Isamu Posted July 6, 2010 Report Share Posted July 6, 2010 (edited) Thanks to… ACMgear.com for their excelent preorder and comunication services through the wholepreorder and shipping process altough for some motives out of the control ofany of us like the Shangai Expo and issues with the shipping companies andcustoms departments I had to wait for it much more tan I would have wanted…thanks to the helful salesmen in their live support service for solving all mydoubts and explaining sincerily why my order wasn´t shipping, which issomething most shops dont do and simply ask you to wait, lie, or simply dontanswer your emails . Box contents Cardboard box fullfils its job, keep the pistol protectedwithout any possibility to move while travelling thanks to several foam pieces.Pretty efective, but compared to the hard plastic box bundled with the Bell1911… well, you cant have everything, right? Let's go to yhe important things, what's inside the box?There, we will find the pistol and one mag(of course) but you get some spareparts and a hop rubber, not to mention the omnipresent manual and allmightyultralowquality BBs which never fail to ge tinto the closest bin. First Impressions First impressions are very good, after toying with it for abit you realizeit has a nice weight, slide goes back pretty strongly, gripshave a ruberized feel which makes the gun easier to grip and hold even withnaked hands, which is one of those Little details making something worth theMoney and wait so as the realistic markings around the whole pistol like"kimber", "warrior", "Wilson Combat" in the magazine… Everything Works nice and smooth, I can even do somedryshooting out of the box, which leads me to believe the magazine has Littleto no leakings. As I said, the magazine shows "Wilson Combat" markings and thesame ruberized feel as the grips. Dont like the "army Works" markings in themagazine, but those are something I won't be seeing often. Other fact that came to my mind is that its quite greasedOOTB, dont know if its good or bad, but while the gun performs as it does now,I don't really care. Compatibility My first test was installing an "Action" brand recoil kitcompatible with Tokyo Marui, which includes recoil spring, hammer spring and recoil spring guide, everything wasinstalled with no modifications needed. This was done just to test howcompatible the pistol was with TM aftermarket pistols and won't stay installedas the pistol already features a strong recoil spring and could not see anydifference between the stock and Action springs. After this, I started to interchange parts between thiskimber and a Bell 1911 I gave as a gift to my father for his Birthday, just tosee how compatible it was with other clone parts. The Kimber slide can be fitted into the 1911 body with nomodification, but the 1911 slide cant be fitted into the Kimber body becausethe rails which guide the slide are too wide for it to slide at all, Im sure itcould be filled and modified to fit, but I won't be doing this. Both pistols Grips are easily interchangeable so as themagazines. Bell Magazine fits, work and feed perfectly into the Kimber and ArmyMagazine works exactly the same into the Bell. Shooting tests First things first, the pistol shoots around 300FPS withgreen gas, 0.20g Biobal BBs, hop at médium, stock hop rubber and clean innerbarrel. Range is pretty good and BBs describe a nice flat trajectory.Unfortunatly precisión is just average, so you won't be getting many headshotsat 30m… but you will hit easily a human torso target, which I think itsaceptable for a budget gun like this which can be used as side arm forspecialized roles or primary in CQB games. The good. For the retail Price, this is a very good full metal pistolwhich in the worst case scenario can be used as an excelent conversión kit forany TM system 1911 pistol As oposed to most of the GBB in the market, this one comesfitted with a strong recoil spring, comparable to an Element 150% recoilspring, making the recoil stronguer and krispier, leaving the shooter apleasant sensation during and after shooting it. As I commented at the beguining of this review, grips have arubberized feel, which improves the gripo ver the gun even with naked or sewatyhands. This new version features several improvements over thepreproduction model sold some time ago, like the Hex screws requested bycustomers and improved magazines. The bad My only gripe about this pisto lis that altough it can befitted into a serpa (mine is ACM), I need to force it tinto the holster and tounholster it, nothing is going to break, and with some filing it can makethings easier, but its not comfortable and fast to draw in "combat" situations. The Ugly Some parts wobble, nothing serious, but a bit annoying (Ireally hate wobble), like the right safety, back sight (you can tight it with ascrew driver), slide and magazine once inserted. Unfortunatly the magazine well is a bit too wide or themagazine is too narrow, so if you shot one handed, the magazine will fall,easily fixed with some tape to keep it in place. Trigger screeches a bit when pressed, but you will noticethis only when fiddling at home with the pistol, never in "the heat of battle".Nothing dramatic,I'm just so picky. Sights have no dot painted, they have a Little hole in bothsights, you just need some paint, but details are details… Conclusions Its not a TM or WA, of course not the best pistol Money canbuy, BUT I think its the pistol with the best Price/performance ratio. Full metal,atractive, exclusive, features a rail to mount accesories, 100% TM compatible…everything with the nice ACM Price tag, of course, you need to fix a couple ofdetails before field it, but it's the same with almost every pistol on themarket. 