NonEx Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 TOKYO MARUI GLOCK 17 3RD GENERATION GAS BLOWBACK AIRSOFT PISTOL (STOCK) REVIEW REVIEW INDEX Review introduction 1.1: Purpose 1.2: Background 1.3: Introduction 1.4: Purchase Tokyo Marui Glock 17 3rd Generation Gas Blowback Airsoft Pistol (Stock) Review 2.1: First impression 2:2: Appearance 2.3: Features 2:4: Performance 2:5: Accuracy 2:6: Conclusion Review introduction 1.1: Purpose The purpose of this review is to write an unbiased, objective and detailed review for the Tokyo Marui Glock 17 3rd Generation Gas Blowback airsoft pistol. This review will be based on the stock version of the pistol. I will include an additional three parts to this review. Part two being the parts review for all the upgrade parts and how they differ in terms of quality and performance versus the original parts. Part three will be a review of the upgraded version of the airsoft pistol. I also intend to add a part four which will be tips and maintenance regarding the Glock 17. 1.2: Background I just wanted to input some brief background about myself and my experience with airsoft so you can better understand my starting point for this review. I have been actively using airsoft pistols for the last 15 years, starting with Marui springers, then moving my way up to gas blowback airsoft pistols, and now lately I have moved on to gas blowback airsoft rifles. Throughout all of this I have always been in the role of a collector and plinker. Only just recently this year (May 2011) did I play my first indoor CQB skirmish. I wasn't too happy with the particular site that was available to me so I only played once more since. So my outlook in this review will be based from a collector and plinkers perspective. Also note that because of this, and the lack of testing space, I cannot perform an accuracy test longer than 6m nor can I do a field/skirmish test. 1.3: Introduction Being the "collector" that I am I set out a goal for myself, that I will purchase all the Tokyo Marui gas blowbacks that I find appealing and then proceed to fully upgrade them. This process started with the Tokyo Marui FN 5-7, then I moved on to the Tokyo Marui Beretta M9 and recently I attempted to do the same with the Tokyo Marui Colt 1911A1, which failed miserably due to getting incompatible parts, so that project is currently on hold. So now it's the Glocks turn. This piece has me rather excited, although I have always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with Glocks. They aren't particularly good looking, but they are (preconceived notion) durable and practical, and in general highly respected pistols. I have a KSC Glock 19 and a Marushin Dual Maxi Glock 21 already, but none of these please my Glock needs. So as with previous "project airsoft pistols" I set off to purchase the pistol itself, a few spare magazines and pretty much any and all available upgrades I see fit. Some of you may think this is stupid, elitist or snobbish or whatever, but this is how I like to do things, no snobby-ness intended. 1.4: Purchase The parts were purchased from WGC Shop (Hong Kong) and AirsoftGlobal (Hong Kong). Here is a complete parts list: 1x Tokyo Marui Glock 17 3rd Generation GBB 2x Tokyo Marui 26 round GBB magazines 1x Guarder Glock 17 Enhanced Kit (Black) - 1x Fiber reinforced polymer frame - 1x Aluminum slide - 1x Steel outer barrel - 1x Recoil spring guide - 1x 150% hammer spring - 1x Steel magazine catch - 1x Steel trigger lever - 1x Serial number plate 1x Guarder steel night sights 1x NINE BALL precision inner barrel 1x Guarder enhanced polycarbonate loading muzzle 1x PDI piston head 1x ACTION 8mm hammer bearing set 1x Shooters Design CNC steel valve knocker 3x ACTION enhanced magazine lip 3x Shooters Design magazine base plates (with Glock logo) 3x Shooters Design enhanced magazine gasket 1x MAG spring replacement set Please note though that this part (part one) is only a review of the stock airsoft pistol. Links to the other parts of the review will be listed at the bottom. So let's get on with the review! Tokyo Marui Glock 17 3rd Generation Gas Blowback Airsoft Pistol (Stock) Review Specifications Build materials: ABS plastic (mainly), metal details and internals Color: Black Caliber: 6mm Capacity: 25+1 rounds* Height: 186mm Length: 97mm Weight unloaded: 409g Weight loaded (empty magazine): 707g Weight loaded (with BBs): 712g Weight loaded (with BBs and gas): 717g Weight of magazine (empty): 298g Weight of magazine (with BBs): 303g Weight of magazine (with BBs and gas): 308g FPS: ~300** Hop Up: Adjustable Trigger action: Single action only Firing mode: Semi-automatic * Recommended magazine capacity 23+1 to allow magazine spring to move freely against loading nozzle when inserting the magazine with the slide in its forward position. ** FPS measured with XCORTECH X3200 chronograph, average of 10 shots, 26C ambient temperature, Guarder Powerful Gas 12kg/140PSI@24C, Tokyo Marui 0.2g BB. 2.1: First impression My first impression when opening the UPS package from WGC is "what the hell happened to my box"; The retail box has been brutalized by WGC staff (I do not live in the US). WHY ?! It seems as this has had the "US" treatment in having all the trademarks thoroughly and brutally removed. I am not really pleased with this as I have OCD and am a perfectionist, but what can you do… So getting over the initial scare with the box let's open it up and see what we've got; Not even the manual has been spared from having the trades removed. Thankfully I was spared from the orange muzzle and covered up trades (although they were covered with easily removed grip tape). Night sights included for additional sight sighting. The addition of dry-firing magazine clips is a nice feature! No more holding down the slide catch! Not a big surprise here, it's the standard Tokyo Marui gas blowback package inside, with an additional bonus of night sights! Here's a complete list of the box' contents; 1x Tokyo Marui Glock 17 3rd Generation Gas Blowback airsoft pistol (picture) 1x Tokyo Marui Glock 17 26 