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Tokyo Marui M1911A1 - A Review


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Note to the mods: I'm unsure of where I should post this, so I figured i'd post it here. If this is a problem, please let me know.

 

*EDIT* Just realized that this is in fact in the wrong place, and that there is already a review for this gun online. Feel free to call me a tool and laugh at me. :P

 

Introduction

 

Since my earliest days as a kid, I had always wanted a 1911, of course, back in those days I just called it a "45" like everyone else did. At the time, nobody made a 1911 cap gun, and alas, my thirst for one went unabated for several more years.

 

So I get into airsoft, and once again, my thirst for 1911s beckoned, so I ended up getting one of the Western Arms M1911A1s from a friend. This gun was finicky, and shortly after I got it, it began to show signs of malfunctioning, so I sold it off. Fast forward a few more years, and I had went through several different single and double stack 1911s and never found one that was simple, and robust enough for me to want to keep it around.

 

So about a month ago I found out that Marui was making one (although there were rumors long before that), and I decided upon getting one. I ordered one from a company in Hong Kong. The company I will not divulge out of the fear the the same fate awaits them as Redwolf packages. I will however, give you this simple, simple clue: This company sports the initials of the successor organization to the League of Nations. If you can't figure that out, you don't deserve to know.

 

 

Real Steel History: A Primer

In the late 1800s/early 1900s the United States Army was looking for a larger calibre handgun to be issued to officers and other qualified individuals. This was due to a myriad of factors, the primary factor being that the old revolvers the Army used lacked the knock-down power required to do the job the Army needed.

 

Come 1906 Colt entered it's pistol design into a contest along with several other designs, and ended up winning the contract. Although Colt is largely given the praise for the pistol, it was not their work. They acquired the design from a man named John Moses Browning (who also designed the BAR, M2 HMG, M1917 MG, and M1919 MG).

 

The M1911 (and the A1) where in large-scale military service from March 29, 1911 to January 14, 1985 when it was replaced by the M9 Beretta service pistol. Although it left large scale service in 1985, the M1911A1(and some improved versions of it) have continued to serve with select US Military units in the forms of the MEU(SOC) pistol, the MARSOC pistol, and others.

 

Appearance and Packaging:

 

OutsideBox.jpg

 

So I placed the order and got it exactly seven days after I ordered it. I tore open the out package and was rewarded with an Olive Drab color box with the "Colt" logo completely uncovered on the front of box along with "M1911A1 Colt Government" in large, bold letters.

 

Everything.jpg

 

As nice as the Marui Sig P226 was, it had some fundamental issues as far as cosmetics were concerned. You could look at it, and it looked real, until you looked at the underside of the frame, at which point in time you found a nasty, large seam line going down the center of said frame. The M1911A1 has absolutely zero mold lines visible unless you are seriously taking time to look for them.

 

 

 

Included in the box are:

 

1x Marui M1911A1 Government (duh)

1x Marui M1911A1 magazine (once again, duh)

1x Barrel bushing wrench (which I didn't know came in the box until I had taken apart the slide several times.

1x Bag of Marui bbs

1x Cleaning and unjamming rod

A nice little packet of manuals, catalogues and various other pieces of information.

 

Slide.jpg

 

Note: The little flecks of plastic inside the letters and on various parts of the pistol are remnants of the material that was used to conceal the trademarks, the are not defects in the gun, nor the mold the gun came out of.

 

Markings2.jpg

 

Markings1.jpg

 

 

 

Function

So I have blabbed about the history, and the costmetics, but what about the function? Well, let me tell you, I have seen, held, fired, and owned enough gas pistols to know when I find one that is worth keeping, and this gun is it.

 

Chrono readings were taken with Green Gas and Systema .2g BBs. The chrono readings were as follows:

 

307.9

302.6

304.0

 

This leaves us with an average velocity of 304.83 FPS out of the box.

 

Accuracy was acceptable as well. 26 rounds were shot out of the pistol in the standing, unsupported position at a range of 20 feet with Green Gas and Systema bbs, and the groupings held to an amazing 3 inches. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the target, and as such, I obviously can't post it.

