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OK, so this is initially not going to be a review topic strictly speaking, but more of an information pool. I have had the pistol for two weeks now and I felt I wanted to, and "needed" to, get some information out about it. I have chosen to do video information at this point, but I will most likely be doing an in depth text "review" of this pistol as well.

 

I encourage anyone who has first hand experience with this pistol to contribute to this thread.

 

For a quick re-cap of my RA Tech Kimber story please see my profile feed status update here : http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/index.php?/statuses/id/6255/

 

And here : http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/index.php?/statuses/id/6263/

 

And here: http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/index.php?/statuses/id/6277/

 

To warm you up here are a couple of pictures of the pistol :

 

ra_kimber_002.jpg

I _HATE_ that dimple in the slide catch! :|

 

ra_kimber_003.jpg

 

ra_kimber_004.jpg

 

ra_kimber_005.jpg

 

ra_kimber_001.jpg

 

And now for the actual conents which I created this topic for, my first informational video about this gun, kind of an unboxing, overview video:

 

 

I hope you find it informative, with good quality video and audio and entertaining to watch.

 

I have three more parts filmed that I will be uploading over the next one or two weeks. In the meantime I will try to shoot more footage in a more scripted and prepared manner. This is basically just me speaking of off the top off my head.

 

Here is the description for the first YouTube video:

 

PLEASE READ THE FULL DESCRIPTION, IMPORTANT INFORMATION BELOW!

 

Some information did not make it into this series of videos, and I want to make a few things clear before all the videos and information is made avaliable.

 

 

Firstly, this gun is NOT full steel. Not by a long shot. The majority of the lower frame is KJW MEU aluminum parts.

 

 

Second of all, would I recommend this pistol to other people?

 

Short answer is no.

 

Unless you know what you are getting yourself into, ie. that it is NOT full steel and that it is based on, and has alot of parts from, the KJW MEU pistol. And you realize that you will have to spend even more money and time to make it a true "full steel" gun, and you understand what that means in terms of money, time and labour and what it will do with the pistol, then perhaps yes. But it is at a _very_ high price that almost cannot be justified... Unless you are obsessed about having a full steel pistol there are other options that are better in terms of price for performance and contents, ie. custom built aluminum pistol based on a TM 1911 / MEU with NOVA metal kit and parts etc. I regert this purchase but have decided to move on with it and try to make it "complete". I would have been better off buying a custom aluminum gun for half the price and knowing what I got.

 

Thirdly, has my opionion of RA Tech as a company and manufacturer changed?

Yes, I have to say most definatly so. My trust and respect for RA Tech has taken a hit because of this story. They flat out lied in the information video regarding this product, clearly stating that is was full steel etc. However they did take down that video after my e-mails with them, and they are going to send me prototype steel parts, but still, I will have to think twice and double check all my facts before I buy or have anything to do with RA Tech again.

 

This series of videos is basically non-scripted videos of me just displaying and talking about the pistol to try and get as much information out there as possible regarding this product, because I think it is being misrepresented by alot of people.

 

Unfortunatly because of my desire to get this information out quickly the format is fairly "raw", not very well planned or fine tuned, just talking off of the top of my head. I had hoped for better production value for my videos, but I will have work on that in the future and plan my shoots and get alot of nice eye-candy B-roll footage etc. It takes alot of time and energy to both set up, film, edit and upload, so I can't promise when this will happen.

I have tried my best to provide videos with focus on high image and audio quality, accurate and factual information in an unscripted and slightly (ever so slightly) comedy format (crack a few jokes here and there and some foul language, it's all part of YouTube, right?).

 

I will try to make shorted videos focused more on a specific topic and not speak so freely, even though I find these types of videos very content rich they can sort of drift away from the actual subject matter at hand.

 

If you have any questions, comments or corrections to these videos please let me know and I will do my best to answer you as quickly as possible.