round gas magazine (picture) 1x Cleaning rod (picture) 1x Muzzle plug (picture) 1x Front and rear night sights (picture) 1x Bag of BBs (picture) 2x Dry firing magazine clips (picture) 1x Hop Up tag (picture) 1x Information notice (picture) 1x Instructions manual (picture) 5x Shooting targets (picture) 1x Warranty card (picture) 1x Airsoft safety illustrations (picture) 1x Night sights installation instructions (picture) Allright, moving on to the actual airsoft pistol itself. Upon picking it up it doesn't give me that "wow" feeling that I used to get when unboxing airsoft pistols. This is however more likely due to my senses being dulled (been buying quiet a lot of airsofts lately) rather than the Glock 17 being a disappointment, because it truly isn't. It holds up to the tried and tested Marui standards, being that it feels and looks great. The plastic has a nice finish and the racking of the slide sounds like a house coming down on you, really crisp. It feels good in the hand and rather light, but that is to be expected from a (plastic) Glock. Shaking it around produces a light rattling sound made by the outer barrel hitting against the slide, but other than that it feels solid and with tight fit all around. Eager to test fire it I filled up a magazine with gas and proceded to dry fire it. NICE! The blowback is loud and crisp but lacking a bit in punch due to the slide being so light, but this is to be expected. 2:2: Appearance Looking at the Marui Glock 17 overall appearance, it looks really nice. The plastic has a nice finish and color to it, both slide and frame. Moving on to the slide, which is also plastic, with the exception of the rear blowback unit "plate" (actually part of the BBU) and a reinforced metal frame at the front of the slide, where the recoil spring guide goes. This is to reinforce the slide so it can handle the hefty blowback action. Historically plastic slide Glocks (various brands) have been known to blow off the front after prolonged use with heavier propellants, such as propane or Green Gas. The slide has accurate Glock markings (as far as I know) on both sides; Left side: GLOCK (logo) 17 AUSTRIA 9x19 Right side: SYMBOL NPv DMD076 Unfortunately the slide has some rather unappealing seam lines going all around the slide, the front and back being the worst but also running all along the top sides. Moving on to the outer barrel, also plastic (see a trend here?); there's not much to say about it. It is a one piece molded design and has the standard Glock (AFAIK) markings; Top side: 9x19 Right side: DMD076 SYMBOL NPv ADC One thing I did note, which I don't know whether it's by design or a flaw, is that the outer barrel seems to be pushed down towards the bottom of the front hole in the slide, giving the impression that it's pointing down. Maybe too high tolerance for the hole in the slide? Or maybe it's to accommodate the tilting barrel locked breech design (more likely). Allright, we're done with the top half, let's take a look at the frame! The frame, also being plastic (surprise!) actually looks really nice. The color and finish, as well as the grip texture and markings stand out nicely. The seam lines on the frame look to be almost better than those on a real Glock, judging by the pictures I've seen. Unfortunately the frame does not feature correct trademarks all the way around. I'm not sure if it's an ASGK policy or Marui just likes to brand their gas blowbacks this way; Left side: GLOCK (logo) Right side; MADE IN JAPAN ASGK TOKYO MARUI CO.,LTD. GAS BLOW BACK SYSTEM TMC-P9M-7731 Serial number plate; DMD076S Phuh! Just a little more to go; let's take a look at the magazine! Guess what, the magazine is NOT plastic! YAY! Well, some of it is. The magazine has a nice matte black finish for the shell and the baseplate has a finish matching the rest of the pistols plastic details. The base plate has a hole in it so you can fill the magazine with gas without having to fiddle with removing the base plate. The magazine also features some Glock markings, namely on the back, where Marui has faithfully reproduced the ammo indicator holes (non-functioning here for obvious reasons). Rear side; GLOCK (logo) AUSTRIA The baseplate has been blessed with Tokyo Marui markings rather than the Glock logo (like the real steel magazines). Bottom; TOKYO MARUI GLOCK MADE IN JAPAN Okay, we're almost done, stay with me now (coffee brakes are allowed!). Let's take a quick look inside the Marui Glock while we are at it. Not much to say really, clean and simple internals. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NonEx Posted June 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 (edited) Please forgive me for the slight variation in color temperature/white balance and contrast in the pictures. I made the decision to shoot in natural diffuse sunlight and fighting shifting light and keeping up with whitebalance and calibration proved to be too much for me, but I think I got some decent photos anyways. 2:3: Features Sights The pistol comes with the standard Glock, what I like to call, U-dot design sights, as opposed to the regular three-dot design or two-dot design. These are in my opinion and experience very comfortable and frame the target nicely, giving you a clear sight picture. Unfortunately, due to the fact that the rear sight is held in place with a screw from inside/bottom of the blowback unit, it is non-adjustable. Both front and rear sight is made from plastic and has a standard bright white marking on them. Typical Glock U-dot sights, nice and crisp. As an added bonus the newer Marui Glock 17 airsoft pistols are delivered with an additional pair of sights, in the form of glow-in-the-dark night sights. These feature the traditional style three-dot sight setup. The night sights can be "charged" by leaving them exposed to sunlight or even artificial light such as tungsten light bulbs, or even low-energy lights (tested). The Marui night sights glow really bright in the dark, although the effect and intensity wears of rather quickly, maybe they're like batteries and