Marushin "Colt XM177E2" Factory Set Plug-Fire Cartridge Blank Firing Replica

As many of you may already know, I have been interested in shooting sports for over 20 years now and during that time have enjoyed air rifles, airsoft, real-steel, blank firers, shotguns, and various bits of military kit I have been allowed to play with because I said I'd be good.

My favourite has always been real-steel for three main reasons.

1. The pure fun of firing (noise, recoil, mechanical action, etc...),
2. The variety of different guns and the varying ways they all operate,
3. The incredible application of clever and functional engineering.

With the current (and in my view, rather draconian) firearm laws in the UK, options are limited to say the least.  I have been interested in Airsoft since the late 1980's, but ultimately the "whizz-phut-whizz-phut" of an AEG just doesn't satisfy in the same way real-steel firearms do.  So obviously I started jumping up and down with joy when I first saw some videos of PFC guns firing.

PFC ModelGuns PFC stands for "Plug-Fire Cartridge", and PFC Guns are also known as "ModelGuns".  They operate using caps to pressurise a cartridge, which forces the mechanism to 'blow-back' in a way similar to real-steel guns.

They have been around since long before the explosion in Airsoft's popularity, and it was Airsoft's success that seriously reduced the ModelGun market.  This is why you don't see many 'modern' designs in the ModelGun market (like the MP5, G36, P90, etc...).  Most guns sold today have had several previous owners and there are precious few still in production.

CMC make some of the best replicas and Hudson make some nice full metal models, but the Hudson cartridges are of a slightly different design to most that is in some ways, not as good as the competition.  Marushin and MGC also have some excellent guns in their collection.

Different calibre guns have different calibre cartridges, just like their real-steel counterparts.  The Colt .45 replicas have .45ACP sized cartridges, where the .44 Magnum revolvers use .44 cartridges.  One other thing worth noting is that different brands of PFC gun have different cartridges that are not always compatible.  For example, The Marushin 5.56mm cartridges I own will NOT work in a 5.56mm MGC M4A1, and vice-versa.

Just like the adverts say, they look, function, fire and strip just like the real-steel originals, with the exception that no projectile (bullet) is launched out of the front end.  They are similar to blank firers, but much more quiet and a lot cheaper to shoot (100 9mm blanks = £25 vs 100 PFC caps = £7).  The other difference is that PFC guns actually emit smoke (and a flash if the barrel is short enough) out of the front end.  Blank firers in the UK cannot do this, as it would legally turn the blank firer in to a firearm.

So, I looked around the various PFC gun web sites and found a few models that appealed.  After much deliberation, I decided to get the Marushin XM177E2 Factory Boxed Set PFC Rifle from ModelGunCollector.co.uk.

I chose the 'Factory Boxed Set' version of the Marushin XM177E2 as it is full-metal, ready-built at the factory, and comes with a heavyweight bolt for increased recoil.  It was £355 for the rifle, 5 cartridges, stripper-clips, the loading tool, and a couple of hundred caps.

The package arrives I ordered the gun, 1,000 caps, and 30 cartridges from MGCollector just before Christmas 2004, and was very pleased when it turned up.

Unfortunately, due to delays in the system of sending them payment, I didn't receive the gun until after the holiday, but it was here now, so no worries.  I opened the package and here's what I got.

• The Marushin XM177E2 Factory version
• 30 round magazine
• 30 Marushin .223 Plug-Fire Cartridges
• 600 CP 7mm caps
• 300 Marushin 7mm caps
• 100 CP 5mm caps
• Instruction Manual
• 2 x Stripper Clips
• Stripper Clip to Magazine adapter
• Immitation 5.56mm NATO bullet
• Cartridge loading tool
• The Box

Basically, exactly what I had ordered, plus a few bonus bits I wasn't expecting.

First impressions of the replica It's good.  Very good.  It's a little lighter than the real one, but not much.  The metal/plastic ratio is identical to the real-steel, and the ABS plastic used on the grips and stock are excellent - far better than anything I have seen on an Airsoft model to date.

There is no creak or wobble to it, except a little creak in the foregrip, but that is to be expected (two hollow ABS plastic halves touching).  The body and most metal parts are made from pot-metal rather than pressed steel, but again, it doesn't detract from the quality of the replica.