I hope that you enjoy watching this video, find it informative and slightly humorous and that it goes by fairly quickly without boring you.

I have as of now recorded just over one hour of footage like this and will be uploading it in four seperate parts over the course of 1-2 weeks time. In the meantime I will try to get more videos done and better footage and detail shots etc.

 

The video was shot by myself on a Nikon D7000 DSLR camera shooting at 1080p, 24fps, 1/50th shutter, f11 and ISO 1000. The audio is captured by a stand alone Zoom H1N audio recorder and the lighting is provided by a continous lighting kit consisting of three soft boxes with low-energy bulbs in them. Edited in Adobe Premiere Pro CS6.

 

The video is exposure calibrated, white balance calibrated and color calibrated to the best of my abilities. DSLR filming is my other hobby besides airsoft and I hope it shows I put alot of effort into making this look good. Lately I have taken an interest in the technical aspect of video shooting.

That being said it can always be better. In this video for example I notived that YouTube did not handle my expanded HD dynamic range very well and some areas are blown out (ie. pure white). I will dial this in over time and make sure I get the best image quality possible.

 

Dang, I think my description is as long as the video itself! :o

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Although they lied about its some components, i still think this pistol is good value compare to INO 1911.

Proper CNC made steel slide and frame. These are really important matters.

 

 

Probably changing its breech to aluminium made one(which including piston) can make it perform better.

 

When i had KJ 1911, i disassembled it few times, and i found that KJ 1911 have very poor piston cup.

I think it would be probably intended to release some pressure when using CO2 and prevent zinc slide from its explosion.

 

Steel slide won't explode so better be using tight piston. :D

Edited by volante
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Well, I think that for the price they ask for a toy gun, the RATECH Kimber has some serious flaws as Nonex pointed, using parts from a cheaper (even if high quality) brand tells the buyer they are not buying a gun but a preinstalled "steel kit" and even if the gun is already quite accurate (for a 90$ KJW gun) I think they should have included a TBB and a bucking, which is, to be honest, quite easy and cheap as RT already makes (or rebrands) them.

 

I dont own the gun, but after the Nonex review, I wouldnt buy it even if I had the money. Too overpriced

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I understand how RA Tech arrived at the idea of using a KJ, but they could (should) have made more changes to give better value.

 

With the weight of the slide, CO2 becomes desirable. Alternatives: KJ, KWC, WE (!!), WinGun, who else?

 

I too have heard about the piston cup/head being less than stellar, but on the other hand I've also heard that that bright red loading nozzle is engineered specifically to cope with CO2. If you could find an aftermarket head with just the right diameter to mate well with the nozzle, that might be interesting.

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I found a Tokyo Marui Piston cup to give an excellent seal with the red KJ nozzle when I was trying to get my old KJ 1911 to get more than 6 shots from a green gas mag; If you're going to try new piston cups, I'd definitely put a stock TM one on the list.

 

 

Also, everything else aside, it's a damn pretty gun.

Edited by hwagan
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Yes according to RA Tech it will be a stand alone pack with the mainspring housing and grip safety only (possibly the hammer as that is in one of their latest videos, but they did not specify that in the e-mail to me). I can't see how they can add that to the next gen of this gun without bumping the price considering those are ~50-60 USD parts a peice (NOVA parts as price referense). But you know, maybe they have a good markup on the guns they have sold up until now and can afford to throw those parts in "for free" in the newer builds. That still leaves the thumb safety and magazine release though.

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Well, the Inokatsu is all steel right? At a similar price point. Arguably the Ra Tech does seem more refined, the frame and slide are just beautiful and the controls are a bit more fancy compared to the M1911A1. Doable I suppose. But it would ###### off all the ver. I and II owners heh.

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From what I understand yes it is but I have not seen or heard any concrete proof of it, so maybe I will be the one to break that news as well :P

Inokatsu worked on theirs for 2-3 years, in close relation to, and wich licensing from, Colt. RA made theirs in, I would assume, less than 2 years (probably alot less) and without connection to or license from Kimber. So the price of the INO, if it is indeed full steel, seems alot more justified.

