mimesis Posted June 2, 2014 Report Share Posted June 2, 2014 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. Link to post Share on other sites
mimesis Posted June 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 No one? Link to post Share on other sites
Roland1014 Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 BRB defibbing my wallet. Link to post Share on other sites
famidesu Posted June 8, 2014 Report Share Posted June 8, 2014 Have you tried to email any of the listed vendors? I mean...we're just guessing at this point. Link to post Share on other sites
intinerious Posted June 21, 2014 Report Share Posted June 21, 2014 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. Link to post Share on other sites
intinerious Posted June 24, 2014 Report Share Posted June 24, 2014 Edit to above post: AA's owner is called Richard Chan, not Brian. Found him on FB just now whilst browsing through some airsoft FB group. Link to post Share on other sites
famidesu Posted July 3, 2014 Report Share Posted July 3, 2014 I have been trying to figure out who the supplier for Creation is. Any takers? Also HK based. Link to post Share on other sites
famidesu Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 What about Davidson Custom? I wonder what quality they are...I guess we will see. Got my hands on an open kit discounted "down to china town" by about 400$. Link to post Share on other sites
intinerious Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 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. Link to post Share on other sites
famidesu Posted November 17, 2014 Report Share Posted November 17, 2014 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. Link to post Share on other sites
famidesu Posted November 27, 2014 Report Share Posted November 27, 2014 I can now happily confirm that a Davidson Custom frame and a PROG4 Slide set fits perfectly. Link to post Share on other sites
jv83 Posted November 28, 2014 Report Share Posted November 28, 2014 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! Link to post Share on other sites
wolfgeorge Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 Prime OEM Airsoft Surgeon. For sure... I know Prime made the AS SAI slides and the AS 1911 V12.. Alum and brass.. Wolf Link to post Share on other sites
LeeCustom Posted April 29, 2015 Report Share Posted April 29, 2015 Prime OEM Airsoft Surgeon. For sure... I know Prime made the AS SAI slides and the AS 1911 V12.. Alum and brass.. Wolf What about the AS Capa slides? I.e Capsicum, IMM, Limcats Link to post Share on other sites
icolater Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 I think AS uses multiple companies for his stuff. Link to post Share on other sites
wolfgeorge Posted May 9, 2015 Report Share Posted May 9, 2015 Most of AS slides are OEM by Prime!!! Wolf Link to post Share on other sites
icolater Posted May 9, 2015 Report Share Posted May 9, 2015 I have a AS sig elite and it's Pgc based, also my AS ksc g19 slide is Defo not prime. His 1911/hi capa stuff I think is mostly prime. Link to post Share on other sites
wolfgeorge Posted May 10, 2015 Report Share Posted May 10, 2015 Sorry to disappoint you but 100% all AS SAI Glock kits are prime.. including the KSC ones.. I'm not sure about the Elite but it doesn't look like the PGC one. The PGC had more details. Wolf Link to post Share on other sites
icolater Posted May 10, 2015 Report Share Posted May 10, 2015 Ok whatever, there top pieces of kit regardless of OEM, but I'll take your word for it. Link to post Share on other sites
icolater Posted May 10, 2015 Report Share Posted May 10, 2015 pictures but AS sig elite 226 and ksc g19 AS silver slide. Prime????? Link to post Share on other sites
wolfgeorge Posted May 10, 2015 Report Share Posted May 10, 2015 Not my photo's but this is the PGC P226 Elite And this is the AS Elitehttp://www.gbbnews.eu/en/2012/04/25/airsoft-surgeon/una-sig-sauer-p226-stainless-elite-da-airsoft-surgeon/ As you can see it's missing the slide trademarks on the right side. Wolf Link to post Share on other sites
icolater Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 Nice!! It looks so cool in that photo, the bear foot logo is on the top of the slide on the AS one, which is my favourite thing about the gun. Link to post Share on other sites
wolfgeorge Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 I'm guessing almost all Hi Capa kits are Gunsmith bros (former ProG4) and everything else is Prime/Nova. I'd love a silver PGC P226 Elite tho... Wolf Link to post Share on other sites
icolater Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 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. Link to post Share on other sites
wolfgeorge Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 LoL... Well for the future....I'm trying now to finish the project guns and to build the kits/slides I have !!I have a few waiting!!! Cheers Wolf Link to post Share on other sites
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