The sights are easy to use (although ultimately pointless as there is no need for accuracy with no projectile being fired), and the rear sight has the traditional small / large aperture switchable mechanism (pictured here).

The magazine is essentially a real one - a real-steel M16 style 30 round magazine!  Goodie.  It even holds real-steel ammunition (pictured right, holding 5.56mm NATO Blank cartridges - NOT to be used in the gun itself though - just for illustration purposes).

The slightly lighter weight of the model did catch my attention when I first picked it up, but luckily a loaded magazine (with the PFC cartridges supplied) remedies this instantly.  It is by no means a heavy gun, but it would fool most people with it's loaded weight.

The working parts all work.  By this I mean that the cocking lever cocks the gun, the slide-release releases the slide and the forward assist assists forward motion of the bolt.  The trigger guard even opens up to allow the use of thick winter gloves (photo here).

As a nice touch, the date of manufacture makes up part of the serial number.  Mine was made in September 1981.

To finish off the package are the 'Stripper-Clips'.  These are the strips that hold 10 rounds ready to be easily and rapidly inserted in to the magazine.  Widely used in the military for their real-steel small arms, they allow the shooter to carry a lot of extra rounds, without the bulk, weight, or cost of excessive extra magazines.  Shown on the left (and a close up photo available here), they are attached to the magazine via the included adapter, and allow you to load 10 rounds in to the magazine within a second.  Very impressive and it really hammers home the fact that this replica is as real as you can get without incurring the wrath of your local Police Armed Response Unit.

All in all, I was very impressed, and I hadn't even fired it yet.

The vital statistics for this replica are:

Calibre: .223 Marushin 9.5 x 45mm Cartridge
Length: 770mm
Barrel Length: 380mm
Weight (unloaded): 2.2Kg
Ammunition: 1 x 7mm and 1 x 5mm cap per cartridge
Magazine capacity: 30 (20 round 'Vietnam' style magazines are also available)
Firing Mode: Safe, Semi-Automatic, Fully-Automatic
Metal Component Construction: Zinc Alloy
Plastic Component Construction: ABS
Year of Manufacture: 1981

Firing - Part 1 - "The first shots..." Right, now the reason I got the gun.  5 cartridges came ready loaded.  I took one of them apart so that I could see how the experts did it, and confident I had grasped the reloading technique, I let loose with 5 rounds.

They went off ok, but my first problem immediately presented itself.  The cartridges didn't eject properly.  As each one fired, it stayed in front of the bolt, causing the bolt to try to ram 2 cartridges in to the breech upon its forward return.  Obviously this wasn't going to happen, so the end result was a feed-jam.  After pulling back the bolt and removing the spent cartridge, I tried again.  Another jam.  Then another, then another.  Ever get that sinking feeling?  Well at this point I was sinking faster than a fishing weight in the Atlantic Ocean.

I double-checked the handy diagram that came with the gun, showing exactly how to reload the cartridges, and reloaded a few more (all 30 to be precise).  I loaded the magazine and started firing again.  More feed-jams - almost every single round.  The gun did reload a couple correctly, but a burst of two was the most it would fire in succession.  At this point, I was definitely not impressed, so I sent an e-mail off to MGCollector detailing the problem.

Knowing it would take a while for them to get back to me (it was Friday evening, e-mails are only answered once a week-day, and they provided no other means of contact), my gun-smithing experience kicked in.  I was going to figure out what was causing the reloading problems myself.  After a fair bit of testing, I realised that the extractor arm (that holds the cartridges tight against the front of the bolt, pulling the used cartridge out of the breech) was sunk too deep in to the bolt, and was unable to latch on to any of the cartridges.

Before I received a reply though, something pretty nasty happened.  During some more diagnostic testing, a part came loose inside the gun and pushed by the bolt's forward motion, snapped the rear holding-lug clean off the back of the upper-receiver.  The gun swung open as if field-stripping (even though the rear body-pin was still in place, holding on to what was left of the lug) and the gun wouldn't go back together.

At that point, I hit the bottom of the Atlantic.

The gun was hardly cheap and here I was with a physically broken gun, that wouldn't even work correctly when it first arrived.  I sent off another more urgent e-mail to MGCollector describing what had happened and spent the rest of the weekend with a gun that couldn't even be picked up without the bolt falling out on to the floor.

