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Gunsmith Bros., Prog4, Airsoft Masterpiece, and others


mimesis

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I always used to believe that Prog4 (Captain KK) was the OEM for Airsoft Surgeon.

 

Then perhaps a year ago or so, there were lots of little changes made to the Prog4 website, and most of the products there were now ascribed to Gunsmith Bros.

 

In a new twist, the most recent shipment I received today from Prog4 was listed on the speedpost label as being sent by "(ARTCO)".

 

Alpha Airsoft seems to have a special relationship with Gunsmith Bros., and up until several months ago they carried a lot of their products under that brand name.  Then it changed to Airsoft Masterpiece, though clearly the products are the same.

 

Gun Art Airsoft also uses the Airsoft Masterpiece brand name, though they also have a lot of products under the Prohandgun label.  Still, ProHandgun seems to be mainly a team.  http://www.prohandgun.com/?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=2  Their "store" lists all of 4 products.

 

Yet other shops, like WGC, still list Gunsmith Bros.

 

Clearly, product-wise Prog4=Gunsmith Bros.=Airsoft Masterpiece=Prohandgun, and perhaps =Airsoft Surgeon.

 

Google Gunsmith Bros. and the link takes you to a zpanelcp log-in screen and you can go no further.

 

Then there is AKA Custom Products. https://www.facebook.com/AkaCustomProducts  These also look very similar.

 

Interestingly, UAC (Ultimate Airsoft Custom), which I do believe is a separate, different company, lists products that only fit the following brands: AS, AKA CP, Gunsmith, Masterpiece, Prohandgun.  http://www.uacofficial.com/product/marui/cocking-for-hi-capa/

 

So what's going on here?

 

Can anyone with insider knowledge of the trade draw me a flow chart?

 

As far as I can see, there are perhaps three manufacturers, Gunsmith, AKA (aka CP), and UAC, but possibly there are fewer or more.  Perhaps there's another layer, with another OEM behind all of these, doing custom work for some of the brands (such as AS).

 

I wonder, too, what people make of FPR.  http://www.fpr.hk/index.php?route=common/home  A tiny, boutique manufacturer, or more of the same?

 

Someone must know something... and my curiosity is roused.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Alpha Airsoft is run by a guy who competes in IPSC in Hong Kong competitively.

 

Forgot his name (Brian I think) and he's been expanding his shop since 2 years ago; they're a block or so away from all the main gun shops in Hong Kong.

 

I met him through contacting SAPH about one of their products; SAPH listed them as the distributor or something.

 

Anyway, the guy who runs the shop have insider knowledge on the 1911/hicapa side of the airsoft industry; so pretty much who makes the ProG4/GunsmithBros/AIP stuff.  He told me AIP and 5KU stuff come from the same factory (but given AIP's stuff tend to have consistent QC I guess they come off two different lines),  

GunsmithBros is the OEM manufacturer of the stuff they churn out; which I (don't quote me on this) believe the RSOV expensive hicapa stuff and some other niche brands (Airsoft Surgeon probably?) are the same (except AS changed his manufacturer 2 years ago to some other factory; which is why his newer stuff apparently isn't as good as his old stuff + they don't match the prowin/PGC or Prime rails in terms of fitment anymore) as GSB.  It's a bit hazy for me in recalling the info, sorry guys, been a long time since I've asked about it.

 

I don't shop at Alpha Airsoft anymore however, two things ###### me off about them that made me not go back to their store.  

First was my fault but it's the way Brian handled the situation.  I bought 2 AIP blowback housings in his shop (for a friend) and after I bought it (still in front of the counter) my friend called back and told me that he wanted 1 only.  I tried to get a refund and was rejected on the spot (the item was unopened and I never left the shop with it).  

Okay, given HK's buy-it-and-*fruitcage*-off culture that merely annoyed me since it was my fault for not confirming with my friend before I paid; but the excuse Brian gave me was that he can't change the POS system (which if I'm correct was an excel sheet on his laptop) so he can't refund me.  That's complete ###### since he inputs all items he sells and he could have easily just refunded me the money as I've been shopping for a few times already and (as I thought) struck up a good relationship with him.  Because of the excuse he gave me I decided to never go back there again.

 

Another thing (in conjunction to the above) was the first few times I've met with him (when he was working the shop by himself without extra staff) he said he'd give me discount where he'd only give those who have taken and attained the IPSC exam and certificate in Hong Kong (therefore a member of one of the IPSC groups in Hong Kong).  When I went to buy the AIP BBUs and asked about discount he flat out refused to give me a discount.  I didn't bring up the issue with him since I was busy trying to call my friend to confirm the purchase and getting money out of my wallet but given what happened above it was another nail in the coffin for me.

Though that's my experience with the owner personally.  For IPSC stuff in Hong Kong they have the widest range I believe on those tiny custom parts in hicapa/1911 pistols and the owner is knowledgeable on tuning those systems.

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Davidson Custom IIRC is RSOV's house brand but it's OEM'd by one of the factories above.  I don't remember whether the OEM is GunsmithBros or another (If I do recall correctly there's only 2 factories that do it.  One does the PGC/Prime stuff the other does the NOVA/GunsmithBros stuff....may have gotten the brands mixed that said; but if you find that brand X's frame fit's brand Y's slide; then it is likely X and Y come from the same OEM).

I've heard that because it's OEM'd by those factories; it's not all over the place in QC compared with stuff like the 5KU 1911/2011 parts.  But take that with a grain of salt as I've heard about this a LONG time ago + I've examined any of the Davidson Custom stuff.

Please take what I've written in this post with a grain of salt.  If anything I hope it helps in narrowing down the factories which the brands come from should you have a plethora of parts to figure it out.

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Alright! Thanks man, really appreciate your insight in the matter.

I do have two aftermarket frames to test on, where only one of 

them is made by the above mentioned factories. The kit I bought

does come with an LDC 7 inch frame. What I'm hoping is that the

wildcat slide from Gunsmithbros will slide right on without any 

gaps. But we'll see in a week or two depending on how quickly

they ship it out.

 

I have to hand it to RSOV though...they have the power to put items

'aside' and let you pay for them later on. That is something I haven't

seen anywhere else.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Prog4 were the first to sell Davidson stuff online. Back when they first started out they lent a custom gun to an arnies member, "fareast" I think it was, to review. Back then they referred to their own website, the Prog4 one. Not long after RSOV started selling some of their stuff too. Thats if I remember correctly, it was some years ago mind you. I have one of the La brama slides as well, very good quality.

 

I have monitered this thread and its confusing as hell, with all these labels!

 

link to the review I mentioned:http://arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=119182&st=0&p=1464399&

 

God 2007, time flies!

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  • 4 months later...
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I would sell you mine if you really want one, it's never been shot by me and I only racked the slide a couple of times. It's in perfect condition/showroom condition. I have a load of projects going on an need a loads of parts to finish a few builds, so need mula.

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