Tanaka Hipower MK III Heavy Weight

[SamJacksonFan]

Tanaka FN Hipower MK III Heavy Weight

 

 

Packaging

The Hipower comes in a neutral box with standard equipment:

gun

magazine

instruction manual + expoded view

adjustment tool

barrel pin

small bag of BBs

 

Fist impression

 

 

Look is very good and authentic. Quality is high, as you would suppose from a gun by Tanaka. The MK III presents with excellent clean molding and shows no seams or other hints of production.

 

 

The tested model is a heavy weight model, so weight is ok but could provide some extra 100 grams to give this "yeah that's it" kind of feeling. The material of slide and frame feels similar to that heavy weight stuff you find on Western Arms guns and some KSC models. Hammer, trigger, savety leaver slide catch and mag catch are made from metal, plus some of the interior parts. A pitty outerbarrel and chamber are not.

 

The heavy mag gives a lot of weight, so the Hipower doesn't provide the best balance. But the MK III feels very good in the hand, comfortable, easy to grip, ergonomic but a bit thicker, as it is designed as a double stack model like the hicapacity models by ParaOrdnance. The upward end lip of the frame provides a very high grip position, almost comparable to a Glock. It feels to give better control over the gun.

 

Though being a double stacker design, the Hipower even feels a bit more compact and slim compared to a 1911, mostly because of the slide shape and some other small details. The MK III makes good impression on the first look and feel.

 

Details

The back of the hammer is serated. Outerbarrel and chamber are made from plastic. The innerbarrel meets perfectly with the outerbarrel at the muzzle and seems to provide good and firm alignment.

 

Unlike the CZ75 and partially some 1911A1 the hammer of the MK III is well shaped and doesn't give a pinch to the hand, even when applied a extremly high grip.

 

The Hipower only provides a thumb savety. It works ambidextrous, but misses any clear point when engaged. On a 1911 you can feel and hear that click, when engaging thumb savety. The flat lever is serated but difficult to use. This is a weakpoint especially for gaming situations when things have to go fast.

 

Grips are well shaped and provide good grip with the checkering and the partially ergonomic lines for the thumb.

 

 

Marks

On my model the marks were quite dissapointing. From Tanaka I honestly expected more detail and quality. It looked like the marks were quickly burned into the slide because the outlines are significantly unequal, partially edgy, partially blury. And the slide showed some flaws in the finish, like it partially had contact with something hot. It looks like someone grabed the slide with greasy fingers.

 

 

For the quality claims of Tanaka, this is very dissapointing, but could be a production problem only with my specific gun. Though this sould not happen with a manufacturer claiming on perfect japanese quality standards and controls.

 

 

The 9mm marks on the chamber and the frame are properly done. The marks are not identical to the orginal Hipower. It is not perfectly authentic here what may only bother collectors with a boundary for hundered percent detail.

 

Function

The Hipower is a single action gun as the 1911. One obvious difference can be found with the trigger. Though it is a different style of trigger mechanism it also operates different in save mode. While on a 1911 the trigger is blogged directly (you cannot push it), on the Hipower you can push the trigger to the trigger point until it gets blogged.

 

 

Nice feature: with the mag not installed, the trigger is completely disconnected and cannot release a cocked hammer until the mag is applied again.

 

The trigger action on the Hipower is different from a 1911, too. For a single action it is supprisingly heavy and you have to pull the trigger way through until you reach the trigger point and the shot goes off. This may affect the accurracy and grouping of the shots.

 

 

Sights

 

 

The MK III is provided with excellent tactical sights. The white (quared) marks on rear and front sights show a good sight picture and enable the shooter to align the gun properly in different light situations. To me this is a great benefit of the Hipower. I wish I had those sights on my 1911A1.

 

Mag

 

 

Here is where light and shadow meet. Tanaka mags are said to be quite problematic in terms of leaking. My Hipower mag still works well and without a problem yet. A good feature also known from mags by Western Arms: a blocking mechanism keeps the valve open when gas tank is empty.

