Fami's Modified & Customized Hi-Capa's.

[famidesu]

I've had my Hi - Capa 4.3 for a couple of years now and just last year I decided to get

a 5.1 as well as the options for customisation was so much bigger. Atleast when it

comes to slide combinations, that's it really. I'm not going to replicate all the text nor

posts I wrote. So for your viewing pleasure I'll attach images.

 

 

[famidesu]

Oh, I just realized I can't attach more than those pics I just got in here. Well...I assume I'll have to find another

place to store them. More pics incoming later today.

[famidesu]

Decided to go with Imageshack. A bit sad that they also charge you money per year to host images.

But hey, everyone needs money to put a roof under their heads.

 

Some pics from the 4.3 I'm still building. I have some complaints about the new grip.

The screw that's supposed bolt the frame and grip together is too short to get any

threads into the grip part. The trigger hole needs to be modified for the trigger to go

back and forth smoothly. I'm still in the process of figuring out where the *suitcase*

it still needs to be fitted. Other than that, I like the grip. It's comfier than you'd expect.

 

The 9ball lower frame is not as good as you'd think. It's very light but the finish is poor

and will fall off from various parts after a little bit of scuffing (example: the slide lock,

rail, and the like.) Other than that, it looks very tactical and is made for the grip

specifically. But it also works with normal grips. Tested and proved.

 

The STI slide from Shooters Design is a total trainwreck. It rattles both front and back

and the BBU is horribly misaligned. Stay the heck away from the new SD slides. I just

wanted a nice slide for my 4.3. Sigh.

 

[Mike_West]

That grip you made is pretty cool, I like it.

[mimesis]

 

The 9ball lower frame is not as good as you'd think. It's very light but the finish is poor

and will fall off from various parts after a little bit of scuffing (example: the slide lock,

rail, and the like.) Other than that, it looks very tactical and is made for the grip

specifically. But it also works with normal grips. Tested and proved.

 

The STI slide from Shooters Design is a total trainwreck. It rattles both front and back

and the BBU is horribly misaligned. Stay the heck away from the new SD slides. I just

wanted a nice slide for my 4.3. Sigh.

 

 

Considering that the Nineball frame costs $60-$70 dollars, whereas most frames cost in the neighborhood of $200 (Prog4, Airsoft Masterpiece, etc.), this is not too surprising.

 

I've heard from several sources that SD QC has been going down the drain.  Also viewed a couple of videos showing horrible tolerances between slide and frame.  What a pain!

[famidesu]

Thanks man! I assume you mean the grip I have on my 5.1 in these pics ?

This is after I aquired a pretty sweet Masterpiece slide, slightly scuffed and

used but still nice and the fitment was and still is like a dream. It's super tight

but is still smooth when racking it.

 

 

 

That grip you made is pretty cool, I like it.

 

 

Considering that the Nineball frame costs $60-$70 dollars, whereas most frames cost in the neighborhood of $200 (Prog4, Airsoft Masterpiece, etc.), this is not too surprising.

 

I've heard from several sources that SD QC has been going down the drain.  Also viewed a couple of videos showing horrible tolerances between slide and frame.  What a pain!

 

I posted a video on YT about that, maybe you saw it as well! Yeah, after having it a

while I realized that you literally get what you pay for. I'm having an A-Masterpiece

advance frame shipped to me right now with some other bits and bobs. This or next

month I will order a slide set...it's going to be open, but if it's going to be hybrid as

well...that's to be seen.

 

I wonder what made SD slack so badly and mess up? I mean...yeah...I got nothing.

 

Here's a closeup of how loosely the slide is attached to the frame.

[mimesis]

Hybrids are nice!  An example of SD from back in the day when they were still decent.

 

[jv83]

Nice guns but are you sure that the LA Brama slide is SD? BTW that SD slide is horrible, shame when you use a lot of money and stuff doesn't fit well.

[famidesu]

Oh that hybrid is great looking...makes me want one.

 

I'm pretty sure it's Shooters Design jv83, unless it was another brand and

mislabeled by the nice bloke at eliteshootingcentre. I think I have the receipt

here somewhere...oh and thanks! I have lots of more pictures...I just don't

want to upload them at once, because how fun would that be?

[famidesu]

I really liked the look of thumb rests, but I didn't have a red dot sight at that time, so what I did was ( a huge mistake ) grab

a drill and a tap, made the holes as you can see below. I also purchased a grip from A-Airsoft and it's really nice! However

it smells like a deathtrap. I'm an allergic asthmatic ( pain in the shithole ) and both natural and unnatural scents may make

me feel sick. So after a while I just put it in a box and never opened it again.

