KWA ATP

[SHWEL]

Here is a quick Review of my ATP after a couple skirmishes and a lot of tinkering.

Pros:

Light weight

Gas consumption

Backwards compatible

Available Holsters

Accuracy

 

Cons:

Requires a little work to function right out of the box

Very Dry out of the box

Cost of Mags (Kinda standard complaint with most GBBP)

Range is limited

Grip angle (Common complaint of all Glock models for me, even with my RS version)

Hop Up Adjustment (Tool neded to do correctly and easily)

I was happy to receive my unit from Airsoft-barracks.com at the Combat City North vs South Game a couple weeks back. Unable to play because of health restrictions, I was only able to plink with it for a week or so. Initially the gun was not functioning correctly. I assumed it was because the Rubber Grommet flip had not been done. The problem turned out to be a 2 part issue. 1. The BB's in the box with the gun were terrible, and 2. the Grommet was flipped, but still needed to be glued into place. The Grommet was moving out of position after the intial trigger pull, causing the gun to Jam on return. Once Glued into place, it would cycle great (With use of quality BB's).

Finish of the gun is very sturdy, and held up to a lot of use, and also the rain. A quik wipe in between matches and she was still looking new. By the end of the day, there were few signs of usage externally. The only sings of use were scratches that developed on the outer barrel (Chamber), where the Slide contacts it during firing motion. My gun was configured with the wider grip angle, as that seems to be most comfortable for my hand size and preferred feel. This did not hinder use of the mag release, and made the slide catch easily avaliable for use with one hand. I cannot knock the gun for not having a Lefty configuration, I am use to it now. This gun is as confortable to me as any other Glock I have handled, real steel or Airsoft..

For skirmish use, I was using ASGI G4 .25 BB's. These BB's are very consistant, and have been great for testing my AEG's. The .25 weight was working great out to 75 feet. The accuracy was acceptable (Even with the winds and rain we were having that day), I think in ideal conditions, I could easily hit a target at 100 feet. I also used ASGI G4 BB's in the .20 weight, and the accuracy was acceptable to about 60 feet in the same conditions. In both weight classes I would experience about 2-3 flyers per magazine.. This is all after some experimentation with Hop Up Adjusment. The Hop up is just like previous KWA Glock models, and require a tool in order to do it easily. This is not so much of a problem when you have the time to do it correctly, but doing so in game can be a bit troubling trying to use the tool and adjust in the middle of a firefight.

Loading the magazine in the field during gameplay can be a PITA. The need to release the plate with your fingernail, or a tool was a bit cumbersome with gloves on, and also for a guy like me without fingernails, it was really time consuming. But once you got the gas into the Mags, loading BB's was very easy to do with the Feed Mech locked into place. *Just remember to release it when you are done reloading. I ran into situations where i forgot to, and after the first shot, no BB's were feeding. This is user error, and will corrected with prolonged use and experience.

Magazines hold 23 shots, and can handle 3 mag fulls on one fill of Green Gas. Was not able to test using Propane. But the 3 mags of shots on one fill is great. I usually only carry 2 mags, one in the gun, and one in a pouch. So on average, I am seeing 69 shots per mag fill. This is more than enough for someone liike me whpo rarely uses his pistol in game.

 

As stated above, the gun is dry when you initially pull it from the packaging, so a good cleaning and lubing is required to assure functionality when needed. This is prob a 10 minute job at the most, and was easily performed between rounds of playing. Once the gun was lubed correctly, it performed as well as expected from a KWA Pistol. I was impressed. *All of this was during heavy rain and High Winds. Controlled environmental Testing will be performed this coming weekend, with results posted here, as well as a full video Review.

If you find yourself needing to remove the barrel and disassembling the Hop up unit, do so with care. It is very hard to put back together, and if you are not experienced, you may not be able to reassemble it. There is a little Ball bearing that is used for the hop and it can easily bbe lost, it is one of the smallest I have ever seen. The Inner barrel has an Oring at the end, and it does a great job of centering the inner barrel in the outer barrel. There is very little play at the business end of the gun.

*In this Review, we played in heavy Rain and 30+ MPH winds.. I am sure my range and accuracy would be better in ideal conditions. If anyone plays in the rain, I suggest a thorough cleaning as soon as possible, this applies to both GBB and AEG Airsoft weapons.

 

* please check www.youtube.com/shwell11 for the Video review and some in game action.

 

*Pics will be added shortly

[Propane]

THX for the review!

Does anybody know, where I can buy this gun in european shops or in asia? (Redwolf, WGC do not sell it (yet?))