 

Down points: the injection valve is very small. And the mag tempts to show cool down effect very quickly.

 

Built quality of the mag seems rather fair and cannot keep up the looks of the gun.

Mag capacity is 20 BBs. I'd recommend to load 18 to not overstress the spring.

I got 20 to 25 shots out of one mag until I had to refill. Depends on the shooting speed.

 

Action

With gas there is an interesting issue: Normally japanese Guns (especially Tanakas are only to be used with 134a gas. So I did. And the gun wouldn't work properly at all. When I switched to Abbey Ultra (a bit more power than 134a) the MK III would work. Not absolutely perfect but the way a GBB is supposed to work.

 

Blowback

The blowback of the MK III is nice but not impressive compared to my Tokyo Marui 1911A1 and especially not compared to the performance of Western Arms GBBs. Though it is quite fun to shoot the Hipower.

 

Shooting impressions

The original MK III is issued as a combat pistol. So it has not to provide the accuracy of a target pistol anyway. With this in mind, I didn't expect the Tanaka to be a bull's eye hitter. But for a high quality GBB from a well nown maker I expect a solid precission and accurate grouping.

 

The following tests were performed from a distance of 5 meters, target on shoulder height, , .23 g BBs b Extreme, Cybergun APS gas, shooting bothhanded and freestanding without aiming help.

 

Accuracy test

Speed was no criteria, each shot was taken within 5 seconds. Results show the effect of the hard trigger pull, but the accuracy meets my expectations.

 

Results of Accuracy test

 

Speed test

Here recoil and trigger come into play, as each shot was taken within a second. Fast shooting sequence was a problem with the Hipower and APS-Gas. Slide was too slow and produced an empty shot. Later with Abbey Ultra the gun performed better.

 

Results of Speed Test

 

Speed target test

A combination of the before tests. 12 shots where taken, from top left to bottom right, 1/2 second per shot. Performance and results of the MK III were good.

 

Results of speed target test

 

Upgrade

Characteristic for Tanaka there's not much going on with aftermarket parts if you compare it to supply for Western Arms and Tokyo Marui models. Though there are some metal kits by Prime available. But very expensive.

 

Rating

 

Pros

+ excellent quality and finish

+ very good handling ergonomics

+ well working sights

+ ambidextrous savety

+ mag savety as a nice detail feature

 

Cons

- Outerbarrel and chamber miss to be metal

- flat profile savety lever hard to use

- very sensible for different gases

- gas loading valve very small

- long and hard triggerpull affects accuracy

- poorly applied marks on the slide, bad quality

 

I like the Hipower, but it could not meet my high expectations I had on a Tanaka GBB (the first one I tested). It is definitely an excellent collectors piece and able to perform properly on occasional target shooting or as secondary for a gamer with British Military Outfit. But it is definitely not a working horse like a Marui Hicapa or KSC Glocks in game action. But anyway I guess that's not what the guys over by Tanaka intended.

 

The Tanaka Hipower MK III Heavy Weight is a very nice rebuilt of the originial that will find its fans.

 

As a further and more qualified opinion I recommend to read the review Snowman did on the Tanaka Hipower MK III on justpistols.co.uk.

 

[Wege]

Hi there.

Any idea on why I cannot log in to read/look at the results of your tests?

Am looking forward to being able to.

[SamJacksonFan]

Oh, sorry. I used this picture upload thing at Arnies the first time. I remember being asked if the gallery should be public and I switched “no“ because I didn't want to bother others with boring review pics of magazine details and cadoodle. And unfortunately the threads only allow limited amounts of pictures, why I had to link the shooting test result. I'll have a look and try to fix it …

[SamJacksonFan]

Sorry accidental double post … 

 

I switched gallery public, picture links should work now hopefully.

Edited December 21, 2008 by SamJacksonFan

[Utty]

That is without a doubt the most positive review of one of the most horrid GBBs I have ever read.

