Tokyo Marui M-14 - Made by Airsoft Extreme





Introduction
The new Tokyo Marui M14 comes in two (2) variations, one of which is a imitation wood stock and the other is a synthetic olive drab stock. The OD M14 comes in an OD box and the imitation wood M14 comes in a brown box.



Appearance
The fit and finishes on rifles are attractive overall and properly reflect Tokyo Marui’s high production standards. However, the guns do have bit of a toyish feel and appearance to them, especially versus the other make Airsoft M14’s on the market (i.e. G&G and Airsoft Club). The OD stock has an extremely smooth texture overall with some checkering where the gun is normally held for a more "tactical" feel. It is also a little on the shiny “toy” side in appearance. The imitation wood finish is not as realistic as that of the Marui Thompson or AK, but it is very close and still very attractive and realistic. The stock in general also feels and looks a little bit narrower/smaller than that of the G&G M14. Also contributing to the small feel of the TM M14 is its lightness in weight versus the other make M14’s. On the other hand, the metal component finish is very well done. The receiver and barrel have a nice realistic looking flat matte finish. The magazines have a nice parkerized gray finish which look just like the real steel version. Some players might prefer the realism in size, feel, appearance, and heft of the G&G M14 over the TM M14. However, the lighter weight and slightly less than authentic appearance and feel of the TM M14 does not mean a lack of quality, effectiveness, or ruggedness by any means.



Here is the Olive Drab (OD) version.



And here is the Wood pattern version.



The safety switch works just like the real one but is not as stiff as the real version or the G&G model. It is extremely easy to "flick" on or off. This does not translate into problems since the switch "clicks" into place and does not just fall into place.



The barrel and flash hider are very detailed and look extremely realistic.



The markings on the rifle are very true to spec.



The sight picture is very crisp looking and will make acquiring your target an easy task.



The TM M14 standard magazines look hold 70 bb’s like most Marui standard magazines. Unfortunately, the G&G magazines are not compatible with the Marui model and vise versa.

Performance
The overall performance is impressive and is almost expected from Tokyo Marui. The gun sounds very smooth and fires a very unexpected 310-320fps with a 0.20g Excel BB right out of the box. Immediately, this rifle has the highest fps out of the box of any other TM AEG. The stock gun delivers a nice 700 rounds per minute with an 8.4v source and draws 11AMPS on full auto. Firing the rifle on full auto feels very nice. The trigger is very responsive and the report is very crisp. The gun does not deliver a loud snap like other TM guns, but it is not super quiet like an AUG or P90. The selector switch feels great and is very responsive. You know when you are in semi as well as full auto and the selector is a bit easier to manipulate than the G&G model. The one feature that the Marui model lacks from the G&G is the selector switch does not release the anti reverse latch by pulling the selector switch back.



The bolt does pull open all the way, unlike the G&G model, and makes a very satisfying metal on metal clink when let go. Unfortunately, it doesn't lock open with the bolt catch like the G&G model does. Oh well, I guess you can't have it all. Also, you will notice, there is no hopup adjustment in the breach like the in G&G M14 (continue reading for further details).



Unlike most TM guns, the hop adjustment is not located in the breach like you would expect when opening the bolt. The M14 has the hopup adjustment knob just in front of the mag well as seen in the picture above. It can be adjusted with the magazine in the gun, so no fumbling with the mag when attempting to adjust the hop. The knob makes a nice click with each minor adjustment so tuning the hop is very precise. I tested this and the gun fires straight for more than 100 feet stock with an Excel 0.20g BB (non Bio).



The small hole you see in the photo on the left is actually the motor height adjustment. As you can see in the middle picture, this is the motor and that round part is where the actual motor height adjustment screw is set into the motor housing. And finally, on the right you can see the angle the motor heightening screw must take to adjust the motor. The highlighted area shows a small gauge built in to see how far you have adjusted the screw. This is set in the middle on this particular gun.



The battery compartment is located in the stock as we all would expect. The one thing we didn’t expect would be the lack of space for a large 9.6v battery. The gun can only fit an 8.4v standard large battery or one of AEX's custom 9.6v 1700 custom large batteries that we use for AK-47's. The stock butt folds up like the G&G model and the door opens to the side rather than down like the G&G.



The gun field strips somewhat like the G&G model, but the actual trigger does not separate from the gearbox like the G&G model. This is not as realistic as the G&G, but it actually makes for a better design as the trigger functions are much better.



After the initial tear down, the upper receiver must slide forward as the lower slides to the rear as seen in the upper right photo. Once you have done this, the upper receiver can lift off the lower.



Here you can see the upper lifting off the lower receiver.



Once the upper is removed from the lower, you can unplug the wires like all TM AEG's with rear battery wiring. The one thing you need to be careful with is the small plug can get caught inside the stock and making the removal of the upper a real pain. The motor wires are also connected like the standard Marui motor connectors.



