Marushin Shell-ejecting Glock 21

[(V)atrix]

 

The announcement of a shell-ejecting Glock 21 was met with a wide range of reactions – some positive, many not… But, with the exception of a couple youtube teaser videos, little has been said about it since its December 10th (Japanese) release date. Through a combination of odd coincidence and good luck I happened to find myself in possession of not one, but two Marushin Glock 21s – and it’s time to put any questions to rest.

 

GLOCK 21 specs:

Caliber – .45 ACP

Action – “Safe action” semi-automatic

Weight – 745g (unloaded)

Capacity – 13-rounds

 

Marushin G21 specs:

Caliber – 8mm “Maxi”

Action – Single action semi-automatic

Weight 780g (unloaded)

Capacity – 6-rounds

 

Included in the box:

• Marushin Glock 21,

• User manual (Japanese language),

• 1 magazine,

• 6 metallic cartridges,

• Small bag of 8mm BBs (unknown weight),

• “LD” hop-up bucking (for use with 8mm “LD” BBs),

• Small hex wrench (1.5mm?),

• Unjamming/unloading tool (AKA a plastic stick),

• Marushin product catalog,

• Flyer (Japanese language – containing helpful advice such as “do not eat cartridges”)

 

Appearance:

 

The box is made of rather flimsy cardboard – certainly not intended for use as a long-term storage solution (such as some manufacturers’ boxes – eg. Marui and WA). Opening the box reveals the inside to be lined with black, open-cell foam, padding and a cardboard trigger post to keep the gun from shifting around inside the box. In short, it looks like the poor-mans’ version of the original Glock “Tupperware” packaging that was reviled by most shooters as being both low-quality and unsafe (as the trigger post could fire the weapon if the pistol were stored loaded).

 

 

External appearance is quite nice. The finish is a nice matte black frame with a semi-glossy slide. The finish is actually quite similar to that found on “Heavy Weight” KSC/KWA Glock replicas. Though, the Tenifer and polymer on most real Glocks can be pretty glossy (especially when new), so while the matte finish looks good, and appears real enough at a glance, it’s just not quite right.

 

 

This “close but not quite” theme seems to pervade the entire replica, with the gun seeming very nice and detailed at first glance, but coming up short on details when scrutinized. Just a tiny bit more attention to detail would have made a huge difference. Some of the areas where the lack of detail are most evident are things like: no serial number on the serial number plate in the frame (see photo below), no false rifling on the inside of the outer barrel, and the locking notch on the rail being well out of spec.

 

 

Another detail (though clearly intentional) is that this is not a “Glock”, but a “Clock”! Most likely in an effort to prevent legal issues or import hassles in countries where Glock is actively strong-arming airsoft manufacturers and retailers, the famous “GLOCK” logo has been modified by removing the connecting line between the “G” and “L”. This is a rather subtle, and effective, means of avoiding using a copyrighted trademark, and is easily overlooked. (It even took me a while to spot, and I’m normally quite OCD about details like that).

 

 

Since I have two G21s here, I am able to compare them side-by-side and there are a few minor differences… One appears to be an early release and the other looks to be a later release. The earlier release has a slightly more gray frame color, the shells seem to lack the nickel-plating, and the frame has a very visible seam line running down the entire length of it. The newer release seems to have a bit more attention to detail, with nicer finish and fewer visible seams. (While the visible seams are a bit irritating, I’ve had the same problem with real-steel Glocks as well).

 

The weight on this replica is quite impressive, and the unloaded weight of the Marushin actually tips the scales at 35g heavier than the unloaded weight of a real-steel G21. Most if this weight is the result of the “HW” ABS frame – made of ABS plastic with metal powder mixed in for additional weight. An old, but effective trick.

 

Meanwhile, the rather large magazine is surprisingly light. This is due to most of the front of the magazine being made of a hollow ABS plastic magazine tube which you load the metallic shells into. The ABS section helps to keep the weight down while also reducing metal-on-metal friction/wear on both the magazine and reusable shells. The downside to this design is a significantly small area remaining for gas storage. And, for some unknown reason, Marushin elected to use a metal magazine base plate – which detracts from the realism and also makes the magazine far more susceptible to external temperature variations.

 

 

The shells themselves are a light-weight metallic alloy (most likely aluminum) and appear to be nickel plated. This serves to improve their appearance, provide a longer usable life, and reduce friction when loading and cycling. The shells appear slightly smaller than an empty .45 ACP shell, but I don’t have real or replica .45 ACP cartridges around to compare with at the moment. In any event, any difference in size is negligible enough. The 8mm BBs click into the shells firmly, and stay put quite well – so there’s little or no worry about the BBs coming out when loaded shells are carried loosely.

 

Many people have commented that those with smaller hands might find the grip uncomfortable. This is true – depending on how you define “smaller”. Personally, I wear a size M glove and I find this pistol as comfortable as any other Glock (real or replica) that I’ve used. The grip is slightly longer than other Glocks, measured from front to back, but the difference is only a few mm. Chances are, if you find any Glock grip comfortable, you should be okay with how this pistol fits your hand.