 

Misc. Information

I purchased the pistol with the intention of turning it into a MEU(SOC) ICQB pistol, and as such, had purchased a BlackHawk CQC Dropleg holster to accomodate said pistol. I am happy to announce that the Marui M1911 pistol interfaces perfectly with this holster, as well as traditional nylon/cloth holster designs.

 

Conclusion

As I said before, I have quite a bit of experience with gas guns, and I can honestly say that this one is a winner. So in review, I would rate the Tokyo Marui M1911A1 with the following:

 

Ratings are given out of 5 stars.

 

Cosmetics: *****

This is by far the best-looking GBB that Marui has ever released in my humble opinion. The trademarks are almost 100% identical to the real thing. It also has Armory/Ordinance markings, Inspector's markings, and more.

 

Performance: ****

While this is not the "fastest" gun on the market as far as velocity is concerned, it makes up for it's relatively low velocity in accuracy. I would trade velocity for accuracy any day of the week.

 

Overall Value: *****

There are very few things in this world that I am sure of, but I can say with 100% surety that I think this is one of the best buys on the market today. If you are in search of a nice, inexpensive, good-performing gun, then this is for you!

 

 

If any of you out there have any questions or comments about this review, by all means, feel free to contact me at: thebaninator@gmail.com. You are free to distribute this to any place you wish, however I ask that you do not charge for it, and reserve the right to deny you the use of it should I deem it fit.

 

Loki of Airsoft Ohio aka TheOgre (hey, Loki was unavailable here :P )

 

*EDIT* Spelling, corrected various other grammar mistakes (made some new ones as well), etc. etc.

Edited by theogre
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Performance: ****

While this is not the "fastest" gun on the market as far as velocity is concerned, it makes up for it's relatively low velocity in accuracy. I would trade velocity for accuracy any day of the week.

300 fps is relatively low?

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and how's the cycling on 134a.. is it still strong? compared to a WA on 134a..

 

Also, what colour is the ejection port? from all the pictures I've seen you either cannot see the ejection port or it's at an odd angle so you cant tell if it's black or just at a nopn-reflective angle :S

 

 

cheers.

Edited by hardboiledcop
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and how's the cycling on 134a.. is it still strong? compared to a WA on 134a..

 

Also, what colour is the ejection port? from all the pictures I've seen you either cannot see the ejection port or it's at an odd angle so you cant tell if it's black or just at a nopn-reflective angle :S

cheers.

 

Barrel and ejection port are both one piece, and are a shiney black color. This adds to the plasticy appearance of the barrel, but is accurate to the real steel (which usually have blued barrels).

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The ejection port is the colour of fresh air! It's a whole mate, you meen the barrel.

 

It's a whole huh? sure, that makes sense.

 

I think everyone knew what i meant..

 

Plus on a few of the Western Arms guns I've owned, the barrel has been black where the ejection port cover has been treated the same as the gun.

 

My Bob Chow for instance..

 

hbc.

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Once and for all their is NO EJECTION PORT COVER ON 1911'S. What you are talking about is the chamber end of the barrel. Some 1911's have the chamber end ( sometime's called the chamber hood ) polished but they are still part of the barrel.

 

I am not being pedantic about this, but if people use the incorrect terms other people will also use it and before long no one will know the differance. Just like the whole Double Action thing!

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I. do. not. care.

 

I did not pretend that I was using the correct terminology, this is airsoft afterall, If someone is allowed to use the term Deagle, or clip, then I am allowed to say whatever the hell I want.

[/rant]

 

I'm all for aesthetics, and I think that a polished 'chamber', or a parkerized chamber, would look better, Especially from what I've heard about the plasticey sheen of the outer barrel.

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Very nice review!

 

Here's what you get from DEN Trinity. The barrel has an orange tip, but the slide is not painted orange. I have not removed the orange tip for this picture - you just can't see it from this angle. Putty was used to cover the trades on the slide. The box trades were covered, but the box was in very good shape. They inserted the mag into the gun, so it did not shift and scratch the gun during shipping. All for $109. :)

 

81676236-M.jpg

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I'm all for aesthetics, and I think that a polished 'chamber', or a parkerized chamber, would look better, Especially from what I've heard about the plasticey sheen of the outer barrel.

I think what you need is a WA. I'm sure they make just the specific model you want. :P

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