Jump to content

Tokyo Marui "Gindan" double-action G26 springer


Recommended Posts

DSC00152.JPG

A couple years ago Marui announced their new "Gindan" version springers. These are a line of brightly colored, low-powered, spring-cocking pistols that are clearly intended for the youth market. My reaction, like many, was wondering just what the marketing execs at Marui had been smoking... However, the idea of a double-action springer intrigued me, and the ¥798 price tag (@$8 USD) at my local airsoft shop was just too cheap not to pick one up and see what makes it tick.

 

Long story short, I was pleasantly surprised.

 

Included:

 

In the box is the "Gindan" pistol, 1 magazine, orange barrel plug, small package of .12g BBs, cardboard targets, and a sheet warning you to wear eye protection.

DSC00155.JPG

 

External:

 

Externally, the first thing you'll undoubtedly notice about the "Gindan" series is the brightly colored finish. As stated earlier, these are clearly marketed more as toys than most of Marui's other offerings. The external dimensions are close to real, but slightly smaller... My guess would be a 0.9:1 scale. Even compared to a Marui G26 GBB, the "Gindan" G26 is smaller, shorter, and thinner.

DSC00157.JPG

In all honesty, I find the grip dimensions of the "Gindan" G26 much more comfortable than the real pistol dimensions, which have always felt a bit blocky to me.

 

External controls consist of a trigger - and that's all! Mag release, take-down levers, and slide release are all molded into the frame and non-functional. Since the pistol is double-action (cocking and firing by pulling the trigger) even the slide is fixed. I was quite shocked by the lack of any manual safety on a pistol that seems marketed toward younger buyers. Even the Glock "safe-action" trigger has been replaced with a standard trigger design.

 

Even without any external mag catch, the magazine locks in fairly firmly, using a flexible plastic tab that clicks into an opening inside the mag well.

DSC00158.JPG

Initially, I was worried this design would prove to be fragile or make it either too easy or too hard to remove the magazine. I'm happy to say my initial concerns have been put to rest. The magazine (which holds 18 BBs) stays put, but can be quickly removed with a good, firm, tug on the base-plate - and the locking tab has proven to be adequately durable for regular use.

 

Although it's a cheap toy, the "Gindan" G26 still has Glock trades on both the grip and slide (including the same BPD911 serial number used on the Marui G26 GBB).

 

Internal:

 

The internal design is a complex, but ingenious, system which loads BBs, cocks the spring, and fires the pistol with each trigger pull. This is, to the best of my knowledge, the first ever truely double-action springer.

DSC00150.JPG

 

Despite the lack of external safety there are two integral safeties. The first being a long, steady, heavy-ish double-action trigger pull. Not sure if this is intentional, but it does function as a type of safety (just as it does on real-steel revolvers). The second is a magazine safety, which renders the gun innoperable when the magazine is not inserted. This operates by means of a spring-loaded lever at the top of the magazine, which pushes up on a disconnect safety in the cocking mechanism.

 

The inner barrel is plastic, and has a fixed hop-up which is almost perfectly dialed in for the .12g BBs that come with the pistol. The inner barrel moves with each trigger pull, retracting back into the gun as it cocks. I am unsure if this barrel movement is part of the loading or firing mechanism.

 

While one of the cardinal rules of firearm safety is to "treat a gun as if it's always loaded" - this is particularly ture of the Marui "Gindan" series. The loading mechanism Marui uses requires a line of BBs stacked inside the body - meaning the gun is never fully unloaded... (As you can see in the photos) there's always a half-dozen of so BBs in the gun. With that said, despite my best efforts, I have net been able to induce any "accidental" discharges with the ammo remaining in the pistol. Only through the spring pressure of a loaded magazine does it seem able to chamber and fire the BBs inside the pistol. Still, better safe than sorry.

DSC00143.JPG

 

Function:

 

Marui boasts in both their promotional material and their packaging that the "Gindan" pistols are capable of 5cm at 5m... And to their credit, this is not an exageration. The "Gindan" G26 can easily put all its 18 rounds into a 2" grouping at around 5m.

DSC00159.JPG

(The stray round, low and to the right, was my fault - not the pistol's).

 

The double-action trigger allows you to fire rounds semi-auto, just about as fast as you can pull the trigger. However, the double-action design and the "toy" aspect of its target market means the "Gindan" series is seriously low-powered. Any decent output would make the trigger-pull far too heavy for most users - kids and adults alike. I don't have a chrono handy, but the .12g BBs won't even penetrate a standard paper shopping bag at muzzle contact range. Marui even labels the pistol as being a "safety soft air gun" - whatever that means...

Printed at the bottom right of the pistol grip, in place of the Glock pattent info:

Cal. 6mm BB LIGHT

SAFETY SOFT AIR GUN

 

Despite the low power, the BBs are able to reach out a decent range and with good accuracy. The extreme low-power has another side-benefit... It can easily and safely be shoot indoors without any fear about stray rounds damaging your other expensive toys (E.g. TV, computer, electronics... wife).

 

Conclusion:

 

Not a serious airsoft gun by any means, but an accurate, affordable, and fun toy pistol! The low power means these are safe to use in any environment where collateral damage would be unacceptable - such as indoor plinking. The brightly-colored design makes them fairly safe for kids, back-yard skirmishing, or costume/prop use without fear of being mistaken for live firearms. And the semi-auto function makes it a fun and practical pistol for recreational plinking or low-powered skirmishing (indoor or back-yard battles). Finally, the <$10 price tag means there's no reason not to have one or two lying around just for fun.

Edited by (V)atrix
Link to post
Share on other sites

Not breaking paper means sub 70FPS. I had an EBB DE that shot 77FPS and that would punch through paper.... just.

 

 

This seams to be quite a different product for TM, possibly linked to the BOYS series a few years ago. Low powered guns for kids.

 

Its good to teach them firearm saftey from an early age.

 

 

 

 

One question: The BBs that are held in the mechanism when the magazine is removed, are they retained in any way, or are they free to fall out?

Link to post
Share on other sites
Not breaking paper means sub 70FPS. I had an EBB DE that shot 77FPS and that would punch through paper.... just.

 

Been a while since I played with one, but I think this has a tiny bit more power than the EBBs I've used in the past. It can go through paper (as evidenced by the target shown above, shot at @4~5m)... But heavy paper, like a shopping bag, will stop the BBs even at muzzle-contact ranges.

 

One question: The BBs that are held in the mechanism when the magazine is removed, are they retained in any way, or are they free to fall out?

The BBs are captive. You may have one stray BB fall out if you remove the mag while it it still has BBs in it - but, otherwise, the BBs stay in the gun.

Edited by (V)atrix
Link to post
Share on other sites
presumably this gun can only shoot as hard as the spring in it.

And if say a higher powered version was aviable then the trigger pull would be heavier too?

Thanks

 

 

Yes.

 

Then parts start breaking. How long do you think before some china'soft company clones this up to 400FPS but you need huge fingers to shoot it :P

 

Leave it as it is, it will never match an AEP or GBB so why try! Use it as it was ment to be used; to teach kids firearm saftey!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and the use of session cookies.