Here is a good side view of the short type motor.



This is the left side of the gear box. This is where the cutoff lever and the electrical trigger contacts are located. This is the most complex gear box I have seen. This makes the old Sig 551 and 550 a breeze!



On the flip side of the gear box, you can see the selector plate and electrical contacts for the safety switch. Unlike most AEG's, this safety will physically disengage the electrical current and block the trigger so there can be no accidental misfires. But never use that as an excuse to point this at a person while not playing in a skirmish.



Removing the barrel is much more difficult than the G&G rifle and more complex than most AEG's. I thought the TM MP5's were time consuming to change barrels, but this one takes the cake. As you can see in the three photos, you must exercise caution when attempting to remove the inner barrel. First, slide it forward, then angle it up and then it will continue to curve up and out. If you are not careful, the plastic is not the most rigid so it could break.



The hop unit has its own design and is not like any other AEG. The arrow pointing to the base shows how the hopup functions. The lever goes up and forces a lever downward on the top of the unit giving the AEG it's hopup. It is a very simple yet effective design. This allows the adjustment to be made from the base of the rifle and thus making the adjustment simple and precise.



The new gear box is truly simple once it is opened. Much like a Ver 6 it is very basic with an all new type of cylinder, cylinder head, nozzle, tappet plate and spring guide. The cylinder is a bit longer than the regular TM cylinders by a couple of millimeters but piston and piston head are the same as all TM AEG's. The sector gear is just like the Thompson and is smaller than the regular middle gear so Systema gears would not work directly with this new gear box since the regular size gears would hit the piston. The stock spring is slightly thicker so the stock velocity is a bit stronger out of the box. The tappet plate spring is identical to the Ver 6 setup and lays under the tappet plate just under the cylinder. The spring guide looks like a Ver 3 but with slightly longer and thinner posts. So when upgrading this model, you must use extreme caution not to break these parts as there are no replacements at this time.

The biggest flaw would be upgradeability due to lack of parts at this time since the parts Marui developed are all new and so unique. We did install a Systema M120S spring just to see what kind of velocity this baby would push. We did not re-shim or install metal bushings, just a simple spring drop in. The results were pretty much what we thought, just a bit below our expectations, but nothing to complain about. The gun fired 410-415fps with an Excel 0.20g BB (non-bio) and had a nice rate of fire with an 8.4v source. It had a 14-15 AMP draw on full auto and shot approximately 600 rounds per minute. With a 9.6v source the rate of fire jumped up to approximately 800 rounds per minute. We tested the range and we were happy to see the gun could reach over 160 feet in a nice straight path. I was able to hit a pole the size of a human torso (a thin human torso) at 180 feet with the hop adjusted using the iron sights. It was most impressive. There was a slight breeze so the BB did curve at the last few feet but it did not drop. The path was pretty straight given I was using a 0.20g BB and firing into a little bit of wind.

Overall
The Tokyo Marui M14, despite certain aspects that make it less than realistic than the G&G M14, has the look, the feel and the performance that make it an excellent AEG. The only other downside currently is the lack of internal upgrade parts at the moment and the degree of difficulty in taking the gun down. The TM M14 has a much more complex breakdown than most AEG's that we have seen in a while. Overall, the performance for a stock Marui gun is outstanding and the attention to detail is excellent.

Final Grading
Quality:
Reliability:
Comfort:
Externals:
Performance:
Value:
Over-all:

External links
www.tokyo-marui.co.jp
www.airsoftextreme.com

Introduction
Tokyo Marui has done it again, and this time they didn’t make another variant of a Colt (Thank God). Marui has decided this time around to continue an old series the sig. With the old SIG’s failing and many problems documented, Marui went back to the drawing board to make a new SIG, the SIG 552. Hoping this time it wouldn’t fail like the rest of them.

History
Back in 1997 when the SIG series was created by Marui, it seemed like a sure hit. It was different than all of Marui’s AEG’s, it sported the coveted 3 round burst. Although it seemed like a sure hit, it wasn’t. Taking down the gun was a hassle, the internals were of low quality parts, the stick battery made upgrading a hassle, not to mention limited to low capacity shooting, and the three round burst has been known to blow the fuse. It almost seemed like Marui rushed in creating the SIG, thus leading to many consumer complaints, and leading to the discontinuation of the production of the SIG series. Fast Forward 6 years later, and Marui attempted to try the SIG series, this time trying a tried and true formula of the reliable Version 3 yet again, and removing the 3 burst function. But is the wait worth it? Let’s find out…

First Impressions
At first glance, the gun is smaller than I thought. Holding it is very comfortable like most small guns similar to the MP5 series. The front barrel is very short, giving this gun a CQB feel, if you are looking for a field rifle this may not be the right gun for range, but more likely a gun that is used for close quarters.
The stock is like your average Marui stock. The folding stock is a great addition to the gun, making the gun really short and maneuverable.