Monday afternoon, and two e-mails appeared in my Inbox.  The first was in response to the gun's failure to cycle cartridges through it correctly, and stated that they would happily take a look at the gun if I sent it back to them.  The second one acknowledged that the 'major development' that saw the upper receiver's rear lug snap off was a rare, if not unique problem.  After a few e-mails back and forth, they sent me out a replacement upper-receiver (new) and a new extractor arm, free of charge.  I fitted them both, loaded up some cartridges and let rip.  Jam.  The same problem as before was still evident.

After stripping the bolt down entirely, I could see what the problem was.  An internal piece of the inner bolt had warped by the continuous hits to the extractor arm caused by the jamming cartridges.  This jamming problem had obviously been happening long before I ever got my hands on the gun.  I sent a photo back to MGCollector showing clearly what the problem was (photo).  I also decided to strip down the entire gun and find a few answers to some of my other questions (i.e. why were the cartridges getting so badly damaged at the back when fired, where there any other age/use related failures I should know about now, and why did the firing arm just snap in half during testing?).  I found additional faults with the igniter pin (corroded through a prior lack of cleaning), the selector switch (a worn edge caused it to automatically switch from full to semi-auto on a trigger-pull) the firing arm return spring and the outer bolt.

The e-mail was sent detailing all my findings, and waited for the reply.  MGCollector asked that I return the faulty items and they would replace them free of charge.  I packaged up the entire bolt assembly (containing most of the faulty items) as well as the selector switch, and sent it off by next-day Special Delivery.  They replaced every part for me and sent the new bits back within the week, along with a free black sling, 100 free caps, a new loading tool (the old one was too short), and a 10% discount on my next order by way of an apology for the problems I had experienced.  This was very nice of them and turned what was a very bad experience in to a minor inconvenience.  Overall I was happy again.

I assembled the parts, loaded up more cartridges and hoped for the best (although by this time I wasn't expecting a miracle).

Firing - Part 2 - "After the health-check..." Bang.  The first shot fired and the cartridge ejected as it was supposed to.  Bang.  Another worked fine.  Bang.  The third shot did what it was supposed to as well.  The grin grew across my face.  Dare I try full-auto now?

Ba-ba-ba-ba-bam!  Wow!  A burst!  The cartridges were ejecting, the gun was working, and the selector switch wasn't resetting to semi-auto by itself.  As I fired the rest of the 30 cartridges, there were a few jams, but nothing like the number of problems I had been having previously.

'Full-Auto Joy' had me gripped now as I reloaded the cartridges repeatedly, firing away and laughing manically (well, maybe not in the way a James Bond Bad-Guy would, but I sure was one happy camper).

Before long (after a few hours), I realised I had used up about 500 caps.  Well, they had made me happy, but I quickly added more PFC caps to my shopping list.  Now it was most definitely time to give the gun a good clean.

Field-Stripping In order to clean the gun (essential with PFC guns), I had to take it apart.  This is where PFC guns have a BIG advantage over Airsoft guns.  They field-strip, just like the real-steel versions.

I pushed out the rear body-pin, swung open the receiver and removed the bolt (as shown in the following photos)...

1.	2.
3.

The gun can be stripped down to this extent in a few seconds with no tools and goes back together just as easily.  The gun can be stripped down a lot further if required, separating it in to individual components, but this is not always necessary.

Upon opening the gun for the first time, I was hard pressed to tell the difference between the PFC XM177E2 and the real-steel one.  Sure, the walls of the gun are a bit thicker, but the internals are pretty much identical inside the lower receiver.  Obviously their construction is not of the same strength, so any attempt to convert one of these to a real firearm would most likely result in the shooter being blown up within the first shot, but the realism of the mechanical components was exactly what I had been looking for (due to my love of firearm mechanics).

The manual that comes with the gun also features a very useful 'exploded diagram' of parts.

Comparing the PFC XM177E2 to the Airsoft XM177E2 AEG To give Airsofters a good idea of how this replica stacks up against the Airsoft equivalent (and just because I had one knocking around), here is how the Marushin XM177E2 Factory Rifle compares to the Tokyo Marui XM177E2 First Edition AEG (1992 model).  In the following photos, the upper model is the Airsoft one, the lower is the PFC gun.

