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Western Arms?


chris u'5

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Hello Guys,

 

I have been away for many years and have lost track of what is going on the World of Airsoft and I was wondering what the story is with Western Arms?

It seems their website is still being updated but all of the 'usual' retailers either no longer stock them or are out of stock of all their models.

Just interested to know what has been going on as there are two 1911 models I am desperate to add to my WA collection.

 

Many thanks in advance.

 

Chris

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I can't remember exactly but I don't think they're really shipping to retailers out of Japan these days.  Someone on the WA group on FB explained it a while back.  Increases in exchange rates have killed a lot of the market for them.  Someone in Japan should be able to get you what you want.  Or you could try buying directly from their site but I have never tried that. 

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Unfortunately I sold most of my WAs when I hit some hard times, still feel sick about it :(

I did keep two though, a Colt Series 70 and a Colt 1911, both in WAs beautiful 'Carbon Black' finish.

For the Series 70 I got hold of a genuine Colt pistol case, genuine Colt cocobolo medallion grips and a copy of the original instructions and for the 1911 I sourced the cardboard box that Colt used when they reproduced the original 1911 a few years ago and a reprint of the original user manual from the year 1911 :)

Do you have pictures of your collection anywhere? I seem to remember you had a beautiful Kimber Raptor??

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Nice.  I need to consolidate my pics really.  They were scattered in the 1911 pic threads but now knackered thanks to Photobucket's BS.

 

Yeah, I have a Raptor.  Sadly the re release without the really nice finish.  But it does have RS grips which were/are difficult to get hold of though.

 

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Loved my WAs, only had a few 1911s, a para ordnance and a couple of kimbers, two had the carbon black finish and one had a stainless steel glass bead blasted replicated finish that was so real looking it was amazing. They lacked performance though and the positive pressure valves in the nozzles were a bit inconsistent, also the plastic while looking great was a bit flimsy, I really regret not getting MBKs for them but felt that it was a shame to waste the really great looking plastic frames and slides.

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Their are so many cool steel 1911 these days from PAC, rwa, at tech, mafioso, creation etc that Buying a WA and kitting it up just isn't worth it.

I would say you really don't have to kit up a WA, they run fine on green stock. If co2 is your thing, then yeah, look elsewhere

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Had a WA kimber tle/rl pro explode on green gas after only a few mags, it was indoors but still. I never shot any of my WAs on green after that. But they do look nice! I love going on wagunnet to see what's new from them, so many cool and interesting models available.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I don't know about WA going strong honestly.  WA don't sell direct to overseas and not many exporter in Japan interested selling them outside of Japan.  

The market demand just not there according my source (multiple) in Japan.  TM still rank top when it comes to GBB pistols sales.  

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True, they are prone to only limited runs to keep cost down. TM did ruin WA's sale, along with TM clones.

 

As much as I like the TM, their selection is pretty bad and most metal kits don't replicate anything I'm interested in.

That is incorrect.  The only way to cost down is to make by large volume and cutting cost on manufacturing process.  WA tried that with KWC for the MagnaTech series.  That didn't go anywhere.  

Making a limited run actually is quite expensive.  Then again, your sales volume / demand isn't there so there is no growth with the company.   

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I don't know.  They seem to be doing OK in Japan.  I gather there is a significant number of die hard collectors/WA enthusiasts.  I keep an eye on their site and they release a handful of new models every couple of months.

 

The WA and TM markets are completely different.  Like a luxury car brand versus an everyday brand for instance. Ferrari doesn't care how many Focus' Ford sell.

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The WA and TM markets are completely different.  Like a luxury car brand versus an everyday brand for instance. Ferrari doesn't care how many Focus' Ford sell.

 

But they did, and probably still do to some degree. As Allizard said, WA did try the TM market and failed. They did once own the whole 1911 market, even if they were a little pricey.

 

A lot people wait to buy WA guns second hand for a better price, some guns are so collectible, they resell for more than what WAGunsite asked for; then there are others that no one cares about. There is a whole market just for stock WA parts on auction sites. Things like Heinie rear sights sell from 30 to 50 USD (More if they have the white dot)! WA knows their market, so they know 1911 fanatics eat up guns from new and old gunsmiths (Like Swenson, Hoag, Clark and Chow), video games, film and manga. While TM takes up the rest, with a whole aftermarket support.

 

Allizard: That makes sense, I'm not really well versed in manufacturing.

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WA scw3 is outdated, Marius perform better and with a nova kit also look better. This is why no one really cares about WA any more. Plus the fact that green gas kills them and duster is useless unless you live in a hot country. Like what was said before, they have a very niche market in Japan with collectors, that's it really.

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I’ve been a lurker for about 15 years and only created my account a few months ago when I started playing again so I still don’t have enough posts to access the classifieds. But when I do I’ll post it their first.

 

I figured it was more a niche gun to sell and thought the usual classified sites might not be the best place so I’m glad I asked. Cheers

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