 2011 | |
| Burmese soldiers | ||||
| Memorial Day | Iraqi Security Forces | 2011 | ||
| The Guard | 2011 | |||
| Red State | Nicholas Braun | Billy-Ray | Type 56 - made to look like AKM | 2011 |
| Melissa Leo | Sara | |||
| James Parks | Mordechai | |||
| Jennifer Schwalbach Smith | Esther | |||
| Kandahar | Taliban fighters | with and without under-folding bayonets | 2010 | |
| Salt | North Korean soldiers | 2010 | ||
| Outside the Law | Vietminh | anachronistic | 2010 | |
| Across the Line: The Exodus of Charlie Wright | thugs | 2010 | ||
| Kandahar Break | Tribesmen | Type 56, with underfolding bayonet | 2009 | |
| Taliban fighters | ||||
| Anti-Taliban fighters | ||||
| A Dangerous Man | Jesse Hutch | Sergey | Type 56 | 2009 |
| Steven Seagal | Shane | |||
| Vitaly Kravchenko | Vlad | |||
| Russian thugs | ||||
| Balibo | Indonesian soldiers | 2009 | ||
| War, Inc. | Turaqi militia | 2008 | ||
| Crossfire (Les Insoumis) | Gangster with a face paints | 2008 | ||
| The Kite Runner | Taliban fighters | 2008 | ||
| Soviet soldiers | ||||
| Rambo | Graham McTavish | Lewis | 2008 | |
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Soviet soldiers | 2008 | ||
| Skinwalkers | Sarah Carter | Katherine | 2007 | |
| Invisible Target | Andy On | Tien Yeng-Yee | with laser aiming device | 2007 |
| Vincent Sze | Tien Yeng Chi | |||
| No Country for Old Men | 2007 | |||
| In Her Line of Fire | The rebels | 2006 | ||
| Sky Fighters | Terrorists | 2005 | ||
| District B13 (Banlieue 13) | Guard | Type 56, with & without AKM muzzle brake | 2004 | |
| Hotel Rwanda | Tutsi rebel | 2004 | ||
| The Corsican File (L'enquête Corse) | Eric Fraticelli | Figoli "Le Piaf" | 2004 | |
| Innocent Voices | Carlos Padilla | Chava | Type 56 | 2004 |
| Salvadoran guerrillas | ||||
| Tears of the Sun | Militia fighters | 2003 | ||
| Cameroon border guards | ||||
| Refugees | Type 56, with & without pig-sticker bayonet | |||
| Belly of the Beast | Kidnappers, Abu Karaf fighers | 2003 | ||
| The Missing Gun | Jiang Wen | Ma Shan | in his memories | 2002 |
| Route 666 | Russian mobster | 2001 | ||
| Black Hawk Down | Somali militiamen | with & without pig-sticker bayonets | 2001 | |
| K-911 | Vincent Castellanos | Harry Stripe | 1999 | |
| Black Dog | Gabriel Casseus | Sonny | 1998 | |
| Belly | Jamaicans | With AKM-style and AK-74-style muzzle brakes and red dot sights | 1998 | |
| Dangerous Ground | Elizabeth Hurley | Karen | 1997 | |
| Cat's Eye | King's soldier | 1997 | ||
| Courage Under Fire | Iraqi soldiers | 1996 | ||
| Mercenary | Martin Kove | Phoenix | 1996 | |
| Lindsey Ginter | Klinge | |||
| Patricia Skeriotis | Kurdish Woman | |||
| Olivier Gruner | 'Hawk' | |||
| John Ritter | Jonas Ambler | |||
| Nomads, Phoenix mercenary | ||||
| Dead Presidents | N.V.A. soldiers | 1995 | ||
| 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 | |||
| GoldenEye | Russian soldiers | Made to look like AK-74 and AKS-74 | 1995 | |
| Janus soldiers | ||||
| Steel Frontier | Stacie Foster | Sarah | 1995 | |
| Kane Hodder | Kinton | |||
| mercenaries | ||||
| In the Army Now | Lori Petty | Pvt. Christine Jones | Type 56, with AKM muzzle brake | 1994 |
| Libyan Army soldiers | ||||
| Bad Blood | Chang's henchmen | 1994 | ||
| Crime Story (1993) | Robber | with AKM muzzle brake | 1993 | |
| Martial Outlaw | Rodchenko's henchman | 1993 | ||
| Freejack | Emilio Estevez | Alex Furlong | 1992 | |