The charging handle is a nice addition to the gun, as you can see in the picture is an actual handle like the AK-47 series, making it easy to access the Hop-up unit.

 

The hop unit is similar to the AUG hop unit, a rolling adjusting hop-up. I prefer the AK-47 hop-up unit, but I guess this is ok and easy to adjust.

 

Removing the hand guard to put the battery is a snap. Simply take out the pin, pull back the bottom hand guard, and the top removes easily. Although Marui recommends using the new s-type battery for the SIG 552, I see no reason for buy a mini that has a Marui label on it. Instead, a regular mini 8.4v 600mah battery will suffice and fits perfectly as seen in the picture.

 

 

 

Now here is something new, the loader. The loader is the most innovative loader I have ever seen. All you need to do is load it like a hicap, put it in the standard mag hole and push down the button until it is loaded, kind of like a plunger. I only wish Marui would sell these separately, as it is more innovative than the SIG 552 itself, and not to mention a lot cheaper than buying an electric auto loader

 

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The magazines, including the hicap has the capability of putting themselves together, for easy reloading, with out buying a separate dual mag clamp.

 

 

The trigger guard is an innovative thing. It can easily be flipped up for when you wear gloves, and closed when you are not. No tools required to flip up and down the trigger guard.

 

 

 

The sights are very similar to the sight of an MP5, but a little cooler. The front sight has 2 modes, I am not sure if you can see it but the middle part can be flipped up to be ticker, which I believe is for longer range, and the thin one is for close quarters.

 

 

The back sight are adjustable like the MP5, looking in a small hole and aligning it with the front sight.

 

Like most new Marui guns, the Flash hider can be easily removed so you can add a silencer or tracer unit.

 

The rail on the gun allows the option of putting the PEQ-2 Laser box, for using a larger battery and the laser can be easily adjusted and zeroed from the side.

 

 
Testing

 

In testing I used a hicap and the standard, a fully charged 8.4v 600mah battery, and Airsoft Elite .20g bb’s

 
Accuracy
Out of the box the gun’s hop up isn’t set well, which would explain the crappy grouping I have. But once adjusted the average grouping is a little under 1 inch, a definite plus.

              
Power
The power is above the average FPS of a Marui gun. 284.6 fps being the high and 276.3 is the low. Not bad at all.

 

             

                        Low                                                                 High

 
Comparison
Comparison to other AEG’s, it is very small. It’s about the size of the g36c, but a little smaller. But compared to the G3 SG-1, the difference can be seen.

 

              
Overall
Marui has done it again, and this SIG is a great gun to have in your collection. The version 3 gearbox makes this gun shoot super smooth, and the rate of fire is great with eg1000. The gun really has no outstanding flaw, as expected from Marui, except for the exception of the small battery compartment, which can be easily solved the PEQ-2 Battery box. We have yet to upgrade the gun, and I will update you when we do. But so far Marui has made a successful SIG.

The Keeper (Dexter)

Soon to be released, the nlairsoftTUBE! :)

Introduction
I have always wanted a 1911 after seeing a lot of war movies (especially “black hawk down”) where the 1911 was used by special forces. If special forces use it I want it. I have been searching for a nice full metal 1911 for a long time, first you only had the Western Arms 1911 which is a very good pistol but it’s ABS, and the metal kits for the Western Arms 1911 are very expensive. Later came the choice for the Tokyo marui 1911 but it has the same downside ABS, so when the WE 1911A1 came on the market I found it to be very interesting fully Tokyo marui compatible (the parts not the mags) and full metal. So I am very glad doing this review. Thanks go out to 101airsoft.com who kindly provided this review sample! Check out their offering on the WE Colt M1911A1 here... For only 90 USD, roughly 70 EURO, this model can be yours. Let's continue to the review...



Facts and features
These are the facts of this WE 1911a1 pistol. What is this gun able to? These are the stock specifications listed in the voucher supplied with the pistol. Later on we will test the rifle if all the facts are really true.

Product Name     WE 1911A1
Model Number     1911
Weight     930g
Magazine Capacity     14+1 BB's
Bullet     6mm BB
Initial Bullet Speed     330 fps
Energy     1 Joule
Shooting Range     25 ft, maximum 45 ft
System     Gas Blow Back / adjustable Hop-Up
Built Material     Full Metal (Slide & Lower Frame)
Material Used     Zinc metal and few ABS resin


History
The 1911 was adopted by the US military and has been used in the US military in several conflicts, Second world war, Korea, Vietnam, Panama, and is still in use by several unit’s to day. Even today it is used by a lot of units because of a few thing’s, the 1911 has great stopping power with the .45mm ammo compared to the weaker 9mm ammo of the M9. The down side of the 1911 is the ammo capacity of only 7 rounds in a magazine, but the 1911 is so reliable that some unit’s in the US army prefer it over the M9.

