John V. Martz DWM Baby American Eagle Luger

John V. Martz built his reputation on the Lugers nobody else could make, and the Baby is the one collectors chase hardest. This is his shortened, scaled conversion worked up on a DWM American Eagle foundation, and it carries his JVM cartouche stamped right into the frame ahead of the trigger guard. Look closely at the toggle linkage and you'll also find MSTR cut into the steel. That marking, plus the cartouche, is how you separate a genuine Martz build from the pretenders.

The Baby earns its name from the proportions. Martz re-contoured the barrel, tightened the frame, and trimmed the toggle assembly so everything shrinks together without throwing off the lockwork. The result is a Luger that reads as a Luger from across the room but feels noticeably smaller in the hand. The toggle still breaks and returns with that glass-smooth articulation the platform is known for, and Martz fitted it to run 9mm rather than the original chambering.

The finish is a deep rust blue that pulls toward black in the right light, with the small parts left in the white for contrast. You can see the straw and fire blue accents on the takedown lever, safety, and trigger. The American Eagle crest sits proud over the chamber. The grips are finely checkered walnut, cut sharp, with a warm figure that plays against the dark steel.

There's honest handling character on the controls and a touch of edge wear, the kind you'd expect on a working artisan piece rather than a safe queen. The bore is bright.

Martz passed in 2012, and the supply of his work is fixed at whatever he managed to build in his lifetime. The Babies were always the hardest of his conversions to execute, which is exactly why they top the list for anyone building a serious Luger collection. If you've wanted a Martz, this is the configuration to hold out for.