100% recommended. More pics Pistols used in the review A couple of quick examples of what you can do mixing them. Thanks for watching Edited July 6, 2010 by Isamu Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The General Posted July 6, 2010 Report Share Posted July 6, 2010 Nice review thanks! I need to get my hands on one of these. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fiddlesticks4220 Posted July 6, 2010 Report Share Posted July 6, 2010 Meh, they sound like a really fun gun, and I can fix all the issues BUT.... The magwell, that is a big nono. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Isamu Posted July 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2010 Thanks the general just trying to be helpful. fiddlesticks: its an issue, but seems to happen just with the provided mag, or at least in my unit, maybe other owners won´t have that same issue, "lemons happen" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
swannie_2006 Posted July 6, 2010 Report Share Posted July 6, 2010 Mine turned up today as well and I had some time to play with it. My initial impression on it: Pro: - nice weight - good finish - have to rack it first to shoot - compatible with TM bits and bobs - TM MEU mag works in it, though the aforementioned nice feature does not exist Cons: - the Army mag wobbles in the magwell - the mag won't work in my TM MEU - outer barrel is moving half an inch back and forth, preventing the slide to move thus the pistol can't be fired As to what Isamu said on the sight's dots: Mine came with nice green painted dots. Overall, I am very very happy with it. I might get a precision barrel to increase accuracy but everything else is just as good as it looks like. It was worth waiting for it and shelling out the 72USD + shipping. Ps: funny enough mine had a nice note from ACMGear stating I supplied no skirmisher proof (which I didn't) but Iit was delivered to me without any delay or customs mailing me for proof of defense. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Isamu Posted July 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 (edited) Looks like Army mags are a bit... "special" swannie: did you notice any leaking in the supplied mag? As to what Isamu said on the sight's dots: Mine came with nice green painted dots. I hate you Edited July 7, 2010 by Isamu Quote Link to post Share on other sites
swannie_2006 Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Yepp, it did leak at first, but after filling it up twice with red gas (with added silicon in it) it stopped leaking. Other thing I noticed after I read your review: the right thumb safety is loose on my Kimber as well. But guess what: it is loose on my TM MEU . But given I am a righty when it comes to shooting it did not bother me at all (I haven't even noticed until yesterday). @fiddlestick: how can you fix the loose thumb safety? everyone else: How can you fix the problem with the outer barrel? i.e. if the slide is locked back, the outer barrel moves back about an inch(!). Once in that position even if I hit the slide lock latch the slide wouldn't move forward until I reach out for the outer barrel and move it back to its original position. thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
swannie_2006 Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Isamu: can you tell me what is in that plastic bag that comes with the Kimber and is/was underneath the bag of BBs? Looks like a spare hop rubber and blowback chamber ??? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Isamu Posted July 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Isamu: can you tell me what is in that plastic bag that comes with the Kimber and is/was underneath the bag of BBs? Looks like a spare hop rubber and blowback chamber ??? Yes, it is, sorry, the flash prevented to show those... its a blowback chamber, a tool to reload the mag and a spare hop rubber Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Horse84 Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 Mine came with nice green painted dots. :DOverall, Did you ask for those dot sights swannie? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