need to be charged and discharged a few times for optimal performance? The included glow-in-the-dark night sights features the standard three-dot layout instead. Installation of the sights is a breeze, you simply do your standard fieldstrip, removing the magazine, then cocking the slide to engage the hammer (otherwise the hammer will block the slide from coming off), remove the slide, recoil spring and outer barrel and you have access to the two Philips-head screws holding the front and rear sight in place. Remove the screws and gently pull the stock sights off, pop in the night sights and replace the screws. Revers the field strip and you're done! I don't care much for the night sights really but they are a nice bonus to the package. The night sights also feature Glock (logo) stamps on top of each one of them. You better find the light switch fast because the glow-in-the dark effect wears off rather quickly! (Dummy) Chamber indicator/extractor The slide also has a chamber indicator and extractor on it, true to the real steel; unfortunately as it is molded into the slide it is non-functional. It would have been a nice detail but I can see why, it would be rather difficult to reproduce with the chambering of a 6mm BB. Some metal slides come with the chamber indicator/extractor as a separate piece, but still they are non-functioning, so we can forgive Marui for this. Chamber indicator and extractor, does not indicate nor extract. Grip The 3rd generation frame (this is in reference to Glocks generation line-up, not something Marui made up) features thumb rest indents as well as contoured finger molds on the front of the grip, making it really comfortable to grip. The texture all around the grip ensures it does slip out of your hand when shooting those soda cans! Glock 3rd generation frame grip with thumbrest indents and grooves for your fingers at the front, very comfortable and grippy! Rail Also a feature of the 3rd generation frame (and possibly the 2nd gen frame IIRC) is a standard accessory rail that will accommodate your flashlights and lasers and whatnot. Does not like Sig Sauer STL-900L tactical light, does not fit properly in the notch at the bottom! Don't have any other rail accessory to test with so can't say if it's a general problem or not. Slide catch The slide catch is pretty much (well no, it IS) the only external metal piece on this airsoft pistol, and for good reason. Catching the slide over and over again requires a sturdier material than ABS plastic. An interesting thing to note, which I just "learned" myself from a YouTube video, is that the Glock slide catch is to be considered just that, a slide catch (or at least that was the argument made in the video). Due to the minimalistic design of the slide catch it's not always practical to operate with say, gloves or in extreme conditions. The preferred method to release the slide is to insert a new magazine with BBs in it and then pull the slide back just enough for the slide catch to drop and then release the slide into battery, chambering the new round and the pistol is ready to rock! Although using the slide catch as a slide release makes a very pleasant "cla-thunk" sound. Slide catch on... ...slide catch off! Magazine release The magazine release is disappointingly also plastic (not sure if its polymer or steel on the real Glocks?). I have seen many comments around the web stating that this will be worn out rather quickly, so investing in a metal replacement is recommended. Not much else to say about it, it fits in nicely with the frame on the right hand side, tight fit and sitting flush with the frame. The resistance from the spring is a tad weak in my opinion, but when slapping in a fresh magazine it does make a very nice *click* sound when it engages, and the magazine seems to stay in place. Comfortably positioned, good texture and easy to use! Non reversible for left hand users. Sits flush to the frame on the right hand side and with a nice and tight fit to it! Disassembly lever The disassembly lever is also made from plastic (not sure if its polymer or steel on the real Glocks?), but it serves its purpose well and blends in with the rest of the plastic details. I haven't heard of any malfunctions or breakage of this part, so I guess it should be fine. Does it's job, nothing more, nothing less. Trigger The trigger features the signature Glock safety latch in the middle which is required to be depressed in order for the trigger to go into its rearward position. Interestingly enough, in the same YouTube video as I saw regarding the slide catch, the same video mentioned that this was actually not primarily intended as a safety feature. The guy argued that the reason for the latch being there is simply for esthetic reasons. When the slide is cocked (on a real Glock) the trigger follows with it (if the latch wasn't there), making it look as if though the pistol was fired/uncocked even with the slide back. I don't know for sure but I thought it was an interesting argument. One thing I noticed about the trigger, and more specifically the trigger pull, is that the trigger travel distance from cocked to where it actually disengages the sear is uncomfortably long. However when the trigger finally does release the hammer the sound and feel is very crisp. I saw an interesting fix for this "issue" in a post (can't find it now unfortunately), where a guy had put a screw in thru the trigger arm, affectively pushing the arm away from the frame, thus making the trigger pull shorter. The stock trigger pull has a travel lenght of (half-arsed measurement) 7mm, might not sound much but it feels like a very long distance before the hammer drops. Hammer cocked and trigger in its most forward position, Glock safety latch in the middle is present and functional. Trigger ready to drop the hammer, 7mm resistance free travel from it's most forward position, not very comfortable. Hammer dropped and the trigger delivers a nice crips *clack* when it fires. "Safety" The Marui Glock 17 airsoft pistol features an additional safety, other than