| Mercenaries | ||||
| Rapid Fire | Guards | 1992 | ||
| In the Line of Duty 6: Forbidden Arsenal | Mobster | 1991 | ||
| Afghan Breakdown | Afghan Mujaheddin | Type 56, with pig-sticker bayonet | 1991 | |
| 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 | ||||
| Enemy | Peter Fonda | Ken Andrews | 1990 | |
| Tia Carrere | Mai Chang | |||
| Felindo Obach | Sgt. Tuong | |||
| Vietcong, Vienamese soldiers | ||||
| The Hunt for Red October | Soviet Naval Infantryman | 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 | |||
| Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection | Ramon Cota's men | Type 56, with pig-sticker bayonet | 1990 | |
| Navy SEALs | Nicholas Kadi | Ben Shaheedis | 1990 | |
| UHF | Villain | 1989 | ||
| Born on the Fourth of July | NVA soldiers | Type 56 with pig-sticker bayonet | 1989 | |
| The Iron Triangle | Liem Whatley | Ho | Type 56, with pig-sticker bayonet | 1989 |
| Viet-Cong | ||||
| 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 | ||||
| L.A. Bounty | Cavanaugh´s men | 1989 | ||
| Dead Bang | Mickey Jones | Sleepy | 1989 | |
| Rambo III | Afghan Mujahideen | 1988 | ||
| Return of the Killer Tomatoes | "Tomato men" soldiers | Semi-auto Type 56S | 1988 | |
| Big Trouble in Little China | Wing Kong gang members | Type 56, with AKM muzzle brakes | 1986 | |
| Platoon | Charlie Sheen | Pvt. Chris Taylor | With pig-sticker bayonet | 1986 |
| Tom Berenger | SSgt. Robert Barnes | |||
| N.V.A. soldiers | ||||
| Viet-Cong | ||||
| Volunteers | People's Army soldiers | 1985 | ||
| Coordinates of Death (Koordinaty smerti) | Viet Cong guerrillas | With pig-sticker bayonets | 1985 | |
| Commando Leopard | Rebels | 1985 | ||
| Latino | FSLN soldiers and villagers | 1985 | ||
| Wheels of Fire | Scourge's Men | 1985 | ||
| Water | Stefan Kalipha | Cuban | 1985 | |
| Alan Igbon | Cuban | |||
| Chris Tummings | Garfield Cooper | |||
| Michael Caine | Baxter Thwaites | |||
| Code Name: Wild Geese | General Khan's soldiers | 1984 | ||
| Octopussy | Soviet soldiers | Type 56, milled receiver without pig-sticker bayonet | 1983 | |
| Border guards | ||||
| Uncommon Valor | Kwan Hi Lim | Jiang | 1983 | |
| The Year of Living Dangerously | Indonesian soldiers | Type 56, with and without pig-sticker bayonets | 1982 | |
| 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 Deer Hunter | Robert De Niro | Michael | 1978 | |
| Christopher Walken | Nick |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Air 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 | 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 | |
| The Walking Dead - Season 3 | Travis Love | Shumpert the Bowman | Type 56 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Made to Suffer" (S3E08), "The Suicide King" (S3E09), "Home" (S3E10) | 2012-2013 |
| various | Woodbury Soldiers | Type 56 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Made to Suffer" (S3E08), "The Suicide King" (S3E09), "Home" (S3E10), "Prey" (S3E14), "This Sorrowful Life" (S3E15), "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16) | ||
| Melissa Ponzio | Karen | Type 56 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Home" (S3E10) | ||
| Continuum - Season 2 | "Second Chances" (E01) | 2013 | ||
| The Walking Dead - Season 4 | Alanna Masterson | Tara Chambler | Type 56 fitted with a AKM-style slant compensator; "Too Far Gone" (S4E08) | 2013-2014 |
