-FIDO- Posted January 19, 2008 Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 (edited) So, here it is, my test of the BELL 1911. In this review I will particularly go into the pros and cons of the clone and show you if its worth the money (~30€ at RSOV) or not. Go get a cup of coffee, tea, a beer or whatever, lean back and I hope that you will enjoy reading it. Because i own the TM version too I'm sure i can make a good comparison between the two… I will especially show up the differences to the MARUI 1911 (yes, even a 100% copy has them) but I suggest that you read a review of the original one too… If you want to know the history of the real one, then google it The BELL 1911 comes in a nice plastic case which has foam inlets. I'm sure the case will do its intended job quite well. Funny detail: on the sticker there is pictured a 1911 with no markings at all, and if you know Resident Evil you will immediately notice the S.T.A.R.S. badge After opening the case you see a cleaning rod, a loading tool and the pistol itself. You get also a second loading muzzle in the set, now time will tell if the one BELL used is a POS and therefore they give you a free one, or if its just a nice gift, which I really appreciate. Don’t loose time looking for a manual, you wont find one… So, first I have to say that the GBB is a 100% TOKYO MARUI clone. This means that every part that is metal on the MARUI is also metal on the BELL. The only difference you will notice are the markings: instead of „TOKYO MARUI, MADE IN JAPAN“ and „ASGK“ you will see on BELL´s version: „UNITED STATES PROPERTY“ and „M1911A1 U.S.ARMY“ plus a changed S/N. I like that fact very much. There are nowhere producer markings or a „Made in China“ that would give it away as clone. Just on the (plastic) outer barrel there are no proof marks, but burrs… Lets continue with the magazine: BELL´s mag fits the MARUI, it feeds and functions flawless. The finish is, just like on all metal parts on the gun, a matte black and not as pleasant as you would wish. Like almost every Chinese clone, this replica suffers too from the bad paint used, which will scratch easily and chip off. The magazine holds 23 BB´s and with a charge of yellow gas I was able to get 1 ½ mags out! With my full metal MARUI (guarder kit) I only get out around 13 shots. But as I always load around 10 BB´s I don’t care too much about that. The frame is plastic. BELL´s parkerized finish isn’t even close to that one from MARUI. In fact the TM one is painted to achieve the effect of parkerizing, BELL´s isn’t painted at all. I hope you see the difference on this pic: On the left BELL, on the right MARUI. On the one I received you can see traces of the assembly which left some damages to the surface. Generally the materials and screws used are of lower quality, and if you don’t pay attention you will damage the screw-heads fast and wont be able to remove them easily. On some metal parts you clearly see traces from the casting mold: And my hop up has a dent too: But I'm pretty sure that this isn't the case on every BELL 1911 (except they have a guy in china on the payroll especially for denting their HU units) The hop up looks good to me, the used rubber is just a bit too hard in comparison to the MARUI one. You should think about changing it to get better results… The inner barrel looks a bit dirty, and has weird spots on it, but hey its just a barrel and will do what its supposed to. I forgot to measure the inner diameter, i will do that sometime in the future and update the review… The inner life of the 1911 is amazingly well made, everything fits nicely together and they used better materials for the hammer pin and the remainder of the shooting mechanism. Sounds good until now, huh? The clone didn't explode after the first shot and still works after some FIDO abuse... So there MUST be something wrong with it you ask? Yes, indeed, it isn’t perfect at all! I test fitted my marui frame to the BELL replica, but it isn’t a 100% fit. Because of the lower manufacturing tolerances there are some parts which need modification to fit the MARUI frame. So it will fit, but it wont work properly…only after changing the recoil spring to a harder one the slide went all the way to the front, otherwise you had to manually push it forward to enable it to shoot the next shot. My conclusion is: if you want to use it as a cheap base for a full metal conversion be prepared to spend a bit more time on modding it to fit and work. A friend of mine will soon install a metal frame to his one, then I hope I can tell you how much modifying it involves… Sadly on my 1911 somebody forgot to put the metal weight in the left grip (or is it RSOV saving on shipping costs =P ) but I'm sure this isn’t the case on all BELL versions, so I didn’t take that to account in my review…if you have such a weight give it to me =D I emailed RSOV, but im not sure if they will do anything then nothing. After installing back the BELL frame it worked flawlessly again. The handling of the clone is similar to the MARUI one. The trigger just hasn’t a smooth pull as the TM, the thumb safety clicks and the slide safety is also a bit rough. Maybe changing the spring with the 3 legs helps. The slide catch works with no problems at all. I especially liked the fact that BELL used a harder magazine release spring then TM. After dialing in the hop up i made some shooting tests on a target 10m away. I did this at room temperature, with 0,2g BB´s and yellow gas: I didnt dial it 100% perfect in, but it achieved good results. According to the poor-man´s-chrono it clocks at +300 fps on yellow gas. So, is the BELL clone worth the money? In my opinion, YES it is! For ~30€ you get a good copy of a good pistol. I'm impressed which standard the Chinese clones already reached. They should just improve the quality control a bit more. PRO: -cheap -MARUI compatible -case -markings CONTRA: -too low manufacturing tolerances -hop up rubber should be changed -cheap paint on metal parts -bad quality control I hope you enjoyed reading the review, and that it helps you with your decision over buying it or not If you have any questions or want to add (constructive) improvement suggestions, please feel free to do that! Please ask me if you want to use this review on another site! Edited January 19, 2008 by -FIDO- Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigAl Posted January 19, 2008 Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 (edited) Nice review. PM me your address and i'll send you a weight, infact if you want em i've a set of TN grips with weight's. Edit: What's Yellow Gas? Edited January 19, 2008 by BigAl Quote Link to post Share on other sites
-FIDO- Posted January 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 yellow gas is a bit more power full then green, its recommended for GBB with metal slides..at least thats what it says on the bottle pm is on the way! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
48thRonin Posted January 19, 2008 Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 excellent review, thanks mate Quote Link to post Share on other sites