the trigger safety latch. It is built into the serial number plate at the bottom front of the frame. Not a very pretty or convenient design, but I believe it is ASGK policy (or Japanese law?) to have an external manual safety on airsoft pistols. It really takes away the look of the serial number plate with the spacing to allow it to slide back and forth. It also isn't a very practical safety solution as it's not exactly easily accessible or quick to operate. Slide the serial number plate towards the trigger guard to engage it, hammer must be cocked in order for it to operate. Looks and feels awful! Hop Up The hop up is your standard Tokyo Marui adjustable hop up. Since I have a very limited range to test on I can't say for sure how good it is, but as with most Marui pistols, it is certain to be above average at least. For my purposes I tend to set my hop up to about 1/3rd as my default setting. To access and adjust the hop up you need to do a partial field strip of the pistol, in the form of removing the slide from the frame. From there you have easy access to the adjustment wheel. It seems to be a snug fit and I don't think it will lose its setting very easily. Turn the wheel towards the front sight for less hop, and towards the rear sight for more hop. Hop up wheel, standard Marui design, feels solid! Magazine The magazine is a standard Tokyo Marui gas blowback design magazine and has a capacity of 25 rounds. Although I have to say I would only recommend putting in 23 BBs. This is due to the fact that if you load it with 25 BBs there will not be any room for the spring to flex, meaning that if you slam a fully loaded magazine into the pistol with the slide in its forward position, you may very well break the loading muzzle! With 25 BBs loaded will almost guarantee a broken loading muzzle sooner or later, beware! ZERO flex in the pring, it is jam packed! The magazine also has a decent enough gas capacity, more than enough for a full magazine (this is my minimum expectation). The magazine baseplate is removable to allow for access to the magazine assembly screw. Removing the screw (please empty out the gas first!) pops off the bottom cap allowing you to lube the O-rings and remove the magazine spring and BB follower. I much prefer this solution to the cumbersome and pain in the *** pins, which are near impossible to get back in once you take them out. The magazine baseplate also has a hole in it for easy access to the fill valve, so you don't need to fiddle with removing the plate every time you need to fill up the magazine with gas. Easily accessible fill valve even with the baseplate on, thanks to this wonderful hole! Pop the baseplate off (push in the small locking button and slide it off) and you get access to the magazines dissassembly screw. Empty out any gas before you tinker with this! 2:4: Performance The performance test is pretty straight forward. The main purpose of this section is to measure FPS and gas efficiency, i.e. how many rounds does one gas fill last. I will also do a cool-down test. The tests are being performed with a XCORTECH X3200 chronograph, Guarder Powerful Gas (12kg/cm2 140 PSI @ 24C) and with Tokyo Marui 0.2g BBs. The ambient temperature is 26C. I will shoot 10 rounds (1 second pause between each shot) thru the chronograph and measure the FPS for each shot. First I fire a blank shot (no BB, not chronographed) to release excess gas pressures that can buildup in a fully charged magazine; FPS Test Shot 1: 288.8 FPS Shot 2: 281.6 FPS Shot 3: 289.4 FPS Shot 4: 281.5 FPS Shot 5: 284.6 FPS Shot 6: 281.6 FPS Shot 7: 280.7 FPS Shot 8: 275.6 FPS Shot 9: 278.5 FPS Shot 10: 275.2 FPS MIN: 275.2 FPS MAX: 289.4 FPS AVG: 281.7 FPS I was a bit surprised of the noticeable drop off in FPS after only eight shots, but the overall average FPS is a decent 281.7 FPS, right around where a stock Marui airsoft gas blowback pistol is expected to perform. We will see if the trend of dropping FPS continues in the up-coming gas efficiency test below. Gas efficiency test Next up is the gas efficiency test; here I will load a magazine up with 23 BBs and fire them thru the chronograph, once the first magazine is done I will load up the same magazine (without recharging the gas) with BBs again and proceed with the test. This will be repeated until the pistol is out of gas or when it does not have enough power to cycle the slide and/or propel BBs any longer. For the sake of space and to keep you from boredom I will not list each individual shot. Total number of shots: 48 MIN: 170.6 FPS MAX: 289.1 FPS AVG: 252,9 FPS Putting out just over two magazines worth of BBs the Marui Glock 17 delivers once again. The FPS remains relatively steady with +/- 10-15FPS up until the last 15 shots. After that the FPS drops below 260 FPS and bottoms out at 170.6 on the last shot. So you are at least guaranteed a full magazine (23 rounds) of good performance! Worth mentioning is that the slide was not able to engage the slide catch on the last shot as the blowback was too weak. Cool-down test Now on to the cool-down test. Here I will load up the magazine with 23 BBs and fire them in rapid succession (chronograph not used for practical reasons). Once the magazine is out of BBs I will quickly load it up with BBs again and continue shooting. This way we can see the difference in the total number of BBs shot between the controlled gas efficiency test above, and the cool-down test. Total number of shots: 42 Surprisingly rapid fire did not affect the overall BB count for a single fill of gas in the magazine very much, pretty amazing really. It performed nicely up until the last 5 shots or so. The numbers of the FPS would probably have shown a different story if I had chronographed these shots, but to me they felt fine. Once again the slide failed to lock back on the last round. 