| various | Terminus Inhabitants | Type 56 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "A" (S4E16) | ||
| The Walking Dead - Season 5 | various | Terminus Inhabitants | Type 56 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "No Sanctuary" (S5E01), "Four Walls and a Roof" (S5E03) | 2014-2015 |
| Andrew Lincoln | Rick Grimes | Type 56 fitted with Dark Plum Polymer Furniture & AKM-style slanted compensator | ||
| Michael Cudlitz | Sgt. Abraham Ford | Dark Plum Polymer Furniture & AKM-style slanted compensator; "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 |
Anime
| Title | Character | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gunslinger Girl | Padania Terrorists | 2003 |
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rising Storm 2: Vietnam | Type 56; with under-folding bayonet | 2017 | ||
| Rainbow Six Siege | Unusable | 2015 | ||
| Godfather II, The (VG) | 2009 | |||
| Delta Force: Xtreme 2 | "AK47" | 2009 | ||
| 7.62 High Calibre | "Type 56" | w/ various attachments | 2008 | |
| Tomb Raider: Underworld | not usable | 2008 | ||
| Battlefield: Vietnam | "AK-47" | w/ underfolding "pig sticker" bayonet | 2004 | |
| Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | "AK47" | 2004 | ||
| Project IGI 2: Covert Strike | "AK-47" | 2003 | ||
| Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne | "Kalashnikov" | 2003 | ||
| Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror | "AK47" | 2002 | ||
| Project IGI: I'm Going In | "AK-47" | 2000 | ||
| Global Operations | "AK-47" | 2000 | ||
| Jurassic Park: Trespasser | "Kalashnikov" | 1998 |
Norinco Type 56-1
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The Type 56-1 is the under-folding stocked variant of the Type 56.
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mosul | Adam Bessa | Kawa | Type 56-1 | 2019 |
| London Has Fallen | Gerard Butler | Mike Banning | Type 56-1 | 2016 |
| Wolf Warriors | Ming Deng's troops | 2015 | ||
| Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe | Mark Chao | Soldiers | 2015 | |
| Zulu | Clayton Evertson | Beach thug | Type 56-1 | 2013 |
| Captain Phillips | Somali pirates | 2013 | ||
| Witching and Bitching (Las brujas de Zugarramurdi) | Mario Casas | Antonio | Type 56-1 | 2013 |
| Guardian Angel (Schutzengel) | Assailant | Type 56-1 with green handguard | 2012 | |
| Johnny English Reborn | Mozambique guard | Type 56-1 | 2011 | |
| Machine Gun Preacher | Gerard Butler | Sam Childers | Type 56-1 | 2011 |
| LRA and SPLA troops | Type 56-1 | |||
| Red State | Believers | Type 56-1 - made to look like AKMS | 2011 | |
| Green Zone | Matt Damon | Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller | Type 56-1 | 2010 |
| Iraqi gunmen | ||||
| Elephant White | Kevin Bacon | Jimmy | Type 56-1 modified with picatinny rails and composite grips | 2010 |
| Angel of Evil | Kim Rossi Stuart | Renato Vallanzasca | Type 56-1 | 2010 |
| Filippo Timi | Enzo | |||
| Moritz Bleibtreu | Sergio | |||
| Paolo Mazzarelli | Beppe | |||
| Big Money Rustlas | Violent J | Big Baby Chips | Type 56-1 | 2010 |
| Jumpsteady | Hack Benjamin | |||
| Monoxide | Dusty Poot | |||
| Kandahar Break | Tribesman | Type 56-1, with smooth orange magazine | 2009 | |
| Afghan National Army soldiers | Type 56-1 | |||
| 31 North 62 East | Terrorists | Type 56-1 | 2009 | |
| The Kite Runner | Taliban fighters | 2008 | ||
| Soviet soldiers | ||||