The size of the two models is pretty much the same.  The PFC gun is slightly longer (only about 1cm), but the height and length scale is identical.

The width of the models though is different.  The Airsoft AEG is noticeably wider (shown right).  This is because the Airsoft gun has to house a gearbox, piston, motor and battery, whereas the PFC gun does not.  Basically, the result is that the PFC gun is identical to the real-steel in all dimensions, whereas the Airsoft version is not.

The foregrips are also different.  Again, the PFC model has MUCH more realistic foregrips than the Airsoft version, both in size and texture.

The airsoft foregrip is larger, as it has to hold a battery.

 

 

The triggers are different too.  Most notably, the trigger in the PFC gun (pictured below, closest to the camera) is set further back than the Airsoft one.  The real-steel gun's trigger placement is closer to that of the Airsoft gun in this case.

Looking inside the mag-well shows instantly the differences between the two models.  The Airsoft gun contains the front of the gearbox and the BB feed tube.  Looking in to the PFC gun's mag-well reveals the underside of the bolt. You can also see the difference in the width of the two guns fairly easily in this photo.

The magazines themselves are radically different.  As you can see, the AEG magazine is wider, shorter and has the BB feeding system mounted on the top. The PFC gun's magazine is taller, open at the top and geared up for a totally different type of ammunition. The hole that the mag-latch sits in when inserted to the gun is also in a different place on each magazine, due to the different depths they can be seated to in each model (the PFC gun seats its magazine deeper than the AEG).

Finally, the rear surface of the butt-plate has a very different texture on each gun. The PFC gun (on the left) has a fairly flat, smooth, diamond shaped pattern moulded in to the plate which does not work very well in a non-slip capacity, but would be more comfortable to absorb recoil through. The AEG (on the right) has a far more pronounced stippling on its butt-plate which grips clothing nicely and stops the stock from sliding around (not that that is a problem anyway with an Airsoft gun).  The finish is reminiscent of the business end of a steak-tenderizer.

The only other noticeable cosmetic differences are...

1. The PFC gun does not have the bayonet-lug on the under-side of the front-sight assembly.

2. The Airsoft gun has an imitation gas feed tube running through the upper side of the foregrip and in to the upper receiver, where the PFC model does not.  This took me several weeks to notice though, so it's not a big deal.

The Caps PFC guns work using caps.  These are impact-sensitive explosive devices made of a rubberized plastic compound with the explosive charge seated in the centre.  The charge itself is not particularly powerful, but could be dangerous if detonated outside the gun near a person's eyes.  Basically, be sensible with them and they are very safe.  Do NOT poke or prod the charge inside the cap, as it could easily go off.

There are two different sizes of cap that are required for the successful operation of this gun.  A 7mm and a 5mm (diameter) cap is required for each loaded cartridge.  The 5mm cap sits inside the 7mm cap, boosting the power output to a level that will successfully cycle the gun.  A 7mm cap alone will not provide enough power to successfully operate the gun's blowback action.

There are also two different brands of 7mm caps that are easily available.  The MG Caps (pictured above) are the standard and most widely used caps.  They produce a decent amount of power and a nice cloud of smoke when fired.  They don't produce much in the way of a flash though, although any muzzle-flash is more noticeable in short barrelled pistols than in rifles such as the XM177E2.  The other brand is "Marushin" 7mm caps.  These produce slightly less smoke, but produce a very nice flash which occasionally look like sparks.  The animated image of me firing the rifle at the top of this page shows the Marushin 7mm caps in action.

Loading the Cartridges The cartridges are relatively easy to load, but can be quite time consuming if you are loading a lot of them.  They take less time than reloading real-steel cartridges and they need no press or die set.  The only tool needed is the reloading tool supplied with the gun, although I find a .38 Special bullet-block to be a very helpful gadget, keeping all of the cartridges together during the reloading process (see photo on the left).

NOTE: Cartridges should be cleaned thoroughly after they are used - as soon afterwards as possible, before corrosion begins or the residues get too firmly stuck to the metal.  If you neglect the cleaning, your cartridges will not work as they were meant to.

To reload, first you take the cartridge apart to separate its three components - the base-cap, the piston and the main casing (shown here).  Then...