 

 

Below in focus is the Gundam type magwell from AKA. It's very cool looking and a fresh take on all the bulky, round ones

clogging the market. Definitely my favorite. Fits like a glove.

 

This thing here is one of ProG4's famous barrels which are said to bring 'even dead slides to life'.

It's compared below to a stock TM 5.1 barrel so you can see the difference on the cuts.

 

 

 

I also invested in steel parts for the Nova hop up chamber I bought used from someone as well as a brass

hopup adjustment wheel. Both purchased from A-A.

 

 

This thing is great. Longer, reinforced steel spring for your blowback housing.

 

 

By the way, do any of you know how to fix so that hop up chambers wont start coming loose? I mean, the two screws holding

it together are slowly threading themselves out. This is really annoying as the hopup resets and it can't be good over all.

 

Thanks for any input!

 

 

 

Recently I thought it'd be sweet to try and do some handcrafting. What I wanted was what you can see below.

Was inspired by some build which I sadly lost the pictures from, but yeah. It's all made by cutting and sanding

with a dremel. It's not done yet but it's going well so far. The reason why I wanted to try this is because the

slide was kinda banged up here and there, lots of scratches and dents, so I thought, why not?.

 

 

 

 

Pic of the stippling progress. Doing this bit by bit...not satisfied yet.

 

 

 

This was my plan after doing the first cuts to the slide.

[mimesis]

Is that marking on the front lower part of the slide (first pic) from the tips of the screws, or the drill, or....??

 

To hold screws in place, you just need a tiny dot/dab of Loctite BLUE (*not* red).

 

I recently got a bunch of parts from UAC.  The BBU return spring and the tiny spring for valve knocker catch thingy were fine, but the two main recoil springs were softer than I expected, and I had to load up the stiffer of the two with three A. Surgeon rubber buffer pads.

 

If you haven't fitted them, I strongly recommend the hammer protection pads (look at Gun Art Shop, Alpha Airsoft, etc.).  They stop the hammer from deforming the back of the frame where it hits.  Stock TM frames are pretty soft these days...

[famidesu]

The markings are from the tips of the screws. Learn as I go.

 

Good thinking on the loctite, many thanks!

 

I have been eyeing the UAC parts an recently sent them a mail about a bynch of parts...seeing they just came out with an awesome looking aluminum grip... at a very competitive price it's gonna be hard to resist. Seen it?

 

I do have a bunch of those hammer protection pads, but thanks for the heads up, man.

[mimesis]

Tiger111HK probably have the most extensive selection of UAC, with the added advantage that they're all in stock.

http://airsoft.tiger111hk.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=UAC&osCsid=932bcaa88ca7bdd0d8a566ce6fa7f8bf&search.x=19&search.y=3

 

Impact Force CQB gets their brand new stuff before anyone else, but they are always sold out of 80% of the products.  Like the new grips.

http://shop.impactforcecqb.com/locale/en-US/category/Ultimate%20Airsoft%20Custom

 

Fortunately, Alpha have got them in too (or at least some of them).

http://www.a-airsoft.com/index.php?route=common/home

 

Knuckles on youtube likes UAC a lot.

 

I just got one of the Airsoft Masterpiece skater terrain grips from Alpha, so I'm going to try to resist the UAC aluminum.

[famidesu]

I just got one of the Airsoft Masterpiece skater terrain grips from Alpha, so I'm going to try to resist the UAC aluminum.

 

Good links, thanks!

Do you find the Masterpiece grips smelling really bad? I'd love to use mine.

[famidesu]

Pics after smoothing out the cuts I did, I don't think it looks too bad? The frame you see on this

5.1 is a stock 4.3 frame which I shortened and cut the edges for a bit more agressive look, but

it's in the trashbin now. I can't stand the shotty finish. I LOVE the scope mount though. It's

awesome. Don't have to drill any holes, and it's very very slim and feels exclusive. I have the

slide racker coming in soon too, to fit this setup.

 

 

Pics of the gold, and also another (LD) Shooters Design slide, (bought domestically) with a bit of

misalignment to the BBU, but very little or no wobble.

 

As I don't have any sights, I adjusted the laser on the bottom rail for target practice at 10-15 meters

and it works great. Also, I would never buy such an expensive light but it was on sale and more than

half the price off. Brand new here it was like 100€. *shivers* It's super bright. I'm using it when I'm taking

late night walks, not attached to anything of course.

 

The controls are OEM from my 5.1. I'm planning on getting some gold stuff, just figuring out which brand

to get as I don't want to spend a tiny fortune on them. Dark Industries has a nice set of all pieces but they're

only in shiny stainless sadly.