| Body of Lies | Iraqi insurgents | Type 56-1 | 2008 | |
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Soviet soldiers | 2008 | ||
| Outlaw | Lennie James | Cedric Munroe | Type 56-1 | 2007 |
| Sean Bean | Danny Bryant | |||
| Invisible Target | Vincent Sze | Tien Yeng Chi | 2007 | |
| Mei Wang Xue | Tien Yeng Yan | |||
| No Country for Old Men | 2007 | |||
| Hot Fuzz | Crackhead | Type 56-1 | 2007 | |
| Battle for Haditha | Falah Falyeh | Ahmad | Type 56-1 | 2007 |
| Oliver Bytrus | Jafar | |||
| Iraqi Army soldiers | ||||
| Iraqi civilians | ||||
| Blood Diamond | Kagiso Kuypers | Dia Vandy | Type 56-1 | 2006 |
| R.U.F. rebels | ||||
| Sierra Leone Army soldiers | ||||
| Lord of War | Weston Cage | Mechanic | Type 56-1, 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 | Type 56-1 | |||
| Sahara | Matthew McConaughey | Dirk Pitt | Type 56-1 | 2005 |
| Malian Soldiers | ||||
| Munich | Black September terrorists | Type 56-1 | 2005 | |
| PLO gunmen | ||||
| Israeli commandos | ||||
| Batman Begins | Chinese soldiers | Type 56-1 | 2005 | |
| Stealth | Tajikistani terrorists | Type 56-1, with lengthened barrel | 2005 | |
| A Bittersweet Life | Thugs | Type 56-1 | 2005 | |
| Typhoon | Pirates | Type 56-1 | 2005 | |
| Tears of the Sun | Militia fighters | 2003 | ||
| Die Another Day | North Korean soldiers | Type 56-1 | 2002 | |
| North Korean commando | Type 56-1, made to look like AKS-74 | |||
| Outside the Law | Delgado's bodyguards, Peyton's hecnhman | Type 56-1 with black furniture | 2002 | |
| Christmas Rush | Ghost Dragons gangster | Type 56-1 | 2002 | |
| Black Hawk Down | Somali militiamen | with & without pig-sticker bayonets | 2001 | |
| 24 Hours (24 chasa) | Spetznaz GRU operator, various police officiers, hitman | Type 56-1 | 2000 | |
| Big Money Hustlas | Stefan Kudek | Dr. Dinglenut | Type 56-1, nickel-plated with fake ivory furniture, Romanian AIM-style grip, AKM-style slant compensator | 2000 |
| Belly | Louie Rankin | Lennox | nickel-plated with fake ivory furniture | 1998 |
| Air Force One | Rebel soldiers | Type 56-1 | 1997 | |
| The Devil's Own | Brad Pitt | Frankie Maguire | Type 56-1 | 1997 |
| Courage Under Fire | Iraqi soldiers | 1996 | ||
| Heat | Danny Trejo | Trejo | Type 56-1, with AKM muzzle brake | 1995 |
| Soldier Boyz | A criminal | Type 56-1 | 1995 | |
| Top Dog | Neo Nazi terrorists | Type 56-1 with AKM-style muzzle brakes | 1995 | |
| GoldenEye | Pierce Brosnan | James Bond | Type 56-1, made to look like AKS-74 | 1995 |
| Sean Bean | Alec Trevelyan | |||
| Famke Janssen | Xenia Onatopp | |||
| Dead Weekend | TWF soldiers | Type 56-1 | 1995 | |
| In the Army Now | Libyan Army soldier | Type 56-1, made to look like AK-74 | 1994 | |
| Clear and Present Danger | Colombian cartel gunmen | Type 56-1 | 1994 | |
| Enemy Gold | Julie Strain | Jewel Panther | Type 56-1, under-folding stock variant with slanted muzzle brake | 1993 |
| Ron Browning | Slash | |||
| Curacao | A terrorist | Type 56-1 | 1993 | |
| Beyond the Law | Ed Adams | Dirt | Type 56-1, with AKM muzzle brake | 1992 |
| Hard Boiled | Johnny Wong's thugs | Type 56-1 | 1992 | |
| Boyz N The Hood | Baldwin C. Sykes | Monster | Type 56-1 | 1991 |
| Revenge (1990) | Miguel Ferrer | Amador | Type 56-1 | 1990 |
| RoboCop 2 | Nuke cartel thugs | 1990 | ||
| The Killer | Danny Lee | Inspector Li Ying | Type 56-1 | 1989 |