 

Look is very good and authentic. Quality is high, as you would suppose from a gun by Tanaka.

Tanaka are well known for their feeble GBBs and their excellent revolvers. It's an unfortunate mistake to get those two mixed up.

 

 

On my model the marks were quite dissapointing. From Tanaka I honestly expected more detail and quality. It looked like the marks were quickly burned into the slide because the outlines are significantly unequal, partially edgy, partially blury. And the slide showed some flaws in the finish, like it partially had contact with something hot. It looks like someone grabed the slide with greasy fingers.

 

For the quality claims of Tanaka, this is very dissapointing, but could be a production problem only with my specific gun. Though this sould not happen with a manufacturer claiming on perfect japanese quality standards and controls.

Mine's like that too.

 

 

Nice feature: with the mag not installed, the trigger is completely disconnected and cannot release a cocked hammer until the mag is applied again.

That's a horrible feature on a GBB, though. I don't like storing my pistols with the hammer cocked.

 

 

The trigger action on the Hipower is different from a 1911, too. For a single action it is supprisingly heavy and you have to pull the trigger way through until you reach the trigger point and the shot goes off. This may affect the accurracy and grouping of the shots.

Indeed. The trigger pull is terrible, might as well use a NBB.

 

 

With gas there is an interesting issue: Normally japanese Guns (especially Tanakas are only to be used with 134a gas. So I did. And the gun wouldn't work properly at all. When I switched to Abbey Ultra (a bit more power than 134a) the MK III would work. Not absolutely perfect but the way a GBB is supposed to work.

Hahah, that's an extremely vague way of saying that the gun doesn't friggin work. Not absolutely perfect? If a GBB isn't working perfectly, then there's something wrong with it.

 

 

Finally, I'd like to apologize for sounding so negative. Your review is well written and fairly thorough, I just think it seems very biased. This is an expensive pistol, but you get so very little for your money. In all fairness, this is an ancient model, it's archaic mechnism rendered all but obsolete by certain, more recent GBB pistols (of different brands).

 

If I didn't actually have this pistol, this review would probably have me thinking "that doesn't sound bad, and I always wanted a hi-power... I might get this!", which would, if I acted on that impulse, lead to sorrow.

 

These days, this is not the GBB to get, even for plinking. Just sayin.

Edited December 22, 2008 by Utty

[SamJacksonFan]

Yes, for sure this is no gun to take in the field for gaming. And I'd never recommend any Tanaka GBB for that. Exception proofs the rule. The USP and the Sig series seem to perform well, but all no KSCs, Maruis and WAs definitely. If there was another Hipower, I'd go for that. But Tanaka is the only producer that actually offers the MK III. And those classic airsoft models back then wouldn't overcome the Tanaka in performance, when I read snowman's review right. And after all the Hipower didn't loose that bad in snowman's review eighter, and the marks on his stainless models were rather clean and acceptable in quality.

 

But of cause this definitely is a collector's piece more than anything else. But as you can see on my shooting test, you can get some BBs on target quite well, if you want, but it sure is no big fun if you're used to a Western Arms.

 

So, for what it is, the Hipower MK III is the best option without competition. But if you want a reliable gaming gun and a rock solid performer under changing environmental (and temperature) conditions, go for some of the well known GBB working horses.

 

Thanks for the point, Utty, maybe my review didn't bring out this aspect that clear. But that's what the discussion is for, right?

Edited December 22, 2008 by SamJacksonFan

[Utty]

So, for what it is, the Hipower MK III is the best option without competition.

Sadly, that is true. The Tanaka Hi-Power is the best (and only) GBB Hi-Power currently on the market.

 

 

But that's what the discussion is for, right?

Of course.

 

This isn't the first time the Tanaka HP has yielded very divided opinions.

Some swear by this gun.

Others swear by it in a less positive way ("What da hell is this piece of *suitcase*??").

 

I belong to the latter group.