2:5: Accuracy The accuracy test will consist of two parts. One, shooting 10 rounds at a 25x25cm target, where the yellow bulls-eye is 2.5cm. I will be using a kneeling position (mainly because I don't have any way to elevate my target so I can stand), two hand grip and I will fire the rounds slowly, taking my time, and aiming for the bulls-eye. The seconds test will be the same setup (10 rounds at target bulls-eye) but with rapid firing, shooting as quickly as I can while still having control over the airsoft pistol and the target. By as fast as I can, I mean approximately 10 rounds in 5 seconds, brap-brap-brap-brap… etc. Actually, now that I've done it, it took about 2 seconds to fire the 10 rounds, damn I'm good! Here is the shooting configuration and variables; the only thing that changes is the rate of fire. Distance: 6m Target: STAR 25x25cm shooting target, 2.5cm yellow inner bull's eye, 5.0cm black outer bull's eye Shots fired: 10 Pistol: Tokyo Marui Glock 17 3rd Generation Gas Blowback Airsoft Pistol (Stock) BBs: Tokyo Marui 0.2g (white) BB Gas: Guarder Powerful Gas 12kg/cm2 140PSI @ 24C Hop Up setting: 1/3rd Ambient temperature: 26C Shooting stance and grip: Kneeling, double handed grip And here are the results; SLOW This was only my second time firing the pistol at a target; I warmed up with 20 rounds (different magazine to avoid cool down effects) previously to this. Pretty nice grouping, right in the bull's eye(s), with only two shots outside of the yellow/black center. Yellow center completely obliterated. FAST Pleasantly surprisingly the fast shooting round resulted in a marginally tighter grouping although slightly above center due to the recoil (I would imagine). Very pleased with this result, if I had compensated for the recoil this might have been as dead on as the slow round. As you can see, regardless of the rate of fire, the Marui Glock 17 performs amazingly in the accuracy test. Keep in mind though that this is only over a range of 6m, I wish I had the ability to test it further but I am confined to my apartment for now. 2:6: Conclusion Well, what can I say; Tokyo Marui delivers once again with a solid gas blowback airsoft pistol. It truly is a great gas blowback pistol, with some minor exceptions. First impression: ||||||| - - - (7/10): Delivers what is to be expected from a Marui gas blowback airsoft pistol. Appearance: ||||||- - - - (6/10): Slight disappointment with too many plastic details, seam lines on the slide and the lack of proper trades brings this mark down a few points. Features: ||||||| - - - (8/10): Holding true to the real Glock on almost all accounts and with the addition of night sights means this pistols gets good marks for its features. Minus points for the safety in the serial number plate. Performance: |||||||| - - (8/10): Performing solidly all around in the performance test the Marui Glock 17 gets a well-deserved 8! Accuracy: ||||||| (8/10): The accuracy of this thing out of the box at my standard test distance of 6m is better than any of my other guns, but due to my inability to test it over longer ranges I have to give it a solid 8! And this concludes my review of the Tokyo Marui Glock 17 3rd Generation Gas Blowback Airsoft Pistol (Stock). This is my first serious full lenght review. I put quiet some thought and time into it so I hope you enjoyed the read. I welcome any comments, constructive critisims and feedback. Post a comment and let me know! Keep an eye out for parts two, three and four that I will be posting as seperate topics in the near future! This post has been promoted to an article Edited June 24, 2011 by cazboab 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scar527 Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Outstanding review! Looking foward to Parts 2, 3 & 4! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NonEx Posted June 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 (edited) Thank you very much for that. I was actually seriously considering not completing it when I was about 1/3rd way in because of how massive it became. I was also worried (still am) that people might not like it and tell me how sucky I am (guess that's my own insecurities). By the way, I just now, this minute added the last editing touches (still have some work on post #1 if i am allowed to edit that in the near future), nothing major but just in case you missed something. EDIT: Thanks mods for fixing the title and removing my comments! Edited June 24, 2011 by NonEx Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hwagan Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 Excellent review mate, probably one of the most detailed and comprehensive reviews i've read! Definitely looking forward to the upgrade installation. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
emp3ror86 Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 Seconded. Outstanding review, thank you for your effort! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skyrider1 Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Nice review, very thorough. TM glocks are my favorite GBB pistols to date and I've tried quite a few. I've owned about 7 TM glocks in total and have 2 right now. If you do the spacer mod under the magazine router or buy those laser cut precision ones someone is selling it greatly reduces cooldown, gives you more power and more shots per mag. Even with a metal slide, upgraded recoil springs, high flows (only on some of my mags) I can get through 2 magazines worth of BBs on a not cold/not hot day (an average san francisco day). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NonEx Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 (edited) For the main review of the pistol and background information neccessary to follow the below comparison and arguments, please see the full review here : http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=197367 ( Tokyo Marui Glock 17 3rd Generation Gas Blowback Pistol Part 1: Stock version ) There will however be some redundant information in these sections so bare with me. Sights Allright, starting from top to bottom, let's begin with the pistols sights. Left to right: Marui standard Glock sights (plastic), Marui night sights (plastic) and Guarder night sights (steel) Tokyo Marui standard Glock "U-dot" sights (plastic) Well, the standard sights are just that, Glock standard U-dot design sights. As mentioned in the full review I like these alot, had they not been plastic I would have kept them. They give a nice a crisp sight picture and frame the target nicely. However since I am upgrading my gun to "full metal" I felt that I wanted to have metal sights as well, and thus I purchased the Guarder night sights (more on these in a bit). If the standard U-dot sights had been avaliable in metal I would have gotten those instead. Typical Glock U-dot sights, nice and crisp. Tokyo Marui additional Glock "three-dot" night sights (plastic) Tokyo Marui were nice enough to include a pair of night sights with their Glock 17 airsoft pistol, nice treat. Installation is simple and the differense here is that these feature the "normal" three-dot sight design and with a bonus feature of glow-in-the-dark dots. They are not tritium sights (radiactive matter), but some sort of paint. You can charge these up by exposing them to sunlight or with a regular light bulb or something similar. The sights when in daylight don't exactly glow and are just a dull light green color, not very clear or crips in my opinion. When using them in darker enviroments the dots do glow significantly but I found that the effect wore off rather quickly. The included glow-in-the-dark night sights features the standard three-dot layout instead. You better find the light switch fast because the glow-in-the dark effect wears off rather quickly! Guarder Glock "three-dot" night sights (steel) As mentioned, because I want this gun full metal I purchased the seperate Guarder steel night sights. Features are the same as the Marui ones, but the main differense being that these are made from steel, the dots are a bit crisper than the Marui ones in daylight, however they performe worse (than Maruis night sights) when used in the dark. The Marui sights out-glow them by quiet a bit. Conclusion: Had I not wanted a full metal gun I would have kept the Marui standard "U-dot" sights, if you want night sight but don't require metal, keep the included Marui ones. Edited June 28, 2011 by NonEx Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NonEx Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Thanks for the comments guys, really appreciate it. Part 2 is underway now, here : http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=197498 Part 3 will take a while more as I am fiddling with fitting the metal slide. Part 4 will be started when Part 2 is done. I also have to make a slight correction from the original review above. The dissassembly lever IS metal. The finish was just so damn "good" it looked like plastic until i took it out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NonEx Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 (edited) Slide OK let's move on the the main attraction for the top half of this pistol, the slide. Top one in these pictures is Marui stock slide, bottom is Guarder aluminum slide (included in the Guarder full upgrade kit). Left side, right side, top side, bottom side.* *Top picture contrast altered to display trademarks, color may differentiate from other pictures. Tokyo Marui stock slide (plastic) Not much to say here reall, the Marui stock slide is standard black ABS plastic and has a decent enough finish. However as mentioned in the full review it has some pretty horrible seam lines all around making it rather unattractive. It also features a metal reinforced plate at the front to handle the recoil action better. The Marui slide is slightly "blacker" than the Guarder one in color. Guarder upgrade slide (aluminum) This slide came with the Guarder enhanced full kit (black). It's a decent enough slide, however it is diecast aluminum and not CNC, this means there are some very faint seamlines on the top from the mould, nothing like the stock plastic slide. The cost of this slide stand alone is about 60USD. The trademarks are alot cripser than the Marui stock ones, making them really pop. Speaking of which, the only differense in trademarks on the slide is the serial number below the ejection port. Guarder has changed the Marui DMD076 to GAR076, clever eh? As mentioned the finish of the Guarder slide is slighty more black/greyish and metallic (obviously). The finish seems solid enough and I haven't had any marks in mine despite fiddling with it when tryin to install it. The installation for the slide requires some work. I am still working on mine. The blowback unit housing dropped in just fine, width and lenght wise. However it (the BBU) sits about 0.25-0.5mm too high in the slide compared to the original, meaning it gets stuck on the lower internals. I thought I would do a quick fix and sanded away on the actual BBU. Turned out to be a bad idea as it didn't fully fix the problem. So sanding inside the slide is required. Conslusion: There's not really much wrong with the stock plastic slide, it's decent enough and will probably work just fine for a few thousand rounds. But seeing as how I wanted a full metal Glock (as full metal as a Glock gets) and the Guarder kit came with an aluminum slide that would have to be my choice. However, if I were to buy a stand alone slide I would go for the slightly more expensive Guarder aluminum CNC slide, about 95USD. It will undoubtedly have nicer finish and overall quality, and hopefully also be a straight drop in fit, requiring little to no modification. Edited June 28, 2011 by NonEx Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NonEx Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 (edited) I was going to do the the next logical piece here, the barrel, but I just realized I don't have any comparison pictures of these parts so I will have to get back to that part in a later post. So this post will be about... Loading Muzzle So I have a confession to make... I am a bit of an airsoft upgrade parts shop-a-holic, in case you hadn't noticed. Sometimes I just buy things, just because. This is one of those times. I purchaed three seperate upgrade loading muzzles. Left to right; Marui stock muzzle, Guarder enhanced polycarbonate muzzle, Airsoft Surgeon clear polycarbonate muzzle, Action loading muzzle.