| Casualties of War | Viet Cong guerrillas | Type 56-1 | 1989 | |
| Rambo III | Sasson Gabai | Mousa | Type 56-1 | 1988 |
| Afghan Mujahideen | Type 56 and Type 56-1 | |||
| The Park is Mine | Jong Soo Park | Tran Chan Dinh | Type 56-1 | 1985 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry's Game | Derek Thompson | Billy Downes | Type 56-1 | 1982 |
| Seven Days | 1998 - 2001 | |||
| The Sopranos | Bokeem Woodbine | Massive Genius | Nickel plated Type 56-1; "A Hit is a Hit" (S1E10) | 1999 - 2007 |
| Ultimate Force | Ross Kemp | SSgt. Henry 'Henno' Garvie | Type 56-1 | 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 | Type 56-1 in episodes "Rise of the Cybermen" and "The Age of Steel" | 2006 |
| The Kill Point | Leo Fitzpatrick | "Mr. Mouse" | Type 56-1, with AKM slant compensator | 2007 |
| The Kill Point | Adam Cantor | Rocko | Type 56-1, with AKM slant compensator | 2007 |
| The Kill Point | Frank Grillo | Albert "Mr. Pig" Roman | Type 56-1, with AKM slant compensator | 2007 |
| The Kill Point | One of Deke Quinlan's men | Type 56-1, with AKM slant compensator | 2007 | |
| Iris - Season 1 | North Korean terrorists and IRIS mercenaries | Type 56-1 | 2009 | |
| Iris - Season 1 | Lee Byung-hun | Kim Hyun-jun | Type 56-1 | 2009 |
| Iris - Season 1 | So-yeon Kim | Kim Seon-hwa | Type 56-1 | 2009 |
| Falling Skies | Noah Wyle | Tom Mason | Type 56-1 | 2011 - |
| Longmire | Lobo Sebastian | Octavio Muara | Type 56-1, "The Cancer" (S01E04), plastic magazine, muzzle brake | 2012 |
| The Walking Dead - Season 3 | Sonequa Martin-Green | Sasha | Type 56-1 fitted with a R.I.S. & AKM-style slanted compensator; "Prey" (S3E14) | 2012-2013 |
| Daniel Thomas Ray | Allen | Type 56-1 fitted with a R.I.S & AKM-Style slanted compensator; "This Sorrowful Life" (S3E15), "Welcome to the Tombs" (S3E16) | ||
| The Walking Dead - Season 4 | various | Governor's Militia Soldiers | Type 56-1 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Too Far Gone" (S4E08) | 2013-2014 |
| The Walking Dead - Season 5 | various | Terminus Inhabitants | Type 56-1 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "No Sanctuary" (S5E01) | 2014-2015 |
| Chris Burns | Mike | Type 56-1 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 | Type 56-1 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Start to Finish" (S6E08), "No Way Out" (S6E09) | 2015-2016 |
| G-Rod | Savior Member | Type 56-1 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Not Tomorrow Yet" (S6E12) | ||
| various | Savior Members | Type 56-1 fitted with a AKM-style slanted compensator; "Last Day on Earth" (S6E16) | ||
| The Walking Dead - Season 7 | Christian Serratos | Rosita Espinosa | Type 56-1 fitted with slant compensator & folding stock removed; "The First Day of the Rest of Your Lives" (S7E16) | 2017 |
| Alanna Masterson | Tara Chambler | Type 56-1 fitted with R.I.S. & slant compensator; "The First Day of the Rest of Your Lives" (S7E16) | ||
| Sabrina Gennarino | Tamiel | Type 56-1 fitted with slant compensator; "The First Day of the Rest of Your Lives" (S7E16) | ||
| Thomas Francis Murphy | Brion | Type 56-1 fitted with dark plum polymer furniture, slant compensator, & folding stock removed; "The First Day of the Rest of Your Lives" (S7E16) |
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rising Storm 2: Vietnam | 2017 |
Norinco Type 56-2
The Type 56-2 is the side-folding stocked variant of the Type 56.