 

(Continued below...)

Edited January 5, 2009 by (V)atrix

[(V)atrix]

(Cont.)

Function:

 

 

The Marushin G21 is a fun gun to shoot! Loading cartridges into the magazine and then watching them fly as you pop off rounds is quite enjoyable. Recoil is pretty mild (or downright disappointing when compared to some of the hard-kicking GBBs from TM, KSC, and the like) – but the action is positive and shells seem to load and eject consistently and reliably. The trigger is a bit sloppier than a real-steel Glock, with some side-to-side play in it, but it has a small amount of take up then breaks cleanly at around 4-5 pounds of pressure. One minor inconvenience is that you have to completely field-strip the gun (including removing the inner barrel) in order to adjust the hop-up. Fortunately, however, the Glock-style take down makes this relatively quick and easy - and once dialed in the hop-up seems to stay put.

 

 

I was slightly disappointed to see that a shell ejecting G21 didn’t use a functional slide mounted extractor, instead opting for an internal extractor, but after looking at the internals and how the shells chamber it’s completely understandable why this was necessary.

 

 

Accuracy is decent at indoor ranges, neither really good nor bad. The following group was 6 shots fired in about 6 seconds at a range of roughly 7m. As you can see, the grouping is about 1.75”X1.5”. Respectable enough, but hardly a tack-driver.

 

 

With all that said, this gun does have its problems… Firstly, policing up the spent shells can be a bit troublesome. They do tend to eject in the same general area, but being light weight cylinders they have a nasty habit of bouncing or rolling. I’ll usually find 4 or 5 in a neat little group, then spend several minutes trying to track down the last 1 or 2. And with spares costing between ¥1600-1900 for a box of 6, they’re hardly disposable. Of course, I knew that when I bought this gun, so complaining about it is a bit silly – still, if I didn’t mention it, someone would ask.

 

But the biggest problem with this gun is in the gas efficiency… Or lack thereof. This gun does not like the cold! Testing it in around 5C weather (@40F), I found the pistol could not fire more than 3-4 shots on a full gas charge. Indoors, at around 20C (@70F) I’m able to get 2 full magazines with a single gas charge when firing in relatively quick succession. While this still seems pretty bad, given the tiny gas reservoir and the large amount of gas needed to expel those massive 8mm BBs and still cycle the slide with enough force to eject the cartridges, it’s not horrible – but it’s still not really good either.

 

The low power of the pistol is another huge draw-back. At a rather slow average of 200 FPS, the heavy 8mm BBs don’t have the range or accuracy of most 6mm GBBs. Even without the problem of tracking down spent shell casings, this pistol would never be a viable outdoor skirmish gun.

 

Finally, the locking notch of the accessory rail is hugely out of spec. The rail itself is actually quite perfectly sized – allowing a Surefire X200 to slide on and off with ease, but while still having a tight fit to the rail without any side-to-side play. Unfortunately, the locking notch is about 4-5mm farther back than it would be on a real Glock pistol. This means most real-steel (and probably replica) accessories won’t lock onto the rail without significant modification to the pistol, accessory, or both. Since I found myself with two G21s, but one weapons light, I opted to limit my modifications to the pistol. The picture below shows a comparison between a stock Marushin G21 and one modified to fit an X200 weapon light with the “U” adaptor.

 

 

Final Verdict:

 

Let’s face it – this gun isn’t a skirmish gun! The low power, tiny gas capacity, cold-weather issues, and need to track down spent shells means this pistol is pretty much useless in any game environment outside of indoor CQB (and it’s even impractical for that).

 

However, there is a definite niche for this pistol. It’s a fun plinker, a nice collectable, and an excellent training or theatrical weapon. While some of the omitted details diminish its appeal as a collectable, it is still the only real G21 replica out there. It’s also the only shell-ejecting semi-auto pistol currently on the commercial market. The realistic loading and firing action makes it perfect for instructing new shooters before introducing them to live firearms, and the lack of muzzle blast or recoil may help them to learn without picking up of the bad habits common to new shooters (flinching, anticipating recoil, etc.). Finally, the ability to dry fire the pistol with shells but no BBs could make it a useful prop for theatrical productions or low-budget films – where cost, noise, and safety risks may make blank-firing weapons or PFC-guns less desirable.

 

This gun certainly isn’t for everyone, but if you’re looking for something to fill one of the above niches, it might just be a good option for you. I’m glad I bought one - but I wouldn’t have bought a second one except for the fact that I was looking to buy a spare mag and box of shells, when I stumbled across a practically new G21 set being sold as used for only about ¥1000 more than the cost of the mag and shells alone.

Edited January 5, 2009 by (V)atrix

[Wraith18A]

Whoa... (V)atrix has returned to us! Its the coming of the Messiah!

 

On the topic of real response: this is a good review, and I thank you for thinking of the training useage. I was actually going to pick one of these or the 1911 version up to instruct my girlfriend about shooting pistols before taking her to the range, by you description, this is a good thing to do.

