Most recent acquisitions at the top.
I've grouped my revolvers separately, although they could be placed in the springer and NBB sections.
Smith & Wesson Model 327 M&P R8 - Tanaka Works
Remington 1858 New Model Army .44 - Hartford (HWS)
Colt Police Positive Special - Heavyweight version - Tanaka
See Wege's first look review here
Smith & Wesson Model 29 6.5" - Crown
Having had a Crown Colt Python, I had a good idea what to expect when I bought this S&W M29.
My main interest was to see how close it was to the Tanaka (in overall shape) version I own, as I didn't expect anything at all of the performance.
As you can see, the overall shape is, like the Colt, pretty good.
Interestingly, the S&W is quite a bit heavier (maybe that should read 'less light') than the Python, at 325g.
The frame's finish is ok, although there are a lot of exposed screwheads visible on the right side. The grips, in contrast, are horrible, being a totally unrealisticly light shade, although the shape is pretty accurate to the real steel ones I have on my Tanaka 29 and they feature fake S&W medallions in 'silver' (more like grey in reality). Sadly, due to the piston being in the grip, there is little scope to swap the grips over.
Markings are OK, if not fantastic. The barrel is marked ".44 Magnum" on the right side and "Smith & Wesson" on the left.
There is large, fake, trademark on the right side of the frame where the S&W one would normally be and some text up by on the very front of the frame.
They don't stand comparison with the real thing, but at least give the right sort of look to the gun.
There is also an extra safety just behind the large trademark on the frame, as the one on the left side (which unlocks the cylinder) doesn't operate as a safety.
The cylinder swings out on the crane, as it should, and the extractor works, pushing out the shells, each which holds a single BB.
The cocking action, like the Python's, is stiff and fragile feeling and the accuracy is virtually non-existent (it being hard to hit an A4 sheet at 6ft with all 6 shots).
Using .12g BBs, I got a piffling 54 fps out of the Crown S&W, considerably worse than the Python.
So, this is a cheap "look and play with" revolver, rather than a usable plinker, really. You could paint the gun and fill in the screw heads and get a fairly decent looking replica, but it might as well be a non-firer really.
Weight : 325g (Crown's HEAVYWEIGHT model!)
Realism : ***
Quality : **
Power : *
Accuracy : *
Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum 10.5" Barrel - Silver version - Marushin
Ruger Super Redhawk .454 Casull 7.5" Barrel - Midnight Blue version - Tanaka
Colt Python 4" - Crown
I know next to nothing about Crown, except they are/were Japanese and seem to have been making guns at the dawn of the airsoft era, but someone was offering a couple of springer Pythons on a forum and I am a sucker for oddball guns, especially revolvers at good prices, so it was no surprise that one soon arrived at my house.
The box was pretty impressive, with a smart photo artwork lid, making the gun look very impressive, and a base made of polystyrene which securely held the 4" Python, with space for a much longer barrel, too. Artwork on the side shows Pythons in 4", 6" and 8" and S&W revolvers (probably model 19s) in the same barrel lengths.
Unfortunately, the gun itself is a lot less impressive. It's very light and flimsy feeling and the grips are, I think I can safely say, the nastiest fake wood I have ever seen, although the black plastic looks OK, despite being that hard, brittle material. As far as I can tell, NOTHING is made of metal on the Pyhton.
Like the UHC S&W M19 springer, the Crown Colt Python takes a single BB in each plastic shell, one for each hole in the cylinder and require the hammer to be cocked, single action, before each shot.
This setup is certainly not optimal for power and the gun produced an average of 65fps with .2g BBs and 94fps with .12s, pretty disappointing, you will agree, I am sure.
The actual gun, excluding those grips, looks reasonable, if not great (certainly the UHC is better, but I believe it to be a much newer design). The gun certainly looks like a Colt Python and is marked "PYTHON .357"/"".357 MAGNUM CTG." on the left side of the barrel. There is a Colt(ish) rampant mustang further back on the frame (decapitated by the ugly safety switch). There are grey (supposed to look silver...) Colt medallions on the grips, but the right side of the gun is only marked "CROWN MODEL MODELGUN MADE IN JAPAN" along the barrel.
Quite impressively, the extractor is functional, pushing the shells out of the cylinder, which surprised me considerably, being a nice feature and an important part of the full revolver experience.
The weak performance made it almost impossible to assess the accuracy, but I was able to put 6 shots in a row into a 15cm x 15cm target at around 4m.
I did not carry out a trigger pull test on this gun as, frankly, I was afraid I might break the mechanism.
Like the other springer revolvers I have seen, this is really only any use as a display piece or for the fun of having a revolver with a cylinder and removable shells. Fine for plinking around the house, but useless for skirmishing or any serious target or outdoor plinking.
Weight : 260g (YES Two Hundred and Sixty Grams!)
Realism : ***
Quality : **
Power : *
Accuracy : *
Smith & Wesson Model 500 8.375" Barrel - Silver version - Tanaka
Colt Python 6" - Tokyo Marui
'Rackendall' on UKAN provided the following mini-review of the TM Colt Python and kindly agreed to let me host it here.