* *I see now that I have reversed the floating valve springs, so the thin chrome one is for the stock valve, and vice verca. Tokyo Marui stock loading muzzle (plastic) Not much to say here, it's a standard Marui gas blowback loading muzzle and internals, doing what it does best. Guarder loading muzzle (enhanced polycarbonate) OK so this was actually my main, go-to-upgrade muzzle. I wanted to install this, I really did. But, the fit is terrible. When I put it in the BBU it gets stuck, it doesn't move freely inside, making blowback action impossible. I tried this without a piston head in the BBU and it didn't matter. I tried shaving off some material with a razor to no avail, it just seems to be slightly too large all around. The material seems nice enough though and I guess with some work I could make it fit. Airsoft Surgeon loading muzzle (clear polycarbonate) This next muzzle I bought because it looked so nice! And it does look nice, and it feels nice. In fact out of the four muzzles this one feels the most solid and rock hard. Either that means it is durable as h*ll, or it will crack under stress due to being too hard. I don't know and I don't think I will find out either. Because this muzzle didn't fit either... (actually, it fit inside the BBU just fine, but...). The inside is slightly wider than the stock one, to allow for the big fat, included, piston head. However, this means that the valve blocker (see piece under the Marui stock muzzle) doesn't fit very well. It felt very loose inside the AS muzzle. It was somewhat acceptable once I tightened the valve blocker screw ALOT, but it just didn't seem right, so I let this one sit it out as well. Action loading muzzle (plastic) Now on the the final piece, the outcast, the slightly all around "off" Action loading muzzle (could it be this is designed for an earlied TM Glock versions internals?). Take a look at the picture above, take a good close look, look at the other three muzzles, and then look at the Action one. Besides the alternative internals, the exterior of the muzzle is also off. The main thing that caught my attention is that the "guide-ridges" around the gas routing hole is not present. This seems like a major issue for gas seal. The included internals look great though and I am sure the alternative rocket/floating valve does something really cool. In fact I even tried it in the Marui stock muzzle, and boy did it have an effect. -280 FPS effect. The gun shot 20FPS with the Action valve inside the stock Maru muzzle, so obviously those parts are not compatible. Overall, I decided not to try the Action muzzle, mainly based on the lack of those "guide-ridges" around the gas routing hole, maybe a poor decision on my end. The material is very similar to the stock Marui muzzle. Conclusion: Well, sometimes buying a shitload of parts just doesn't do you any good. I ended up going with the stock muzzle and I hope it serves me well, because I don't know what I will do if it breaks. Most likely I will just have to try the other three, or two (since the Guarder one doesn't even fit...). So, buy at your own risk! Edited June 28, 2011 by NonEx Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NonEx Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Piston Head Here I have three models to choose from, the included Marui stock piston head, the Airsoft Surgeon piston head (included with the loading muzzle) and finally the PDI piston head. Left to right: Tokyo Marui stock piston head, Airsoft Surgeon piston head and PDI piston head. Tokyo Marui stock piston head Again, not much to say, it's a stock Marui part and it works well. As you can see it's design differens a bit from the other two, being thinner and having the slighly tapered O-ring. Airsoft Surgeon piston head Included with the loading muzzle, that was, if you remember, slightly larger in its inner diameter than the stock muzzle. This means the piston head matches the muzzle size, and this also means it is too tight of a fit for the Marui stock loading muzzle. Other than that it's the beefiest piston head of the three, both width and depth wise. You would think adding depth would decrease the muzzle blowback volume capacity, meanig... actually my brain can't figure out what that would mean but it's an interesting thing to note. Actually, my brain just came back online, it means that the same amount of expelled gas from the magazine is trying to fill a smaller space in the muzzle, meaning heavier and more kick in the blowback (can I have a lollipop now?). This has the three-ridge design, where it has the plastic molding two sides around a central o-ring. PDI piston head Similar, actually very similar, to the AS piston head, this is slightly smaller in both directions meaning it fits in the stock muzzle just fine! Thank G*d for that! Conslusion: I went with the PDI piston head simply because I feel/think I need an upgraded piston head in my pistol. It's suposed to created a better seal and be a bit more durable, but nothing that I have, or probably will notice. It just feels good to have. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NonEx Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 (edited) Allright guys, that's enough for today. I am dreaming about Glock parts at the moment. I will try to finish this part during the week. Lots more parts comparisons to come! Thought this notice on the Guarder Enhanced Kit was quiet intresting; It's only to Improve the Quality of Outlook, Can't be Power-up. Please use standard pressure Gas (HF134a or 12kg/cm2) Edited June 28, 2011 by NonEx Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Misfit Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 Please just use one thread. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NonEx Posted July 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2011 Hrmmm... not sure I understand why you just merged these two threads as they are clearly aimed for two seperate topics of discussion and as such comments and feedback will be mixed and mashed into one giant thread that will be hard to get thru and incomprehensive. Maybe it was because I namned the threads so similarly... Can you please give me a good reason for why it was merged ? Please read the intro to the review (part I) to see my reasoning. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