Firstly, insert the piston (the small circular 'floating valve' with one side flat and the other side cone-shaped).  The piston is inserted 'cone-side' first.  This should drop down to the bottom (the front) of the main casing.  If it doesn't, the cartridge needs cleaning.
Secondly, the 7mm cap needs to be inserted.  This gets pushed in to the back of the main casing, rounded end first with the red coloured explosive chemical still visible from the cartridges opening (the Marushin brand 7mm caps have a black coloured explosive compound).
Press the cap in firmly with your finger.
Take the supplied reloading tool and align the wide end directly over the back of the cap.  It should fit on top of the cap nicely.
Push the reloading tool down on to the cap, so that the cap is pushed in to the main casing to the correct depth.
Now take a 5mm cap and drop it in to the casing.  It should be facing the same way as the 7mm cap (rounded end down), and should fit inside the 7mm cap's cavity. This does NOT need to be pressed down with the loading tool - just make sure it is in the right place and facing the right way.
You can see (just about) the green 5mm cap sitting inside the bronze coloured 7mm cap.  The red part you can see is the explosive compound in the centre of the 5mm cap.
Take the base cap and screw it on to the back of the main casing.
Once this is screwed on tight, you have your fully reloaded Plug-Fire Cartridge!

 

Frequently Asked Questions Below I will try to pre-empt the various questions I can see coming my way...

Q: How loud is this gun?
A: Not very.  It is no-where near as loud as blank firers, and is quieter even than a .22 short (6mm) blank firing starter-gun.  It does make a satisfying bang though which is still louder than the cap guns we all used to play with as kids.

Q: Will the noise disturb my neighbours?
A: Not unless you live in a tent.

Q: If these guns produce muzzle-flash, aren't they legally classified as Firearms in the UK?
A: No.  The Plug-Fire Cartridge does NOT vent its gas directly through the barrel upon firing.  The exhaust gasses, flame and smoke are only released down the barrel once the cartridge has left the breech, so they have no 'back-pressure' capable of launching a projectile.  The main difference in the eyes of the law is that the Plug Fire Cartridges are ignited from the FRONT, rather than from a firing pin and percussion cap at the rear of the cartridge, like a blank firer.

Q: But I can see the percussion cap on the back of each cartridge in your photos.
A: Not really a question, but the 'percussion cap' you see there is only an imitation for the purposes of realism.

Q: What sort of cleaning and maintenance do these guns need?
A: The cartridges and gun will need regular cleaning, depending on how often you shoot the gun.  The caps burn 'dirty', meaning they leave a thick residue on the inside of the cartridges and the mechanism of the gun from the breech forwards.  Cartridges will need a quick clean after each use, and a thorough clean after every 3 or 4 uses.  The cartridges are best cleaned with pipe-cleaners, brass wire brushes and for a thorough clean, hot soapy water.  The gun can be taken apart and cleaned in much the same way.  Neglect your cleaning duties and it will soon stop working properly.  ALWAYS clean the cartridges and gun thoroughly before storing for a long period, or the residues will corrode the components over time.

Q: How long do these guns and their parts last?
A: My personal experiences might lead the casual observer to think that these guns break easily, but I don't believe that is the case.  The parts are of good enough quality to last many years, but if you abuse the gun or don't look after it, things will go wrong.  As a careful owner, I don't expect many more problems with my ModelGun.

Q: Are replacement parts available if things do go wrong?
A: For this gun, yes.  Lots of them.  Ask your vendor about the parts they stock, and they should be able to fulfil your needs.  Some other models are much harder to get spare parts for though, so ask before you buy.

Q: Can I put real bullets / blanks through this gun?
A: No.  They won't fit in the breech, as the igniter-pin is there.  This is the pin that ignites the caps from the front of the cartridge.

Q: Can I take out the igniter pin and put real bullets / blanks through the gun?
A: No.  The breech is not deep enough.

Q: If I deepen the breech, can I fire live bullets / blanks in this gun?
A: See a doctor mate!  You'd need special tools to do this, and even then, you'd need to accurately and precisely reshape the breech.  If you did this, you still have to get round the problem of the gun having no firing pin.  Even if you redesigned the entire bolt so that it did, the gun would explode in your face the moment you pulled the trigger!  The breech, barrel and body of the gun are made from relatively weak 'monkey-metal' and could not possibly withstand the pressures caused by either a live blank or bullet.  See this photograph which shows (for comparison only) the different amounts of power that PFC guns and Real-Steel guns put out (shown as amounts of gun-powder for easy comprehension).  This is a model, a replica, a toy - NOT a firearm.