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Berlin File | Abdul's henchmen | Type 56-2 with plastic furniture | 2013 | |
| North Korean agent | Type 56-2 with AK-74 style muzzle brake and MPi-KMS-72 style side-folding stock | |||
| Seung-beom Ryu | Dong Myung-Soo | |||
| RoboCop 2 | Nuke cartel thugs | 1990 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wynonna Earp | Revenant thug | Type 56-2 side-folding stock variant; "The Blade" (S1E04) | 2016 |
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Theft Auto V | "Assault Rifle" | 2013 |
Norinco MAK-90
"Post-ban" version of the Norinco 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: Assault 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 | Note | 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 |
Type 84
Norinco Type 84S
The Type 84 rifle is nearly identical to the Chinese Type 56 (seen above), but it is chambered in 5.56x45mm /.223 Remington and manufactured entirely for export. The civilian variants are known as Type 84S, and are semi-automatic only (full auto Type 84s are far rarer than the Type 84S though). It is often seen impersonating the AK-74 in movies and TV shows (particularly Stargate: SG1, where it is carried by Russian SG teams).
The Type 84 was exported and sold with an AK birdcage flash hider and had a deep polished factory blue. Several other variants of the 84S Rifle (that are mostly unfamiliar to American Gun Owners) were victims of the 1989 Import Ban that barred most new 'assault rifles' from entering the United States. These rifles were thus mostly exported to Canada and Australia, and as a result, appeared in television shows or movies that were filmed in those countries. Listed here are two of the variants seen in Canadian or Australian television (the Target and the Match versions). If it were not for Canadian or Australian movie armorers, most Americans would never have known these variants existed.
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Interview | North Korean soldier | Type 84S-1 | 2014 | |
| A Dangerous Man | Byron Lawson | Mao | . | 2009 |
| Zombieland | Stylish Secret Agent | . | 2009 | |
| Underworld: Evolution | Hungarian police officers | . | 2006 | |
| The Sum of All Fears | Ukrainian soldiers | Type 84S-2, fitted with custom muzzle brakes to pass for AKS-74 | 2003 | |
| Reindeer Games | . | Seen in the weapons storage compartment of Gabriel's (Gary Sinise) truck | 2000 | |
| Bravo Two Zero | Iraqi soldiers | . | 1999 | |
| Hollow Point | Mobsters | w/ Type 56-style bayonets | 1996 |
Television
| Show Title | Actor | Character | Note / Episode | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sliders | Russian soldiers | 1995-2000 | ||
| Millennium | Found in cult warehouse / "Gehenna" | 1996-1999 | ||
| The X-Files | Russian gulag guards/soldiers | Type 84s (standard variant), 84S-1 'Target' (underfolder stock) / "Terma" (S4E09), "Patient X" (S5E13) | 1996-1998 | |
| Stargate SG-1 | Seth's followers | (S03E02) | 1997 - 2007 | |
| Jen Halley | Lieutenant Tolinev | mocked up as AKS-74U / "The Tomb" (S05E08) | ||
| The X-Files - Season 5 | Brian Markinson | Gary Lambert | 84S-1 'Target' (underfolder stock) / "Folie à Deux" (S5E19) | 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 | |||
| Battlestar Galactica | Resistance fighters | Season 2, "Lay Down Your Burdens" | 2004-2009 | |
| Battlestar Galactica | Ryan Robbins | Charlie Connor | Season 3, "Exodus" | 2004-2009 |
| 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 | |
| Wynonna Earp | Revenant thug | "The Blade" (S1E04), Type 84S-1 "Match" rifle | 2016 |
Anime
| Title | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. 2nd GIG | Dejima refugee sniper | Type 84S Target with scope | 2004-2005 |