[SamJacksonFan]

Well, the main reason why I dropped it back to the retailer after reviewing the MK III was the flawful finish on the markings with that hot weaping traces and the badly stamped marks. And if you're used to a KWA G19 with metal slide (which surely is not comparable with an all stock ABS gun in terms of kicking), a Marui M1911A1 (which hasn't exactly the strongest blowback but at least a nice crisp one) and a WA Kimber (that rocks all the way), the Tanaka MK III seems a bit boring to shoot. But the finish was the main reason to return a 200 Euro gun … that's the price it was sould around here.

 

With a perfect finish I would have thought about to keep it as a nice collectible.

[Danke]

Re mag safety.

 

Either keep a mag with no gas to drop the hammer with, or strip the slide and ease springs by disengaging the safety from the top of the magwell with your finger.

 

I have a DOA Tanaka USP so you can guess what side of the fence I'm on on this brand.

 

[SamJacksonFan]

The USP and the SIG series by Tanaka are supposed to be well working, right?

But other Tanaka models tempt to have the characteristics of the Hipower.

Hope to get my hands on a Tanaka SIG P228, they're the only brand to produce this model at the moment and it seems to be worth the price.

[Danke]

The USP and the SIG series by Tanaka are supposed to be well working, right?

 

I have a KSC USP, a Tanio Koba USP, and a Tanaka USP.

 

The Tanaka is utter junk, the single action sear will not engage when firing, the BB's will all prematurely eject from the magazine if you tap it, And even on green gas it won't run through an entire mag.

 

The KSC is as good as any pistol I've come across and the Tanio Koba is amazing. Only the lack of mags keeps it as a once in a while carry.

[SamJacksonFan]

So, the quality of the Tanaka USP seems to me a myth, too. Thanks for insight …

[tome]

I've also had a Tanaka, KSC and Tanio Koba USP. The Tanaka Stainless version i owned had the most convincing "metal" finish i'd ever seen and the frame's real-ness (if that's a word ) completely put my KSC to shame.

 

I think you're being a bit too harsh about the Tanaka or more likely you got a total lemon. Mine worked well until i abused it with green gas and broke the cylinder the mag never spat bbs out and it could easily empty more than one mag per gas fill. Though it has to be said that the mags did eventually leak. The TK is the best feeling and the one that seems the best engineered but the KSC is the one that worked in the widest range of temperatures.

[cptdarling506]

Have the M1935.

Green gas makes the metal bits seperate from the plastic bits.

Stick ya middle finger up the mag well and depress the mag safety plunger to drop the hammer.

In comparison with my real M1935(well the Canada made one) its nearly spot on.Except for the weight,way to light.

Cannot use the wood stock as the inlet in butt is way to small.

 

I have one of them new WE 1935 on the way,if its a fail,I'll post a review.

If it works like the WE Luger,you won't hear from me as I'll be blazing off BB's.

Edited January 4, 2011 by cptdarling506

[snowman]

I've also had a Tanaka, KSC and Tanio Koba USP. The Tanaka Stainless version i owned had the most convincing "metal" finish i'd ever seen and the frame's real-ness (if that's a word <img src="http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="tongue.gif" />) completely put my KSC to shame.

 

I think you're being a bit too harsh about the Tanaka or more likely you got a total lemon. Mine worked well until i abused it with green gas and broke the cylinder <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="sad.gif" /> the mag never spat bbs out and it could easily empty more than one mag per gas fill. Though it has to be said that the mags did eventually leak. The TK is the best feeling and the one that seems the best engineered but the KSC is the one that worked in the widest range of temperatures.

 

Tanaka guns seem to vary a lot with versions. Many hate their SIG P226, but I'd say mine is one of the very best GBBs I've ever handled (it's a Heavyweight) - most of the haters have the standard ABS one.

 

I'd vote for the TK amongst USPs, but the KSC one was good even before S7.

 

On the other hand, the Tanaka Hi-Power looks good and is a nice replication, but it's not accurate and always feels a bit fragile to me.

 

Cheers.