 

Was there or was there not a 6mm version as well? I feel like if there was, that one would be much better suited to higher FPS... not that it actually matters as this is not really a skirmish gun.

[Horsem4n]

very nice review. i really like these pistols and am thinking of carrying one as a last ditch sidearm to get some cool kills for camera men. theres a dude who mad some slo motion vids of his Glock 21:

 

 

its all to sweet really. gonna try to get a 1911 too.

 

any things to note on green gas use? or is it a STRICT 134a gun?

 

seems like Marushin is filling the niches of collector guns.

[(V)atrix]

Whoa... (V)atrix has returned to us! Its the coming of the Messiah!

 

Nah! I tried walking on water the other day, and my boots are still drying out.

 

Was there or was there not a 6mm version as well? I feel like if there was, that one would be much better suited to higher FPS... not that it actually matters as this is not really a skirmish gun.

 

Marushin have announced both 6mm Glock and 1911 variants - but no word on when we'll actually see those in shops. So far, the G21 is the only one on the market (and it's been out for less than a full month at this point).

 

I thought about waiting for a 6mm (Glock 19) model, as I really didn't want to deal with having to buy 2 different sizes of BBs (plus, all my real-steel Glocks have been 9mms) - but I picked the G21 because I guessed (correctly) that keeping track of the larger "45 ACP" catridges would be tough enough. Trying to find 9mm-sized shells in my cluttered apartment would probably require a metal detector

[Horsem4n]

any news on cheap, disposable, plastic shells? itd be cool to get bags of a few dozen for cheap scrimmageability.

apparently, some tech at redwolf has figured a way to make these green gas safe.

[(V)atrix]

any things to note on green gas use? or is it a STRICT 134a gun?

 

Sorry, no idea... Most shops here only sell 134a.

[Horsem4n]

thats alright. well find out eventually. have you tried any really light 8mm bbs in it? like .27s.

[(V)atrix]

thats alright. well find out eventually. have you tried any really light 8mm bbs in it? like .27s.

 

Not yet... Since current outdoor temps are way too low for this gun, I won't be able to do any tests comparing max effective ranges between different BB weights until spring-ish.

[Utty]

Good review!

 

Hmm, doesn't seem too bad for fun indoors plinking, actually. I suspect these are selling quite well.

 

Also, nice clean mod you did on the rail, looks good. But a strange error on Marushin's side.

[Horsem4n]

seems like a case of not making it too much like a glock in terms of design. they decided to move the rail. maybe they made this AS a collectors item and not a scrimmage piece at all and didn't expect anyone to put a light on it. but in that case, i think they should have just gone with a non railed frame. you get me?

 

and yes, very clean and delicious mod.

Edited January 5, 2009 by Horsem4n

[Utty]

Non-railed frame? But then it'd be an old-gen Glock, not the current one.

 

Modern Glocks have rails, except the ones that are too short for a rail.

[(V)atrix]

any news on cheap, disposable, plastic shells? itd be cool to get bags of a few dozen for cheap scrimmageability.

Nope - but it'd be great if someone did come out with something like that.

[Horsem4n]

yes it would

 

utty, i just like the look.

[Utty]

I know, we all do. But airsoft manufacturers love rails, can't take all their fun away!

[Romulus]

Nice review.

 

Thanks for putting in the time to do this. I'll be interested to hear how the guns work as they get more use and wear.

[zero69r]

Looks very interesting, thanks for this

[Clockwork_O]

I only consider buying one of these if someone releases a metal slide for it...

[Horsem4n]

redwolf offers a green gas mod. but redwolf doesn't always know the longevity of their mods.

 

i doubt well see any aftermarket support for this. at most a TK twist barrel. the last time marushin got any moderate aftermarket support was with their 1911 series.

[junior]

Maybe if we get enough people together for a group buy PROG4 can make us a batch of metal slides...

 

 

[Horsem4n]

a guy im subscribed to that makes nice airsoft videos just made one about 2 new models of shells he has for his Glock 22. he demoed brass shells and plastic shells. the brass ones tinkled nicely.

although, hes japanese and i cant read anything about them in his video. it may explain if he had them made or they are new releases.

 

 

i'd be up for a metal slide, but i don't have money, or one of these glocks yet...

 

dont they have a minimum order of 10?

Edited January 18, 2009 by Horsem4n

[junior]

Nope. No minimum order. They'll do one slide for you, it'll just cost a pant load. I figure if we do a group buy they'll be happy and the price will be better...

 

 

[Horsem4n]

ah i see. well, keep in touch and leave this on the back burner. when i finish my m9 project, this is the next gun on my list and i want a bite of this sangwich. BTW, moptop over on ASB is really interest on hoping on this boat for a metal slide, so we have 3 people. maybe the OP wold like a slice?

[(V)atrix]

maybe the OP wold like a slice?

 

If the price is right, I might be interested. Plus, a metal outer barrel would also be necessary (I don't see the OEM ABS one holding up too well to repeated impacts from a metal slide).

 

[Horsem4n]

alright. moptop let me know he wasnt interested in a slide, but the group buy itself. so, thats 1 less person.