Q: What upgrades and accessories are available for this gun?
A: Read on...

Upgrades, Accessories and Bolt-ons The ModelGuns don't have all that much in the way of accessories or upgrades, but they don't really need them.  Many Airsoft accessories such as the M203 Grenade Launcher and various Scope Mounts will fit this PFC gun quite happily.

Speak to your ModelGun stockist to find out exactly what accessories will fit.  Many stockists carry Airsoft and Real-Steel accessories that will fit this, and many other PFC guns.

Upgrades aren't really required for PFC guns.  After all, they're never going to be made more 'powerful' as they don't shoot a projectile, and there is little market for altering the rate of fire as they fire pretty realistically out of the box.

Filming & Collecting These are probably the two main uses for PFC guns.  Due to their realism of operation, they are excellent for filming purposes.  They shoot a cloud of smoke, operate just like their real-steel counterparts, and eject cases in a very realistic manner.  Many a low-budget blockbuster has its gun-play firmly supported by ModelGuns, and I know they have crept in to a few higher budget flicks too.

One movie of note that has used quite a few MGC M16A1 ModelGuns was Stanley Kubrick's 1987 movie "Full Metal Jacket".  These were mainly used by troops in non firing roles but if you know what to look for, you can identify which actors are carrying them.

If you are looking for a cheap way to simulate realistic firearm use in a country where real firearms are prohibited, look no further.

The other main market is collectors.  As these guns are so realistic in appearance, they make ideal candidates for wall-hanging and amazing fellow enthusiasts.  They look, feel, operate and strip just like the real thing and in a country like the UK, you are unlikely to find anything with all these qualities within the legal spectrum.  It is just a shame that more modern firearms are not replicated in this format (such as the P90, the MP5, the MP7 and others).

The Future of PFC Guns Here's where I will take an educated guess.  ModelGuns were much more popular before the popularity of Airsoft exploded in the East in the last 10 years.  They almost disappeared altogether, and could easily have done if it weren't for their ardent fan-base.

Now though, with firearm laws being tightened up around the world, the future is looking brighter for ModelGuns.  The way they operate is so similar, yet so different from real-steel guns, they are still legal in pretty much any country that has not banned all firearm replicas.

About ModelGunCollector I must admit, what drew me to ModelGunCollector in the first place was their prices.  That and the fact that they were the first people to get back to me regarding my original enquiry by quite a long way.  I took this as a good sign.

MGCollector have been in business since late 2002, and is run entirely by enthusiasts.  They have many classic models of their own and their aim is to help fellow collectors source the guns and parts they need.  They have recently been looking at acquiring a showroom for the ModelGuns, but due to recent increases in the number of web based customers, they have decided to shelve these plans for the immediate future so that they can keep their current level of service up for existing buyers.

First, the two bad points about MGCollector.

1. I wasn't a fan of their web site as it just left too many questions unanswered.  For example, both the Marushin XM177E2 and the MGC M4A1 are listed as constructed from ABS plastic and Metal.  Correct of course, but it doesn't let on to the fact that the Marushin model has a metal body and the MGC model has a plastic body.  This is a big deciding factor for anyone looking for a good replica, so the lack of information could really put some people off, delay other potential buyers, and ultimately cost the company a lot of time answering the same questions via e-mail over and over again.  It could also lead some customers in to buying something they aren't happy with.

2. The only contact method for this company is their e-mail address.  This means that it is impossible to get quick answers to quick questions, and you will have to wait until the following day to get your answer, and then more days go by as you follow up and get all of the information you want.  Now I can see why they work this way - after all, they don't have a massive show-room and staff members standing idle.  But a phone number you could call for those quick questions would really help, and it would inspire customer confidence in their company.  Maybe they will get a cordless phone & headset so that someone can answer incoming calls while packaging orders in the future, but for now it's e-mail only.

Both of the above points are also traits of the other UK internet resellers as well, but if MGCollector were to fix these, they would undoubtedly be by far the best ModelGun reseller in the UK.  Here's hoping.  For now, just allow several days to ask your questions and finalize your order.