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So, in fact they charge $850 for a $100 KJ gun and kit? which consist of steel frame, steel slide, slide stop? what about barrel bushing, guide rod plug and outer barrel?

 

I think this product would be more demanded as a kit of Marui for $400 as a fair price... anyway even without CO2 power - you're not going to skirmish with $850 gun in a field where you can easily lose it :)

 

Adding NOVA parts will make this gun $1200 I suppose

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So, in fact they charge $850 for a $100 KJ gun and kit? which consist of steel frame, steel slide, slide stop? what about barrel bushing, guide rod plug and outer barrel?

 

In his first post OP says "The majority of the lower frame is KJW MEU aluminum parts". So is the frame itself steel or aluminum?

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Let me clarify in text here, but check out part 2 where I do a full break down of all the parts!

 

Frame - Steel

Slide - Steel

Front sight - Steel

Rear sight - Steel

Extractor - Steel

Firing pin - (?) Stainless steel (still to be verified)

Outer barrel - Stainless steel

Barre bushing - Stainless steel

Recoil spring guide rod - Stainless steel

Recoil spring plug - Stainless steel

Slide catch - Steel

 

Hammer - KJW MEU aluminum

Thumb safety - KJW MEU aluminum

Grip safety - KJW MEU aluminum

Mainspring housing - KJW MEU aluminum

Magazine release - KJW MEU aluminum

 

Initially I incorrectly stated that the recoil spring guide rod and plug were not steel, but they are, non magnetic stainless steel.

 

Check out part 2 for lots more info !

 

ANd yes I dropped around $450 USD on NOVA parts in addition to the gun.

Edited by NonEx
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I'm under the impression that RA-Tech were the OEM for Inokatsu's 1911s, which is why their 'Kimber' has the same dustcover (which is wrong for the real-steel Kimber, but A-OK for the Colt). Or was that just the first-generation ones?

 

You mean the edge between the side and lower part of the dustcover?

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I was referencing Volante's posts awhile back in the review request thread. I can't tell immediately from your photos if he was right or not, and if so, whether it applies to your gun also.

 

Ra tech Kimber has Springfield type lower frame and hammer. So wait for next one.

 

7093855975_ff8b71717a_b.jpg

 

From top: Ratech kimber, Real Springfield 1911, Real Kimber royal.

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I think he was saying that the dustcover on the Springfield-type frame is deeper than the Kimber's (that is, the Kimber's dustcover appears shallower, with shorter sides). That would make sense if RA-Tech were the OEM for the Inokatsu 1911 (which has the Colt-style frame, obviously) because then they would just use the existing Inokatsu frames they were already making instead of making new tooling for Kimber ones.

 

Looking at it now I'm not sure. Really we need photos of a standard 1911 next to a real Royal II to compare.

 

[EDIT]I think I can see what he's talking about - but it could just be the angle of the photo. If you look at the chamfering of the dustcover just ahead of the trigger guard, the Kimber's appears to be higher up the dustcover than the Springfield's.[/EDIT]

Edited by PureSilver
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A first batch of RAtech kimber had SFA type lower frame.

But on second batch, RAtech changed their lower frame to poper Kimber type.

 

The Kimber NonEX bought is second batch.

 

And RA kimber does not share its parts with Inokatsu.

Inokatsu 1911 's parts are comes from taiwan company called 'Temujin'.

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OK, thanks for the info. I have an KWC 1911 I could take pictures of them side by side if it helps but I think volante is right.

 

Also part 3 is now online as well :

 

That is actually where I do the "real" materials test. I just kind of half started in in part 2. Sorry about that :P

 

Enjoy!

 

Part 4 is accessories, NOVA parts etc. Coming within a week.

Edited by NonEx
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