Edited October 13, 2011 by Propane

[aznriptide859]

I believe it's only marketed for the US, as it's a Glock replacement, whereas everywhere else in the world you can just get a Glock.

[SHWEL]

AZN is correct. A few of my buddies from over there have asked and been told it will not be available there..

 

 

*Once I find the charger for my Camera, I will add pics and also some video of the gun.

[Habakure]

Bit of a necro post, but I would like to see the pictures and video?

[uscmCorps]

Good review, Shwell.

 

I'm starting to change my mind about the ATP. At one time I wasn't all that fond of the looks but it has certainly grown on me. I think it first happened when Allizard and I were at a LE demo event and he had brought some of his KWA products. I checked out the ATP and it was a solid performer. Plus the fact that it fit into most Glock holsters made it another good contender for a training tool. I've always been more of a Glock / M&P shooter (I use both in RS) so I decided to give the ATP a shot. Mine has so far been a good gun. I like the swappable back straps, the ergonomics and the overall performance of the gun has been great. I talk to Allizard occasionally and shared my thoughts on the gun as well as what I thought could be improved:

* I'm not crazy about the grip paneling on the frame. It's certainly grippy, I just don't like the shape of the paneling (but that's a matter of personal taste).

* The forward frame flats could benefit with some texturing too.

* Love the removable rear straps ... it'd be awesome if there were removable front straps too so the you can have a non-finger grooved front grip option.

* Rear face of the slide could use some type of texture or serrations. In the RS CQC classes I've taken, I've been taught that in a scenario in which you have any concerns of your gun's slide being pushed rearwards and out of battery that you can at least get one shot off by putting your thumb behind the slide and pushing forwards during the shot. Sure you will have to rack the gun after that first shot but you'll definitely get that first shot off. Due to the way airsoft GBB pistols work, that doesn't really work since your gun essentially vents a bunch of gas (and I'm not sure if the round actually gets fired properly). But having some texturing on the back of the slide would be a great detail to have on future generations of the gun.

* Another suggestion, and one that would be a departure from the conventional Glock format would be to have the mag release switchable from left to right (like a M&P). Also, a right side slide release (again like a M&P).

* A bit of wobble between frame and slide. That could be reduced for a tighter fit.

 

Additional observations of things I really do like about the gun:

* Sights are nice.

* Great ergonomics.

* Reasonably accurate (will be upgrading to a tightbore barrel soon).

* Enhanced slide release is nice and easy to engage.

* Rubberized magazine base pad - great in case you drop your mags by accident. Reduces likelihood of damaging your mags.

* Trigger is actually very nice

* Reduced beavertail is good

* Addition of the trigger safety to the most current generation of guns was a smart move.

 

And because I can't leave my guns in their stock condition for long, I decided to apply the same kind of frame recontouring and stippling Boresight Solutions did to my RS pistols, and which I've done in the past to all my airsoft Glocks.

 

 

 

 

 

I basically did:

~ 360 texturing on the grip

~ Texturing on both back straps which are still removable

~ textured forward frame flats

~ Rounded the trigger guard

~ Undercut, slight polish and reduction of trigger guard (more ergonomic and allows for an even higher tang grip)

~ Textured base pads

~ Rubberized grip tape on the rear face of the slide

 

Still to do:

~ Remove orange plug

~ Partial texture on the trigger guard forwards of the dominant hands' middle finger

~ Magwell half circle cutouts (to aid in mag stripping)

~ Polish the rear grip where the thumb and index finger webbing grip the gun

~ Tightbore barrel

~ Reinforced recoil spring

 

Not bad for a couple hours worth of work. I would have liked a cleaner result like I've done on other guns in the past, but overall, I'm quite happy with it. Someday down the road, I might try a short grip mod on another ATP to use the compact sized KWA Glock mags.

 

I'll report back when I've put more rounds down range.

[uscmCorps]

Figured I'd update this thread with some newer pics.

 

Here's a before and after I did for a friend's ATP who liked the stipple work I did on the other one:

 

Before:

 

After:

 

Pics of my personal piece:

 

And a match made in heaven ... OTG Holster + KWA ATP:

[icolater]

Looks like a dog chewed on it for a while

[uscmCorps]

Well, that was the aesthetic I was going for. Kidding. Jesus on a stick ... I wish someone had told me that sooner... I would have given my gun to my dog to work on and saved myself a bit of labor. As it is she's constantly chiseling herself shivs out of the rest of toys.