-FIDO- Posted January 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 (edited) i cant edit the review anymore but a quick update on the barrel bushing, forgot to mention it: its too small to fit a marui outer, remove the plastic ring inside to fix that i count that as a con... Edited January 19, 2008 by -FIDO- Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vlad_k Posted January 19, 2008 Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 hmmm i guess i won't be buying this one...i'll buy the WE 1911 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
k.a Posted January 19, 2008 Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 Nice review. I bought it aswell and got mine yesterday, mine came with a manual which is basically a copy of Mauris manual. Along with the bit's you mentioned I also got two spare O rings to go on the fill valve. Do let us know how your friend got on installing the metal kit and what kit Guarders?? Pgc?? he intends to put on it?? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
-FIDO- Posted January 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 hm so they even forgot the manual on mine?! very strange you're right, i too have those small o-rings..just so tiny i think its PGC, but im not really sure..when i know more i will tell of course! how does yours perform? i noticed too that all springs bell used are stronger then TM ones, very cool imo and the barrel is missing the rifling groove imitations inside at the business end... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rhino Posted January 19, 2008 Report Share Posted January 19, 2008 Nice review. A nice alternative if you're on a budget and want a TM Clone 1911. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FriendlyFire! Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 Sounds good to me and what can you expect its a clone a TM 1911 clone at that! Plus I don't have a problem with owning another 1911 . And great review ...now what to get first wait for second ver. of Miester G17 or pickup this BELL EG720, hmmm? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dookieboy Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 Nice review FIDO! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike_West Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 Hmmm, do I want that one or is KJW better with its full metal goodness? ...well, I can't afford two KJWs, but DAO guns are better for running dualies. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Big Bad Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 So in short this gun would be a good for skirmishing but not for looking at. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bareknuckle Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 yellow gas is a bit more power full then green, its recommended for GBB with metal slides..at least thats what it says on the bottle pm is on the way! Wait, so you mean this thing will run fine on green gas? Nice. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
-FIDO- Posted January 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 (edited) the marui runs also fine on green but yes, untill now i had no problems using it even with yellow (a bit more powerfull then green) but only time will tell... Edited January 20, 2008 by -FIDO- Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jungle_Spectre Posted January 24, 2008 Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 (edited) Just received my Bell EG720 from Gunnerairsoft. Sorry for the horrible pics, I'll try and borrow a better camera... and a better photographer too Hey, they messed up and send two guns!: (not actually, the one with the funky accessory on the grip is my months older Marui 1911A1). Note that if you lift the foam you'll find the manual. And if you lift the other... what's this? Four spare mags! In case someone's wondering what's the deal with that funky rubber ring, it is my infamous "Magazine Loss Prevention System": You pull the tab upwards and you can reload freely; then if you're going to be running around with a holstered gun, just pull the tab down and the mag won't fall whatever you do. Some differences (I tried to photograph them, but neither the camera nor my skills helped): -The Marui has a 'P and and an 'H' on the ejection port cover that the Bell hasn't. -The lanyard ring on the Bell is a bit smaller. -The grip safety spring is stiffer on the Bell. Same happens with trigger, which is not as smooth as the TM one. -The grip screws sit deeper in the Bell. -The finish of metal parts is... different. -The inner barrel muzzle tip is not conical, and the material looks cheaper. Notes on the magazine: -It its a bit tight in the Marui (won't drop). -Equally, the BBs run tight in it, however it feeds well. -Unlike my TM mags, this does not spill gas when filling it (it may be due to the nozzle of my can). -The most notable difference is that the screw at the bottom is a Phillips one rather than an allen one. Performance: I have yet to field test it, but in a hasty indoor side to side test it seems to have little to envy from the Marui. Edited January 24, 2008 by Jungle_Spectre Quote Link to post Share on other sites
-FIDO- Posted January 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 (edited) i found my manual too, a friend of mine took it out of the box when he played around, or whatever he did with it (he ordered it for me) Edited January 24, 2008 by -FIDO- Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jungle_Spectre Posted January 29, 2008 Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 Update, in case someone cares: -The Bell EG720 weights about 40 grams less than the Marui (760/800 on my missuss kitchen scale). -Gunnerairsoft claims that the Bell magazines are not compatible with Marui, however they are. I suppose they are afraid of not selling the more expensive latter ones Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Frakk2k Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 I just bought one I hope it would make a great base for futher modification! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RedScare Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 quick question, this gun comes with two magazines, amirite? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
k.a Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 quick question, this gun comes with two magazines, amirite? Nope, one mag. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jungle_Spectre Posted February 4, 2008 Report Share Posted February 4, 2008 Game tested: It performs equal or even better than the Marui in all aspects. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Frakk2k Posted February 4, 2008 Report Share Posted February 4, 2008 Yay! (Still waiting for mine. Damn that Chineese New Year!) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LameBoy Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 any other retailer has 'em? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bareknuckle Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 I think the only retailers that have them now are gunner, rsov, and ebaybanned. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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