First Impression
First impression I had when I opened up the cardboard box was that it was a little bigger then I expected, not to big but a little bigger then the berretta. The 1911 has a nice hefty feel to it and it comes with 2 mags which is a big plus. The pistol looks and feels great. Now the more imported stuff I couldn’t wait to load this pistol grapping a can of green gas and a bag of bb’s it was on to the testing.

Externals
The whole 1911 is made out of good quality metal parts, slide, lower frame, outer barrel, spring guide, trigger, hammer, and so on. Only the grips on this pistol and some hop-up part’s aren’t metal the rest is. The grips are plastic which have been given the wood look, it looks nice but in my opinion real wood or hough grips do the WE 1911 more justice. I will buy myself a set of hough grips to replace the originals. The colour of the 1911 is very authentic and looks really well all parts are evenly well painted and all look very good.

When ever I pick up the gun I get a smile on my face, because of the nice looks and feel. Because of the full metal construction it also feels cold. The gun feels rock solid as you may expect from a metal version. The slide fits perfectly, the is hardly any friction or other movement. The magazine fits also need and I couldn't detect any friction. There are also no feeding problems. The overall feeling when holding the gun is solid, like you can hammer some nails with it.

The sights are unpainted, but they can be used easily. Neither the sight is removable nor adjustable, this is quite standard for most pistols. The safety on the WE 1911 is a nice peace of work, there is the grip safety that make sure that the pistol isn’t accidently discharged when falling ore hitting a branch, when you hold the pistol in your hand the grip safety automatically disengages so you can shoot. There is another safety on the WE 1911 when the pistol is loaded you can put this safety up witch is located at the and of the slide just before the hammer, when is safety is engaged there is no way you can shoot, pull the slide, dissemble the pistol, I think it’s nice feature the grip safety for extra secures when in use.

The magazines for the WE 1911 are also fully constructed out of metal and are very sturdy. I have found that the feed well and lock the slide back after every last bb, I have to say I found a few downsides they contain gas for 2 bb loads in the summer and only for 1 in the winter(when I used yellow gas I haven’t had the opportunity to purchase red gas). I had one of the 2 magazines leaking on me after a few time’s of use I opened it up properly greased the o-rings and the problem was solved, I found the magazine to be a bit dry but lubricating the o-rings was an easy fix.

Internals
Field stripping the WE 1911 is easy, release the magazine, pull back the slide until the little gab in the slide is almost at the and of you slide release, push the slide release out. Now you can slide the slide of and adjust the hop-up unit clean and lubricate the other parts. You can further strip the 1911 by pushing the spring guide and spring to the side then pulling them out, turning the black peace at the front of the slide underneath the barrel and pulling it out, then grapping the black tube out from the inside op the slide, then sliding the barrel with hop-up unit out of the front of the slide. The internals look and feel really well made and are 100% compatible with Tokyo marui parts so upgraded parts will be widely available soon.



Performance

BlowBack
The blowback on this pistol is nice I have tried it with green and yellow gas and both where fine (Note yellow gas was used when it was around 5 degrees and the blowback wasn’t that impressive but still fine). There is a recommendation for red gas for this pistol but I have not found a supplier nearby that has it in stock so I hope I will get my hands on some red gas soon that would increase the blowback a lot. The only thing that I have found to be a down side is the slide not cycling as fast as the HFC M190, no problem for me but if I was sniping I would rather have a some what faster cycling side arm.

FPS
The fps test of this gun where done first with predator ultra gas at around 22 degrees Celsius, the pistol was shooting 328 witch is pretty impressive. Later I have tested the WE 1911A1 with yellow gas at 5 degrees Celsius it was still shooting 270/280 witch I found pretty impressive. I hope I can do some test with yellow gas inside at around 20 degrees and also with red gas to see the true potential of this side arm.

Target Practice
I haven’t had the chance to do some real target practice but the shot’s I fired with it in the field where nice shooting far and accurate. The adjustable hop-up comes in handy here because of the gas system and the changing temperatures a gas pistol will have the tendency to change in performance of shot’s, because of the adjustable hop-up you can adjust to the gas you are using ore the temperature outside with out having to change bb weight.

Overall
If you are looking for a nice full metal GBB that’s worth it’s bang for the buck this pistol is a good choice, considering it’s price and that it come’s with 2 magazines is a big plus. Taking in mind that this pistol is ideal for people who take time for well aimed shot’s rather than spraying because of the lower cycle rate witch isn’t that much lower but it’s noticeable. I would definitely prefer this WE model over de WA and TM models.

    * Doesn’t cycle as fast as some other GBB’s
    * Low magazine capacity (15)



External Links
www.101airsoft.com