momo Posted July 9, 2011 Report Share Posted July 9, 2011 I have to agree with NonEx I think it was the point to have them seperate as they're 2 different discussions. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Misfit Posted July 10, 2011 Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 No they're not. It's a review of a single gun, albeit in parts; there is no need for four separate threads cluttering the review forum. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pkm200901 Posted July 10, 2011 Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 looks like a review of aftermarket parts as well... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NonEx Posted July 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 Thanks for backing up my "concept" momo and pkm200901. I actually PMed Misfit and asked him to reconsider, and asked him to read my initial statement of the review as to why there would be four parts. After I sent the PM he left the reply above, so I guess he made up his mind. I still think it's wrong and I'm a bit put off of continuing this project... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Misfit Posted July 10, 2011 Report Share Posted July 10, 2011 I haven't made any nasty comments about your reviews, simply merged two topics into one as is standard in the review forums, so frankly that last post comes across as simply throwing your toys out of the pushchair over a moderator just keeping the forum clean and easy-to-navigate; in no way did merging the threads suggest that Arnies doesn't appreciate your contribution to the forums. The separate threads were merged into one, as would happen to any review which had separate threads for each part. This makes it easier for people to find your threads and thank you for your contribution to the website. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NonEx Posted July 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2011 I haven't made any nasty comments about your reviews, simply merged two topics into one as is standard in the review forums, so frankly that last post comes across as simply throwing your toys out of the pushchair over a moderator just keeping the forum clean and easy-to-navigate; in no way did merging the threads suggest that Arnies doesn't appreciate your contribution to the forums. The separate threads were merged into one, as would happen to any review which had separate threads for each part. This makes it easier for people to find your threads and thank you for your contribution to the website. @bold part. I'm sorry, what now !? I was just trying to reason with you and trying to make you understand why I made seperate topics, and apparantly some people who actually use the forum as end users seem to agree with me. I was allready on the fence about completing this, but now I just feel like it's not really worth it. Which unfortunatly proves my initial worries about it not being worth it from the get go. Can you honestly say, when looking at why I posted the way I did, that it doesn't make sense and would make things easier and clearer for people to view these posts as seperate topics ? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AG1212 Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 @bold part. I'm sorry, what now !? I was just trying to reason with you and trying to make you understand why I made seperate topics, and apparantly some people who actually use the forum as end users seem to agree with me. I was allready on the fence about completing this, but now I just feel like it's not really worth it. Which unfortunatly proves my initial worries about it not being worth it from the get go. Can you honestly say, when looking at why I posted the way I did, that it doesn't make sense and would make things easier and clearer for people to view these posts as seperate topics ? Ignore the moderator, they always get their way. Please continue with the review!! I was on the fence about picking up the Marui Glock over the KSC due to its superior externals but your review of both the stock pistol and after market parts convinced me! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Misfit Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 Ignore the moderator, they always get their way. Confirming moderators exist only to spoil users fun, like The Colonel from Dennis the Menace. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PianoBlack Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 Honestly, if you look at some of the other review threads such as the KSC/KWA MP7 (76 pages), TM Five-seveN (29 pages), KJW M4A1 GBBR (203 pages), and WE GBB M4A! (349 pages) threads, having accessories and the base gun reviewed in the same topic is rather helpful and makes sense. Yes, you're going to have to search for what you need and do some reading. That being said, it creates a self-contained reference where multiple people can add in their own opinions and experiences, which helps more than having a singular authority posting their experiences with a gun or part from a single batch. A broader sample is taken and therefore a better experience base is created. If you want to keep going, go for it. If not, don't. Your review is the third TM GLOCK 17 review here. Perhaps the two previous ones and this one could be combined? -PIano Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AG1212 Posted July 13, 2011 Report Share Posted July 13, 2011 Confirming moderators exist only to spoil users fun, like The Colonel from Dennis the Menace. Huh? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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