I've had a TM Colt Python since Christmas 2004, with a six inch barrel, and I had the problem that I couldn't find any info. I went ahead and got one anyway. Hope I can be of some help.
First of all the gun looks quite plasticy, more so than the TM GBBs. I don't mind this too much, but I know some people would. Grips are rubber but are also quite plasticy, and their chunkiness compared to the rest of the gun takes quite a lot of getting used to. The adjustable back sight is quite large but this just makes it easy to use and over all gives a 'target pistol' feel... no surprises there as the python was one of the premiere target pistols of its day. (I know a guy who used to have one, but I never fired it) The gun is big compared to most GBBs, about the same size as my Desert Eagle. It doesn't weigh anyway near as much though, and there are no full metal kits available to my knowledge to beef it up though.
The (very light) cylinder swings out to the left and revolves like the real steel. This python hold 24 6mm rounds, 4 in each of the chambers. You simply open the cylinder and shove 4 BBs into each hole in the front to load. Gas (134a ONLY!!!) goes in through a hole in the base of the grip like the Marushin ones. The gun is double action, which means that it can use both trigger cocking or be hand cocked. I tend to use the latter, thumbing back the hammer. Drawing the hammer back in this way is quite jerky, much less smooth than the Tanaka .44 I have owned. Trigger pull is very light from there on. When using trigger cocking (each pull of the trigger both cocks the hammer and fires) accuracy is affected due to the longer trigger pull.
I haven't chronoed the gun, but it has about as much welly in it as a TM shotgun, maybe less, but the gun is skirmishable none the less, and I can't confirm it and it is a bit cold for gas pistols at the moment, especially when using 134a. Accuracy is fair, but I think that the fixed hop is set to too much, so the BB's go skywards at about 30-40ft. I have found that this can be compensated for reasonably, but it's still annoying. I'm not sure if they all have this problem, but I've never heard of it from anyone else. My Desert Eagle outperforms the python easily in both range and accuracy, but the python isn't awful. Just not as good. It might be best suited to urban, CQB, or really dense woodland where you fight at closer ranges.
So far I haven't found a holster for it, but I'm sure a normal adjustable thigh rig could hold a 4" one. Real steel holsters are probably better for the 6" one.
In all the Python isn't a bad gun, there are certainly worse out there. It isn't brilliant, and if you want a revolver that is quite cheap and obtainable in England I'd go for it. However, the Marushins win on the realism factor and reputably the Tanakas win on power, accuracy and build quality, though my own one had accuracy, power and mechanism problems with it.
'Wege' kindly provided some Chrono figures and a little more information.
In terms of power, the following figures were seen at 18deg C using .2g BBs and 134a gas.
on SAO : 256fps
on DAO : 269fps
The cylinder is light, so that makes the whole "spin the cylinder and then snap it shut" a lot harder, but it is able to be done with practise. ET1000 DOES kill these things, but they seem to be variable. I have seen the bb 'chamber' in one cylinder destroy itself, so it can now hold only one. Accuracy is fair at 5m by hitting in 6in circle on a sheet of A4. Still skirmishable.
For the hopup issue, if you can trade off the distance, maybe use a 'slightly' heavier bb... either WA .23s or some TM .25s?
Thanks to both for the information and to Rackendall for letting me host the information and pictures here.
Colt Single Action Army - Tanaka
Smith & Wesson Model 629 .44 Magnum Performance Center V-Comp version - Tanaka
Ruger Super Redhawk .44 Magnum 7.5" - Tanaka
Smith & Wesson Model 629 .44 Magnum Performance Center version - Tanaka
Smith & Wesson Model 36 .38 Chief Special 2" Barrel version - Tanaka
Smith & Wesson Model 629 .44 Magnum Classic 8" Barrel version - Tanaka
Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum 6.5" Barrel version - Tanaka
Taurus Raging Bull 8.375" Barrel version - Marushin
S&W Model 19 .357 Magnum 6" barrel - 3PSA/UHC
This 3PSA branded, UHC manufactured Smith & Wesson replica revolver is a springer. To actuate the mechanism the hammer must be cocked each time. This is only possible by pulling the hammer back by hand (in a single action mechanism, the trigger ONLY fires the gun, it doesn't prepare it to fire).
This revolver, like the Marushin below, is a strictly accurate 6 shooter, with the BBs (6mm in this case) loaded into 'shells' which are then placed in the revolving cylinder and air is released from the reservoir (in the hand grip) to 'blow' through the shells and fire the BBs down the barrel.
This is quite a big airsoft pistol and, for a springer, not badly weighted. The rubber look grips are actually hard plastic and I prefer the look of wooden grips on the S&W revolvers, anyway, so they're not a plus in my mind.
Power is very disappointing, compared with a springer automatic, presumably because there is so much opportunity for the air to escape between the reservoir and the point at which the BB enters the barrel. The hammer is also very stiff to cock, requiring a very strong thumb or the whole hand.
On the other hand, the handling, loading, etc are a good representation of a real revolver.
Weight : 410g
Realism : ****
Quality : ***
Power : **
Accuracy : **
Back to the Homepage