Now, the good points.

1. This company is run by enthusiasts.  This means that the advice they give is accurate, helpful, and they take a pride in the service they offer.

2. They are honest and trustworthy in my experience.  Despite the severe problems I had, they did everything they could have been expected to do to get things fixed.  Most of the problems I have experienced were down to a lack of care by a previous owner.  Normally this would have been detected by the folks at MGCollector, but due to their Christmas rush, and my hurry to get the replica, they didn't have chance to check the model for problems before dispatching it.  Normally, every model is checked and tested (except for brand new models) before they are sent out.

3. Their web site has some very good photos of the models on it.  Great eye candy that also gives you a good idea of what the different models look like.

4. Their prices are good - better than anywhere else I have found in the UK.

5. They carry spare parts in stock for many ModelGuns (although not all, subject to stock availability).  Ask them about part availability for your model.

6. From all the e-mails I have sent to the various PFC ModelGun sellers in the UK, MGCollector have been the fastest to reply with the information.  It may take a day to get the info you need, but that is a lot better than waiting the best part of a week for a simple answer to a simple question.

So, overall I would recommend them to anyone wanting to buy a PFC gun in the UK.

Summary As mentioned in my ICS MP5-A4 review on this site, I am by nature extremely fussy and will never settle for second best - ask anyone who knows me - Life is just too short to put up with "almost good enough".  This gun is a great replica and if you, like me, are after something that looks like a real gun, works like a real gun, but doesn't break the law, cost too much or annoy the neighbours, I would seriously advise you to look at the range of PFC guns.

Would I recommend this particular gun to you?  It depends.  The Marushin range includes kits, standard guns and Factory sets.  The kits are just that - kits.  They arrive in pieces and you have to put them together.  The standard guns are great.  They are often full metal in construction and work nicely.  The Factory set is not available for all models, but on this model, it indicates that the gun has a heavier bolt, comes with a 30 round curved magazine, and has a steel flash-hider.  The Factory guns were also manufactured as a limited run in the early 1980's, so you won't find a new one.  These factory improvements are great, but the heavier bolt can cause problems if the gun is not in tip-top condition.  As the bolt is heavier, any resistance to the bolt will stop the bolt from moving back in the manner it should, and this can lead to jams.

If you want an easier life, avoid the Factory set.  If you want the ultimate, are relatively mechanically minded, and are happy to get your hands dirty (or are an avid collector), the Factory set might well be the one for you.

This gun is great, but does have its downsides.  It MUST be taken care of and has to be kept clean (like most ModelGuns).  If you're after a toy to play with and then leave in a closet, don't get a ModelGun - get a cheap Airsoft gun instead.  If you want realism though, PFC guns are great fun.

I also found quite a few loose pins and parts that can fall out without notice.  I recommend to any new user that they put at least 100 shots through their new PFC gun somewhere where they will easily be able to find those small objects that may drop from the gun.  After the 100 shots, make sure everything is nice and secure, and you're good to go.

I let an ex-SAS friend of mine have a play with my PFC XM177E2 the other day, and while he did notice that it was a little light (although he is used to the MUCH heavier SA80), he was impressed with the operation of this gun.

Conclusion I like my new PFC ModelGun.  It took me a lot of time and effort to get to this stage, but I am now a happy owner.  To me it represents the long lost days of firearm ownership, without the legal hassles of licensing, inspections and expensive gun club membership.

I love the recoil, but don't like the feed-jams.  I appreciate the realism, but am not too keen on the 'monkey-metal' construction.  I enjoy the cheap caps, but don't like the pricey cartridges.

There is good and bad in most things, but the balance tips in favour of the good with this model.  If you can live with the niggles, I would highly recommend it.  If you can't, there are plenty of other things on the market that might tickle your fancy.  My ModelGun has suffered FAR more problems than most and I would be very surprised to hear of another user having a worse experience than I have had, but then I am famously unlucky with replica guns.  I am the man who destroyed 8 Tokyo Marui MP5s within 2 months, just by shooting them normally (and about another 5 that died within seconds at the shop, in front of a bemused shopkeeper).  If it can survive or impress me, it is a recommendation indeed.  Many have failed, but this gun gets the R22 Seal of Approval.  I can't say fairer than that.

by Will (aka R22Master)

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