Tokyo Marui 1911 MEU

[Newsh]

I've recently collected my TM 1911 MEU and took it out on a skirmish, so I thought i'd post my thoughts. This is my first review so be kind lol

 

Real steel info

The real MEU(SOC) pistol, officially designated Pistol, Caliber .45, MEU(SOC), is an air-cooled, magazine-fed, recoil-operated, single-action, semi-automatic handgun chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. It is based on the original M1911 design by John Browning, and has been the standard-issue side arm for the Force Recon Element of the United States Marine Corps' Marine Expeditionary Units from 1985 to today. Its National Stock Number is 1005-01-370-7353. MEU(SOC) is short for Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable)

 

The full Wikipedia article can be read here

The GBB Pistol

 

Like their earlier 1911A1 release, TM have gone to town on the packaging and its a thing of beauty. The box has a USMC styled look to it, with various stamps and info and a desert MARPAT theme. Its really quite impressive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The inside is well presented, with a stiff foam packaging covered in a desert MARPAT patterned fabric.

 

 

 

 

And the Pistol

 

 

 

 

 

 

The MEU(SOC) has various features that set it apart from TM's previous 1911A1, such as 3-hole stainless aluminium trigger, rounded skeleton hammer, full beaver-tail, ambidextrous safety, Novak combat sights, angled front and rear cocking surfaces, and Pachmayr style rubber grips.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm led to believe (but not 100%) that this pistol uses the same internal system as the Hi-Cappa, making it capable of some serious power with a great blow-back unit giving some powerful recoil for added realism.

The Magazines feature a protective bumper on the bottom for protection, and thankfully TM have learned from the mistakes of other manufacturers by making sure you can still access the gas filling valve, without any kind of adapter needed.

 

The finish is excellent. There are no mould lines whatsoever on this pistol, and it looks very realistic, and despite its ABS slide it looks and feels metal. Its comfortable to hold and the weight is bang on, with the pistol sitting naturally in your grip when holding in the firing postion.

 

 

 

I chrono'd the gun and using Green gas, the results were: 327, 318, 323, 321, and 322 fps!

 

I realise using green may be dodgy, but i don't blat off a full mag in one go so hopefully i'll be ok.

 

The 1911 MEU has good range for a pistol, and seemed accurate enough to me, but I didn't bother to do a groupings test on a target.

 

I purchased this pistol plus an extra magazine from Elite Shooting centre in Bury (formerly Burnley), and I have to say the customer service and professionalism were second to none. Mike's prices are also very reasonble.

 

 

Overall I am seriously impressed by this pistol. I think this is set to be one of Tokyo Marui's most successful GBB pistols ever, so IMO you ought to add one to your collection!

 

I think I may have to purchase the 1911A1 too - damn! lol

 

Cheers

 

 

 

[TK]

I was very impressed when I fired this little machine. Very very satisfying sound and good FPS coming out of it.

Fingers crossed the slide will hold out with the green gas.

 

If I was gonna get another pistol, Im sold on this now!

 

Nice review Newsh, but it bad to tempt me.

[Newsh]

You know you want one TK

[AliceHKfan]

I thought it was worth mentioning that the internal dimensions might be different as well as slight changes to the HU/Barrel assembly For instance, I had a hard time getting my 9ball threaded barrel on and needless to say it won't come off unless I file something. also sometimes the barrel makes the slide stick and not cycle at least hand cycling. Unfortunately I bought the gun used without a mag so I haven't gotten to shoot it yet. Fortunately I've got one in the mail as well as a 9ball recoil rod.

[Utty]

I realise using green may be dodgy, but

Wrong.

[swannie_2006]

You got me sold on this one ))

 

As soon as I get rid of my WA Kimber ICQB I get this one.

[AliceHKfan]

D= trade!? j/k I want a Dawson rail for my MEU

[Kai_Wolf]

I own the MEU as well and have to say it is just the skirmisher I thought it would be. After going through a few full metal TM's, I decided to keep it simple (and much cheaper) and stick with a stock Marui. The MEU so far has not dissapointed me yet, and I highly doubt it will. Gotta love those mags though.

[SamJacksonFan]

Nobody adressed the outer barrel yet. How is the quality? I guess plastic, as with every Marui 1911 and 2011 (and I guess all other GBBs).

What does it say on the chamber? I only can recognize the .45 ACP at the end. Are there any aftermarket chambers and outerbarrels allready?