 

[mimesis]

Do you find the Masterpiece grips smelling really bad? I'd love to use mine.

I have one in blue and I don't notice any smell at all.  Hmmm.

 

Re. that second all-black build, I did something a little bit similar.  Slide is SD by the way, but goes back 2-3 years. 

 

[famidesu]

Then it might be just me who's got a very sensitive pair of nostrils I'm afraid.

I can smell *suitcase* nobody else notices.

 

That old build of yours looks pretty swell, albeit a bit much heft to the rear?

Or is it just an illusion? Is that a NB extended slidecatch?

 

I'm slightly frustrated because the set of controls I ordered was out of stock

and it took well over a week to get the notice after payment. Ugh. At least

I have some other nice stuff coming. But I was really looking forward to those.

[famidesu]

Got the frame in the mail with some shock buffers, a gold guiderod for my black build and an JLProgression slide racker.

I always wanted to know why it (the slide racker) says only for 'open slides', now I know. Luckily I will be ordering some

sort of open slide set this month.

 

 

Bought from A-Airsoft, this frame came without the second pin. This was naturally a mistake on their end but when it

came to their knowledge, they were very quick about sending the part to me with a tracking ID. As far as I know, their

customer service is the best I know. You get direct contact with them through FB, too.

 

 

 

 

You can now see how used and scratched the slide looks compared to the lower.

 

 

I treated myself with a macro lens this summer, just love the bokeh.

 

 

 

 

 

On a sidenote. Does anyone know what other online shops distribute Gunsmith Bros parts?

 

Shops that I know of:

 

WGC Shop

A-Airsoft

Gunartairsoft

 

However they are mostly always out of stock. And that sucks.

[mimesis]

See my recent topic on here that unfortunately didn't get much action.  http://arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/213086-gunsmith-bros-prog4-airsoft-masterpiece-and-others/

 

All the stuff on the Prog4 site is listed, in the items details, as made by Gunsmith Bros.  Also Captain KK (Prog4) generally has the lowest prices, and his shipping is not bad either.

 

I'm convinced that Airsoft Masterpiece=Gunsmith Bros., even though I too got some recent stuff from Alpha Airsoft with a box marked Airsoft Masterpiece.

 

Good service too from Gun Art Pro Shop.

 

Got to get some photos and will post up my recent creation shortly.

[famidesu]

Oh right, I totally forgot about that thread. I actually did reply, but it wasn't an answer much of use. Sorry. :/

 

You totally need photos of your recent build, get er up!

 

It's just that while Gunsmith Bros site was up, I saw tons of awesome stuff they had lined up for release

during summer > autumn...I'm fearing that they shut down the site for public access after I e-mailed

them about some stuff I found interesting. Or maybe I wasn't the only one (most likely). I haven't seen

any of these things at any of the listed vendors...I wonder when they'll turn up.

 

I'm also convinced about the same thing as you are. Though I don't think that AKA or UAC are

affiliated with them more than using their high quality cuts as a standard for what their parts will

fit on, or something like that.

[mimesis]

Here's the Gunsmith Bros. website.  It's working for me at the moment.

 

http://www.gunsmithbros.com/onlinestore_bros/

 

Where they have the same items as, say, Airsoft Masterpiece, the items look absolutely identical.

 

Still, Alpha Airsoft have stuff for sale that doesn't show up on the GB website.  Either GB acts as an OEM for other "brands", like AM, or whether there's yet another layer behind them, actually cranking all this stuff out, I don't know.  It's kind of like how Nova and Anvil are related, and both to Prime.

 

And pics are up!

[intinerious]

Here's the Gunsmith Bros. website.  It's working for me at the moment.

 

http://www.gunsmithbros.com/onlinestore_bros/

 

Where they have the same items as, say, Airsoft Masterpiece, the items look absolutely identical.

 

Still, Alpha Airsoft have stuff for sale that doesn't show up on the GB website.  Either GB acts as an OEM for other "brands", like AM, or whether there's yet another layer behind them, actually cranking all this stuff out, I don't know.  It's kind of like how Nova and Anvil are related, and both to Prime.

 

And pics are up!

 

Replied to your other thread mimesis, plus a bit of well needed venting

 

I have a feeling the Airsoft Masterpiece stuff is made on request by Alpha Airsoft.  It's very likely to be GSB OEM and as far as I can tell the AM stuff is only sold by AA?  If so that reinforces my suspicions.

