Home Reviews M629 Tanaka M629

Tanaka M629

by Arnie

 

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for a larger image)

Tanaka
M629 Review
by
Darren-Jon
Ashmore

(aka Nautilus)

images/edited by Arnie

Stock
Specifications
FPS

0.79 J (stock energy may vary)
Length:
287 mm
Weight:
825 g

Ammo
capacity:

15 Rounds
(Standard Mag)

 

short
review page (by Nautilus)
|
review
page
by
Ken/888


Tanaka
Works M629 Revolver (NATO Green)
There
seem to be two very distinct hands at work at the Tanaka plant, if the
quality of there various handguns are to be believed.

Who out there in
Softeeland does not know of the, shall we say iffy, reputation of the
various automatics that the firms puts out – not the sort of skirmishing
pieces to inspire confindence you will admit (either grosly underpowered,
or so complex that the merest scrap of dirt sends them into terminal
decline).

However, take a
gander at their revolvers and, well, at the very least we could call
them marvelous.

The NATO Green,
the latest incarnation of Tanaka’s excellently fashioned Smith and Wesson
“Classic” .44 Magnums, is a case in point.

Though light for
a revolver – as all of the none stressed parts are molded from tough
but lightweight ABS (I normally have a problem with plastics, but still…..)
– the gun is solidly built and not a flimsy piece of hardware in the
hands. Moreover – with exception of the metal frame parts, which have
been painted with a heavy stoving enamel, the coloration in the gun
has been achieved by using dyed plastic so as to avoid wear (not an
inconsiderable achievement as any who have worked with plastics will
know). This aesthetic touch is backed up by all the usual Tanaka trimmings
– all the necessary TMs, sight trims and the most amazing set of rubber
“battle” grips.

Loading is achieved through
the usual Tanaka system of a spiral magazine which feeds BBs into rotating
shell wells before passing them into the line of the valve at the top of the
cylinder. It is a bit awkward to load, especially in the field, but with a
15 round magazine this isn’t too much of a problem if you are packing a pistol
as a last ditch defensive arm (though I do have to question the gun’s viability
a skirmishing primary for those “pistol and pump” days out with
the lads). The gas tank itself holds enough for at least 60 rounds at full
power and is filled from the rear, requiring that an adaptor (supplied) be
used to do the job – a little fiddly at first, but no real problem).

She seems to work
very well with any good .25 (though I prefer Maruzen Grandmasters in
her) BBs and with the fixed low hop can send accurate shots out to hit
man sized targets at 30 metres (at 10 metres she makes a very respectable
target piece too).

Power-wise she runs
at an average of .79 joules (with a high of .82 and a cooled down low
of .76) – UK side peeps remember that these results were obtained at
an ambient temperature of 29-30 degrees celcius.

Conclusion
All
in all an exceptional piece of hardware. Maybe not the ideal skirmishing
pistol nor yet the best target gun, but an exceptional halfway house
for revolver fans, or those who like to target plink as well as having
that bit of extra backup in the game (Then, of course there is all the
reliability benefits that a simple revolver mech has over the moster
internals of, say a WA job or the likes).

Appearance

5/5
-Very
well styled

Build
Quality

5/5
-solid
and tough

Performance

4/5
-powerful
but a little difficult to load

Value
for Money

3/5
-23,000
Yen is a bit steep but you get what you pay for

Overall
Potential

4/5

External
Links:

http://www.smith-wesson.com/
http://www.impactguns.com/store/smith_m629.html
888’s
review page
– full of Tanaka goodness, including
fine tuning and some useful power-up tweaks!

RedWolf’s
Magnum 44 8inch review
– As ever it’s a wonderful review
from RedWolf, putting the true Dirty Harry spin on it!

Comment
on this review in the forums


Last modified:
Wednesday, May 9, 2001 9:37 AM copyright 2001 ArniesAirsoft




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