 

Stippling isn't really designed to be pretty so much as functional. It's designed to give the shooter more positive grip and more aggressive surface area to enable greater control while shooting and manipulating the gun be it in dry or wet conditions. I based my stipple work after the stipple job Ben at Boresight Solutions did for my M&P and Glock

 

 

http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=28386

http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=62248

 

But it's not for everybody, and if you don't like it, I respect that. I like the look of it over the default paneling that was on there and more importantly, it works for me and how I shoot.

 

The more I look at the ATP and compare it to my M&P 9 and Glock 17, the more I like it. To me, the ATP looks like the love child of a Glock and M&P.

[Scuffer]

uscmCorps - are the front and rear sights on the ATP removable? Are there any replacement/upgrade ones, if so what model, standard Glock fitment?

[uscmCorps]

I was wondering about that last night. They are sadly not standard Glock sights. I should ask Allizard if there are any plans for upgradable sights. Since the gun isn't commonly available in other countries being designed specifically for the US market, I'd be surprised if we ever saw a company like GunsModify do some real tritium sights for the gun. Until then, what I'll probably do is get another set of Nitesiters (photo-luminescent adhesive dots) which are designed for RS firearms and I've used on a few of my airsoft guns to great affect.

. Not Tritium, but they work.

[Scuffer]

Cheers for the reply mate.

 

Shame these aren't going to be more internationally available.

On the sight front, I was thinking either sporting fibre sights or a red dot on mount would look pretty decent.

[uscmCorps]

If you're in need of one or two ATP's LMK.

[Scuffer]

Cheers mate I may well do later in the year

[icolater]

Its a very good looking gun, I think it looks a bit like a hk p30 crossed with a glock, there is a full auto version coming later this year.

[uscmCorps]

My gun got pretty dirty this past weekend during some practice games. I went urban prone a few times with the ATP in my holster on my hip. By the end of the day, the gun was basically unusable from all the dirt. But that was all me. So tonight I made the time to clean up my ATP (one thing I love about cleaning airsoft guns ... no carbon to clean up). Used gun cleaner followed by some EWL for lube.

 

While cleaning the gun, I thought I'd take a second to do a couple quick upgrades. The first was installing a KM tight bore barrel I picked up during my last trip to HK. The second was installing some Nitesiters.

 

http://youtu.be/n_u63UrcmbQ

 

Nitesiters.com

 

 

This video is really just to illustrate the effectiveness of Nitesiters. They're not a replacement for Tritium Night Sights (like on my S&W M&P), and you do have to charge them up briefly with a bright flashlight or UV flashlight, but they're brighter and stay bright longer than most other options such as glow paint, etc.

 

For just $12, you get 8 Nitesiter dots. They're easy to apply (come with simple instructions and everything you need). The Nitesiter dots fit perfectly into the recesses of the white dots of the irons. On some guns I have had to add super glue around the edge of the dot (something they recommend if you have problems with the dots coming off), but I suspect I won't have to since these Nitesiters sit really deeply in the recesses.

 

I'm liking this gun more and more. I lent the other modified ATP to my buddy who used it a few times during the same practice day. He was happy with it too. I might try 0.3g BBs to see how much straighter these fly.

[Agent Hunk]

Anyone know if the KWA will fit the Streamlight contoured remote for the TLR lights? In theory it should but wanted to see if anyone had first hand info.

[AMC1096]

It can be done, one of my coworkers did it to there ATP.

[uscmCorps]

Here are some pics of my most recent ATP stipple job (this is my third one now):

 

Slide Modifications:

- Replaced the OEM rear sights with 10-8 Performance Glock Rear Sights

- The front sight is the OEM front sight but with NiteSiters Glow in the dark dot installed for low/no light

- Painted out the frame engravings.

- Rubberized 3M Grip Tape on rear of the slide to enhance reholstering and for practicing CQC drills

 

Heavy frame modification:

- 360° Frame stippling (back strap is still removable)

- Radiused the trigger guard both on the inside face and smoothed the outside and rounded

- Stippled trigger guard and forward frame flats

- Removed the finger grooves

- Rounded out the

- Smoothed the tang where the webbing between the thumb and index finger contacts the frame

- Vickers Tactical Slide Stop/Slide Release

- Polished the trigger job for smoother action

- Recessed and smoothed out the area around the mag release button for a cleaner and easier press

- Stippled base pads

 

Added SureFire X300

 

Standard internal upgrades per most KSC/KWA Glocks.

[Boom3r]

Just a minor point but are these compatible with the Crye Precision gun clip like other Glocks?

[uscmCorps]

I don't know personally. I've never been a fan of the Crye gun clip and have never bought one or tested it out.