Edited September 13, 2008 by SamJacksonFan

[aegis]

this gun is really nice, nice blow back

mine just came few days ago, the finishing its better than the previous 1911 (too much plastic look alike)

but i having trouble filling the gas mag, when i filling the gas to the mag, the gas spilling out from the valve (but the mag is normal , no leaks), is it normal ? or i just miss something ? unlike my KJW P226 mag, when i fill the mag there is no gas spill out from the valve.

[The Crunchy Bunny]

So the diffinitive answer is that yes, it can take green gas and the slide won't explode?

[PlasticMag]

Just like the last Marui 1911...

[Boom3r]

I like mine a lot, works fine on Green gas in UK temps, just like my 1911a1. Very Impressed.

[Utty]

this gun is really nice, nice blow back

mine just came few days ago, the finishing its better than the previous 1911 (too much plastic look alike)

but i having trouble filling the gas mag, when i filling the gas to the mag, the gas spilling out from the valve (but the mag is normal , no leaks), is it normal ? or i just miss something ? unlike my KJW P226 mag, when i fill the mag there is no gas spill out from the valve.

Yeah it's normal.

 

You actually get more liquid gas in the gas tank with the non-sealed valve - in a sealed-type valve, gaseous gas (is gaseous, hah) will take up space when filling, preventing full liquid gas capacity.

 

Most fill valves on japanes-brand gas guns are non-sealed.

[crump3t]

I realize this may not be the perfect place to ask, but being so closely related I thought why not...

 

 

Anyone tried out VFC's new alu kit for these things? I'd love love love to get info on the MEU's performance in a metal package.

 

This thing will be my next pistol.

 

*makes promise to wallet*

[(V)atrix]

... and the weight is bang on, with the pistol sitting naturally in your grip when holding in the firing postion.

 

I have to respectfully disagree on this one point... While the weight is very nice, and is close to being "bang on", it does feel a bit lighter than a real 1911. Or maybe it's just because the muzzle is too light, making the balance feel a bit "off" from a real 1911 - (for me at least).

 

With that said... Awesome replica! Very nicely done, and well thought out.

 

I like that TM seems to have used aluminum (or some other lighter alloy) for the magazine, instead of zinc - making the balance a little more realistic, and keeping the weight change between a loaded and unloaded pistol much closer to that of a real 1911. I hate how some GBB replicas go from a nice, solid feeling replica, to a light-weight toy, once you drop the magazine... That's definitely not an issue with this GBB.

 

The 3-piece grips are nice too. Instead of one-piece rubber, wrap-around grips, the TM grips are 3 interlocking pieces (5 if you also count the weights). I will admit, initially I was a bit disappointed that TM used a rubberized plastic (like the rubberized finish on an AK Beta grip) instead of actual rubber... But once I disassembled the pistol and noticed the ingenuity of the design I was rather impressed. The front strap of the frame is fully checkered, and the ridgid plastic construction and interlocking design of the grips means they can be installed with or without the wrap-around portion... Thus allowing some modularity and personal comfort/choice right out of the box. Is the grip uncomfortable with the wrap-around portion installed, or it just doesn't suit your aesthetics? No problem - 2 minutes with a screw driver and you've a pistol with seperate L and R grip panels and a nicely checkered front strap.

 

All in all, I'm glad I bought one. A very nice replica, with a reasonable price, and backed up by TM's superb on-field reliability and performance.

Edited November 1, 2008 by (V)atrix

[Cpt. Shadow Fox]

Can anyone confirm that some of the controls are plastic? And I'm guessing the outer barrel is plastic too? It seems a little disappointing that you need to throw in an extra hundred or so dollars for stuff that is typically metal on a marui that is already more expensive to begin with, but them's the breaks.

Edited November 1, 2008 by Cpt. Shadow Fox

[Utty]

Can anyone confirm that some of the controls are plastic? And I'm guessing the outer barrel is plastic too? It seems a little disappointing that you need to throw in an extra hundred or so dollars for stuff that is typically metal on a marui that is already more expensive to begin with, but them's the breaks.

Uhh what?

[Cpt. Shadow Fox]

What parts on the gun are metal.

[(V)atrix]

What parts on the gun are metal.

 

The big parts (outer barrel, frame, slide, and grips) are plastic... The rest is metal.