[mimesis]

Replied to your other thread mimesis, plus a bit of well needed venting

 

I have a feeling the Airsoft Masterpiece stuff is made on request by Alpha Airsoft.  It's very likely to be GSB OEM and as far as I can tell the AM stuff is only sold by AA?  If so that reinforces my suspicions.

 

A-Airsoft are definitely the major seller, but not the only one.  Take a look at Gun Art Airsoft (know anything about them?)

 

http://gunartairsoft.com/search.php?search_query=airsoft+masterpiece&x=0&y=0

 

I put in four orders recently, to Prog4, Alpha, Gun Art, and Tiger111HK, and got excellent service from all four.  Items sent by "registered" airmail, and each packet arrived in about 7 days (and much less expensive than EMS).  Still, I can certainly understand your feelings about A-Airsoft.  I had a run-in with RedWolf customer "service" a couple of years ago, and their broken promise still rankles.

[intinerious]

A-Airsoft are definitely the major seller, but not the only one.  Take a look at Gun Art Airsoft (know anything about them?)

 

http://gunartairsoft.com/search.php?search_query=airsoft+masterpiece&x=0&y=0

 

I put in four orders recently, to Prog4, Alpha, Gun Art, and Tiger111HK, and got excellent service from all four.  Items sent by "registered" airmail, and each packet arrived in about 7 days (and much less expensive than EMS).  Still, I can certainly understand your feelings about A-Airsoft.  I had a run-in with RedWolf customer "service" a couple of years ago, and their broken promise still rankles.

 

Gun-Art is run by Chris and him alone (I'm real bad with names...I THINK his name is Chris); As far as I can tell he's a general gunsmith that also does IPSC stuff too.  He also competes in IPSC matches.  His office last I remember (I dunno if he moved) is in a factory building near Ehobby and old RedWolf.  It's not a convenient place so I think most of his customers are overseas via his website or by referral and word of mouth.

 

He's got a couple of SR-74s he's made but I never asked if he's offering those for sale (SR-74 being an M4 body modified in a way to fit AK74 mags.  I dunno who he gives it to cut the magwell so it's slanted like the SR47 or how he does it though).

 

As for Chris's work, I've had a Kimber SIS (Hurricane) slide lightly dremelled by him as the top of the barrel was interfering with the slide.  He nicked the paint of the sharp corners on the ejection port but for the price he charged for labour I wasn't too bothered about it.  His local prices are comparable (locally...again it's been some time since I was back, like 2-3 years ago so things may have changed) to the local shops and he stocks an assortment of stuff.  I remember he had AIP stuff (motors, gearbox stuff), prowin gearbox on display (dunno if for sale), bits and pieces of 1911/hicapa stuff (IIRC mostly AIP too!) and some misc. gear for airsofting.  Chris is a nice guy but I've had limited dealings with him so I can't give you a more informed opinion about his work and stock, especially the stuff over the past few years.  If his location hasn't changed he's quite close to one of the biggest (if not THE) ACM wholesaler in Hong Kong.  I dunno if he sells ACM stuff and if he doesn't there's always a chance to pester him about it to see if he's willing to get you ACM parts from the wholesalers.  I dunno if he'd do it but then again it's just business and there's money to be made for him

 

ProG4 is a funny one btw.  They're located in Hong Kong but Captain KK doesn't allow local pickup from wherever they are located.  The only time I bought from them I had to get the parts shipped by local post.  I have a suspicion Captain KK represents one of the factories in Hong Kong (as the Prowin/PGC/NOVA stuff from what I remember being told by the owner of AA are made in HK; probably Prime too but I don't remember).

 

Tiger111HK doesn't have a retail store as far as I can tell.  If they do they are way off the streets where the major stores are.  I've heard from a friend of mine overseas that they have great CS too.

 

Sorry to hear about your experience with RW (I remember reading about it actually, but don't remember the details)  Actually being so convenient getting airsoft stuff from HK I've never appreciated the risks of buying stuff online, especially overseas.

[famidesu]

Well, now I've got the goods from Gunart, I bet it's their own cheap & affordable brand? As you can see, they are real

shiny, but the finish or nor the surface underneath it is perfect, but that is just to be expected for the price. Each part

were around 11 - 20 $ a pop. So like 70 bucks for a whole set. If you want stuff on the cheap, I'd get these. But I'm

picky, very picky...so I will be swapping them out one by one.

 

Also got some lube from JLProgression. Can't say if it's better or worse than any other brand since I

don't have any experience. I won't be lubing anything before I have the stuff I want on the 2011 frame.

 

Also just slapped on the labrama kit for the 4.3 on there just for kicks. I still hate the fireball...