swannie_2006 Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 Did you ask for those dot sights swannie? Nope. I didn't have to ask for it. Did you receive yours without dots, too? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BrooklynBorn Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 How's gas consumption? That is by far my biggest issue. How many mags can you shoot with one full charge of gas. I like to have the slide lock back on the last shot- and no noticable loss of power by the last shot. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chas Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 So, to sum it up: 1. Loose safety 2. Wobbly mags 3. The barrel issue Seems like a lot of important flaws happening to not just a few people. Thank god Im getting mine for free! Still, Army has been making quality stuff from the beginning, I hope they dont get sloppy now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bn_ Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 So, to sum it up: 1. Loose safety 2. Wobbly mags 3. The barrel issue Seems like a lot of important flaws happening to not just a few people. Thank god Im getting mine for free! Still, Army has been making quality stuff from the beginning, I hope they dont get sloppy now. Keep us updated kind of curious about this because I am in the "market" for a new sidearm and if this is 100% TM compatible and doesn't have to many flaws to start with this might the sidearm to go... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
swannie_2006 Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 I did a chrono test with me Kimber today. First shot was an astonishing 350 fps (!). Second and third was 347, 344. After the 8th shot it vent below 330. I think I don't have to buy a tight bore barrel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Isamu Posted July 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 Mine didnt chronoed soooooo high Bn_ : The kimber has not so many faults, just the same as any ACM brand, solvable with a bit of work, but the loose safety is only the right one, me being right handed isnt a problem and magazines... well, the issue seems to appears only with my army mag in my army kimber, the other bell mag worked perfectly and the army mag worked flawesly in the bell GBB. For the price, the kimber is a great project gun Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chas Posted July 25, 2010 Report Share Posted July 25, 2010 Just received mine. Pros: everything 'cept for the cons. Cons: - slightly rattly slide - not very accurate - free movement of the barrel when the slide is back Other than this, its a great gun! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chas Posted July 26, 2010 Report Share Posted July 26, 2010 Just received mine. Pros: everything 'cept for the cons. Cons: - slightly rattly slide - not very accurate - free movement of the barrel when the slide is back Other than this, its a great gun! Disregard this post: QC is *suitcase*, this gun has just so many flaws... I dont even understand how: the internals are basically the same as on their MEU! The mag takes about 26 BBs, but one gas fill is only good for about 16 or so. The mag stays in... until you shoot it. It doesnt fall out, but it prevents the gun from cycling. Army screwed the pooch here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chas Posted August 2, 2010 Report Share Posted August 2, 2010 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Isamu Posted August 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2010 Looks very good, aftermarket grips or a layer of paint? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
swannie_2006 Posted August 2, 2010 Report Share Posted August 2, 2010 @Chas: Any idea how to fix the barrel movement? Also, I found a workaround for the screwed Army magazine: I use my TM MEU ones Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chas Posted August 2, 2010 Report Share Posted August 2, 2010 (edited) Tamiya Flat Sand spray can. Sorry, no idea on how to fix that damn barrel movement. If you take the barrel assembly out of the slide, youll see that its supposed to move, just not freely, like it does. About the mags, I would say that the mag retainer or the groove in in the mag is too small, dont know what to do about this either. Ill be getting an Army MEU soon, at least I can try to swap the mag and the mag release button assembly. Edited August 2, 2010 by chas Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chas Posted August 10, 2010 Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 Just got an ARMY MEU in the mail today: totally compatible with the Kimber, as they are the same exact design, except for the recoil spring assembly. Wich means its also compatible with Marui 1911/MEU parts. The MEU mag works in the Kimber and doesnt wobble, but the finish is not as nice. You better sand it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Isamu Posted August 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 Chas, did you test the kimber mag in the MEU? Im still wondering why that mag wobbles so much Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chas Posted August 10, 2010 Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 The problem is that the Kimber's magwell is wider than usual and the Kimber's magazine is narrower. Thus the only problem you will have is the infamous Kimber mag in Kimber pistol wobble. The Kimber mag doesnt fall out when used in the MEU. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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