 

As for your comment about construction and price...

 

First of all, while metal guns are nice they do have drawbacks. For example, an ABS framed gun will function better than a metal one in cooler temps - due to ABS being less conductive of cold, and cold being the killer of gas efficiency.

 

Also the finish on an ABS gun is usually nicer and more realistic than on a cheap metal frame. If you want a nice, realistic finish, on a metal body, you'd still have to spend several hundred on an aftermarket MBK - even if the gun were metal to begin with.

 

Furthermore, most the cost assosciated with new guns is in design and development - something those theiving cloners don't have to spend a single penny, yen, or what-ever-the-frack-currency on... So comparing prices between a gun designer (like TM) and a cloner (like WE) isn't at all fair... It's almost as bad as trying to get Sears to price match the dude down the street selling TVs out of the back of a cargo van. A more realistic comparison would be TM vs. WA... And in that comparison, the TM is a hell of a bargain, providing similar quality at a little over 1/2 the price.

 

Lastly, while I have frequestly pointed out that it is not actually illegal to sell a full metal gun in Japan, there is one Japanese law that would affect this gun being metal... In Japan, metal framed pistols must be sold with a white frame. I don't recall if the law required that the frame be "in the white" (raw metal) or actually painted white - but the replica could not have a realistic finish on it when sold. (That doesn't preclude Japanese purchasers from installing aftermarket MBKs). Because of this, while you will likely see more and more metal AEGs from Marui, TM's pistols will almost assuredly continue to be ABS framed replicas.

[Cpt. Shadow Fox]

Lol, it better not be full metal, as I bought a metal kit with it. I was just wondering if the parts like the mainspring housing and safety are metal. I heard that some of the metal parts on the 1911A1 are now plastic on the meusoc. I'm just trying to figure out what other after market parts I'm going to buy.

 

The prices I was comparing it to were other stock TM gbb's, as its $30-40 more.

[(V)atrix]

I was just wondering if the parts like the mainspring housing and safety are metal.

 

Yes... Mainspring housing, grip safety, thumb safety, sights, trigger, slide release, recoil spring plug, barrel bushing, etc. are all made of metal.

 

I heard that some of the metal parts on the 1911A1 are now plastic on the meusoc.

 

Not that I'm aware of - except maybe if you count the base-plate of the magazine... Since the MEU uses "Wilson"-style magazines with a plastic "bumper" base-pad.

 

Other than that, I think all the metal parts on the TM M1911-A1 are also metal on the TM MEU - (though my TM 1911 is currently about 5500 miles away, so I can't actually compare them side-by-side right this moment).

 

The prices I was comparing it to were other stock TM gbb's, as its $30-40 more.

 

Not really... Most the "stainless" TM GBBs are around the same price as the MEU, and most regular GBBs (including the M1911) are only about $10 less. The only TM GBBs the MEU is really, significantly, more expensive than are the G26 and M9 - neither of which is indicative of "normal" prices for TM GBBs.

Edited November 2, 2008 by (V)atrix

[Cpt. Shadow Fox]

Last time I saw the P226 and the 1911A1 they were around $120. The meusoc is $150, so $30 difference. These are just the prices from the places from where I shop, I'm sure they vary from place to place slightly.

 

This is irrelevant though. You just saved me $70. Thanks man.

 

[(V)atrix]

Nobody adressed the outer barrel yet. How is the quality? I guess plastic, as with every Marui 1911 and 2011 (and I guess all other GBBs).

What does it say on the chamber? I only can recognize the .45 ACP at the end.

 

Sorry, missed your question earlier...

 

Outer barrel is plastic, but has a nice finish with no molding marks or seams visible. Chamber is marked "NW7125 .45 ACP".

Edited November 2, 2008 by (V)atrix

[davedawg123]

Can anyone confirm that some of the controls are plastic? And I'm guessing the outer barrel is plastic too? It seems a little disappointing that you need to throw in an extra hundred or so dollars for stuff that is typically metal on a marui that is already more expensive to begin with, but them's the breaks.

 

Perhaps you are thinking about the plastic Detonics mainspring housing. Everything on the A1 that is metal is so on the MEU.

 

$30 hike on the A1 was a bit much IMO. Novak licensing (for dotless sights!) wasn't really necessary and some of its cheaper GBBs already have modern controls. But that's the price you pay for popularity and newness I guess...